TechJournal

OLPC is gearing up for massive orders next year.  In addition to the hundreds of thousands that were ordered by developing countries' governments, the Mayor Larry Langford has signed a $3 Million dollar deal with the OLPC foundation to provide elementary students of his city, Birmingham, AL.

The school district will be the first in the United States to acquire the cheap laptops which will of course be intended for educational purposes of elementary students.  This is probably the start of the classroom of the future where every student has a an issued laptop in a public school.  The laptops will be issued to elementary students from 1st to 8th grade which they will be allowed to bring home with them.  However, strict rules will be implemented regarding possible losses of the units.

The OLPC XO is an ambitious project aiming to provide every child with a laptop capable of the basic personal computing functions and internet connection.  It was targetted to price in a $100 dollars a piece but so far that amount has not been reached.  Birmingham acquired their OLPC XO's for  $200 a pop.

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