I got to try an OLPC at siggraph. The hardware and concept are impressive, but the keyboard was unusuable for me. Maybe for my kids ...if OLPCs were actually for sale that is.

$300 seems like to much for such a limited device, unless you are really in a charitable mood - my $400 Wallyworld special laptop has a 15.4" screen, a Sempron 3300, 512 MB RAM, and a 60 GB HD.

I wouldn't mind one of these right now. However, for me personally, the current (model X0) configuration hits right between two uses. I'd rather pay a bit more for a beefier solution or a bit less for a slimmed down version:

Slimmed down version:
Same base hardware configuration, but locked in "tablet" mode and with the extra plastic removed from the case (e.g. the handles). Removing plastic plus the swivel-joint should save a bit on production costs, although not much, and allow a much "leaner" look.

Beefy solution:
More memory (maybe 512MB, as opposed to the 128MB in the X0).
Faster processor. The current one is a K6-ish processor at 366MHz, with integrated 2D graphics. The same chip is also available in 400MHz, but that's not much faster. More enticing is the GeodeLX-series, which features twice the L1 (32kB/32kB), a random number generator (security) and a DDR memory controller (according the the laptop.org wiki (offcial olpc site), the X0 uses the GeodeGX-533, which only has a SD memory controller according to AMD's datasheet, but the wiki claims 266MHz DDR. Not sure which is correct. The LX is available up to 500MHz with only marginally higher power draw.
Form factor: I'd still love to lose the handles.

AMD makes a GeodeNX-series as well, which is based on the K7 architecture (and is thus much faster), but that would require a complete redesign - so that's not at all feasible. Among other things, it would require a seperate graphics chip and a complete "socket A" type motherboard.

I remember reading at one point that the OLPC hardware design was free (both the beer and speech kind) and that they even encouraged others to copy and develop it. I may have been mislead, though, since I haven't read anything about it for a long time. Anyone know?

Sorry to disappoint but...

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070110-8593.html

That's a nice idea .. you can buy a laptop and sponsor someone else less fortunate ...

...

.. then you'll be their tech support since they have your email address and know you have the same machine as them ;)

Well it's happened yet again: some reporter takes a quote out of context and -- presumably by accident -- ends up more or less fabricating a news item. Tech Report and others repost the non-news with further speculation and errors. Meanwhile, Ars Technica actually asks somebody who would know and gets the real story:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070110-8593.html

Bottom line: there are no solid plans for a commercially available OLPC yet, although there certainly might be in the future.

Update: Opon further reflection, I was unnecessarily snide in the way I phrased that. Permit me to try again. "I think Tech Report's news posts could be vastly improved by applying some healthy skepticism and careful reading when reposting unverified news from secondary sources."

:S

how do the people in the 3rd world feel about getting emails from people in the US?

It's a nice device but I don't pay $300 for nice devices. I'd put down $200 possibly because the device has a lot going for it. Maybe $300 if they boosted the spec a little - 2GB flash, 500MHz CPU, more tactile keyboard. However you are now getting close to the price of a low-end laptop - although they're not completely comparable (an OLPC is hopefully a general system you can have lying around for many years and won't break because it will be built robustly).

#1 there is apparently a strange pull-cord Yo-Yo style recharging mechanism that can generate 10W - i.e., 10 minutes of recharging will give you 30 minutes of use. Obviously it has a battery built in to get recharged!

This was a good idea by the people running this project. Now economics of scale will allow the price to be lowered to $100 like originally planned.

thats all nice and dandy, but how are the 3rd world people going to receive the email without an internet connection?

I can see a definite market for this as, say, an Internet machine etc etc.

Selling lots of these to the public would also mean that they could hopefully make it cheaper to manufacture. So everyone's happy.

Seems like a noble cause but most people in USA would not use them much except maybe give one to a small child to learn (play) with. I am all for spreading technology and communications. Do they still have a hand crank or some type of easy to recharge battery?