and six months is to slow for me... once I've learnt to be a genius programmer, I'll release a distro every week! Unfortunately this could be a long time, I've just started on Java...
Talking of why certain products take so long to catch on... Where the hell is my screen that is all screen huh? I don't want a border. None, nyet, zip nada. Put the buttons on the back again. If my computer is on, the screen will be/has been set up. I don't need a power button on the bloody monitor! Get rid of the borders, damn it!
Having spent a considerable amount of time with Sugar, I've come to the sad conclusion that Sugar is the weakest part of the entire OLPC project.
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Sugar's interface fails on a number of points. It is very reminiscent of the old MIT interfaces of the 1970s where hackers built what looked good to them with little/no effort to have a professional designer tell them what to do (much less say "no" to bad UI issues).
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The actual activity icons are terrible. Some are alright (e.g., Browse and Write), but others are bizarre:
A comic strip balloon for Chat.
As far as I remember, kids like this kind of thing.
A snake for the Python development application (cutely called "Pippy").
As far as I remember, kids like this kind of thing.
The RSS application has a common RSS icon, but it's called News Reader. I can't imagine how a kid with no prior computer experience would interpret it.
Fair enough, but a kid is more likely to ignore a name or icon and just see what it does. That is in line with the constructivist ideology. The name or icons meanings is learnt by associative comparisons.
This often demonstrated by people (non tech) wanting to write a letter (as a common task) who sit down to a computer with an icon of a notepad or pen an paper. The one first questions 'how do i write a letter?'. They haven't learnt that icons represent things and good icons illustrate their task. Too often they never seem to get it. So we fall back to the adage about training a child for the first 7 years of its life, and you have them for life.
Acoustic Tape Measure is an activity to measure distance between two OLPCs using sound. A cute toy, but the icons is a dolphin with sound coming out of its snout.
Additional things wrong with Sugar:
As noted about, many of the activity names are silly or simply bizarre.
As far as I remember, kids like this kind of thing.
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There's a toy oscilloscope. OK, kids like talking into a microphone and seeing his voice show up as waves. We all remember going to the science museum as little kids and doing that. But this application is called Measure, which implies something quite a bit different.
As far as I remember, kids like this kind of thing. Just kidding... I agree, that sounds like a weird name for the said app -- except if you can in some way calculate/scale the size of the generated waves... That would teach a form of measurment, and provide an introduction to maths -- "How many boxes high is compared to . How many long... does it change when..." etc.
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Then there is what is missing. Since the focus seems to be for education, the paucity of bundled references and the assumption that you can get what's missing from the Internet is astonishing. What is bundled seems to reflect the interests of the OLPC developers rather than pedagogical purposes.
Yeah, I agree it seem rather poor on that side too. Are the Arabic numerals virtually(sorry) universal? My quick glance at it Sugar didn't seem to have any numerals. eh, Asian languages probably use a different symbol set... though I've never met any Asian who couldn't understand Arabic numerals. Damn clever little buggers
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The upshot of all of this is that Windows for the OLPC is perhaps OLPC's only hope for salvation. I can easily see how an OLPC with a special version of XP and bundled with Encarta, etc. would outsell one based upon Sugar.
Selling a product doesn't mean it is beneficial for individuals or the populace... reference smoking.
Lest I be accused for being a Microsoft apologist, I would say the same thing if Apple coughed up a version of Ma
The philosophy doesn't suppose to make every child a developer but a life long learner. It was to facilitate their learning. Programming was part of the process to learn maths and creativity.
The hardware specs were what got people excited , but the sucker punch was in the software being designed to encourage curiosity and learning. The theory is to submerge children into a saturated, enjoyable learning environment and that would promote life long learning in the children -- a seed that gave birth to the knowledge economy ideologies.
But it wouldn't need to be if the terms and compensation was reasonable. It is a reaction to perceived imbalances... with a modicum of independence and anti-establishment angst.
Just because they are lying down in the gutter, eyes closed and not responding to external stimuli... you try take their wallet or sell them a lame horse... We were bred from the Irish and the Scotts... Blam Poms thought they had it over us!
The problem lies with the last phrase "... but not as VxWorks have made you crap it."
Basically, you need to tell the reader what the 'data' or subject is, a conditional statement or conjunction, and ensure that the reader understands who is doing the function "crap" by using a helping verb. So, most (I am eternally optimistic) native English speakers probably would have written it as your other child post did.
I, however, tend to be more verbose. To use the form that was originally written, it would be as follows:
it is so modular and low-level that the end result is as crappy as you want it to be, but it is(the subject) not as if(your conjuction) VxWorks have made you make(a helping verb*) crap it.
* make is a helping verb in this case, it usually is a 'standard' verb.
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Hey! I come from Suse you insensitive clod!
and six months is to slow for me... once I've learnt to be a genius programmer, I'll release a distro every week! Unfortunately this could be a long time, I've just started on Java...
Talking of why certain products take so long to catch on... Where the hell is my screen that is all screen huh? I don't want a border. None, nyet, zip nada. Put the buttons on the back again. If my computer is on, the screen will be/has been set up. I don't need a power button on the bloody monitor! Get rid of the borders, damn it!
If we do start using TouchWall, we will burn more energy (in our bodies) preventing http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/17/2138218! Thanks Microsoft for your dedication to true innovation!
As far as I remember, kids like this kind of thing.
As far as I remember, kids like this kind of thing.
Fair enough, but a kid is more likely to ignore a name or icon and just see what it does. That is in line with the constructivist ideology. The name or icons meanings is learnt by associative comparisons.
This often demonstrated by people (non tech) wanting to write a letter (as a common task) who sit down to a computer with an icon of a notepad or pen an paper. The one first questions 'how do i write a letter?'. They haven't learnt that icons represent things and good icons illustrate their task. Too often they never seem to get it. So we fall back to the adage about training a child for the first 7 years of its life, and you have them for life.
As far as I remember, kids like this kind of thing.
As far as I remember, kids like this kind of thing. Just kidding... I agree, that sounds like a weird name for the said app -- except if you can in some way calculate/scale the size of the generated waves... That would teach a form of measurment, and provide an introduction to maths -- "How many boxes high is compared to . How many long... does it change when..." etc.
Yeah, I agree it seem rather poor on that side too. Are the Arabic numerals virtually(sorry) universal? My quick glance at it Sugar didn't seem to have any numerals. eh, Asian languages probably use a different symbol set... though I've never met any Asian who couldn't understand Arabic numerals. Damn clever little buggers
Selling a product doesn't mean it is beneficial for individuals or the populace... reference smoking.
http://laptop.org/vision/mission/
It is a good thing, as it may extend the knowledge of some or even perhaps "The One" who will produce the Singularity. On a bad note, it is not me...
No, not at all. The only modification would be :
BSD Software promotes Competition.
GPL Software promotes Competition & Collusion.
Closed Source Software promotes Collusion.
ebooks costing more than paper???
The philosophy doesn't suppose to make every child a developer but a life long learner. It was to facilitate their learning. Programming was part of the process to learn maths and creativity.
The hardware specs were what got people excited , but the sucker punch was in the software being designed to encourage curiosity and learning. The theory is to submerge children into a saturated, enjoyable learning environment and that would promote life long learning in the children -- a seed that gave birth to the knowledge economy ideologies.
But it wouldn't need to be if the terms and compensation was reasonable. It is a reaction to perceived imbalances... with a modicum of independence and anti-establishment angst.
No, it is(was) a constructivist education project using tech to make education and collaboration resources cheap and accessible.
The FSF just need to add the phrases "... as a bird. Makes good eating too." and all their explanatory problems will dry up.
no, but linux is...
To which fragment do you refer? 'tis possible, but I try to pick the weeds as quickly as possible.
Just because they are lying down in the gutter, eyes closed and not responding to external stimuli... you try take their wallet or sell them a lame horse... We were bred from the Irish and the Scotts... Blam Poms thought they had it over us!
one would think that... but not to worry! We aren't be ripped off! Not at all!
They are competent salespersons, but appalling techs.
So, why do these Retail stores keep putting OSS based products into their shelves? Stupid sales people, linux doesn't sell; there is no market!~
The problem lies with the last phrase "... but not as VxWorks have made you crap it."
Basically, you need to tell the reader what the 'data' or subject is, a conditional statement or conjunction, and ensure that the reader understands who is doing the function "crap" by using a helping verb. So, most (I am eternally optimistic) native English speakers probably would have written it as your other child post did.
I, however, tend to be more verbose. To use the form that was originally written, it would be as follows:
* make is a helping verb in this case, it usually is a 'standard' verb.
In Australia a strengthening AUD against the USD, means prices go up for USA imported products... Kinda frustrating for us locals...
Just thought you might like to check this out...