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OT: African Computer Technology Comes Full Circle
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Herukhuti: [QB] [QUOTE]Originally posted by Doug M: [qb] [QUOTE]Originally posted by Herukhuti: [qb] [QUOTE]Originally posted by Doug M: [qb] Actually OLPC comes in two flavors windows and linux. It originally launched using linux and the windows version followed after. Both versions are available and those countries that want to use the system can choose which they want. [QUOTE] A CNET review of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) XO netbook explores the dilemma facing customers choosing between the Linux and Windows XP versions. Meanwhile, the Fedora Project has released a Fedora Sugar Spin Live CD incorporating the Linux XO version's Sugar desktop environment. (Click for larger view of Rwandan children using the OLPC XO) Championed by MIT's Nicholas Negroponte as a way to seed educational computing opportunities among poorer children around the world, the low-cost XO is manufactured by Quanta of Taiwan. Initially Linux-only when it shipped at the end of last year, the XO features an AMD Geode LX-700 processor clocked at 433MHz, an integrated graphics controller driving a 7.5-inch, 1200 x 900 screen, 256MB of RAM, and 1GB of flash storage. The devices also offer WiFi-based mesh networking. Although the XO will be offered in the U.S. next month by Amazon, the netbook is primarily sold at a discounted rate to the educational ministries of developing nations, which must agree to distribute it for free to K-12 students. Over the last year, the XO's price rose to twice the initially touted $100, leading some governments to back off of plans to make high-volume purchases. Despite its troubles, including a rift with Intel and a defection by its team of educational software developers to form a separate Sugar Labs, OLPC's XO continues to be purchased around the world, and recently received a promise from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to help distribute the notebooks. What's more, the XO is largely credited for having started the recent boom in small-scale netbooks, which has not only boosted the fortunes of Linux, but contributed to the rebirth of Windows XP. Meanwhile, an intriguing XO-2 prototype has also emerged (pictured at right) that offers both tablet and netbook modes. The XO-2 is not expected to ship until 2010, however. In May, OLPC announced a Windows XP version, which has only recently arrived to market. A dual-boot option is promised for the future, but in the meantime, customers must choose between the Linux and Windows versions. An August review of the Windows version by Laptop magazine found it wanting. CNET's Ina Fried, however, appears to be more ambivalent when weighing the two versions side by side. According to Fried, the decision faced by governments choosing between the versions is between the greater library of software available for Windows vs. the Linux version's potential for nurturing independent open source software development. The Sugar desktop environment used in the Linux version of the XO is now maintained by Sugar Labs, a group that spun out of OLPC, and is committed to developing open source GNU/Linux-based educational software. o some potential customer nations, such as Peru, she writes, Windows makes sense because it can lead to proficiency in business applications that they believe can help its kids get better jobs. Others, meanwhile, "have demanded their students work on Linux, arguing open source computers offer a chance for an independent software economy not tied to Microsoft," she writes. From the point of view of the typical user, however, she appears to give Linux an edge due to the innovative software features of the native Linux Sugar stack. Out of the overall "integrated suite of educational games, programming tools and other software, all built around a kid-friendly OS shell known as Sugar," only the child-oriented Scratch tool is offered on the Windows version, she writes. The XO's slimmed-down version of Windows XP Professional "can run basically any software that can adjust itself to the mini-laptop's diminutive screen and modest processor," writes Fried. The modified OS can boot from a 2GB flash card, she writes, and offers drivers for XO features, such as its scratch pad, game controller, and camera. "But what's missing in the Windows version is the personality that oozes out of the Linux incarnation," she continues. "The Windows version of the XO doesn't have much of that built-in sweetness." That said, Fried says that the large volume of educational software available for Windows is a major benefit that cannot be denied. In the end, she concludes, either OS version could be highly effective if "used properly, as part of a well-thought-out curriculum." [/QUOTE]From: http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS3023016259.html [/qb][/QUOTE]Doug, IN MY MIND there are better solutions that can serve the purpose of the OLPC. The first thing that comes to mind is: how often will this laptop have to be replaced to keep everything going smoothly? [b]"AMD Geode LX-700 processor clocked at 433MHz, an integrated graphics controller driving a 7.5-inch, 1200 x 900 screen, 256MB of RAM, and 1GB of flash storage."[/b] This is ancient technology. You can barely open more than a couple browser windows on a 256MB RAM computer. OLPC is obviously not sustainable or scalable. I would propose a new way which I'd call the O-VM-PC - [b]"One Virtual Machine Per Child".[/b] The "catch" to this scheme is that you'd first have to build a sizeable data center and run a [URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervisor]hypervisor[/URL] over your hardware which allows you to provision "virtual machines" to users. This is a much more scalable, economical and secure (with regards to children anyway) solution. It also means there is "zero" resource wastage. If the child no longer needs the vm, it's simply put back into the pool for another child to use. [/qb][/QUOTE]Actually that is debatable, since the OLPC was not intended to provide the ability for generic web browsing and other such features. It is actually designed as an open platform to develop features and learning for younger generations. It isn't simply about browsing the web, it is more about developing novel ways to approach providing networked data in an environment for learning. Such a network would be more about learning the basics of communications, networking and data sharing than about web browsing. At least it has the potential for such types of learning. It is designed to be feature rich but not cluttered with all the unnecessary junk that requires a super high speed chip. In fact, if you are simply browsing the web and reading open office documents, you don't really need even a 1Ghz chip to do that smoothly. I was able to run a word processor, create databases and browse the web quite well even on old PCs running windows 3.x on the intel486 in 1990. These processors are way years ahead of that, so there should be no problem with the processors in terms of performance. [QUOTE] XO is built from free and open-source software. Our commitment to software freedom gives children the opportunity to use their laptops on their own terms. While we do not expect every child to become a programmer, we do not want any ceiling imposed on those children who choose to modify their machines. We are using open-document formats for much the same reason: transparency is empowering. The children—and their teachers—will have the freedom to reshape, reinvent, and reapply their software, hardware, and content. [/QUOTE]From: http://laptop.org/en/laptop/software/ [/qb][/QUOTE]I didn't say anything was wrong with the processor. I simply stated that 256MB RAM is not sufficient for a typical "young" computer user. In addition to browsing, the "virtual pc" can be used like any other PC (Gaming alone can consume all that RAM). READ MY LAST POST AGAIN. IT HAD *NOTHING* TO DO WITH "GENERIC WEB BROWSING". You obviously misunderstood my post because I wasn't actually talking about browsing the web, I was talking about using VIRTUALIZATION to deliver a "better" type of OLPC: [QUOTE][b][i]I SAID:[/i][/b] I would propose a new way which I'd call the O-VM-PC - [b]"One Virtual Machine Per Child".[/b] [/QUOTE] [/QB][/QUOTE]
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