OLPC XO hit with production delays

If you were all set to plop down $399 in order to bless some eager kid overseas (and your own inner-child) with an OLPC XO this year, your plans are now in serious jeopardy. Reportedly, some sort of production delay has pushed the approximate start date for manufacturing from this month to November 12th, meaning that it's highly unlikely any significant number of US / Canadian orders will be filled before Christmas. According to Mary Lou Jepsen, chief technology officer for the One Laptop per Child Foundation, it had "some last minute bugs" that have since been resolved, but now it'll be an uphill battle just to fill the initial orders placed by Peru and Uruguay in a timely manner. If it's any consolation, Jepsen did state that some folks in North America would probably get their machines before the year's end, but recommended that you "order early" if you're the totally impatient type normal.

[L. Cyphre @ Oct 24th 2007 8:33AM]

What apps did you test it with and how slow was it exactly? Web browser, text processor?

[L. Cyphre @ Oct 24th 2007 8:36AM]

Uhh, question to SuitCase of course.
Just add the damned 'delete' button already Engadget.

[SuitCase @ Oct 24th 2007 8:57AM]

I spent like 20 minutes with it. I only really got to use a few things, like the paint program, chat, web browser, and camera. Everything took like 10-20 seconds to appear, and screen elements would slowly draw themselves as you did anything. I wasn't really aware of how slow the Geode is, but it kinda reminded me of early Windows CE devices, it's that kinda slow.

But that was just part of the problem. I appreciate that they're trying to do a new, more universal UI, but I found it unbelievably confusing and frustrating. Everything is represented as a 16px monochrome icon and it's very difficult to get an understanding of what's going on.

[SuitCase @ Oct 24th 2007 8:52AM]

I played with one of these the other day, and I'm not entirely sure how one could justify $399 for one, even considering you're funding a second one in the purchase price. It's really so slow and confused.. it needs another year in development, and a much lower pricetag.

It has so many great ideas and features, but the keyboard and processor speed are just godawful - if African nations grow up using these, they're going to hail a 1995 PowerBook like a technological revolution.

[Bernhard @ Oct 24th 2007 7:36AM]

So in your opinion, this thing needs to be able to play doom in order to make it worth using for any educational purpose it was designed for? As for the educational bit, a machine capable of allowing a child access to porn sites would be more than enough to show that the Mesh Wi-Fi capability is sufficient for most uses (Wireless-Lan in a 1995 laptop?).

[SuitCase @ Oct 24th 2007 7:42AM]

Well, no, but a pocket calculator would serve an educational purpose too. All I'm suggesting is that I think the OLPC could offer much more value with a bit more work. Currently the OS is bizarre and half-baked, and various features (like the keyboard) are extremely awkward to use in a way that they shouldn't have to be.

The mesh wifi is fantastically done (the UI for that part is pretty great too) but it's only one part of a rather incoherent whole.

[CapnVan @ Oct 24th 2007 12:08PM]

@SuitCase:

Is the keyboard in standard American QWERTY? I'm just wondering if they've standardized on something that might work better for the nations where that's not the standard?

You mentioned that it's slow, which is something that I think the intended customers would put up with for vastly improved battery life. YMMV.

[jonouk @ Oct 24th 2007 12:09PM]

i bet kids hands are smaller than yours

[aeo @ Oct 24th 2007 10:53AM]

I know some kids in China that could toss those puppies together for 5 cents a day!

[SuitCase @ Oct 24th 2007 12:16PM]

The one I used was QWERTY.

I believe the battery life is pretty amazing, yeah. And I suppose they'd put up with it.. it just seems like it's more of a software issue than anything, though. It seemed like it was bloated and very unfinished.

[SuitCase @ Oct 24th 2007 12:16PM]

It wasn't key size that was the issue, it was the horrible gummy "chiclet" keys with almost zero tactile response. They are beyond awful.. I'd prefer to write on my iPhone than use that thing for more than a few letters at a time.

[WhatThe! @ Oct 24th 2007 6:47PM]

The Price is now $399!!! The price should be decreasing since they first introduced this PC. See how corporates capitalize on the world's poor! Shame!

[wyszkow @ Oct 25th 2007 6:32PM]

Any part of catholic 'Caritas' buy this machines? I would pay to caritas.