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OLPC's XO Generation 1.5 Laptop handled, speed tested - on video!
The lucky kids at the OLPC Learning Club DC got paid a visit by a man sporting a beefed up XO 1.5 laptop recently and was kind enough to put on a little show for the group. Featuring a VIA C7-M 1GHz variable speed processor, the update to the classic XO machine promises full screen video playback, faster eToys and scratch animation, more storage for a larger offline library, better image capture and remixing, and an all-around better Java experience. In an admittedly unscientific (but still pretty sweet) side by side comparison, the XO 1.5 (left) was able to boot up and launch eToys (a real memory hog) before the XO 1.0 had booted up all the way -- this despite the fact that the 1.5 was started a little later, and that the 1.0 is overclocked to 500MHz. We're looking forward to seeing more red hot XO 1.5 action as the release date grows nigh -- in the meantime, the video below will have to tide us over. Enjoy!
Oddly humble Negroponte lists OLPC's failures, calls Sugar a 'mistake'
The noble goal of a $100 laptop for developing nations has come to fruition -- but of course at a higher cost and later date than expected. One Laptop Per Child has succeeded in delivering 900,000 XO laptops into the hands of kids, but that's a far cry from the many millions expected and Chairman Nicholas Negroponte is pulling no punches in describing what went wrong. He's still bitter at Intel, claiming it worked to "spoil the market," and angry about many nations cutting back on large deals. But, he isn't just lashing outwardly, calling the custom Linux-based operating system that runs the XO, a "mistake," saying "Sugar should have been an application" of the sort it has now morphed to be with Sugar on a Stick. Too little too late? OLPC has already made massive staff cuts and sales from the Give One, Get One program dropped 90 percent last year. With machines like the EduBook selling for $160 to institutions and able to run common operating systems, we're not seeing the future get any more bright for this little green guy.[Via Slashdot]
Sugar Labs' 'Sugar on a Stick' OS available for any and all
The last time we heard from Sugar Labs, its "Sugar on a Stick" project (a tidied-up build of Sugar OS which can be run live from a CD or USB drive) was just entering beta. Apparently all the company needed to take that version to a release-ready state was a month (give or take). A full, free version of Sugar is now available in a 383MB ISO file for anyone to take advantage of -- though the company is obviously setting its sights firmly in the direction of the education market as usual. The OS -- previously designed for the OLPC XO, but now targeted to any PC or Mac schools have lying around -- is based on the newly released Fedora 11, and is in a "Strawberry" release meant for real world classroom testing. The feedback the company receives on this edition will apparently be incorporated into a future version destined for your hands and eyes at the end of the year. In the meantime, you can take SoaS for a spin... ASAP. [Via Ars Technica]
Apple lands OLPC security whiz -- more secure products on the way?
Twitter tipster Rich Mogull of TidBITS provided us with a ping pointing to ZDNet's Zero Day page, where blogger Ryan Naraine broke some good news today. The news? The ex-director of security architecture for the One Laptop Per Child project, Ivan Krstic (at right), has gone to work for Apple. He'll be focusing his attention on core operating system security. Krstic's innovative Bitfrost security specification, part of the overall OLPC initiative, essentially negates the effect of any virus by running every program on the computer in its own virtual operating system. By doing this, no malware can spy on user keystrokes, futz with files, or steal data. According to a 2007 article by Naraine, Bitfrost has five primary goals, all of which are targeted at making the OLPC one of the most secure platforms available: No user passwords -- the security of the device cannot depend on the user's ability to remember a password No unencrypted authentication -- no cleartext passwords, no use of Ethernet MAC addresses for authentication Out-of-the-box security -- The device should be secure out of the box, without the need to download security updates if at all possible Limited institutional Public Key Infrastructure -- Don't rely on public keys to validate the identity of device owners No permanent data loss -- Information is to be replicated to some centralized storage place so it can be recovered if the device is stolen, destroyed, or lost While we may not know what the far-reaching implications of Krstic's work at Apple may be for a while, we can only hope that his hiring points to much more secure Apple products in the future.
PeeWee debuts drop and spill-resistant Pivot Tablet Laptop
At first glance, PeeWee PC's Pivot Tablet Laptop is a formidable rival to the long-standing OLPC XO. Unfortunately, the lofty price tag puts it in a class of its own, but it's still a solid machine for those looking to a learn a bit (or just give their kids a wholesome distraction). Debuting today, the three pound convertible tablet boasts a spill and drop-resistant shell, a carry handle, a presumed 10-inch touchscreen display and a 6-cell Li-ion battery. Within, you'll find a 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU, 1GB of RAM, two USB 2.0 ports, a 60GB HDD, 1.3 megapixel camera, Ethernet, WiFi, Windows XP Home, a proprietary security suite to keep kids from picking up a new favorite stalker and ten age appropriate software and game titles. If your kid's been bugging you for a new netbook, you can quell the squealing by snapping one of these up today starting at $599.99. Full release is after the break.
Sugar Labs debuts "Sugar on a Stick" beta, for LiveUSB-derived diabetes
After offering Sugar for the past while as an interface to run on top of your Linux distro of choice, Sugar Labs is prepping "Sugar on a Stick," a Fedora 11-based LiveUSB distro that boots most any PC from a 1GB+ USB stick and lets a user carry their Sugar environment, files and settings wherever they roam. While the beta is currently up for download, there seem to be plenty of kinks to work out, but as the team expands and refines hardware support, we could see this potentially being more of a boon for education than the XO-1 itself; turning any PC into a Sugar PC, not just the dramatically green ones. It's also nice to see how speedy Sugar can be free from the bonds of AMD Geode -- even Atom provides quite a bit of relative pep. Check out a quick (and slightly hyperactive) hands-on video from OLPC News after the break.
India bids mythical $10 laptop adieu, turns to OLPC
What's worse than a $10 laptop that winds up costing $30? A $10 $30 laptop that's not really a laptop at all. India is shrugging off the disappointment surrounding its apparent failure to bring home-grown tech to its youth, but thankfully isn't giving up on the kids, ordering a whopping 250,000 OLPC XO laptops. Waiting this long to drink the Negroponte Kool Aid means 1,500 schools will get the latest and greatest models, featuring VIA C7-M processors and bumped up storage. The plan is for a total of three million portable computers for Indian schools this year, and while it's unclear just how many will be little, green, and different, that's a whole lot of lappys regardless.
XO Generation 1.5 promises some beefed up internals while we wait for XO-2 to change everything
We're pretty stoked to see that upcoming dual-screen sequel to the XO, OLPC's promised XO-2. Until then, OLPC is sprucing up the insides of its current design with a new VIA C7-M processor that can be clocked between 400MHz and 1GHz depending on the task at hand. Alongside the new processor the "Generation 1.5" model will sport a hot new VX855 chipset that can handle 3D graphics, HD video, and general management duties, and should be able to do it with a smaller footprint and less power consumption. The screen will likely remain the same, but might be tweaked slightly to improve brightness and efficiency, and the whole package should be built with components that will be more likely to drop in price. Developers should get the main board by May, with prototypes for testing going out in August and we suppose wide availability sometime after that.
I-Slate's probabilistic chip-powered tablet PC for the OLPC set
Researchers have developed a solar-powered, WiFi, stylus-controlled tablet PC called I-Slate, which makes use of the probabilistic CMOS technology designed by Dr. Krishna Palem and his team at Rice University. Introduced to the world this week at the IEEE's 125th Anniversary event, the machine is designed to replace the old chalk slates apparently still used in some parts of the world (and on re-runs of Little House On The Prairie) with something that can download lesson plans and help children with their math, among other things. But this is just the beginning -- Dr. Palem and the gang are looking forward to the day when the chips find a home in all sorts of gadgets, from cellphones to televisions and beyond. Prototype slates should start making the rounds in India this spring.
OLPC eyes ARM processors for the XO-2
According to an interview in PC World, the OLPC crew are looking to adopt ARM processors for the next iteration of their feel good laptop. Its extremely low power draw and the system on chip possibilities make this move a no-brainer, until you consider the fact that plans for the XO-2 call for a dual-boot Linux / Windows machine -- as of yet, Microsoft has declined to make a full-blown Windows OS for ARM. Then again, as Nicholas Negroponte states, the newest OLPC machine is still 18 months away, and "a lot can change with regard to Microsoft and ARM" in that time. We hope it does -- we would hate to see the Third World's computing needs left to those $10 laptop guys. You know what a disaster that turned out to be![Via OLPC News]
OLPC-toting Rwandan students flock to airport for free WiFi
OLPC may be facing some tough times as of late, but there's no denying that the little-laptop-that-could has made an impact where it's been distributed, as evidenced by this latest indication of the project's reach in Rwanda. Apparently, in addition to helping students with their schoolwork, the laptop is also teaching them the fine art of finding free WiFi, and this particular group seems to have quickly discovered that the Kigali International Airport is one of the best spots in town. And just what are they using the laptops to look up in their time outside the classroom? Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme, who, coincidentally, also brings the world together in his own special way.[Image courtesy Anna Koblanck / DN.se, thanks Jonas]
India's $10 laptop coming February 3rd, take that Negroponte
Get ready, India's $10 laptop is set for its first unveiling on February 3rd. Ok, so it's not quite $10... $20 actually, but that's far better than the $100 some were estimating. It's also much better than the $200 per OLPC XO deal that Negroponte wanted to reportedly charge the Indian government more than 2 years ago -- an offer rejected by officials with a promise to young Indians to do it better and for less. According to some reports (we can't find anything official), the laptop will feature 2GB of memory, WiFi, fixed Ethernet, expandable memory, and consume just 2 watts of power. The Devil's in the details, they say, but with any luck, India will be swimming in cheap silicon within the next 6 months if the project can keep to schedule... that's a big IF.[Via TechTicker, image courtesy of FMCKids]Read -- Unofficial specsRead -- February 3rd unveiling
Negroponte raps about OLPC 2: 'designed as if we were Google'
Well, our interest was certainly piqued by that OLPC XO-2 mockup that surfaced yesterday, and now the Guardian is saying that the hardware development will take place open source. This is certainly fitting with the company's idealistic ethos, and it'll be interesting to see what other companies bring to the table as the reportedly $75 dual-screen device gets closer to real reality. "The XO-1 was really designed as if we were Apple," Nicholas Negroponte says in the interview. "The XO-2 will be designed as if we were Google - we'll want people to copy it. We'll make the constituent parts available. We'll try and get it out there using the exact opposite approach that we did with the XO-1." He let a few details slip too, saying that it will be dual touchscreen, with one of the displays featuring a touch-sensitive, force-feedback, haptic keyboard. When asked how he feels about the possibility that other companies might profit from all this hard work developing the laptop of tomorrow? "I wouldn't complain." Class act, that one. Bravo.[Via Make]
OLPC 2.0 dual touchscreen mockup surfaces in the wild
What we're staring at here is apparently the first "in the wild" shot of the promised dual touchscreen OLPC 2.0. As far as we can tell (thanks, Mr. Blurrycam), we'd wager this is a purely non-working mockup, since that "touchscreen" looks a bit too much like "glued-on paper" to us, but we're really short on info otherwise. What is encouraging here is that apparently someone is taking this dual screen idea seriously, and it's hard to deny that such an improbable form factor could really end up being the shot-in-the-arm this project needs.
OLPC "refocuses" its mission, cuts staff by 50%
We've already seen quite a few shakeups at OLPC, but it looks like things have taken a considerably more drastic turn today, with Nicholas Negroponte himself announcing that the organization is "refocusing its mission" by cutting its staff by about 50% and giving the remaining 32 folks a cut in pay. But that's not all, OLPC will also apparently be "passing on the development" of the Sugar OS to the community, and it'll be increasingly shifting its focus toward the Middle East, Afghanistan, and Northwestern Pakistan as it spins off its operations in Latin America and Africa. Negroponte does say, however, that OLPC will continue to focus on the development of its second generation platform, and it apparently even hopes to bring the cost of the laptop down to zero for the least developed countries. Hit up the link below for the complete announcement.[Via OLPC News]
John Lennon eerily returns to push OLPC cause
John Lennon may have departed this planet 28 years ago, but that's not to say he can't still have an impact. With the assistance of technology and the consent of Yoko Ono, the heralded Beatle has returned in a new OLPC spot. In the ad, the late musician proclaims: "Imagine every child no matter where in the world they were could access a universe of knowledge. They would have a chance to learn, to dream, to achieve anything they want." If this sounds like just the inspiration you needed to get your donation on, hop on past the break to see the vid in its entirety.[Via Laptop Mag]
Amazon OLPC orders in danger of cancellation -- think of the children!
When Amazon got in on the Give 1, Get 1 OLPC plan, where generous lovers of little green machines could chip in $399 to donate one XO to the cause while also getting a new toy for their children (or themselves), it was unclear exactly when the things would be delivered. The answer, according to Amazon at least, is "not soon enough." The company's UK wing is indicating that orders are in danger of being canceled if OLPC doesn't get off its charitable fanny and start mailing 'em. Amazon has a strict policy of shipment within 30 days and has sent out a flurry of warning missives as that period draws to a close. We're inclined to think that this is just an automatic system on Amazon's side and that the company will give an extension prior to dropping the hammer. After all, when it comes to the whole "delivery of product" thing, it hasn't exactly done so well in meeting consumer demand itself.Update: ChristophD from One Laptop Per Child News commented to let us know that OLPC is shipping some little lappys now, missing Amazon UK's cut-off by one whole day. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!
Pixel Qi conjuring up black magic technology for 40-hour laptops
Sure, you can go out and get yourself a laptop right now that'll go 12.5-hours strong, but what if your portable computer could nearly outlast your Aigo A215? While L's mythical quad core lappie came close in theory, Mary Lou Jepsen's (the former CTO at OLPC) startup is hoping to eventually create a machine that can last between 20 and 40-hours between charges. Pixel Qi is being pretty closelipped right now (and understandably so) about what exactly it has going on, but we get the idea the secret sauce is in a highly efficient display that will require far less power than traditional LCDs. The best part? We could see one of these longevous notebooks in the pipeline as early as 2H 2009, so we'd probably start stocking up on Red Bull right about now.
Amazon's Give 1, Get 1 OLPC XO program now live
You know the drill: for $399 you buy one OLPC XO laptop and a second is sent to a child somewhere in the developing world. Same deal as last year only now with the help of Amazon's powerful retail reach. Devices begin shipping in about 30 days -- a bit longer outside the US. Naturally you can also just gift the $199 laptop direct to a kid of OLPC's choosing. About the quickest way to become a donor short of meeting a hotel stranger in possession of roofies and a bathtub full of ice. [Via PC World]Read -- US site (live) Read -- UK site for rest of world (limbo)
Europe also getting a taste of OLPC sugar on Monday
The OLPC, Give One Get One program is heading to Europe on November 17th -- the same day the deal kicks off in the US. Thanks to the Amazon hook-up, 27 EU nations as well as Switzerland, Russia, and Turkey can grab an XO laptop at a cost of about £268 / €313. That's one XO running Sugar (not XP) for you and one for a child in a developing nation... other than your own.
