Big Delays for Small Laptops: OLPC Recipients Irate

The charitable Give One, Get One XO laptop program comes under fire by participants who say they've suffered chronic delivery snafus and delays.

When Seattle, Washington resident David Ruggiero heard about an opportunity to get his hands on the innovative XO laptop made by theOne Laptop Per Childcharitable organization, he hopped on it. Within two hours after the promotion began on Nov. 12 he snapped one up.

"It was for a good cause and also I really wanted a cool geeky toy for myself," Ruggiero says. Two and half months after placing his order, Ruggiero still has no XO, and he--and many others who took advantageof OLPC'sGive One, Get One program--are furious about having to deal with a litany of problems associated with the purchase.

The original aim of OLPC was to develop a $100 laptop for children   in poor nations to ensure they don't miss out on the benefits of computing, and to make sure developing countries don't fall further and further behind modern nations due to their inability to buy computers. This is a conundrum commonly referred to as the digital divide. A similarOLPC campaign for poor U.S. studentswas announced this month.

"I'm a big supporter of the OLPC and think it's a fantastic mission, but there comes a point where you've got to say enough is enough," Ruggiero says.

The Give One, Get One program, launched last November, allowed let U.S. and Canadian residents to donate $400 to pay for two XO laptops. One laptop would go to a deserving child in a developing nation, and the other would go to the donor. The program was originally intended to last two weeksbut was later extended for six. The offer ended on Dec. 31.

Complaints over delivery noshows, hour-long hold times on the phone trying to get in touch with the OLPC "Donor Services," and bungled customer service calls are common onOLPC message boardsand at the independentOLPCNews.com site where XO customers linger onlineto commiserate over shipping woes.

Those who paid for their laptop using a PayPal account seem to be disproportionately affected. Many complain they've had to verify their address because--for reasons that are unclear-- their address information was incomplete. To add insult to injury, those same people claim that, despite calling OLPC reps to update their shipping address, they've later discovered the OLPC still has the incomplete address on file, which they are told is the reason that their shipment is delayed.

OLPC spokesperson Jackie Lustig acknowledges problems with the ordering and the fulfillment process, but says the biggest challenges are a short supply of XO laptops and   the organization's ability to meet consumer demand for the XO laptop. She says interest in the program has been much larger than expected and more than OLPC can handle.

So far about 80,000 U.S. and Canadian OLPC donors took advantage of the Give One, Get One program, she says. Lustig declined to say exactly what percentage of customers have received their XO laptops.

"There have been delays in getting the laptops to those who generously donated to the program. And we are sorry," Lustig says. She says a special phone line is being set up for people who want to cancel their order and want a refund.