howardwhite 4 #1 December 22, 2007 This is the XO-1 laptop from One Laptop Per Child. It has wireless built in, so one of the first things I checked was... Yes, it's true. Soon, little children in third-world countries will be able to tune into The Bonfire. Seriously, the "$100 laptop" is now real (though it's come in at $188 at the moment.) It's an impressive piece of work; the wireless reception is better than that on my "other" laptop, and it's got a really nice though tiny screen (dwarfed by my desktop monitor.) It seems pretty indestructible -- I guess it would survive a beer spilled on the keyboard, though I haven't tried that. It has a video and still camera built in, as well as lots of neat applications aimed basically at elementary school level kids. Check it out at http://laptop.org/ HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #2 December 22, 2007 Howard, where did you manage to grab one of those at? Last I heard was they were tightly controlling them until they start going out.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #3 December 22, 2007 They have started going out. I signed up for mine the first day of the Give One/Get One program (in which you buy one for yourself and another to be donated to a third-world country.) It came a couple of days ago. $400 plus shipping; $200 is tax deductible. Plus you get a year of T-Mobile wireless, which is supposed to be worth $350. (I've already logged in with my XO at the local Borders T-Mobile hotspot.) I saw one at a conference in Montreal in May and decided I had to get one. (For the geeks, it runs RedHat Linux and it has a terminal, so you can poke around inside. Plus it has three USB ports.) HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DougH 270 #4 December 22, 2007 Howard you never cease to amaze me with the tech stuff. I hope that doesn't sound patronizing! "The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall" =P Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DTOXX 0 #5 December 22, 2007 Damn it.I wanted to be the first to post a pic. I ordered mine on the first day,November 12th, at 9 in the morning. I did get this in an email this morning however: Dear OLPC Donor, We are very sorry to report that your XO laptop will not be arriving by December 24. If your laptop is a gift for a child, please click here to download a gift card explaining that an XO laptop is on its way. Your laptop is scheduled to be delivered before January 15. ------- D.T. Holder SIMstudy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #6 December 23, 2007 Well, I live only about 30 miles from MIT, home of the OLPC project, so maybe my order got in faster than yours .....yes, that's got to be it. HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969912 0 #7 December 23, 2007 Howard, if possible, please post a technical review sometime. Thanks. "Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ." -NickDG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
howardwhite 4 #8 December 23, 2007 The wiki is the place to go for all the technical stuff: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Home As the documentation that comes with the XO consists of four very uncrowded pages, the wiki is the source for all knowledge. There are a few non-standard bits of terminology; what would be known in other contexts as "applications" are called "activities" on the XO; the user interface is called "Sugar." HW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DTOXX 0 #9 January 4, 2008 Still waiting for my XO. Hey Howard, can you give some update on the laptop? ------- D.T. Holder SIMstudy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marcandalysse 0 #10 January 4, 2008 Good for you! I have been reading alot about them lately. The trick is not just getting the price down. The MIT folks (Negraponte etal) thought they had agreements from several third world countries to get them distributed but the countries are stalling. Does your's have a solar powered or hand powered energy alternative? I heard that was a major part of the laptop. I think I will contribute one...will check out the site tonite! "The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly." --GK Chesterton Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #11 January 4, 2008 Intel just pulled out of the project according to this article on Yahoo. Fake Steve Jobs has been ripping the OLPC project for quite some time. See here.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkeenan 13 #12 January 4, 2008 Is it just me, or does that photo remind anyone else of Dilbert's Boss ?? _____________________________________ Dude, you are so awesome... Can I be on your ash jump ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
murrays 0 #13 January 5, 2008 Intel pulled out, the OLPC CTO quit, Negroponte is pissing all over Intel and now, The Economist just ripped the OLPC in this review. I don't think the OLPC has much of a future. Noble idea but I just don't see it working.-- Murray "No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DTOXX 0 #14 January 5, 2008 There was a little tiny box waiting for me when I walked in the door today. I had to change the way my wireless network is set up but thats OK. I had a WEP with a Shared Key but the XO didn't seem to like it. (even tryed the Wpa.sh file) Easy fix though, MAC filtering set to Allow on listed MAC address. ------- D.T. Holder SIMstudy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969912 0 #15 January 8, 2008 More detail and pics of OLPC innards: http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=218 "Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ." -NickDG Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
