You mean this Internet thing works?

Early on in starting up OP1C, we figured we had a problem: funding. While we could always find some semi-working PCs, it wasn't uncommon for them to have one or two "quirks". People frequently offered up a decent machine, but a hard drive might be broken or they weren't able to give up a keyboard to go along with the computer. Since beggars can't be choosers, we took the machines and figured we would try to find some spare parts later on.

Because people aren't in the habit of just giving free, working parts away, we knew we had an issue. A friend of ours suggested we make a game to attract visitors to the site and stick ads on it like any good .com would. A few months later, we formally launched the math/logic game by posting it on Reddit.

The Game

It actually worked. We peaked at #7 on the front page and got about 20,000 visitors. Part of the game includes a database table to monitor the progress, and let me say, it was awesome to see the points from the game fly up ten to twenty points per second. In 24 hours, we made about $20 between our two ad providers just from click-throughs on ads. It partially covered our bandwidth bill and proved a successful stress test. The users also brought up some interesting things we were able to fix that day.

When you were logged in, the save button actually saved your score AND increased your points. Oops. Also, one of the games wasn't very fun for color blind people. We changed it to using a constant symbol so that those folks could play along and contribute. Sorry guys.

Admittedly, $20 isn't a huge amount of money. In the scheme of things, we're not going to be able to quit our day jobs. On the other hand, we're not exactly a high-overhead operation. Due to the support of our initial visitors, we were actually able to fix up one additional PC to go to the Boys and Girls club. That's a low payoff now, but what if that kid is the next Linus Torvalds?

I'd say it was worth it.

Finding A Home

It's been a while since we have added a new post. Since we're busy with our day jobs, we've been spending our spare time finding donors who have computers and monitors to spare. It took a while, but we finally obtained enough PCs to donate to children. After refurbishing the machines, by adding hardware and installing Ubuntu, we are ready to find homes for the new machines.

During our quest to find homes, we met up with a director at the Boys and Girls Club. We are excited to say that they are willing to work with us in finding children who would be grateful to give these machines new homes. The plan is, children who finish top in their class for a computer educational course will receive the gift of their own personal computers!

In addition to these plans, we have also created a game for people to play. We realize donations are a lot to ask for, although we're asking for them anyway ;-), so we decided to try to fund raise by letting people relax a little while learning math! Check out OP1C Math Game, it's fun and it helps kids. We got the idea from a friend in California, why not have people enjoy themselves as they help people. So hopefully, this will start a new way for organizations to help others, while letting everyone have a great time!

What about America?

While I think it's wonderful that Negroponte has created the OLPC program to get technology into the hands of children across the world, it always seemed to me there was something greater missing. When I was a child, my mom always said, "make sure your room is clean before you say someone else's is dirty". Well I feel this is true for an array of problems, one of them being able to try to give the gift of technology.

Again, I don't have anything against giving laptops to needy children, but what about America? Before we go and try to save the world, maybe we should go and try to save ourselves. In our colleges, technically inclined Masters Degrees are being earned by foreigners instead of our citizens. Jobs are being outsourced to foreign countries, not because they are cheaper but because our own children no longer seem to have an interest in it. If we're not careful, we may not be leaders in inventions and technology any longer.


All of this says that we need to educate our children. While school programs and computers in school are great for education, there's something direly missing in this equation. If you're in a computer profession you know exactly what I mean. I didn't learn to use a computer because there was a computer in the classroom, I learned to use a computer by taking apart the one I had at home. Thus, it is the goal of this organization to give everyone in America the opportunity to take apart their own computer. If the children of today become interested in their own machines, we will have secured the engineers of tomorrow.