Paul Boutin links to this gem in this weekend’s WSJ:
Some potential buyers are having second thoughts. Officials in Libya, who had planned to buy up to 1.2 million of the laptops, became concerned that the machines lacked Windows, and that service, teacher training and future upgrades might [therefore] become a problem.
It now sells for $188, plus shipping. The higher price has made the laptop vulnerable to competition. Taiwanese, Indian and Israeli sellers of inexpensive Windows laptop see the developing world’s more than one billion potential young customers as a big opportunity.
. . .
At a private meeting with a group from Rwanda, Negroponte announced that 20,000 laptops, courtesy of the “Give One. Get One.” program, would soon be distributed. Carine Umutesi, who works for Rwanda’s Information Technology Authority, questioned who would fix them if they break.
Mr. Negroponte said some initial tech support would be provided by Brightstar Corp., a Miami-based wireless equipment distributor. Just who would provide support a few years from now, he said, was “a frightening question.” The students, he said, will need “to do as much maintenance as possible.”
You’ll recall I tackled this same topic, for the second time, two months ago in Slate.
