Oh Gregg Gillis, I gave you five dollars for Feed The Animals because I thought you cared about freedom (and because that got me the FLAC files). But then I saw a Microsoft advertisement on the Tube, something that said “I’m a PC” with your face next to it. It wasn’t really clear what exactly was being advertised, nor why a PC is good, nor what a “PC” is, something I’ve wondered for quite a while. What is clear to me, though, is that you suck for selling out in the worst possible way.
Following from my post here about the OLPC Give One Get One program (check it out at http://www.amazon.com/xo), I received this email today about a new ad that the OLPC foundation has put together:
Hello, and happy Thanksgiving from OLPC.
Help us change the world, one email at a time.
Our new commercial “Zimi” began airing on November 17th. Watch Zimi’s story to see how the life of a 7-year-old African girl can be changed by the XO:
While giving thanks this weekend for all that we have, share this story with friends and family and let them know about the opportunity to help children learn in the developing world.
And don’t forget to be part of the equation for change:
You might consider this Christmas season donating to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) campaign. If you donate $400, you can get one laptop for yourself to keep, but only if you donate during the brief give one, get one period. Of course, you can always donate without asking for a laptop in return.
The goal of OLPC is to create a laptop specifically for schoolchildren in developing nations. The idea is that only with free access to information (in concert with a good education) can we ensure a better future. The laptop itself is creative and intriguingly designed, in both hardware and software. It is not perfect, and the OLPC project recently experienced a resignation by a key player because of a violation of the project’s principles, but promoting this project is still a good thing. It is intended to be an education project as opposed to a laptop project, according to the project chairman, and this mission is worth advancing.
I urge you to consider donating to the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that funds, runs, and supports Wikipedia and its sister services. Only with universal, free access to information do true democracy, liberty, and equality have a chance in this world. This is your chance to help make it happen.
Posted by Jeffrey 
Posted by Jeffrey 
Posted by Jeffrey 
