Because power consumption varies depending on what you're doing.
The XO-1 and XO-1.5 last for about 3 hours with normal use, but that can be extended to about 11 hours if you turn off the backlight (not needed when in sunlight) and wireless radio.
You seem to be applying First World logic to a device meant for the Third World. The XO laptop was designed with a combination of ruggedness, repairability, low power, connectivity, low cost and of course educational value. No other device can claim that, and probably no other device will last five minutes in the developing world without failing for some reason.
With that said, the XO-1.5 models are much better than the XO-1.0 that you have.
Why do these kids need a full powered laptop and can't just have a Kindle with (or without) unlimited 3G.
Because a kindle is just an e-book reader, and an XO is so much more? You can't expect any kind of interactivity when it takes several seconds for a screen to refresh.
Oh, and you can have 3G on an XO if you want - just plug in a USB modem.
Agreed! We (OLPC Australia) put a lot of effort into teacher enablement in Australia. The educationally-oriented design of the OLPC XO laptops and their Sugar UI often make things easier, especially for the children. I've been told stories of children in remote Australia teaching each other with their XOs, and even the teacher! It can change the classroom dynamic for the better.
Your netbook/tablet won't last five minutes in the developing world and/or harsh environmental conditions. There probably won't even be enough electricity so that every child can run/charge their own one.
In contrast, XOs are proven in these conditions.
There is another interesting factor with social acceptance. Sitting at a desktop computer isolates you from the people nearby, but a laptop is less intrusive. For example, sitting on a couch with the laptop on your lap, there is nothing in the way of eye contact with others. Netbooks, tablets and cell phones are even less intrusive, and thus more socially accepted.
A key but very undersold benefit of the XO and it's Sugar UI is their focus on collaboration, by design. The activities (apps) let kids share and learn together, so they are encouraged to interact.
Teaching them how to fish is an important philosophy underpinning OLPC, but the fact remains that great efficiencies can occur when manufacturing is done at scale. We are not yet at the point where whole computers can be fabricated at home. However, the XO is far more user-serviceable than another computer out there. In many places, repairs are even performed by children.
Will it last for five years in harsh environmental conditions in the developing world, and be repairable in the field, even by children?
How does your proposal actually assist education, both for the children learning and the educators administering it?
Get a mac or install linux. Staying with Windows? You might want to see what Einstein said about people who do the same thing over and over and expect different results.
I concur. You'd be a fool not to consider alternatives.
My mother knows nothing about computers. She's the complete opposite of a geek. But like many people, all she wants to do is browse the Web, check e-mail and write a letter. I gave her Ubuntu and she's never bothered me again.
And yes, it actually works since I've seen her use it on many an occasion:)
People shouldn't have to worry about viruses and crap like that. Linux isn't immune, but it's far safer.
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the best implementation of Keepass: Web-keepass. We're trialling it at work, and so far it looks great.
It's a Web-based app with strong security. A very good fit for companies or teams that have to share passwords and have them available anywhere.
(1) They feel that Outlook is genuinely capable of withstanding competition from the likes of TBird and other competitors, and to be fair, the quality of Outlook has improved a lot.
Considering their ambiguity towards compatibility with the GPL, it looks more likely that they are trying to minimise competition from open source, while at the same time falsely claiming that 'everyone' can use it.
<quote><p>I know where I work, I can't go into a lot of details, but I can say that it would be unwise of us to use a source control system where each laptop contained revision history on it.</p></quote>
We use encrypted hard drives on all of our laptops. It's damn easy to set up from the Fedora installer.
Slashdot Mirror
To me, it's the toolkit designed to replace Qt. Frankly, I think the nomenclature is overused.
Because power consumption varies depending on what you're doing.
The XO-1 and XO-1.5 last for about 3 hours with normal use, but that can be extended to about 11 hours if you turn off the backlight (not needed when in sunlight) and wireless radio.
You seem to be applying First World logic to a device meant for the Third World. The XO laptop was designed with a combination of ruggedness, repairability, low power, connectivity, low cost and of course educational value. No other device can claim that, and probably no other device will last five minutes in the developing world without failing for some reason.
With that said, the XO-1.5 models are much better than the XO-1.0 that you have.
Why do these kids need a full powered laptop and can't just have a Kindle with (or without) unlimited 3G.
Because a kindle is just an e-book reader, and an XO is so much more? You can't expect any kind of interactivity when it takes several seconds for a screen to refresh. Oh, and you can have 3G on an XO if you want - just plug in a USB modem.
Agreed! We (OLPC Australia) put a lot of effort into teacher enablement in Australia. The educationally-oriented design of the OLPC XO laptops and their Sugar UI often make things easier, especially for the children. I've been told stories of children in remote Australia teaching each other with their XOs, and even the teacher! It can change the classroom dynamic for the better.
To their benefit, OLPC has talked about this as part of their mission.
+1
Speaking for our work in OLPC Australia, we place a high emphasis on teacher enablement.
Your netbook/tablet won't last five minutes in the developing world and/or harsh environmental conditions. There probably won't even be enough electricity so that every child can run/charge their own one. In contrast, XOs are proven in these conditions.
There is another interesting factor with social acceptance. Sitting at a desktop computer isolates you from the people nearby, but a laptop is less intrusive. For example, sitting on a couch with the laptop on your lap, there is nothing in the way of eye contact with others. Netbooks, tablets and cell phones are even less intrusive, and thus more socially accepted.
A key but very undersold benefit of the XO and it's Sugar UI is their focus on collaboration, by design. The activities (apps) let kids share and learn together, so they are encouraged to interact.
Teaching them how to fish is an important philosophy underpinning OLPC, but the fact remains that great efficiencies can occur when manufacturing is done at scale. We are not yet at the point where whole computers can be fabricated at home. However, the XO is far more user-serviceable than another computer out there. In many places, repairs are even performed by children.
Linux. Fedora has been ported to ARM in part to support the new XO hardware.
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Cow_Power which is a subset of http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Battery_and_power
ARM were focused on small mobile devices back in 2005, when XO-1 development began. Their business and technology were not suitable for OLPC's needs.
OLPC is about enabling independent thought and creativity, not pushing vendor lock-in.
Will it last for five years in harsh environmental conditions in the developing world, and be repairable in the field, even by children? How does your proposal actually assist education, both for the children learning and the educators administering it?
But... If it does miraculously appear for under $200 and can run Android or some other Linux variant, I'll buy 3 or 4...
The OLPC OS is a variant of Fedora, so it runs Linux out of the box.
I was going to call people about it, but I couldn't find the Gizmo client for Linux.
Get a mac or install linux. Staying with Windows? You might want to see what Einstein said about people who do the same thing over and over and expect different results.
I concur. You'd be a fool not to consider alternatives.
My mother knows nothing about computers. She's the complete opposite of a geek. But like many people, all she wants to do is browse the Web, check e-mail and write a letter. I gave her Ubuntu and she's never bothered me again.
And yes, it actually works since I've seen her use it on many an occasion :)
People shouldn't have to worry about viruses and crap like that. Linux isn't immune, but it's far safer.
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned the best implementation of Keepass: Web-keepass. We're trialling it at work, and so far it looks great. It's a Web-based app with strong security. A very good fit for companies or teams that have to share passwords and have them available anywhere.
Yay, let's give all of our passwords away to someone else! Outsourcing to the extreme!
(1) They feel that Outlook is genuinely capable of withstanding competition from the likes of TBird and other competitors, and to be fair, the quality of Outlook has improved a lot.
Considering their ambiguity towards compatibility with the GPL, it looks more likely that they are trying to minimise competition from open source, while at the same time falsely claiming that 'everyone' can use it.
<quote><p>I know where I work, I can't go into a lot of details, but I can say that it would be unwise of us to use a source control system where each laptop contained revision history on it.</p></quote>
We use encrypted hard drives on all of our laptops. It's damn easy to set up from the Fedora installer.
The one I prefer goes like this:
/-{}-\
More at http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/5/10/121925/815
Pentaho rules them all :)
WordPress? I thought it was about WordPerfect!
now raised to the ground and re-built
Was it underground?