http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/ Engadget Comments for OLPC sells 150,000 laptops to public, may do Give1 Get 1 next year http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Dec 31st 2007 8:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
I placed my order within the first 3 minutes, so I got it on Dec 22nd, and I've been messing around with it. I have no idea how to access the SD card slot. I bought a 2gb card for it and put it in, but I can't seem to get file handling to do anything I want from within sugar. ]]>Jan 1st 2008 1:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/left corner, you should see an SD Card icon. Click on it and you can
view your files and install .xo packages. If you can't see the icon,
the card is not recognized (happens with card of 16MB and smaller,
and bigger than 2GB).

I recommend using a USB key instead of an SD card for frequent
transfers, because the SD slot is not easy to access.]]>Jan 1st 2008 4:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Dec 31st 2007 8:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Dec 31st 2007 9:56PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
An amazing little device for a good cause.]]>Dec 31st 2007 11:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
The video and audio recordings you make on it sound much better through real speakers (in my case, I used usb stick to transfer to my desktop). This while using the built in mic, so I imagine if you attach a separate mic it would be even better.

The web cam is good for basic limited functionality; however, there is a usb so support by stronger peripheral hardware should be increasing quickly (now with more machines out).

The software on the machines will continue to improve (including the python interpreter). The problem I found is that when I load up several of the larger apps, the laptop eventually gets a little flaky (I think it is a memory issue).

Overall, I feel great taking the XO with me on the road. It's light; easy to carry; great in sunlight and heat and humidity; much easier to type on than smaller handhelds; has all the basics (including a shell); has some activities that excel on these machines (since networks set up automatically and sharing is so easy); and with all of these things comes a greater peach of mind. Naturally, there are some limitations (not enough RAM or CPU power to be able to run some of the better apps now or in the future) but then you pay for some things so you expect to give up a few others for a given price. .. For the basics, it's a liberating machine.

I'll repeat this again. The software on these machines will continue to improve, especially with a lot more developers now getting their hands on them. In time all the basic apps that aren't hogs (including slim versions of almost any app) will run on this. Then, as long as you run just one (big) app at a time, things should be fine.
]]>Jan 1st 2008 12:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/things I can't live with: The OS, and the tiny keyboard. I have
trouble typing on even a small laptop keyboard (11", for example),
and while I do use linux occasionally and can appreciate it, I can't
deal with it's over-cingularized, under-intuitive UI.]]>Jan 1st 2008 5:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Dec 31st 2007 10:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
As far as the G1G1 program, well part of the draw there is the donation and to get something special on its first offering (and to help the effort along in its early more trying days). Aside from that it is competitive if arguably not the best deal on the market @ $430 (including shipping and tax). It may be the best deal, but that depends on your needs.
]]>Jan 1st 2008 12:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
I agree with your comments about the XO features. I hope some of it's functional/design elements trickle up to consumer laptops.

Over all I decided that those features, as currently packaged, would shine in the challenging target market they were designed for, and not my daughters bedroom :)



]]>Jan 1st 2008 6:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/------------------------------

umbrage (ŭm'brĭj)
n.
1. Offense; resentment: took umbrage at their rudeness.
2.
1. Something that affords shade.
2. Shadow or shade. See synonyms at shade.
3. A vague or indistinct indication; a hint.]]>Dec 31st 2007 10:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Dec 31st 2007 10:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Dec 31st 2007 11:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
You are probably right that assuming you are willing to sacrifice having one (you are happy with something smaller or something larger) then you can find better deals if you look out for them. The biggest problem with these machines I think is the amount of RAM; however, there may be software bugs or sw that is not yet optimized (eg, weak areas here or there plus Python in cases C would be best) since 256MB is not that little if you have swap. Of course, swap to flash is not ideal either. In theory there should be no problem adding slower memory (through USB) to be able to run larger apps. [Even this slower memory is much faster than disk, btw.] So through USB thumb drives or something similar, I expect that large applications will be able to run on this.

But the key here is that on the road, most people are usually willing to sacrifice some power. If they aren't, then they probably are willing to spend $1000+ for a laptop. Don't compare the XO to those.

Anyway, people that don't develop probably don't realize that immature platforms have more room to improve than more mature platforms. The XO is running a lot of sw that most people don't run because it is new. This means there are more bugs than in some other cases and areas where optimizations are still to be made.

Also, this machine is very open. The software improvements made by the community can occur down to very low levels. Normal laptops will always carry more baggage and have to deal with a certain amount of proprietary inefficiencies that the proprietary vendor will never get around to fixing.
]]>Jan 1st 2008 1:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Jan 1st 2008 6:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Jan 1st 2008 12:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Jan 3rd 2008 1:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Human_Interface_Guidelines and http://dev.laptop.org/

I also suggest for now that you try and use as few apps at one time as possible in the XO. Also, browsing worked quite well for me, but you may want to download the adobe flash plugin (see http://www.laptop.org/en/laptop/start/troubleshooting.shtml ).
]]>Jan 1st 2008 1:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
The sealed keyboard is a perfect size for her tiny fingers and the bright green color makes her more comfortable because it looks like her other "toys." While the OLPC may be underpowered for most adults and people with more serious applications, I'm convinced it is exactly what my daugher needs to gain her earliest experience with computing. The only thing I would change about it would be a faster boot time.

Oh, and you can play Doom on it.

-rob]]>Jan 1st 2008 1:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
Other cheap laptops (such as the Asus EEE) lack the sunlight-friendly screen, tablet mode, integrated game controllers, durable shell, code reviewer (integrated with the GUI and apps), and water proof/resistant keyboard. All of those are important features in a kid's laptop, even in a developed nation. And there's also the XO's mesh networking and the EEE's 50% price premium (assuming you don't mind donating $200 to charity).

This is like all other gadgets: it has some compromises and whether or not it's suitable for you depends on your needs. ]]>Jan 1st 2008 8:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Jan 1st 2008 9:23AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
VERY nice machine, very impressive for the price-point. I was impressed with the usability of the machine out of the box (yes, they keyboard takes some time to get used to) and the wide range of apps that come bundled (how many machines come with an audio trainer in the form of a digital oscilloscope?!).

The mesh network concept works _well_; adding apps is currently clumsy, but getting better; and WPA support currently involves a trip to the shell. The next kernel/Sugar release is addressing all of this and more.

Kudos to the folks behind the machine!]]>Jan 1st 2008 12:09PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/Jan 1st 2008 10:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/31/olpc-sells-150-000-laptops-may-do-give-one-get-one-next-year/
As for the laptop itself. I do not expect the XO to be the laptop of my dreams, but rather the Model T of a new species of laptops; no hard drive; no ridiculous OS that requires 2 gigs of Ram to run effectively, rechargable in a variety of ways, mesh network, durable, sturdy, user friendly with built in camera, USB slots, SD slot, tablet hinges and choice of using b&w or color screen. And the truth is I haven't even listed half of the features which separate this so far from what we now call "laptops" I am not saying that the XO is better than our present laptops. I am saying that the XO reimagines what a laptop could be and how much a laptop should cost AND that this reimagining is VERY exciting! Don't belittle it because it isn't as "powerful" as a Vaio or even a triple e. Not too long ago our hard drives were cassettes. Windows 3.1 ran on my computer with a 20mb hard drive with lots of space for my other apps. If you must compare the XO, compare it with those computers of long ago, the Radio Shacks, the PHPs, The 286s or 386s. Basically, the question is "As the first of its kind, has the XO achieved its goals?" Obviously it has not achieved the price it wanted, but from what I have heard it has done remarkably well as a piece of hardware. The software is catching up. I can't wait to get mine and quite frankly I can't wait to see the XO of 2018.

By the way I have really appreciated the comments of deslock and hozelda. Thank you both.]]>Jan 2nd 2008 8:49PM