[IAEP] Sugar Labs - Good starting position.

[David Farning]

I would like to apologize for my absence over the last weeks.  I have
been trying to determine if Sugar is a viable project and if Sugar Labs
is a viable organization.

For the weeks prior to my break, I have been working on community
outreach.  Community outreach has meant contacting grassroots
organizations with an interest in technology and education.  After
establishing contact, I start a discussion about about how establishing
a relationship between Sugar Labs and their organization can be
beneficial to both of us.

On the plus side:

1.  We have a working piece of software.  We are lucky enough that OLPC
funded us long enough to create a functional system.  The vast majority
of projects fail in the pre-alpha stage.

2.  We have a core group of experienced developers.  Over the past
several years OLPC has attracted a number of professional developers and
helpful community members to participate in the project.

3.  There is a large public demand of our product.  OLPC has proven that
on a large scale through their deployments.  At a more local, there are
thousands or individuals who are interested in improving their local
school system.

4.  Sugar Labs has a functional infrastructure on which we can build.

On the negative side:

1.  Lack of commitment.  The main reason organizations have stated for
not becoming involved in Sugar Labs is our lack of commitment.  There is
a significant fear that OLPC will withdraw their support.

2.  Lack of vision.  The second reason organizations hesitate to become
involved with Sugar Labs is our lack of vision.  There is a perception
that Sugar development has stalled.

Moving forward:

1.  Diversify our base of stakeholders.  Currently, we have only two
public stakeholders OLPC and Redhat.  This number should be greater.

2.  Balance support and development resources.  The single biggest issue
that we face is how to balance our resources between supporting existing
deployments and pushing development forward.

My conclusions:

1. OLPC, Sugar, and Sugar Labs are worth pushing forward.  While not the
greatest thing since sliced bread,  OLPC and Sugar represent
technologies which can enhance learning for current and future
generations.

It's a Learning Projects.

dfarning