[Sugar-devel] XO Gen 1.5

[Edward Cherlin]

On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 6:17 AM, Christoph Derndorfer
<christoph.derndorfer at gmail.com> wrote:
> Am 18.04.2009 um 09:48 schrieb Tomeu Vizoso <tomeu at sugarlabs.org>:
>> I was joking, even if all those kids would magically get a XO 1.5, we
>> should keep bringing resource usage down. Even more, we want Sugar to
>> run better and better on devices lower powered than the XO-1.
>
> Devices that are lower powered than the XO-1 - does such a thing even
> exist? ;-)

It's called a cell phone. There are many more of them in Africa, for
example, than there are computers. A fair fraction of them run Linux.
I worked for a company that built software to manage software
downloads to phones, and they are interested in discussing such market
opportunities. Of course, we would need a UI redesign, and we would
have to skip activities that need more space on the screen unless we
can provide virtual screen real estate. Well, that is possible in
theory, at least, so we could discuss it.

It helps that you can buy prepaid phone cards on the street corner,
and that telephone banking is taking off, whereas there is no way for
many people to get prepaid credit cards acceptable for e-commerce on
computers. Of course, that is a business opportunity, if we can
interest the right people in pursuing it. Prepaid e-commerce cards
sold through Internet cafes has all of the essential elements of a
viable business plan, particularly the known unserved market, the
available financial institutions, and the proven distribution channel.

> Christoph
>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Tomeu
>>
>>> On Fri, 2009-04-17 at 22:41 +0200, Tomeu Vizoso wrote:
>>>> [forwarding to IAEP and sugar-devel]
>>>>
>>>> Awesome news, now we don't need to worry about performance any
>>>> more :p
>>>>
>>>> Good luck with the remaining work,
>>>>
>>>> Tomeu
>>>>
>>>> On Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 21:24, John Watlington <wad at laptop.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> OLPC is excited to announce that a refresh of the XO-1 laptop is in
>>>>> progress.  In our continued effort to maintain a low price point,
>>>>> OLPC
>>>>> is refreshing the hardware to take advantage of the latest
>>>>> component
>>>>> technologies.  This refresh (Gen 1.5) is separate from the Gen 2.0
>>>>> project, and will continue using the same industrial design and
>>>>> batteries as Gen 1.  The design goal is to provide an overall
>>>>> update
>>>>> of the system within the same ID and external appearance.
>>>>>
>>>>> In order to maximize compatibility with existing software, this
>>>>> refresh will continue with an x86 processor, using a chipset from
>>>>> VIA.  The memory will be increased to 1 GB of DDR2 SDRAM, and the
>>>>> built-in storage will be 4 GB of NAND Flash with an option for 8 GB
>>>>> (installed at manufacture).
>>>>>
>>>>> The processor will be a VIA C7-M [1], with plans on using one whose
>>>>> clock ranges from 400 MHz (1.5 W) to 1GHz (5 W).  The clock may be
>>>>> throttled back automatically if necessary to meet thermal
>>>>> constraints.
>>>>>
>>>>> The enabling chipset is hot off the fab line, the VX855 [2].  This
>>>>> single chip provides the memory interface, a 3D graphics engine,
>>>>> an HD
>>>>> video decoder, USB, SDIO, and other system interface and management
>>>>> functions, in a low power and small footprint package.   One change
>>>>> induced by the chipset change is a move from AC'97 to HD Audio.
>>>>> This brings higher sampling rates and allows an upgrade to a stereo
>>>>> external microphone (and DC sensor) input.
>>>>>
>>>>> The CaFE chip is being retired, and replaced with an external Flash
>>>>> management controller, possibly one of the low cost SSD controllers
>>>>> currently being tested.  The camera will now be tied directly to
>>>>> the
>>>>> VX855's video capture port.
>>>>>
>>>>> The network interface will be upgraded to an 88W8686, which will
>>>>> halve
>>>>> its power dissipation and move it to an SDIO interface (further
>>>>> dropping the power consumption).   The current goal is to locate it
>>>>> in a removable module, allowing its replacement for repair.   It
>>>>> will
>>>>> remain powered while the laptop suspends, waking the laptop if a
>>>>> packet addressed to it arrives.   It is likely that early
>>>>> production
>>>>> models will not directly support 802.11s (i.e. forwarding mesh
>>>>> packets
>>>>> while the interface is asleep), but we are working with Marvell on
>>>>> several different 802.11s solutions.
>>>>>
>>>>> Gen 1.5 will continue with the existing display, although OLPC is
>>>>> working with PixelQi to try to improve the brightness and
>>>>> efficiency
>>>>> of the screen.   The DCON is retained (even though the VX855
>>>>> includes
>>>>> much of its functionality) as it provides the low power interface
>>>>> and
>>>>> the timing controller functions for the existing display.
>>>>>
>>>>> Overall, the target is to match the Gen 1 XO-1 in power consumption
>>>>> while making aggressive suspend easier, and in price (while
>>>>> changing
>>>>> to components which are more likely to decrease in price).   It is
>>>>> likely that both goals can be met.
>>>>>
>>>>> We also expect the Gen 1.5 machines to ship with an OLPC 8.2.x
>>>>> software release, modified to support Gen 1.5's new hardware but
>>>>> otherwise unchanged from the current production software release
>>>>> and
>>>>> compatible with our current software in the field.  Gen 1.5
>>>>> machines
>>>>> will be deployed in environments already populated by Gen 1
>>>>> machines,
>>>>> so seamless software interoperability is an important goal.
>>>>>
>>>>> Early versions of the hardware (bare board) should be available for
>>>>> driver development at the end of May.   A larger number of
>>>>> prototype
>>>>> laptops (several hundred) for software development and testing will
>>>>> become available around the end of August.   The OLPC contributors
>>>>> program will be the preferred way of requesting a Gen 1.5 machine
>>>>> for
>>>>> testing your software for compatibility or development.  We hope to
>>>>> use the contributors program to ensure Gen 1.5 support for the wide
>>>>> variety of application and OS solutions created for Gen 1.0.
>>>>>
>>>>> We're excited to be finally able to make this news public.  While
>>>>> members of the technical team have been working on this for several
>>>>> months, it was not until last week that we could with any certainty
>>>>> say that we were going to refresh the hardware and what that
>>>>> refresh
>>>>> was likely to be.  We're now committed to this project and look
>>>>> forward to working with you to make it happen.
>>>>>
>>>>> ---John, Ed, and the OLPC Tech team.
>>>>>
>>>>> ========
>>>>>
>>>>> [1] http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/processors/c7-m_ulv/
>>>>> [2] http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets/v-series/vx855
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Devel mailing list
>>>>> Devel at lists.laptop.org
>>>>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel
>>>>>
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>>> --
>>> Bryan W. Berry
>>> Technology Director
>>> OLE Nepal, http://www.olenepal.org
>>>
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