[IAEP] The Guardian: PlayPower: 1980s computing for the 21st century

[Sean DALY]

Yamandu, I don't think it's at all fair to imply that OLPC has
attempted to "corner" any market. It's easy in hindsight to suggest
ways some things could have been done differently or better (I do that
too), but market cornering is something corporations do to other
corporations.... or to nonprofits.

Intel for example used their field sales force to find out what OLPC
was saying to government buyers in the largest developing countries
(BRIMC), and thought up local assembly of the Classmate architecture,
springboarding on their extensive partner network (and Microsoft's no
doubt). Which has led to the Archos launches in Western Europe of...
Chinese-built Classmates.

What Exon (http://www.exon-technology.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage_noname&product_id=116&category_id=55&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=55)
and DMP are doing is of interest
(http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/marketing/2009-October/002174.html),
but there are many, many pieces left out to get to that (claimed)
price point.

Sean.


On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 4:57 PM, Yamandu Ploskonka <yamaplos at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Martin Langhoff wrote:
>> On Sun, Nov 8, 2009 at 3:24 AM, Yama Ploskonka <yamaplos at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Elonex One clones are available right now for about $75 USD in
>>> quantities over 100.  They were released original well after the XO 1,
>>> and have about similar hardware.  Originally they sold for about $300.
>>>
>>
>> Again, probably unsold stock.
>>
>
> ROFL!!!
> ¿te tragaste un payasito?
>
> No, my friend, these are honest to goodness clones.  How they get away
> with that, don't know
> Maybe Elonex sees their market growing if they give up on older  design
> Bigger market share that way to their line?  A bit like the Apple IIe?
>>
>>> The XO seems to be about the only one defying Moore's :-)
>>>
>>
>> No, we are in good company. I am seeing some companies doing
>> misleading PR over *incomplete* laptops that allegedly cost USD100.
>>
> The Elonex clones have no camera, but do include RAM, wifi and battery.
> Still the screen is the "standard" LCD backlighted, and probably their
> battery life is not that hot
>> Except that if you add ram, storage and some kind of battery, they
>> cost 200. And Wifi is still not included.
>>
>> Forget about it being designed for kids, rugged, long life batteries
>> that don't explode, high quality screens or anything.
>>
>> We opened this market, so it's good to see it evolve. It'd be nice to
>> see people build something actually comparable, at a comparable price.
>> Nobody does right now.
>>
>
> Hmmm, maybe if you would let the screen be copied?  What about the battery?
> Is it more important to corner the market, or share good technology
> solutions that then make MORE computers available to more kids?
>> Do they muddy the waters? Heck yeah! Dodgy PR is way cheaper than engineering.
>>
>> cheers,
>>
>>
>>
>> m
>>
> _______________________________________________
> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
>