[IAEP] The Verge article on OLPC/Sugar

[Caryl Bigenho]

Thanks to Dave for sharing this fun, interesting article! I already knew most of what was in it and could probably add some things, but it was a very thorough overview of the history of our favorite little "green machine."


It might be fun to debate what could have been done differently to make it more successful... but I think it already was very successful and, if it hadn't been for the world financial crisis that hit in late 2007-early 2008, we might be seeing millions of the XOs all over the world.


Just a few asides... I still believe the XO-4, with touch screen, to be the best possible solution for a child's computer. And, with the more efficient XO-4, the hand crank finally became viable.


Long ago many of us were looking for easy ways to adapt the hand crank concept to generate power for the XO. Who else remembers the "cow power" experiment? Bicycles were also suggested as chargers, where a student could charge their computer while riding to and from school.


I had wanted to try to modify a treadle sewing machine so the machine could be folded down and covered with a desktop and a user could gently move their foot up and down as they sat and did their homework on their XO. Alas... even in rural Montana where I went to a lot of farm and ranch sales, I couldn't find a working treadle sewing machine. Most owners had turned theirs into saddle racks!


Anyone else want to add some interesting anecdotes or ideas from the not so distant past of the XO? Remember... it is still very much alive and well in many places around the world!


Caryl

________________________________
From: IAEP <iaep-bounces at lists.sugarlabs.org> on behalf of Dave Crossland <dave at lab6.com>
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2018 10:17:05 AM
To: iaep
Subject: [IAEP] The Verge article on OLPC/Sugar

www.theverge.com/2018/4/16/17233946/olpcs-100-laptop-education-where-is-it-now<https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2018%2F4%2F16%2F17233946%2Folpcs-100-laptop-education-where-is-it-now&data=02%7C01%7C%7C3342fb09295442408ef908d5a3bdfdc0%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636594958756639800&sdata=R14PUrH49svAG%2FC5263rjheK9pHQvtewUTOUXAI7NsE%3D&reserved=0>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sugarlabs.org/archive/iaep/attachments/20180416/5c7572f1/attachment.html>