eCROP Blog

We work and play in a three dimensional world. We jump into 2 dimensional space for our textual and photographic information and most of our compositions. Creating in 3D used to mean sculpting rock, clay and other media. In digital environments, it also meant significant costs for software and hardware to create 3D images. A pair of programs have changed the cost to computer users, Google Earth and SketchUp. See samples of Google Earth at www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2006/03/expecting_lots.html . See video tutorials of SketchUp at http://sketchup.google.com/tutorials.html

Two major projects accelerating low cost digital literacy options are scheduled to hatch in January 2007. One is from a major computer maker and one is from a major open source team. To track Apple's release of their chameleon like device which may play video, music, have keyboard and work with wi-fi and cell phone wireless, search Google news for iPhone. A version of it may go for free for a long term cellphone contract. http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&q=iphone&btnG=Search+News To track OLPC's progress with the $100 laptop, skim Bender's weekly reports and archive at http://laptop.media.mit.edu/laptopnews.nsf/latest/news?OpenDocument

Alan Kay and colleague review the history of eThinking using 2d and 3d interfaces, show clips of pioneers from the 60's. During the last 25 minutes of this 58 minute videoclip they partner to demonstrate their new 3D operating system, Croquet. Date, Oct 10, 2003, at eTech Conference. http://cf.mannby.com/blog/2006/08/squeak-and-croquet-demo-etech03.html

Hello Jamaicans. The OLPC ($100 laptop) hardware and Croquet/Linux software movements are within range of the land of almost no-cost citizenship to the digital 21st century for all citizens. By grooving a path to those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, we will further increase the educational levels and economic competitiveness of a nation. For example, many groups who have been disenfanchised have recently been making great strides, such as the giant leaps forward taken in Internet use by the black community . Further, many ambitious rural and metropolitan regions that have been challenged economically have been building wireless and wired networks to increase local Internet access in hope of also catching up. However, the successful and intense multi-million dollar lobbying of the phone and cable companies is powering up for summer 2006 to get the legal power to end the prior legislative understanding of net neutrality . They will thereby gain a toll-gate monopoly of prio...

Increasing the depth and frequency of interaction is at the core of the science of education. Shaping the means and methods to this interaction for a particular learner and teacher forms the art of education. One can begin to see the converging lines for radical changes in the power of interaction. One converging force will come from radical increases in accessibility to computers and Internet resources driven by OLPC, Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child , beginning at $137 per child and dropping to $50 or less by 2010. The second converging force is the radical increase in bandwidth provided for education by Internet2 systems . A third force is the radical merger of online systems of communication, collaboration and cooperation and 3D display within Croquet. This merger borders on a new operating system and could easily be extended to be one. A synthesis of OLPC, I2 and Croquet is not difficult to imagine. As Croquet is reported to be free and requires a fraction of the code spac...

High Bandwidth Education is an online multimedia article that explores the nature of fast computer networks and their relationship to K-12 education and to local communities. Internet2 is the first national and international high speed system, but regional and city groups can design and build their own high speed networks and may or may not choose to link them to I2. Internet2's global reach, many free resources and accent on high quality video and multimedia will be a great incentive to connect. Your feedback and thought on this essay and its issues are appreciated. Please use the Comments option to contribute. To participate in a future audio or videoconference on this article, please send your email address and interest with the email subject heading of I2 videoconference to houghton@email.wcu.edu . When sufficient interest accumulates, a proposed date will be sent. The event will use Internet-based conferencing software to draw the group together. Participants will need a...

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1945967,00.asp Negroponte delivered a keynote address at LinuxWorld 2006. See above link to the eWeek story. The price points for the device now look like $137 in 2007, $100 in 2008 and $50 by 2010. The 7 inch screen will have 1,110-by-830-pixel resolution in black and white in outdoor mode and 640 by 480 pixels in color indoors. Only the state of Massachusetts will receive units in the U.S.; the rest are emarked for other countries in the world. Massachusetts is the only U.S. governor and state to have endorsed the goal of these inexpensive computers in the hands of all his state's students.

In 1890 Frederick Jackson Turner used the data from the recently completed census to enter the history hall of fame through observations and reflection on the closing of the American frontier. An even more important cultural closing is at hand. The closing of the digital divide continues to progress. The Boston LinuxWorld (Apr. 3-6, 2006) is hosting a major speech on the $100 laptop project. Discussion will become available at the LinuxWorld Wiki collaboration space, sponsored by SocialText. Read all about this session and other conference session descriptions, speakers, and other important conference topics.Get involved at http://www.socialtext.net/linuxworld and watch for discussion of Negroponte's speech.

Like all highly successful corporations Microsoft has been active in responding to actual and potential competition. The $100 Laptop Project of MIT pioneer Negroponte for the schools of the 3rd world and the not so rich becomes a challenging competitor as this cheap laptop plans on using Linux software for its operating system and for its office and productivity applications. Mr. Gates's company will make no money from that. Seven nations (Thailand, Egypt, Nigeria, India, China, Brazil and Argentina) are close to committing $700 for 7 million of these laptops. Then millions of 3rd world children will learn the Linux applications. The nonprofit group, One Laptop Per Child, that is directing this effort, signed an agreement on January 28, 2006 with the United Nations Development Program to work together to develop this technology further along with learning resources. This will require technical support jobs, servers, and more and there will be no money for MS to gain from that. It i...

InformationWeek ran a story about numerous press reportings addressing Google in secret negotiation with Walmart about selling a Google PC. It could easily be a rebranding of the MIT $100 laptop design that Quanta will be making but others see signs that it will be a specialized design for searching, not for running other applications. Put this in the class of a hot rumor, but still a rumor until Google and Walmart confirm it is true; at the moment they are denying it. Though co-founder Larry Page spoke this Jan 6, 06 to the Consumer Electronics Show, he said nothing about this, but was pushing GooglePack and Google Video , both free hot options, for those who have computers and net access. So for now, Google is growing its reputation as a creator of innovative software. Yahoo has countered with its own collection, http://go.connect.yahoo.com/go/pc (Yahoo Go Desktop). Gotta love the competition. I'm thinking the rumor will stay a rumor as MIT is a year away from having a manufactu...

"Taiwan's Quanta, the biggest manufacturer of laptops in the world, has signed on to the $100 laptop project." ( hardware.silicon.com ) Negroponte said in a statement: "Any previous doubt that a very-low-cost laptop could be made for education in the developing world has just gone away." ( MIT )