Linux-powered OLPC on "60 Minutes" May 20

CBS TV's "60 Minutes" will feature the Linux-powered OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) device on Sunday, May 20 at 7 p.m. EDT/PDT. Project director Nicholas Negroponte will talk about his dream of putting a laptop computer into the hands of every child as an educational aid.
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CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl will report on the project's progress in such countries as Cambodia and Brazil. Stahl discusses her upcoming report in a "Reporter's Notebook" webcast now available on the 60 Minutes site. In addition, there is a brief separate webcast interview with Negroponte on the 60 Minutes site, in which he says: "The first English word out of every child in that village (in Cambodia) was 'Google.'" This 36-second clip from the report can be found at the top right of the same window that contains Stahl's "Reporter's Notebook."Background on OLPCThe idea behind the OLPC laptop is to provide children with the opportunity to learn about learning itself -- to explore, experiment and express themselves, an OLPC spokesperson said. The laptops will be distributed in schools.AMD, News Corp, Google, Brightstar, Red Hat Linux, Nortel, Marvell, eBay, Quanta, Chi Mei, SES/Astra, and Citigroup are founding members of OLPC. The United Nations and Inter-American Development Bank are its non-profit partners.The OLPC project, based at the MIT media lab in Cambridge, Mass., is well into its second year. Recently, the New York Times reported that Libya became the fifth country to express serious interest in the inexpensive student laptop -- the others being Nigeria, Brazil, and Argentina . Brazil and Thailand had expressed some early interest in the project but have since cooled on the idea for various internal reasons.
More about the OLPC Project
For lots of background on the OLPC's Linux-based low-cost laptop project -- including features, specs, and a timeline of announcements -- be sure to peruse our comprehensive OLPC special report:
Hot Topic: The "One Laptop Per Child" project