[IAEP] The Verge article on OLPC/Sugar

[Walter Bender]

FWIW, there was never an offer from Apple to offer a free (gratis) version
of iOS for OLPC use and it is not obvious that it was technically feasible
on the microprocessor we were using at the time. And certainly a free
(libre) version was never even up for discussion. We did have an in-depth
discussion with MS at the highest level about jointly creating a new OS
(not a Windows port) but that discussion stalled out when free (libre)
software was raised as a requirement.

It is also worth speculating as to the number of XO-1s still in the hands
of children in 2018 vs the number of iPhone-1s. The article did not touch
upon the efforts we made to keep these machines out of landfills and when
they did reach end of life, to make their environmental impact minimal:
e.g., the first laptop to use an LED back light instead of fluorescent, etc.

@Caryl: we ended up moving away from human-powered to solar-powered as it
was less expensive, more robust, and less physically taxing on the kids.
The XO-4 ran (runs) very nicely on a small panel.

But ultimately, it is about what the kids do with the machine, which is why
I remain passionate about Sugar.

regards.

-walter

On Mon, Apr 16, 2018 at 5:28 PM Caryl Bigenho <cbigenho at hotmail.com> wrote:

> 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>
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-- 
Walter Bender
Sugar Labs
http://www.sugarlabs.org
<http://www.sugarlabs.org>
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