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Archiver > ROOTS > 2007-08 > 1186210193
From: "Philip Van Camp" <>
Subject: Re: [ROOTS-L] The One Laptop Per Child Program: The Future ofFamilyGenealogy & History Internet Education
Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:49:53 -0700
In-Reply-To: <606071.2947.qm@web56114.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
Well, I guess an old fart like me who remembers "Logo" and it's Turtle, and
the "ZX-80" and other people friendly and "cheap" computers may be have a
jaded view of "popular" computing progress.
I think perhaps you are being overly optimistic. It does not appear the OLPC
has even agreed on an operating system, much less functional software
including any for genealogy. And, they seem well aware of the problems
inherent in hardware / software support. The implication I get is that the
computers will be used for academic and "practical" functions such as
teaching Maths, Languages, Sciences, Engineering. I suspect the OLPC mavens
will not be very invested in Genealogy. Also, in many parts of the world,
without organized governments, there is little of the statistical info &
documentation we use such as census's, Vital Statistics such as BMD records,
& etc. Perhaps though, the laptops could be used to implement an oral
history recording project that would be the start of relevant data bases.
Microsoft will be fighting to get their software installed so that when the
users move up to more powerful CPU's, they will already be pre-disposed to
MS programs.
Clearly (at least to me) to minimize costs the project needs a free (open
source) OS such as a Linux implementation. And if we want the machines to
have genealogy, we will need to provide either an open source genealogy
program, or perhaps an older version of an established program could be
donated free to stimulate interest in more recent version.
Phil in SoCal
P.S. I corrected your link below. pvc
-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:]On
Behalf Of Chris Tinney
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2007 8:23 PM
To: ;
Subject: [NORCAL] The One Laptop Per Child Program: The Future of
FamilyGenealogy & History Internet Education
The One Laptop Per Child Program:
The Future of Family Genealogy & History Internet Education
Well, things are happening. Billionaire Carlos Slim, is planning to donate
about one million low-cost laptops
to Mexico's poor children. By October 2008, mass production of inexpensive
computers, to be distributed
to schoolchildren in developing countries, using pictographic icons, should
begin. Intel is also involved in the distribution
of the relatively inexpensive Classmate PC. http://www.olpcnews.com/
The One Laptop Per Child program should have a worldwide, far reaching
effect on how family genealogy and history is
conducted and promoted, by individuals, groups and societies.
Respectfully yours,
Tom Tinney, Sr.
http://www.academic-genealogy.com/
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