I got an OLPC XO computer, and am disappointed with the software. Application platforms have evolved over time from batch processing to the Internet. It is a LAN system in the Internet age.

The XO features innovative hardware and support for sharing on a LAN is "baked in," but it is not Internet ready. In areas where good Internet connectivity is not available, that will not matter, but in areas where it is, XO desktop applications will seem lame compared to their Internet-based counterparts. The user interface also has problems that will confuse kids and crashes can result in geek-diagnostic messages.

Nicholas Negroponte has expressed confidence that the market will bring connectivity to poor areas of developing nations, but the evidence does not support his optimism. The XO rollout should be coordinated with connectivity (as is being done in Uruguay), and a strong development community and development tools are needed to make it ready for kids and the Internet. An XO (or Intel Passport or any other machine) is obsolete without the Internet -- second rate technology for the third world.

For more, see:
http://cis471.blogspot.com/2008/01/olpc-lan-machine-in-internet-era.html.