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My posting summary

1 to 4 of 4

My comments

• Noble But Misguided
  The hardware innovations behind the OLPC project are indeed impressive. And I'm quite anxious to see how the strides that the MIT guys have made with OLPC will bleed over into other notebooks. This may be the stiff dose of unexpected competition that's been needed to drive some aggressive innovations within the mainstream notebook market.
  
  But I'm still more than a little tenative about the merit of introducing technology to kids for the sake of education. I'm unconvinced that doing so in the U.S. has really accomplished much. The OLPC project is a noble gesture - and the wonks behind it are to be commended - but ultimately, I think it's a bit misguided. Wouldn't we be wise to address the more immediate and vital analog needs of children in the OLPC target countries prior to placing digital toolkits in their hands? A full mind is a lofty goal, but what of a full belly? And what of disease prevention? In reply to: "What we can learn from the OLPC project"

  October 11, 2007

  0 replies

• Maybe Not So Much...
  But that begs the question...
  
  Do economically-disadvantaged children without electricity and/or books NEED access to vast stores of knowledge on the Internet? Will that window to the sum of human knowledge be nearly so useful as some potable water, vaccines, or basic book-based education might be?
  
  And is there any evidence that granting access to the Internet and its vast repositories of information has boosted the IQ or potential of children in first-world countries? I've yet to see the introduction of technology bring about miraculous educational reform for children in America. In reply to: "Kids, PCs and politics"

  May 25, 2007

  1 reply

• No Notebooks Needed
  I worry about making computer-use skills such a priority for kids. Computers may, in fact, be a barrier to kids learning to think creatively and solve problems.
  
  Are notebook PCs really the key to a better life (or even better learning) for children? Countless genuises ? people whose ideas changed the world ? existed long before the advent of semiconductors, so it hardly seems likely that the lack of a computer will truly hamper any child?s learning ability or intellectual potential.
  
  Maybe we're naive to assume that technology will magically equate to a more efficient or well-rounded learning environment for children - impoverished or otherwise. In reply to: "Kids, PCs and politics"

  May 25, 2007

  1 reply

• Performance Boost?
  I wonder what kind of perfomance boost this will provide - I mean, surely these solid state drives are considerably faster than a traditional "moving parts" hard drive. In reply to: "Dell spins into solid state drives"

  April 25, 2007

  1 reply