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The One Laptop per Child Association (OLPC), Microsoft, and Peru’s Education Minister José Antonio Chang Escobedo have recently announced that Peru will be the first in the world to get Windows XP-based XO Laptops.

The new laptops will be part of a nine-month pilot that is intended to “integrate educational software, low-cost computing, and technology training into classrooms throughout Peru.“ The XO Laptops will be made available to the students 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, and will (as previously mentioned) be running Windows XP Pro. In addition, they will also feature the Student Innovation Suite which includes programs such as Office 2003 Standard and Learning Essentials 1.0.

While the pilot has been designated for nine-months, there has not been any mention of when it will begin, or how many of the XO Laptops will be made available for the students. As of now, this is the first and only XP-based XO announcement, and if you remember the laptops that will be available in the upcoming Give One Get One program will remain with just the original Sugar Linux installed.

Keep reading to check out the full press release…

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Just a month after distribution began, the OLPC organization has been hit by theft. Armed robbers in Peru stole 66 XO laptops from a school in the settlement of San Pedro. The motive for the theft is unknown but in poor areas thieves tend to steal anything they believe has resale, and the XO has tremendous value, just check out eBay to see for yourself. Sadly, MIT Media Lab co-founder doesn’t seem to get it. He had this to say when asked about the theft potential of the XO:

“There are thousands of cars in the United States stolen each day, but not one single post office truck has been stolen in the history of the United States. The reason is that there is no secondary market for post office trucks because they look like post office trucks.“

His analogy suggests there is no secondary market for the XO, due to the distinctive looks the unit has, but he is mistaken. The theft in Peru and the listings of XO laptops for sale on eBay are proof of that. See someone other than a child using an XO? Be suspicious.

Read [OLPC News]

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