Widespread Keyboard Failures on OLPC's XO-1 264
otakuj462 writes "Many participants in OLPC's 'Give 1 Get 1' program of last November are now encountering what has come to be known as the 'stuck key' problem, in which one or more of the keys on their XO-1 laptop's built-in keyboard become stuck in an activated position, or are activated when adjacent keys are pressed. As of January 30th, the official word from OLPC is that the root cause of this problem is unknown because '[t]here are several manufacturers of the keyboards.' ('So far we don't know of any _reliable_ method of fixing the keyboard or the exact root cause.') It is unknown just how widespread this problem currently is, as the 30-day manufacturer's warranty has already expired for most G1G1 participants. However, the OLPC forums are full of reports. OLPC is currently deploying the XO-1 to children in Mongolia and Peru, as well as other developing nations. If OLPC is actively deploying units with known, critical hardware bugs, without a dedicated support infrastructure in place, to children who have never seen a computer before, should they still be considered to be a responsible organization? Did OLPC deploy their hardware too soon?"
you get what you pay for... (Score:2, Insightful)
I don't think that... (Score:5, Insightful)
saw that coming (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:saw that coming (Score:5, Insightful)
Apple has done exact same crap (Score:0, Insightful)
Re:I don't think that... (Score:1, Insightful)
Fix it yourself (Score:5, Insightful)
Therefore the idea is that people fix things themselves. This is a good thing if things are built with this in mind. Repair your own thinkpad (no problem), repair your own ipod (no chance).
If we have any hope of saving the planet from being one giant landfill dump, then we really need to learn to fix electronic devices ourselves.
Be realistic. (Score:5, Insightful)
Cynical me or not, I hate to have to admit it, (Score:2, Insightful)
Guess what? You're not our mission, slashdot (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I don't think that... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:30 days warrenty? (Score:5, Insightful)
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/XO_Giving/Europe [laptop.org]
The OLPC is not a consumer product. They don't have the infrastructure to sell it as such. If you buy millions, they can sell support, including hardware, and warranties.
They are not iXO's. Their goal is not to sell laptops for everybody. They are making this for kids who might use them to learn. Both objectives don't have to be acheived together, and don't even need to be compatible.
Re:I don't think that... (Score:2, Insightful)
In fact, if the laptops tend to break easily, they will probably be tossed aside as just something else that can't be used, and may even engender resentment against whoever supplied them.
New Rule! (Score:5, Insightful)
Some people are simply delusional (Score:5, Insightful)
Some people are simply delusional. When I participated in G1G1 I assumed there was no warranty. My guess is the 30 day warranty is only there because of some stupid law. The way I see it, I made a donation to the OLPC Foundation, and got a neat little example of the technology I was funding. If mine had experienced any problems I would never have dreamed of draining OLPC's resources by returning it for replacement. I would have attempted a repair and reported on the success or failure of my repair, so that the knowledge could be disseminated to the children using the laptops.
I haven't experienced any problems, and I really wish commercial companies would adopt a technology like its screen or its ability to take falls and keep on ticking, and especially the power-saving technologies which makes this thing the only laptop that has never run out of juice one me; I carry around three heavy batteries with my regular laptop and run it in its maximal power saving mode and it still doesn't hold a candle to the OLPC.
The keyboard doesn't have the best feel, and I would only want commercial companies to copy it when making a keyboard for children. It is spill-proof. When I've spilled hot coffee and cold soda on it, I just had to wipe it off. Again, this is unlike my Sony Vaio and Lenovo T-61 keyboards which I've had to replace when even take-it-apart-deep-cleaning did not restore functionality post spill.
From what I've read, it appears the stuck key problem is fixable with a cleaning. Taking apart an OLPC is _much_easier_ than taking apart a commercial laptop, so I think this whole complaint is completely overblown. I'm not going to go so far as to say the article poster is an Intel sock puppet. I've seen they crazies who talk about having "bought" an OLPC right here on slashdot. Since the OLPC has never been on sale to individuals, you know these people are delusional right off the bat. The apparently large number of these folks either speaks to the success of the G1G1 program at reaching many many people, or it speaks to the sorry state of the war on drugs at it's goal of combating the crack epidemic. Either way, these idiots should be ignored, and I hope the folks at OLPC do not take these jokers seriously.
My only disappointment with the G1G1 program is that it wasn't G2G1, Give 2 Get 1. That could have resulted in more laptops in the hands of children, and fewer laptops in the hands of these complainers.
Re:Cynical me or not, I hate to have to admit it, (Score:3, Insightful)
When Negroponte talked about a 100 dollar laptop, everybody was laughing at him, saying it could not be done.
They are selling under 200 dollar laptops, with a good chance of making them for 100 dollars in one year or two, or at least for the equivalent to that amount, taking into account currency devaluation.
Other people are selling cheap, good laptops now, and a new market has emerged. Their vision, that was far fetched, is now very close. I think the OLPC is already a success.
Their first computer model has some very interesting features, from an engineering standpoint, and is unsurpassed in many areas, as of now. Even if it has some technical issues (that the kids in Uruguay have not experienced, for example), it is still a great piece of technology.
Regular mainstream laptops fail all the time. Four team mates and I bought top of the line HP laptops an year ago, for work (we are software consultants). Mine has a non fatal backlight failure, that I couldn't fix it within its warranty period, because I was not willing to leave it for a month, the time they said it would take (I had to move to another country in less than a month).
Another one had its disk fail in warranty, and they are taking more than two months to fix it, and still haven't come up with a solution.
Yet another one, failed on monday, after the warranty period failed.
Some other guys bought Toshiba laptops, and half of them had memory modules failure, rebooting due to overheating.
Some other guys had Lenovo Laptops, and four out of six of them had failing power strips, or failing batteries, before three months.
None of them were refurbished, and all were paid full price.
I'm not saying that this is typical, it was just my first and only experience working with laptops, and it is obvious to me now that they are not that reliable. At least, if you use them seriously, and do not have a support contract.
If people put up with this kind of issues with big brand laptops, I don't see why a keyboard failure is such a big issue on a laptop that is not intended for unsupported use. The difficulty in getting your hands on one, and the 30 day warranty should be a good enough warning.
Were you grown in a vat? (Score:5, Insightful)
In "non-consumerist" societies, kids are equally rambunctious and can easily drop or knock things over.
Long before I was a "consumerist" to use your venom-dripping terminology, I was breaking stuff. Haven't you ever heard a parent complain that kinds understand the value of nothing?
If a kid has no real concept of value anyway, what on earth would motivate him to be more careful than with anything else they are used to playing with?
How come we don't see anything now? (Score:5, Insightful)
Really why is this even a post today that far back?
Re:Were you grown in a vat? (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't want to be seen to be defending your snarky reply, but it's relevant to note that the issue of caring for the XO laptop is a real one.
It is not, however, because of children's inability to see the value of such a device. I work in development, and I've tested the XO. I've also written about it [imagicity.com] a fair bit. The big challenge for children using this device will be the lack of ready infrastructure in the village.
When you have to walk several miles to school in the rain with nothing more than a banana or a taro leaf to cover you, the XO is vulnerable. When you have to wade across one or more small rivers on your way to school, the XO is vulnerable. When you live in a house with dirt floors, the XO is vulnerable. When you have to contend with the fact that your many siblings might well want to share the laptop, the XO is vulnerable.
BUT... I've tested a late prototype and seen for myself that, whatever its faults, there is nothing else available that even begins to approach the XO for robust construction. Try to imagine any other computing device surviving what I've described above. The XO laptop is the best available technology today, and that's why we'll shortly be deploying our first pilot project.
Re:I don't think that... (Score:4, Insightful)
The places which need these devices the most won't necessarily even have a national keyboard layout, and often multiple languages, so where there's different keyboards, being able to switch key caps becomes more important, not less.
Anyhow, changing key caps is one thing, but changing a keyboard another.
Easy replacement of keycaps and locale settings on a device doesn't help much if the problem is with the underlying keyboard mechanisms. Then you need to repair or replace the keyboard, which has diddley squat to do with the legend on the caps.
Re:Fix it yourself (Score:5, Insightful)
The ignorance of this statement is astonishing. There have been reports of a problem with OLPC keyboards. People have had success repairing the problem. You don't know anything about the service strategy of the OLPC (as witness your statement about the 30-day warranty, which is for G1G1 OLPCs, not end-user OLPCs).
And yet, you're fully prepared to make a harshly critical and categoric statement about the failings of the project, as if it were proven fact, not your completely ignorant conjecture.
Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but really, "face it?" Face what? A completely random statement from a random person? Why should we "face it?"
Re:Some people are simply delusional (Score:1, Insightful)
Tell that to just about every charity that gives you a coffee cup or a cloth bag with your donation.
Re:I don't think that... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Guess what? You're not our mission, slashdot (Score:3, Insightful)
No donation for you!
Re:you get what you pay for... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Some people are simply delusional (Score:1, Insightful)
The way you "see" it is idiotic.
Re:I don't think that... (Score:2, Insightful)
This was a primary design goal. The laptops can and are being repaired locally.
The Give 1 Get 1 laptops are a special case. The primary object was to donate laptops, not to put laptops into the hands of consumers. That is why it was not called Get 1 Give 1.
G1G1 donors need to understand that they are participating as donors first, and testers second.
Re:I don't think that... (Score:3, Insightful)
By not offering the product to the general public, they not only screwed themselves at the start trying to meet minimum production numbers, but also a source of income (non-profit doesn't mean they can't make money at all...) - they G1G1 program should have been a long-term strategy starting at day one.
It's quite a noble cause but that cause does not benefit at all from restricting the sales.
I just wonder how much sooner this problem would have been identified if there were more units in the hands of private individuals who WILL beat the crap out of them.
=Smidge=
Re:you get what you pay for... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Were you grown in a vat? (Score:3, Insightful)
My entire snark was directed at the notion that these kids would be any more careful than kids would be with equipment here - kids are kids was the point I was really trying to get across, and you need something that can wear well because you cannot rely on some notion third world kids will treat something like this far more carefully than anyone here would.
Re:I don't think that... (Score:3, Insightful)
Our society is totally geared to consuming vast quantities of goods, most of which we don't even need. Disruptions in our consuming can cause economic disasters. Government and corporate policy ensures that this type of society continues (see any "don't buy day" ads on TV, ever?). Therefore, I think "Consumerist" is not that unfair of a brand even though it does sound gross.
Re:I don't think that... (Score:3, Insightful)
Also, you haven't made the case for the "Consumerist" term any more because you still have to deal with the fact that every society consumes.
Why slashdot, why? (Score:3, Insightful)