A while back, I received an email from a colleague letting me know that I could donate one of the OLPC laptops and purchase one for myself (or, my daughter) all in one step. I was excited about the prospect of helping meet the tech needs of a developing nation as well as those of my young daughter, so I went ahead with the transaction.
I just received the laptop this afternoon. It took a few minutes to get my head around the GUI (Sugar), but once I did it was very intuitive. A couple of false starts and I had it connected to my router using WEP security and was able to pull up Elmo games online. For now, Elmo games and a keyboard that will withstand a Rice Krispy spill are enough, but the real excitement lies down the line.
As Ellie grows into the laptop, we can learn how to program. Squeak is included, so we can learn about Object-Oriented programming. We can also keep a running log using the recorder program. The TamTam music studio will keep us busy as she grows her understanding of music.
I'll post updates as she interacts with it, but for now Daddy's happy and optimistic about Ellie's new machine.