Text 41152, 120 rader
Skriven 2007-12-25 13:22:26 av Jeff Guerdat (1:124/311)
     Kommentar till en text av August Abolins
Ärende: Re: OLPC XO laptop we bought
====================================
August Abolins wrote:
> || We're just about to test the suspend capabilities of the OLPC (One
> || Laptop Per Child) XO laptop we bought for a Christmas present.
> || Pretty slick little unit so far.  And it run Linux...  ;)
> 
> Time for a user report!

Since I only had it for about a day to play with before giving it to the 
little girl, I have limited experience.  The following is a mixture of 
personal use as well as published information (I found no reason to 
doubt the published info at all).

Wireless networking  (802.11g) was easy enough to set up but I had to 
figure out exactly what it wanted relative to my somewhat convoluted 
router setup.  The MAC address was no place to be found but I got that 
by turning off the MAC address filtering.  I could have used the Linux 
terminal window (more on that later) to get it but didn't know about the 
terminal at that point and didn't think about it anyways.  I also use 
"shared" rather than "open" authentication (apparently the same way that 
Apple sets up their routers by default) so I had to be sure to set that 
properly, as well as my 128 bit hex encryption key.  Basically, I made 
it hard on myself and, like any new OS, had to figure out how to make 
all the pieces play nice together.  Once I got it figured out, I added 
it to my daughter's router with no problem (the little girl is my 
daughter's fiance's).  Typical wireless routers should configure with 
many fewer hurdles.  BTW, the XO also supports peer-to-peer networking 
so they can interact with each other (shared games, applications, music, 
etc.) with no need for a router or Internet access.

The interface is aimed squarely at young users using pictographs rather 
than words (there are pop-up word descriptions for those of us, like me, 
who may not be able to figure out the pictograph at first).  The extra 
keys on the small-sized (again, aimed at kids, not large adults) 
keyboard can be generally figured out but a little more documentation 
with the computer (just a cheat sheet would be fine) would help 
first-time users.  The web site, laptop.org, has the info needed but you 
need to find it.  Since these are generally aimed at a community which 
is working together to make use of them, someone would be trained in 
their use and such things wouldn't be an issue.  For a standalone user, 
things can be more difficult, although not horrible by any stretch. 
It'd be somewhat akin to using a Mac (hi, Jean!) after PC use - start 
with no preconceptions and the job is easier.

The layout of the screen is simple enough - key setups (home, local 
group, neghborhood and journal) are on the top left and are important 
for switching back and forth between activities.  Since they go away on 
use of an application (there may be a way to re-display them within an 
app but I don't know how), there are duplicate keys right below them to 
perform the same task.  The left side (and right, I think) is blank but 
can be used to hold "bookmarks" (they seem analogous to shortcuts or 
links) so you can get back to a previous app and document (or music or 
whatever) easily.  The bottom has icons for the various apps, including 
a web browser based on Firefox, music (TamTam), word processor 
(Abiword), etc., filling the bottom so that arrow icons are available to 
scroll.  There's even a terminal capability which, for someone like me, 
is a blessing to see under the hood (it's a Linux terminal with 
commandline).

Additional apps are available for downloading and installation (you use 
the browser to download them and then the journal (a list of previous 
app invocations) to install them by clicking on them - sorta like adding 
RPMs using Yumex in Fedora or the various other point-and-click 
application utilities available for Linux).  The list is small but 
growing and has not only basic apps but programming tools.  You can see 
the underlying source code in many apps by just using a keystroke 
combination so you can teach yourself how to do something or even modify 
existing apps/tools.  The idea is not a typical MS or Mac environment, 
meant to be proprietary and hard for a typical user to extend/change, 
but is based on an open architecture.

The architecture itself is unique.  It's based on "a 7.5-inch display, 
the AMD Geode LX-700 processor at 433MHz, 256 MB of system memory, and 
1GB of data storage capacity. It has a water and dust resistant chassis 
and runs Linux-based user interface called Sugar."  The display is said 
to be viewable as a black and white, easily seen display in bright 
sunlight (try THAT with any PC or Mac laptop), with a normal color 
display in typical room lighting.  The battery is unique and is said to 
cost $10-15, lasting 3-5 hours, rechargeable up to 2000 times (twice 
that of a typical Li-ion battery) and contains no environmentally 
unfriendly heavy metals, again unlike any battery in typical use.  For 
computers aimed at 3rd world places (i.e. no or little electricity 
available), there are hand cranks, "yo-yo-like" pull-strings and a small 
solar panel (only sufficient for recharging, not operation) to charge 
the battery.  A side note, the XO is said to be popular in homes at 
night, being the brightest object in the house - we, collectively, have 
no idea what the rest of the world is about.

The limited RAM makes it a bit easy to overcome when loading multiple 
apps but a bit of single-tasking is easy enough to accomplish, using the 
journal to get back to where you were.  The OS is based on Redhat Fedora 
Linux but is unique to this project (if I ever get my hands on one for 
myself, I'll be checking out how to image the "disk" and installing 
another Linux on it, just for grins, not to mention hacking the existing 
  OS).  It boots in about a minute (didn't time it) and shuts down a bit 
faster.  Tried suspending and hibernating with no luck (the commands are 
available from the terminal commandline but apparently the software and 
hardware don't work together yet).  No fans or other noises, other than 
from the stereo speakers.  The built-in video camera is fun to use 
(stills and videos) and the screen can be flipped around to use the 
laptop as an e-book or to share a screen with others.  It's definitely 
not aimed at power users but one also has to wonder if the stuff that 
makes a "power-user's laptop" is really that needed in the majority of 
uses.

And, of course, MS and Intel, once having scoffed at the idea, are now 
developing their own versions, although not as efficient nor as 
inexpensive.  Leave it to those who have a vested interest in 
maintaining the status quo to try to subvert/pervert a better idea 
rather than to help the project get better.

So, it's not a mainstream laptop for us jaded types but I'd like to 
think the ideas and technology will spill over into the mainstream...

-- 
Jeff Guerdat

The real problem is not whether machines think, but whether men do.
                                                       B.F. Skinner
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