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My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw)
PJ got
her very own OLPC XO laptop. "I have one!!! Finally I get to
play with the OLPC laptop. It was a gift, and it was given to me in a
restaurant, where it created a stir, so there's a story to tell you. I
met, at their suggestion, a couple at a restaurant that has wireless, and
there it was. My very own XO. It's so tiny. So light. So cute. It's not all
green, by the way. When it's closed, it's white with green trim, with a
textured finish so it's not slippery, and it's soooo darling. It draws
you. I couldn't even eat until I tried it out."
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My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 28, 2007 19:51 UTC (Fri) by jd (guest, #26381) [Link] A nice article, covers the drawbacks (some of it is so intuitive for kids that it's almost adult-proof), the strengths, the FUD and the intelligent press. Apparently, the author of Gnu C++ is amongst the other winners, when it comes to the OLPC. Recent news coverage reinforces everything said in the article, especially that it is a kid magnet. So, all told, it seems like this has been a highly successful first release so far. (How successful will be determined by how many countries buy into it and for how much.)PJ's review and supplementary comments show clearly how much she is in love with the laptop. She borders on waxing poetical at times. This is a Good Thing. If technology cannot inspire, then it is merely a tool, a utilitarian device. If a man cannot live by bread alone, then a mind cannot live by utility alone. The best mind-foods are curiosity and inspiration. If this review is anything to go by, the OLPC provides both. This bodes very well indeed. Now, if the G1G1 is extended and the orders reach the point where the price drops...
Measure of OLPC's success Posted Jan 9, 2008 22:13 UTC (Wed) by Max.Hyre (subscriber, #1054) [Link] So, all told, it seems like this has been a highly successful first release so far. (How successful will be determined by how many countries buy into it and for how much.)Isn't success to be measured by, at least, the improvement in economic condition between OLPC-equipped children over their parents vs. the corresponding improvement for the OLPC-less? Perhaps better, but harder to measure, would be such improvement when measured in intellectual and artistic productivity (math theorems proved, diseases vanquished, symphonies written, &c.). Isn't that the point, after all?
My 9 year old is also a fan Posted Dec 28, 2007 22:32 UTC (Fri) by JoeBuck (subscriber, #2330) [Link] My 9 year old girl got her XO yesterday. She loves it, and needed very little help figuring it out. I'm not crazy about the small keyboard, but it is a beautifully designed machine for kids.
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 29, 2007 6:31 UTC (Sat) by Tracey (subscriber, #30515) [Link] I've been playing with one the past few days and am getting quite attached to it. The hardware and software are very innovative. The machine and operating system is well documented; the kind I only wish I could see in other machines/systems. It could be a hardware/software hackers delite, and will be very educational for a lot of kids out there(and 50+ year old kids like me).
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 29, 2007 0:17 UTC (Sat) by hamish (subscriber, #6282) [Link] Every time I read another one of these glowing articles it just makes me more annoyed that I was not able to find a shipping address in the U.S. so I could order one. Now I just have to wait and see if they are ever sold in Australia. I ended up getting an Eee PC for Christmas and most of my friends are convinced that it is a better machine - I want to get an OLPC so that I can demonstrate just how wrong they are because I am confident that it will blow the Eee PC away.
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 29, 2007 5:05 UTC (Sat) by dkite (guest, #4577) [Link] Having two choices and probably quite a few more in the coming year is amazing fun. Let's see, which linux machine that isn't designed around windows do I want? Oh, and you don't have to mortgage the house to get something light and portable. eeeuser.com is reporting that Asus has sold 350,000 so far. Maybe 2008 will be the Year of the Linux Portable. Derek (who enjoys his Eeepc)
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 29, 2007 10:13 UTC (Sat) by xuxa (guest, #29601) [Link] It's probably not possible to trust a total stranger with something like this, but if I could be of any help, I live in Los Angeles and could accept shipment for you then send it your way. I'm not sure how all the details should work but I love my OLPC and would be very happy to help someone else get his/hers. -- Kris Bergstrom kris <at> k--b <dot> org
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 29, 2007 13:02 UTC (Sat) by jordanb (subscriber, #45668) [Link] > I ended up getting an Eee PC for Christmas and most of my friends are > convinced that it is a better machine - I want to get an OLPC so that > I can demonstrate just how wrong they are because I am confident that > it will blow the Eee PC away. I've not used an Eee PC but I have used an OLPC. Depending on what you want to use it for I think the former probably *is* a better machine. The nice things about the OLPC are the screen and battery life. The crappy things about it (from the standpoint of an adult using it as a big PDA) are the keyboard and the Sugar interface. The keyboard is a one-piece rubber membrane. So even two finger typing (let alone touch typing) is pretty tedious. It was done that way to make it waterproof, I know, but I don't need waterproofing and would hate to type on it for any serious amount of time. The Sugar thing might be great for kids but I found it pretty obnoxious, just trying to do things like finding the terminal. If you have kids, then they probably will like the OLPC, but don't get it thinking it'd make a good machine for you to use.
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 29, 2007 14:53 UTC (Sat) by lisch (subscriber, #36574) [Link] I ended up getting an Eee PC for Christmas and most of my friends are convinced that it is a better machine - I want to get an OLPC so that I can demonstrate just how wrong they are because I am confident that it will blow the Eee PC away.The Eee PC is probably a "better" machine for an adult. The XO is probably a better learning tool for a child. Adults will be disappointed by the XO's lack of RAM, small keyboard, and simplified GUI. Children will not notice the small amount of RAM, will be much happier with the keyboard than with a full-sized one, and find the GUI easy to understand and navigate. Parents will appreciate the ruggedness of the XO. (Let me tell you from personal experience how difficult it is to clean baby spit-up out of the keyboard of a Toshiba laptop...)
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 30, 2007 16:33 UTC (Sun) by loening (subscriber, #174) [Link] I got to play with an XO on christmas day, a family friend had gotten their eight year old daughter one. This is a great computer for a child, she had taken to it like a fish to water, and it was tough to get away from her for a couple minutes to try it out myself. It definitely feels rugged, there are no internal moving parts, and the interface was simple enough that she was figuring out how the thing worked just by clicking around. Definitely a great educational toy for kids. As an adult, there are two things that would be serious issues to using this machine. First, its performance is definitely subpar. It has a web browser, but expect to have a great deal of patience when using it. Second, the keyboard is tiny. I have thin fingers, and I think I might be able to train myself to touch type on it if given enough time, but it would be a stretch. For the 80% of men who have thicker fingers then I have, don't even think about it.
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 29, 2007 1:35 UTC (Sat) by BrucePerens (subscriber, #2510) [Link] Now I understand what you have to do to meet PJ in person.
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 29, 2007 22:45 UTC (Sat) by i3839 (subscriber, #31386) [Link] Having a good reason helps. Or did you mean something else? Though it's unclear if she knew beforehand that she'd get the laptop.
My Very Own OLPC XO Laptop (Groklaw) Posted Dec 30, 2007 4:36 UTC (Sun) by BrucePerens (subscriber, #2510) [Link] PJ is afflicted by very severe shyness. She once went to Linuxworld and was able, but not easily, to nerve herself up to introduce herself to Jon. I was in that same room, but did not get to meet her.Bruce
PJ's shyness (veering off-topic) Posted Dec 30, 2007 17:54 UTC (Sun) by pr1268 (subscriber, #24648) [Link] > PJ is afflicted by very severe shyness. Interesting that you mention that... Having read Groklaw for several years now, I get the impression that PJ is outspoken on issues near and dear to her, almost to the point of extroversion (not meant as criticism). Not a trait I'd associate with being shy. Or, maybe she runs Groklaw partly as a means to deal with her shyness (nice coping strategy, IMO).
PJ's shyness (veering off-topic) Posted Dec 30, 2007 18:49 UTC (Sun) by BrucePerens (subscriber, #2510) [Link] There are lots of people who are more comfortable communicating with people over the internet than in person. It's almost a cliché of geek types.
PJ's shyness (veering off-topic) Posted Dec 30, 2007 20:42 UTC (Sun) by amikins (subscriber, #451) [Link] I can be reduced to incapacity by a room of five or six people, but can speak to dozens or more at once in a realtime interactive forum through digital means. The internet is an enabling technology for many things, and social aversion/anxiety is definitely one of them.
Veered off-topic Posted Dec 30, 2007 22:35 UTC (Sun) by i3839 (subscriber, #31386) [Link] The two ways of communications aren't very comparable. Saying that you feel uncomfortable with one, but have no problem with the other is like saying that you hate running, but do love swimming.
PJ's shyness (off-topic) Posted Dec 31, 2007 15:32 UTC (Mon) by johnkarp (subscriber, #39285) [Link] I wouldn't attribute the difference to anything intrinsic about being digital, more so to the lack of gaze required. For example, I once briefly walked in on an internet teleconference where all the remote video feeds filled a display wall. It was, for me, far worse than the in-person equivalent.
PJ's shyness (off-topic) Posted Jan 3, 2008 20:06 UTC (Thu) by lysse (subscriber, #3190) [Link] You might be onto something there. I suffer from almost-crippling social aversion myself, to the point of being pretty much asocial - I suspect shyness is a slightly different trait; I literally cannot stand having people around me most of the time - indeed, I spend far too much effort making sure I don't bump into my next door neighbours - and I find solitude both delightful and liberating. Communicating online, through the indirection of a pseudonym, is probably the only way I can actually *enjoy* a social life at all... but weirdly, in recent years even that has begun to be too much for me; I find myself overwhelmed by forums and things after just a few months, and I haven't ventured onto IRC for years. I think the root cause of it is simply that I just can't switch off; I can't tune out the bits of the world (or of my own consciousness) that are excess to my requirements in the way that lots of people seem to be able to. If there's a stimulus coming in, I can't make myself not pay attention to it... which means I end up in a tailspin of hypervigilance and self-consciousness.
PJ's shyness (off-topic) Posted Jan 10, 2008 22:14 UTC (Thu) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] This trait is detectable in autistics at the age of six months. It's almost certainly hardwired and unfixable. (yes, I have it too)
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