Recently I posted about OLPC and the situation with their $100 laptop. After that article was published I found out about a company called NComputing, they are nothing to do with OLPC but have a similar aim – to put technology in the hands of people in the third-world.
After a bit of research it turns out the 2 are in quite a bit of a competition. Considering they are both trying to help the third-world I thought it would have all been friendly. But no, it turns out not so.
The long and the short of it is that the NComputing have what is called ‘Virtualization Technology’, it allows upto 7 users, each with their own monitor and peripherals to share a single computer simultaneously. Making it much more cost effective and the whole scheme more realistic than OLPC.
So at this moment in time it looks like NComputing is ahead of OLPC. If you want to check out articles of the rivalry I recommend the following articles:
NComputing Undercuts OLPC With Thin-Client Approach
NComputing pushes OLPC to one side in Indian schools deal
Stephen Dukker’s anti-OLPC Campaign, Rebuffed
This certainly looks like ony the beginning of the rivalry between these two organisations, they both have a long way to go so will be interesting to see how successful each one is in there mission.
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December 11th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Hi Chris,
Both NComputing and OLPC definitely are targeting the same markets … schools in emerging markets. The difference is that one is a laptop, and one is a “desktop” form factor. OLPC is promoting 1:1 computing, NComputing is promoting shared access through labs, and 1:1 computing if and when appropriate. Both solutions can obviously do both. The difference then with 1:1 is whether a portable notebook vs. a desktop solution is more appropriate.
It is my experience that in emerging markets, most governments are looking to do shared access labs first as 1:1 computing is too expensive when they need to maximize access based on limited budget. Even in mature markets, in the US, it is extremely rare to see 1:1 computing in K-12. Therefore, 1:1 computing as the ONLY focus faces an uphill battle.
Mark
I think the netbook shipment data for Q3 speaks volumes to this challenge. OLPC and Classmate are very low in the top 10 share of market and they are the only two companies that are focused primarily on education.
See the report here for more details: netbooktech.com/2008/12/08/netbooks-the-bright-spot-to-the-pc-industry/
And I’ll close by saying I truly appreciate the job OLPC and Intel (and Microsoft) have done with their respective evangelizing efforts, demonstrating the importance of computers in schools. It has helped opened the door for competitive solutions from relatively smaller companies, like NComputing, to come in and present alternative options. And no matter which solution wins at the end of the day, the schools and their students are winners.
Mark Beckford
VP of Global Business Development at NComputing