Years before the netbook was marketed commercially to the general public, the concept was developed to connect children in some of the world’s most remote areas to the Internet. The non-profit organization One Laptop per Child has placed more than 1 million mobile computers in the hands of children in 31 countries, and much of its success coincides with their pioneering design of a low-cost, low-powered machine ideal for mass distribution to impoverished areas. In a recent profile of Mary Lou Jepsen, the organization’s original chief technology officer (The Pioneering Designer of the First Cheap Laptop for the Developing World), this design is credited with starting the current netbook craze. Jepsen is quoted in the article touting the computers as versatile portals to global knowledge. “The world’s information is digital,” Jepsen said. “The web, the news, all of that is digital. And now . . . we have ten million books scanned. That was the last bastion of what was offline; it’s now online and accessible.” The price of these computers is already below $200 each and poised to go much lower, putting the technology in place to not only give the entire world broadband access, but also give everyone the tools needed to leverage the Internet to their advantage. The organization put the state-of-theart laptops at the center of its campaign for bridging the digital divide, noting that they have screens specially designed to remain visible even when used outside in bright sunlight. The entire device utilizes just 2 watts of power, roughly equivalent to what can be generated by upper body strength. Perhaps most impressively, the machines can network with each other, so even if any number of them loses their Internet connections, the user won’t be kicked offline so long as a nearby computer remains connected. Nicholas Negroponte, the organization’s executive director, addressed these developments during a speech at a TED conference in late 2007 (Negroponte on One Laptop Per Child, Two Years on). Negroponte said these computers — through their internal networks — could overcome the hazards of remote conditions that once blocked Internet access for undeveloped countries. “When we drop these laptops into the world, they’re connected,” he said. “If you’re in a desert, they can talk to each other from up to two kilometers apart. In a jungle it’s 500 meters away. You don’t call Verizon or Sprint. You build your own network”
The glaring educational gap For all the much-deserved praise heaped onto organizations big and small that expand Internet connectivity and access to computer technology, there is justified criticism that these efforts only address part of a much more complex equation. One Laptop per Child’s efforts were initially derided by the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates along with numerous public officials for focusing on technology only as a resource and not a skill that needs development (The Pioneering Designer of the First Cheap Laptop for the Developing World). With enough effort and resources, it is possible to ensure that everyone has a high speed Internet connection and a computer, but that doesn’t automatically mean that everyone will utilize the technology to their benefit. Basic computer literacy is far from universal, particularly among certain socioeconomic groups. Even those who can operate a computer may lack knowledge in web-based tools and 13