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Hi Tony<br>
<br>
I applaud you for asking some important questions going forward in
such a concise way.<br>
Even though we're officially, as a software community,
hardware-agnostic, it is very good to discuss and find solutions to
common problems (such as availability of appropriate hardware).<br>
<br>
It seems from here as if consumer product manufacturers, telecoms,
and software vendors were coalesced, and wished communities such as
ourselves did not exist.<br>
<br>
I'll try to answer bellow, but I am just a volunteer such as
yourself and don't represent Sugar Labs.<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">El 17/02/15 a las 21:05, Tony Anderson
escibió:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite">
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Hi,<br>
<br>
I am sceptical that the XO market will ever be able to sustain
manufacture of an XO-specific product. I hope and wish I am wrong.
However, I think we need to look for alternatives. Possibly the
most serious impediment to success of the OLPC initiative has been
the lack of laptop available for purchase by a deployment in small
quantities.<br>
</blockquote>
+1<br>
I like initiatives like the Kit Kano, for instance. I've grown to
expect revolutions to happen slowly. I know eventually the killer
durable, attractive, affordable, usable and truly libre solution
will arrive. Part of that task is in our hands (the software, this <i>is</i>
the Sugar community after all). Attractive, usable, truly libre.
Simple, collaborative, reflexive.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite"> <br>
As Wayan Vota said, 'Would you recommend a new deployment with the
XO?'. My answer would be yes, provided the deployment had a
reliable source of XO laptops for under $200 (and spare parts).<br>
The XO-1 is still viable provided that there is a source of
ongoing support.<br>
</blockquote>
I do all my work in a year old $199 Chromebook with Parabola
GNU/Linux. It is about as libre as it gets, and whooping fast with a
Haswell processor.<br>
However Google seems intent to only allow such a setup for
"developer mode" (which can wipe your drive at a wrong keystroke on
boot).<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite"> <br>
I must applaud Samuel Greenfeld's initiative to create community
builds of the XO software. As Bernie Innocenti pointed out at the
Malaysia summit, finding a community that can sustain support for
the XO builds going forward is probably the number one problem
facing the community.<br>
</blockquote>
+1 I've failed to respond but do plan to resume work on XO (and
regular PC) builds soon. I count on picking up from Samuel's work
and as usual, have our develop, build and publish process be
community-oriented.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite"> <br>
There are Android tablets on the market which can be purchased
with a case and keyboard:<br>
<br>
<address>http://www.sears.com/proscan-7inch-internet-tablet-with-8-gb-and/p-020W006276292001P</address>
<br>
Rabi Karmacharya believes we need a minimum 10" screen, the above
has 7" and is quoted at $69.<br>
Is there a comparable device with a 10" screen at 1200x900 or
better for under $100, under 200$?<br>
<br>
The CTL Education Chromebook is available for $279
(http://ctl.net/ctl-education-chromebook). Does it offer the
capabilities we need? Can alternate software (such as
Fedora/Sugar) be installed?<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
We must raise awareness at the level of the people who consult with
us, with regard to the importance of devices respecting users (and
deployments). It is not acceptable to be tied to one "software
store". It is not acceptable to have our governments procure
machines that require non-free software to work, or worse, have no
support at all.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite"> <br>
Is our future to go away from Fedora/Sugar (Linux/Gnu/Sugar) and
to base our deployments on Android?</blockquote>
Fedora/Sugar need not be the only option. I'f like to see more
Sugar-like initiatives, i.e. tailored desktops.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite">Does
this mean we must abandon our insistence on open source and open
educational resources? </blockquote>
Never!<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite">Is it
possible to deploy an Android system without access to the
internet?<br>
</blockquote>
Probably. Not too interesting.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite"> <br>
There are currently 200+ educational activities available for
Sugar. Must we give these up?</blockquote>
No! We should strive to mantain some compatibility for as long as
possible.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite">Do we
need to reprogram them in javascript?<br>
</blockquote>
Rather create new ones, support and fix old ones! It's not easy as
there are few hands.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite"> <br>
If we are to continue with Fedora/Sugar, can this software be
installed on Android tablets?<br>
</blockquote>
Most likely nope.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite"> <br>
The world's professional programmers are now either (or both)
programming for the javascript/html market or the Java Android
market. Does this mean we need to jump on those bandwagons? Should
we shift our 'view source' initiative to Java or to
javascript/html?<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
Nope.<br>
<blockquote cite="mid:54E3F385.4050407@usa.net" type="cite"> In
summary, I believe that the future of the olpc initiative depends
on the skills, commitment, and hard work of the community. I think
it very unlikely that our challenges will be met by a 'magic wand'
waved by OLPC reborn, OLPC Australia, or other agency. It's up to
us.<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
Much as yourself, I feel the loss of the momentum the OLPC community
had. But I am profoundly aware that, in all, this story is still
just beginning, and there are plenty of worthy initiatives around
us. And we ourselves keep pushing forward for Sugar, the vision, not
necessarily a specific implementation.<br>
<br>
I have a short saying about this last bit. I offer it to you. Call
it Sebastian's Razor. "Si no es libre, no existe".<br>
<br>
:-)<br>
Regards,<br>
Sebastian<br>
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