What Do XBOXs and $100 Laptops Have in Common?

One way is they will both allow kids to play fun games together. However, I'm excited about the technology used. The XBOX wireless module is based on the same wireless mesh standard (IEEE 802.11g) as the XO laptop built by One Laptop Per Child (OLPC).

This wireless technology is one of the most interesting innovations coming out of the OLPC project is the laptop's "sensing" wireless-mesh network, as described in this video (minutes 14:40-21:25) by Mark J. Powers, Vice President, Engineering and Chief Architect of OLPC and a leading computer portables expert. Based on the IEEE 802.11b/g standard, this technology essentially allows each laptop to connect seamlessly to other laptops around it. And if one of those laptops has an internet connection, they all do. In techspeak, each laptop serves as an internet access point and router for the other laptops.

How does it work? Each embedded chipset receives and re-sends out a radio signal through the laptop's trademark "rabbit ears" antannaeto other laptops and allows packets of information to pass through it to the intended recipients on the network (as identified by each laptops hardware identification code). What's really cool is that the technology automatically detects the most economic route for information through the available computers, determined by the available signal strength between, and power level of, each computer.

Overcoming Islands of Connectivity
In remote locations, where there is no internet access, the OPLC has come up with a solution to deliver educational content (and possibly other kinds of data) to these rural or mountainous villages. OLPC has partnered with the satellite operator/giant SES-Astra which will broadcast the information (through DVBS, digital video broadcast for satellite) at designated times to small, low-power satellite boxes/receivers placed in schools. This path is a one-way street, but hey, it's better than utter disconnect from larger world. If there is an internet connection somewhere in the wireless area network (WAN), more laptops will quickly clog the connection. A long-term plan for internet connection, as described by Solar-powered access points and segmentation (using multiple frequency channels, or pointing antannaes in different directions.

Conclusion
The OLPC wireless mesh network is an innovative technology solution for sharing information between many mobile devices (i.e. kids running around with green machines and playing video games). however, there doesn't seem to be a good plan for connecting remote areas to the internet, allowing people to freely seek the information, web-based applications, and other content that they want and need.