Nonprofit Profile: Computers 2 SD Kids
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By Long, Jessica  ORGANIZATION  Mission of organization: Computers 2 SD Kids provides lowincome families with computers to help them achieve success. Our goal is to place refurbished computers into the homes of those who cannot afford this essential educational tool.
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The One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC) plans to launch OLPC America in 2008 to distribute the low-cost laptop computers originally aimed at developing nations to needy students in the United States.The group, which was formed in the U.S. by teachers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), came under criticism shortly after forming because its original mission did not include the U.S.Originally, the aim of OLPC was to develop a $100 laptop for kids in poor nations to ensure they don&#39;t miss out on the benefits of computing, and to make sure developing countries don&#39;t fall further and further behind modern nations due to their inability to buy computers, a conundrum commonly referred to as the digital divide.OLPC America already has a director and a chairman, and will likely be based in Washington D.C., said Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC, in an interview.&quot;The whole thing is merging right now. It will be state-centric. We&#39;re trying to do it through the 50 state governments,&quot; he said.The decision to launch OLPC America came about due to three considerations.&quot;For one thing, we are doing something patriotic, if you will, after all we are and there are poor children in America. The second thing we&#39;re doing is building a critical mass. The numbers are going to go up, people will make more software, it will steer a larger development community,&quot; Negroponte said.The third reason is educational, so that children in the U.S. communicate with kids in developing nations and expand their horizons.The reason OLPC had not included the U.S. in its low-cost laptop program was because of the huge difference in need, Negroponte said. In the U.S., people spend $10,000 per year per child in primary education, but in Bangladesh, a developing country, they spend $20. It&#39;s a huge difference, and many people in the U.S. can afford more expensive laptop PCs for their kids anyway.But although the U.S. was not the focus of OLPC in the beginning, it has always been in the plans.&quot;To have the United Sates be the only country that&#39;s not in the OLPC agenda would be kind of ridiculous,&quot; Negroponte said.
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The non-profit Internet Education Foundation, along with computer maker Dell, launch a campaign to help consumers fend off spyware. Their first step is to publish tips and tutorials to help internet users stay safe.
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Computer users are being asked to donate their unused processor power to help solve social and environmental research problems. The IBM-backed project, called World Community Grid, aims to put the untapped
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The One Laptop Per Child organisation sets up a program to deliver laptops to the poorest US children.
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Computer Banc will hold a volunteer orientation Thursday, Sept. 14.  High school and college students are encouraged to attend. Anyone with technical and non-technical skills is invited to help children with technology.
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By Josh Stockinger  Michael Reiff needs your help.  Well, actually, he needs your computer.  The 17-year-old from St. Charles hopes to collect at least 50 aging PCs and accessories Saturday for an Eagle Scout project that will put technology in the hands of disabled children.
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By C.S. Lee  DEAR Editor,  THE other day, I read an interesting interview with Microsoft's Bill Gates.  One of the things he mentioned was the introduction of a light- weight computer that children can bring to school to replace heavy textbooks.
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Little, cheap and sturdy, laptops designed to bring technology to the children of developing countries are rolling out after years of promises. But don't expect them to do much for high-tech kids in the U.S.
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By Paul B. Johnson, High Point Enterprise, N.C.  Sep. 21--Dell Inc.'s corporate giving will make a difference for a pair  of nonprofit groups in the region.   The Dell Foundation on Tuesday announced its 2006-07 series of Connected  Community grants to 25 organizations nationwide.
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Governments have ordered 3 million of the inexpensive yet rugged computers for schoolchildren through the One Laptop Per Child project, giving the nonprofit group enough volume to kick-start mass production.
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Blog: Recent events underscore how many companies want to help bring computing to the world's children--so long as they can make money.
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Mary Lou Jepsen, who left the One Laptop Per Child nonprofit effort in December to start her own for-profit company, discusses the prospects for a $75 laptop, her days at OLPC and her new company, Pixel Qi.
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Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder of both the MIT Media Lab and the nonprofit One Laptop Per Child, delivers the last keynote at the American Academy for the Advancement of Sciences annual meeting, focusing on the groundbreaking work of the OLPC, which has delivered thousands of laptops to children in the developing world. Alexis Madrigal reports from Boston.
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By Stacy Brandt, North County Times, Escondido, Calif.  May 24--OCEANSIDE -- Two classes at Roosevelt Middle School will begin  using laptop computers for their day-to-day lessons this fall, thanks to a  grant from a national corporation.
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The One Laptop Per Child project suffered a blow this week, with Chief Technology Officer Mary Lou Jepsen quitting the nonprofit to start a for-profit company to commercialize technology she invented with OLPC.Jepsen, who joined OLPC as its first employee in 2005 after Nicholas Negroponte started the effort, will pursue an opportunity to chase after &quot;her next miracle in display technology,&quot; OLPC said in an e-mail sent on Sunday.Jepsen was responsible for hardware and display development for the rugged and power-saving&#160;XO laptop, designed for use by children in developing countries. Though the laptop has struggled to find buyers, it has been praised for its innovative hardware features and environmentally friendly design.Her last day with the organization is Dec. 31, though she will continue consulting with OLPC, according to the e-mail. Dec. 31 is also the end of OLPC&#39;s Give One Get One program, in which two XO laptops can be purchased for about $400, with a user getting one laptop and the other being donated.Satisfied that XO laptops were shipping in volume, Jepsen noted in an e-mail that she was starting a for-profit company to commercialize some of the technologies she invented at OLPC.&quot;I will continue to give OLPC product at cost, while providing commercial entities products they would like at a profit,&quot; Jepsen wrote in an e-mail.&quot;I believe that the work I led in the design of the XO laptop is just the first step in changing computing,&quot; she wrote.Powered by solar power, foot pedal or pull-string, the laptop doesn&#39;t rely on an electrical outlet to run, making it useful for situations where power is unreliable or unavailable. The laptop&#39;s specially designed lithium-ferro phosphate battery consumes between 2 watts to 8 watts depending on usage, compared to 40 watts on commercial laptops depending on usage.The laptop&#39;s battery lasts up to 21 hours because of custom-designed, efficient power-saving features implemented at the hardware and software level. Batteries in commercial laptops may explode at high temperatures, while XO&#39;s batteries can run and recharge in temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), Jepsen said in earlier interview.OLPC is also designing a cow-powered generator that works by hooking cattle up to a system of belts and pulleys.For connectivity, the laptop has mesh-networking features for Internet access.
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By Kat Zeman Daily Herald Staff Writer  What you don't know about computers can hurt your child.  Roughly 45 percent of the children who have fallen victim to a predator in recent years had a personal profile on the Internet.