PodcastsGadgetsTechWhy OLPC’s $100 laptop never stood a chanceOn Version History: David Imel and Adi Robertson debate if the OLPC XO-1 was innovative hardware or just a bad idea.On Version History: David Imel and Adi Robertson debate if the OLPC XO-1 was innovative hardware or just a bad idea.by Verge StaffSep 27, 2026, 12:25 PM UTCShareGiftThe idea was big, exciting, and inspiring: What if we could get every kid in the world access to a computer? For a bunch of thinkers and executives in Silicon Valley, it felt like the way to fix everything. But the One Laptop Per Child initiative, and the XO-1 laptop designed to be given away, were both more complicated than anyone expected.In the next episode of Version History, David Pierce is joined by The Verge’s Adi Robertson and tech journalist David Imel to figure out why OLPC didn’t work, whether there’s anything to learn from the XO-1’s innovative design, and if this kind of computer giveaway could ever succeed. We’re halfway through the fifth season of Version History and we’ve been touring the educational tech icons in schools.
If you missed hearing from the lead game designer of Oregon Trail or just how much The Verge’s Nilay Patel loved his TI-82 graphing calculator, check out those episodes here: :The Version History podcast feedThe Version History YouTube channelOur TikTok and Instagram accountsIf you’re a Verge subscriber, you can also get access to Version History (and all our other podcasts) with no ads. All you have to do is visit your account settings.If you want to know more about OLPC history, here are some links to get you started:From The Verge: OLPC’s $100 laptop was going to change the world — then it all went wrongFrom New York Times: Taking the Pulse of Technology at DavosFrom Gizmodo: OLPC Origins: US and Taiwan’s Hardware LovechildFrom Berkeley School of Information: Morgan Ames’ The Charisma Machine: A Deep Dive into One Laptop per ChildFollow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Verge StaffGadgetsLaptopsPodcastsTechVersion HistoryMost PopularOpenAI pauses training of its ‘most capable models’Leaks reveal a new Apple HomePod mini, iPad mini, and Apple TV 4KControl Resonant is a great game — it’s even better when you read everythingApple hit with $5.7 billion in damages over haptic patentsCan Apple Home’s AI camera features outsmart Amazon’s and Google’s? I put them to the testAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
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