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Is Sugar a Cuban Conspiracy? To addict kids worldwide with sweetness?<br>
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(If you want to respond to this Private/Salty correspondance below,
contact an OLPC Support Volunteer who will happily relay any
thoughtful/polite messages to JW on the topic :)<br>
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Subject: </th>
<td>[laptop.org #52435] Sugar nomenclature</td>
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Date: </th>
<td>Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:34:51 -0500</td>
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<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:help@laptop.org">help@laptop.org</a></td>
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<pre>Hi -
I'm emailing this address - which I found at planet.laptop.org - only because I've been unable to find a proper place to make the following suggestion.
I'm getting up to speed in OLPC news, having first bookmarked the project several years ago; and am beginning to liase with others in my network active in the educational and non-profit sectors, re: the great potential of OLPC.
This said, something that really concerns me, is the name chosen for the OLPC OS, "Sugar."
Sugar is the single most dangerous and harmful common substance in the diet of children - especially, in the developing nation environments - regarding their physical health. Candy and soft drinks are typically cheap, even when healthy foodstuffs may be scarce, and knowledge and practice re: brushing and clearing sugar out of the mouth to prevent dental decay is often lacking.
Not only do many young people develop serious dental decay and people prematurely lose their natural teeth because of sugar (with many related compromises to health and happiness); but, all harmful bacteria, viruses and cancer cells, positively love sugar. Such organisms grab and metabolize simple sugars immediately - contributing nothing to the growth of healthy cells and only serving to net damage human health (infant years, up).
I can't really think of a worse name the initial (presumably, MIT-based) team could've given the OLPC OS.
For just a moment, yesterday, I was optimistic when I saw the "Blueberry" name - hoping it had perhaps been chosen to replace "Sugar." However, it appears not to be the case.
Could you please route this message to the attention of whatever group is in charge of project management in the marketing/"nomenclature" areas, to consider retiring the "Sugar" name and replacing it with something that does not represent harmful/negative substances or practices? The "Blueberry" name, for example, would be a fine substitute, as with many other possibilities.
regards,
JW
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