Two students’ outstanding work with a computer project to help educate children in developing countries has led to a corporate gift of $500,000 to the Open Source Lab at Oregon State University.
RealNetworks, Inc., was inspired to make a donation to OSU after becoming acquainted with sophomores Michael Burns and Justin Gallardo, volunteer software programmers for One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). This international venture aims to create a children’s laptop that costs $100 – making it affordable for governments to purchase one for every child. Countries including Brazil, Nigeria, Rwanda and Thailand have signed on, with 1 million units ordered as of February 2007.