When you think of helping children in the developing world you probably think of food, medicine or clothing. Now you can add a laptop to that list too. The “Give 1 Get 1” program allows you to donate one laptop to a child in a developing nation and also receive one for the child in your life. But you’d better hurry – the program has been extended until December 31st.

Everyone reading this blog probably takes computers and the Internet for granted. We are blessed to live in a country with 235 million computers – that’s only 1.3 people per computer (1). Computers help us do our work, plan our life, pay our bills and even find the love of our life. Our children use computers to learn and to play – they can’t imagine a world without them.

*Note: This is a blog by Will Villota of the ecometro blog Technically Green. Please click on Portland to view Will's profile under Technically Green.*

Now consider a country like Kenya where there are only 600,000 computers – that’s 62.5 people per computer (1)! Imagine sharing your computer with 61 coworkers. Or sending your child to a school where they had to share a computer with 61 other students.

Statistics like this are why Nicholas Negroponte, founder and Chairman Emeritus of the MIT Media Lab, started One Laptop per Child (O.L.P.C) almost 3 years ago. O.L.P.C. began with the goal of developing a $100 laptop that would be affordable and rugged enough for disadvantaged children around the world.

This month mass production of the XO, the organization’s revolutionary laptop, began. The price is closer to $200, instead of the original $100 goal, but is still low enough that developing countries should be able to afford millions of them. And it’s a pretty remarkable piece of technology - rugged, efficient, rainproof and drop-proof, but very different than the PC’s and Mac’s we use. I won’t get into the details of all the cool features, but if you want to learn more check out David Pogue’s review in the New York Times.

In a move to raise awareness of the program, O.L.P.C. is offering Americans and Canadians the chance to purchase two XO’s for $399 – one will be given to a child in the developing world and the other can be kept or donated locally.

I am really excited by the chance to donate one of these laptops to a needy child half way across the globe. I agree with Negroponte that access to technology like computers can transform the content and quality of a child’s learning.

However, I’m at a bit of a loss for what to do with the XO that I receive. Of course I can’t help but be excited to play around with an XO after reading about its hyper efficient power consumption (it averages 2 watts compared to 60 watts or more for a typical business laptop) and its innovative screen that remains readable even in bright sunlight.

Once I’m done playing around with the XO, an obvious option would be to donate it to a local school or social organization that will put it in the hands of an under-privileged American child.

However, the machine runs on Linux and so it doesn’t run Microsoft Windows or any standard Windows or Mac software. Will this make local XO’s isolated machines? Part of the power of the XO is its ability to automatically connect with other XO’s to share information or Internet access. If there aren’t any other local XO’s then will it really be that useful? In short, is the XO out of it’s element in the hands of an American child?

And so this leaves me wondering if the “Get 1” portion of the program is in response to critics that ask why not focus on more traditional problems closer to home – like food, medicine and clothing. The article I read about “Give 1 Get 1” on Yahoo Tech has almost 450 comments – too many of which echo these criticisms (2)

To those critics I say that I not only agree with Negroponte that “Education happens to be a solution to all of those same problems” (3), but also ask are Americans really that selfish and self-centered? If we have the means to donate money or food or clothes or whatever, why keep it all to ourselves? Is a life saved in the United States more valuable than a life saved in Kenya or India or Mexico?

I suppose charity is always a personal choice. I find “Give 1 Get 1” an interesting balance of global and local charity. But I’m still not quit sure to do with the XO I receive. If you have suggestions for an organization that might benefit from an XO please post them below or email Will.Villota.blogger@ecometro.com