[IAEP] The Verge article on OLPC/Sugar

[Devin Ulibarri]

I skimmed through the article (https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/16/17233
946/olpcs-100-laptop-education-where-is-it-now).

The title and pull-out quotes seem purposely intended to create shock
value and click bait.

I have seen schools with kids using these laptops (Thailand, for
example). The kids seemed to be having a good time and learning, which
is the central point.

I once ignorantly said that "all kids today have a computer" (in
2016/2017) to be corrected by Cynthia Solomon. Now I realize that kids
in our own neighboring communities in the US do not even have their own
computers. So that being said, I think the idea of a "one laptop per
child" is a goal to continue doing--not to conclude a failure for lack
of hardware features. It's like saying that we should stop trying to
end world hunger b/c some would not have a toy and a Happy Meal (or
fill in other food item here).

..at any rate, the author succeeded in having me click on and skim
through their bait.

On Mon, 2018-04-16 at 21:57 +0000, Walter Bender wrote:
> 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-wher
> > e-is-it-now
> > _______________________________________________
> > IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> > IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
> > http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
> 
> -- 
> Walter Bender
> Sugar Labs
> http://www.sugarlabs.org
> 
> _______________________________________________
> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> IAEP at lists.sugarlabs.org
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