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  • OLPC XO user interface demo vid hits the web

    by 
    Cyrus Farivar
    Cyrus Farivar
    11.24.2006

    While we saw the OLPC XO-1's OS emulation earlier this week, not everyone (including us) took the time to set up the necessary software needed in order to run it. Luckily, we've just gotten a better glimpse (via an online video on the next page) at how the XO's software actually runs. Although Linux-based, the XO-1's operating system appears to have been very much simplified, with menu bars and icons being kept to a bare minimum. Most notably, the entire desktop interface is entirely pictographic, with no title bar menus and very little in the way of pull down commands, which probably makes it easier to teach kids who may still be learning how to read. The YouTube video shows some of the various standard applications that come with the XO-1: Firefox, an unnamed instant messaging program, a variant of Abiword (word processing), and an application called eToys that looks like a combination of traditional computer games (such as Chinese Checkers) combined with something resembling the children's art program Kid Pix. One quick caveat to you soon-to-be-XO-1-toting Libyan kids: we will so pwn you at Chinese Checkers.[Via Slashdot]