XO Laptop from OLPC arrives!

This post is coming to you from my XO laptop which arrived last evening! It is an interesting little device. The learning curve, for me, was steep since it does not act like a "regular" computer. I could not figure out how to open it, the terminology used is different, and it seems to have a personality of its own! It takes more time to start applications and attach to access points, but, then again, I am spoiled by other new technologies. It is also rather heavy for its size but seems very rugged.

However, for its intended purpuse to educate students, it includes an amazing array of quality software and the collaborative functionality to allow students to work together from other XO's is available throughout the operating system.

The speakers are loud and clear, and this comes in handy with the applications that rely on audio-- both a beginner and more advanced music composition applications, and an acoustic-circuit (and electrical-circuit) construction application. The really good camera can be used for talking photos and video. There are drawing applications, a data collection tool which graphs sounds via the included microphone and one that measures the distance between XO's via sound, a memory game, computer programming via Python, and a multimedia authoring program. Of course, it includes a browser and simple word processor and several other applications, including an RSS newsreader.

I will probably bring this along to FETC to find someone else with one so I can try the mesh network and also to collaborate with someone else from within the applications to take advantage of the intended strengths of the device.

To read more about the device and its applications, you can visit the Getting Started Guide here: http://www.laptop.org/en/laptop/start/

One Laptop Per Child

I am sure you have all heard about the "One Laptop Per Child" project, the brainchild of Nicholas Negroponte from MIT's Media Lab. The project's goal is to provide a rugged, useful laptop to students in areas of the world who would not historically have access. (You can find out more about it here: http://laptop.org)

For those of us in the US and Canada, from today (November 12th) through (updated 11/22) 12/31/07, we have the unique opportunity to participate in the "Give 1. Get 1." program-- we can buy 2 of the laptops (called the XO) for $400, with one becoming a donation to a child in a developing county and one for ourselves! (http://laptopgiving.org) (Update 11/22: Schools can now purchase them in lots over 100 units.)

I have already participated in the program the first thing this morning and the Schrock's XO will travel in the bicycle pack of my husband as he treks across the United States next spring!

PS In addition to getting a rugged little device here in the US, T-Mobile is including one year of Internet access at its wireless access locations with the device. Kudos to them!


Kathy