• one laptop per child

I've written a brief post, with some pics and links, explaining the sugar UI on my blog: community user interface

The intel Classmate is very nice and schools will benefit from using it.

Although there is a certain sense in which the Classmate and the OLPC XO can be compared they really aren't aimed at the same markets.

The HW design of the XO is dominated by achieving low power consumption so that children can use it away from school even in areas that are not on the electricity grid. About a third of the world's population still lives in such absurd conditions, including about half of the world's school age children (much less than half of school students, much more than half of kids deprived of education). OLPC didn't want to go for initial sales in developed countries like US because exceptionally low power consumption is not a major advantage in such countries where the kids already have PCs at home.

The Classmate has a battery life of 3-4 hours. It is intended for classroom use as a school computer not a Children's computer. This is from the description accompanying the video:

A special "model" classroom was set aside specifically for this project, and 46 Intel based-classmate PCs were allocated for student use along with Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPCs) for each of the five participating teachers. One class from each of three grade levels (3rd, 6th, and 9th grades), rotating through the classroom and shared the devices.

That is the approach that will be favoured by many countries as all they can afford and all they are interested in doing. It simply does not address the problem of most of the kids currently being deprived of education and will have no better results than those of "computer classes" in developed country schools (which are better than nothing but nowhere near the effect of kids having computers and internet connections at home).

BTW the reference to UMPCs for teachers is amusing. There's already a linux UMPC (Pepper Pad rec retail USD $700) with same chipset as XO.  OLPC is recommending that XO developers implement Sugar on it for experience and Pepper is implementing their software on the XO as a contribution to the OLPC project.

Its certainly true that WIntel is looking worried by OLPC. What I find interesting about Microsoft implementing Windows on the XO is that it actually pushes intel towards delivering a chipset more like the AMD Geode with a focus on low power consumption. Microsoft have implemented the power saving functions of the OLPC in Windows, which would require a significant amount of work on it. (OLPC had to do a lot of work on linux to get to the point where they can suspend to RAM and resume in 160msec, with a target of getting down to 100msec) . Current laptops just can't do that while continuing to display stuff on the screen. This combines with being able to freeze the innovative dual mode display when in greyscale mode that can be read in ambient light without drawing power for the TFT backlight and with a System On Chip Wifi that can relay traffic through a WiFi mesh while the CPU is suspended. These (plus ruggedization, which the Classmate also lacks) are what makes it possible for kids to take it home in a village without electricity and remain connected.

Presumably Wintel does have plans to produce cheap laptops with an intel CPU that can do the same as the AMD Geode based XO. Implementing fast suspend to RAM for Windows on the XO means others will have to provide HW that can do the same and achieve similar levels of battery life to the XO. Meanwhile Education Ministries that have been (justifiably) nervous about selecting HW that cannot run Windows if they ever do want to, no longer have to worry about that.

Dalek's claim to be a "linux wonk" and to regard it as "a very interesting development" that the Classmate will also run Linux is a classic. It would be pretty hard to find computers with those chipsets that can run Windows XP and cannot run Linux.

Incidentally the intel chipset used by the Classmate has a similar (comprehensive) level of integration to the AMD Geode chipset used by the XO (but not oriented to minimum power consumption).

The interesting development is that Windows can now do long battery life via suspend to RAM on AMD Geode chipsets with the new display technology and a WiFi System On Chip that runs a mesh autonomously while the CPU is suspended. That gives a major boost to the concept and implies future much wider availability of cheap PCs that can be deployed in villages still off the grid and off the net.

The Sugar UI can of course be implemented on any such hardware (and is already available and in use by developers with all sorts of PCs, most of whom do not have XOs).

PS Bill I've just posted some comments on Teacher PCs and VGA Connectors to the OLPC wiki discussion about school server requirements. Please checkout whether that makes sense from a teacher's perspective. If so, any action from teachers to raise the issue directly with OLPC staff currently finalizing the case design for next build could be quite urgent. I'm worried that it simply hasn't been thought through and they may not have time to think it through or even have it drawn to their attention as this week's OLPC community news reports (items 4 and 5) that they already have  samples for the B3 design and CTO Mary Lou Jepson is already working on finalizing the mechanicals.

Arthur, why waste your time with sad insults?. Are you really so insecure?  I know that any system that can run XP or one of the cut down Microsoft OS's can run Linux, but not always vice versa. We run Linux on an ARM (in a SOC) colour display with a touch screen, flash memory etc etc as a web enabled controller for stuff.

dalek

Open source. The real issue with operating systems is the openess of the source code. OLPC people are right to try to hold out for access to this but I think the chances of microsft making it available are zero. If the OLPC project gets to be as big as it should be (billions) then the source code must be open. The attraction of Linux (aside from it's Unix roots and its resistance to malicious attack) is that the code is free and free to modify so long as you publish the mods (put simply).

I have never been able to understand how otherwise responsible people can reccomend the purchase of a system (a building for example) yet be unable to examine the foundations. Even at $4:00 it is a bad buy, because , very quickly, microsoft will have to take control of OLPC software to supress the virii and worms that will emerge.

 

If OLPC supports windows without access to the source code they are ceding control of the education of the world's children (under the OLPC scenario) to microsoft and thus the US. Oh now I see why lS are such strong supporters of OLPC. Silly me.

Dalek.

 

 

dalek,

OLPC is 100% open source and you are a 100% loudmouth buffoon who should stop writing until you have done some reading.

Arthur, your abuse hardly becomes a gentleman dilettante.

Arthur, you know that once the OLPC laptop becomes microsoft capable it is inevitable that most of the governments who sign up will sign up for a microsoft package at US$4. They will do this because they will be leaned on the way  governments are leaned upon to use Bills stuff. For example: http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2002/07/54141

On the other hand ; http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01EED9143EF936A3575AC0A9649C8B63

It seems that some countries are fighting back.  As you know virtually every "friendly" government uses microsft in its IT systems. Maybe Negroponte is responding to a bit of filial pressure to do the "right thing" by his imperial masters eh?

I would say that most of the OLPC machines will go out with Windows.

Dalek.

 

 

 

arthur wrote:

OLPC is 100% open source ...

The Marvell 88W8388 chip requires some proprietary firmware
- the jem report

The Fortune magazine article I cited earlier does quote Negroponte as follows, (having to repeat myself here):

Microsoft has five or so XOs working in its research labs, and, according to Poole, has sought repeatedly to interest Negroponte in using Windows. But OLPC's position has been that while it wants Windows, it would only take it if it were open-sourced. That, Poole says firmly and unsurprisingly, Microsoft would never do. But Thursday when I asked Negroponte point blank if he still insisted on open-sourcing Windows as a condition for it running on the XO, he answered clearly: "No."

The reason appears to be that as the date approaches for firm commitments of big bucks, many interested countries are simply unwilling to risk hundreds of millions of dollars on an unproven machine. "There's enough interest from the countries for us to make sure it boots both," Negroponte says. As Microsoft's Poole points out, no government leader wants to be known as the one who bought their country's kids a million underpowered laptops that don't run decent software.

Dalek,
 I don't think Microsoft is as strong as you are suggesting. For example, see Paul Graham's recent assessment, Microsoft is Dead

Bill, the link "Microsoft is dead" is very interesting. Thanks. Microsoft has a stranglehold on high level software for ordinary industrial and commecial purposes. Many data bases, ERP and specialised CAD systems all run only under windows because windows is the incumbent. There are specialised very high end CAD systems (mostly for chip design)  that use UNIX (because windows cannot cut it). Many firms that I know have really tried to find linux solutions for high end applications, but unless you are willing to write/modify them yourself there is not much you can buy, but the situation is gradually improving.

 

Microsoft seem to be adopting the Krupps approach - make every government your client. That is the danger for open source OLPC software.  BTW The Apple OS on OLPC - now that would be something. 

Dalek

Scratch app makes kids web-whizzes

MIT Media Lab software Scratch is easy-to-use tool for interactive projects

MIT Media Labs has released Scratch, a new programming language designed to make it easy for children to create stories, games, music and animation for the Web.  More

*******

Uruguay youngsters receive batch of OLPC XOs.  See engadget.

Bill, the direct quote from Negroponte confirms my point that being able to boot Windows provides critically important reassurance for buyers. The Fortune reporter's paraphrases and interpretations demonstrate incomprehension.

When OLPC said it would consider being based on Windows if it was open source that meant "when hell freezes over" and "we are a 100% Free and Open Source shop". It never meant they would not want the HW to be able to boot Windows (obviously intended from start given choice of AMD Geode x86 compatible chipset).

BTW they were offered Mac OSX free and knocked it back despite underlying FOSS  Darwin/XNU core OS and kernel because they really are hard core about 100%.

Jem report of rms and TdR remarks does convey impression 99% more accurate than 100% but I was fully aware of the WiFi firmware issue when I said 100% OSS (not 100% Free).

Interview confirms that TdR BSDish OSS requirements will be fully met. jg said:

Free to distribute the blob is a done deal, as I understand it, other than getting the wording right...

Like rms I am disappointed there will be a delay before FOSS firmware can be written for the chip itself. I happen to be particularly interested in enhancements at the MAC layer myself and frustrated by already having had some time wasted by not being able to just lookup details.

But they are clearly committed to enabling that as soon as they can (and have already made FOSS drivers possible for the camera, SDIO flash interface and WiFi System On Chip that were not possible before).

Apart from the CPU microcode itself, Generation 1.5 XO is already a big step towards eliminating proprietary firmware as well as OS and apps. Just not as final a step as rms had hoped. Will still be a long way to fully open HW including CPU and other chip designs.

PS dalek still writes without reading so not worth responding to.

David, I downloaded "Scratch" it is really fun and actually useful. I can imagine that a group of kids would be mavens in a few hours. (I used to give my then 14 year old new software to learn, then he would teach me).

 

The OLPC people should not have pissed off Apple, there is a vast amount of really good software for kids on that platform. But then the dilettantes of this world are so in love with microsoft. 

 

 

Scratch is very good but not part of the OLPC. It's a fork from Etoys/Squeak, which is part of the OLPC. Not sure why you posted about it to this thread, David. (I did blog about scratch, here)

Well you posted the reference it under OLPC. I am mostly interested in content not the technicalities; except as they impact upon content.

Dalek

OLPC is on the verge of being big news

Linux-powered OLPC on "60 Minutes" May 20
Desktop Linux Fri, 18 May 2007 5:12 PM PDT
CBS TV's "60 Minutes" will feature the Linux-powered OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) device on Sunday, May 20 at 7 p.m. EDT/PDT.  
 

An email I received on June 7 from the Chief Information Officer in the (Australian) Northern Territory Dept of Employment, Education and Training suggests a reasonable awareness of OLPC and thought being given to future acquisition for indigenous  communities.

They received two units back in January with limited software and these are currently being trialled at a remote school.

He said:

"At this time the NT Government has made no commitment to a wider program but we are interested in a extended trial with 50 or so devices so we can assess the impact when a whole class or whole school has the devices."

The following extract from the "little children" report should concern the OLPC promoters.

"Sexual abuse of children is not restricted to those of Aboriginal descent, nor committed only by those of Aboriginal descent, nor to just the Northern Territory. The phenomenon knows no racial, age or gender borders. It is a national and international problem."

It seems to me that the OLPC has the unforseen consequence (I hope it is unforseen) of placing every child who is connected at risk of sexual predation.

Perhaps the promotors should answer this concern.

Dalek

dalek has now moved from pretending to be a leftist while opposing any progress whatever to a caricature reactionary so bizarre as to hint that providing computers for children may be intended to expose them to sexual predators, but of course he "hopes" not.

The sheer extremism of his poisonous hatred of progress is becoming unconvincing. Is it really possible that people like dalek actually exist?

Arthur, you are a master of spin, I said "It seems to me that the OLPC has the unforseen consequence (I hope it is unforseen) of placing every child who is connected at risk of sexual predation.". No way was I suggesting that it is all a plot to exploit children. What does concern me is that the entire program is explicitly designed to avoid all forms of supervison over the content that children in developing countries access. This has both an upside in that they will be exposed to progressive websites and will be able to organise among themselves to produce their own content. All good. The downside is that the web is also full of very unsavoury stuff (to say the least) and it is the arena of choice for thousands of perverted monsters who prey on children.The OLPC project will bring millions of children to the feast. I suspect that a lot of the "resistance" from education professionals that you bleat about is based upon considerations such as these. Certainly the teachers that I have spoken to share these concerns. Dalek

dalek says he "hopes" the threat of child sexual abuse is "unforseen". This implies that he is not certain that it is unforseen.

If the threat is not indeed unforseen, then what could he possibly be mplying but that people on the OLPC project are either acting deliberately or with reckless indifference to the welfare of children?

Surely if someone were genuinely concerned, he would say something like: "This is a risk, and here are some of the ways I think the risk could be avoided"?