I wrote about OLPC back in 2010 (and before that, somewhere back on a post I didnt port over here from SSC). It was a vision worth pursuing.  It failed though, for many reasons, perhaps not the least of the killer branding around the “$100 laptop” which turned out to be unachievable. Here’s a good write up of the history and ending.

So, it didn’t work. That’s ok. I wonder what is doable? A phone for every child? I was at Haslams Bookstore recently with my kids where you can buy an old copy of Encyclopedia Britannica. You could see them almost fail to connect with the idea of a world where you had to look something (everything) up in a book versus just going to the phone or computer. A phone still requires connectivity, but they are cheap and useful, and how many get recycled as we upgrade to the latest and greatest?