As many readers can probably tell, the word "Wireless" was slipped into the OLPC (One Laptop Per
Child) phrase in the title above. With Nicholas Negroponte stepping down from MIT's famed Media Lab yesterday to
concentrate on his "One Laptop Per Child" iniative, I have to give it up to the man - following his real
passion and dream of connecting every child possible to the world, each other, and global informaton - to empower them
to create and fulfill their dreams. And, for many, to escape knowledge repression and to rise up to what they all could
be. I applaud the man greatly, even if the OLPC initiative fails or is slow to gain strength.The one "killer app" in this whole initiative is the inclusion of WiFi in these hand-cranked $100 laptops. Enabling villages and small towns (and big towns) to form WiFi mesh networks is the glue that will make this all work. Interconnection and sharing is the linchpin of such an effort and even as WiFi gains on wired connections in the developed world as a preferred connection method for the internet, it will be the *only* connection method for under-developed nations to breach their own "digital divide" and connect and interact with the rest of the world. Some of Negroponte's MIT associates are also following him to his OLPC non-profit to assist, which speaks even more highly of this highly-regarded initiative.
