[Its.an.education.project] Sugar on the EEE PC

[Albert Cahalan]

On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 3:17 AM, Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 2:25 AM, Albert Cahalan <acahalan at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Bernie Innocenti writes:

>>>  http://www.one2onemate.com/
>>
>> This is optimized for teacher thinking. They win. :-(
>
> Yuck.  Surely you are joking... I find it hard to be
> inspired by any aspect of that machine.

I'm definitely not joking, and not at all inspired.
This machine makes me cringe; it totally reminds me
of what I got as a kid in the USA. (updated for 2008)

>From time to time, you get "computer day". It could be
a few times a year or once a week. Most likely this is
decided by the teacher, who must then try to reserve the
computers for the desired day. At the beginning of class,
somebody delivers the equipment to the classroom.

In general, nobody gets much time with the computers.
It certainly isn't yours; you can't keep any personal
data on it. You're lucky when the computer you get handed
has not been vandalized by a previous user.

Nothing much useful happens with the computers. Using them
means that the school can keep kids occupied while being
able to claim that they are providing computer education.

Shared computers are cheap.

>> The GUI and apps are superior, at least from the viewpoint of
>> a school system. You get an Excel-compatible spreadsheet,
>> a Word-compatible word processor, Tux Paint, Flash player, and a
>> desktop that hasn't been inspired to the point of unusability.
>
> While it is true they have a spreadsheet and crude typing tutor,
> both GUI and apps seem pretty awful.

That may be, but it sure beats what the XO is shipping with.
I think you see the XO's software with rose-tinted glasses.