OLPC again ...

I have always wondered why Nick Negroponte draws so much flak for OLPC.   Some tech companies don't like him either.  But their community affairs folks are doing the same thing - partnering with Govt. in developing countries to distribute subsidized laptops (of course these comes pre-loaded with proprietary software and other 'educational materials' from publishers who are using it as a channel to push their content.

Negroponte of course is not giving up ... The next version is supposed to be a tablet.  Here are two interesting articles on OLPC.

ARTS   | December 19, 2011 
Design:  A Few Stumbles on the Road to Connectivity 
By ALICE RAWSTHORN 
Technological advances help to slowly bring laptops and tablet computers to children all over the world. 

ARTS   | November 09, 2009 
Design:  Nonprofit Laptops: A Dream Not Yet Over 
By ALICE RAWSTHORN 
With a new Uruguayan project, the '$100 laptops' might finally start living up to their own hype. 
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4 responses
I still maintain that the OLPC was and is an amazing piece of hardware, well ahead of its time. But you can't just throw out existing software paradigms and start over without the risk of turning off many potential consumers.

I don't care how good or cheap a laptop is, if I can't use the browser and word processor I am used to, I'm not interested.

— rehintz
You are concerned about switching costs. But it's directed at people who may never have seen a browser or word processor. So there has got be another reason for why it did not take off.
— Ashish
Well I would argue the users of OLPC did not make a decision about whether or not to adopt it, high level bureaucrats did. And they probably had very set opinions of what programs a computer should run. But its all speculation without better evidence...
— rehintz
Well when you are poor, other people get to choose for you - Govt. or NGOs
— Ashish