Even though the OLPC XO is real, and we have solid Sugar UI reviews, do note that the current crop of laptops are a beta test of fully functional Children's Machine XO hardware and the software is alpha test.
What might that mean? To quote the BTest-1 release Notes:
Most of our effort to date has been consumed by basic device support as well as putting together the basic user interface framework for children, which has known performance problems.Over that the OLPC Wiki B-1 Demo Notes there is even more detail about what may or may not be working:Major components are as yet not complete: power management and the wiki editing system to name two large components. Enough is now present to begin to sketch the outline of where we believe the children's software should go: enabling the construction of software in which children and teachers can easily collaborate is central to our vision. Children should not be passive receivers of "content" but creators as well.
We do not expect that the software is yet ready for trials with children: BTest-1 is aimed primarily at developers to become familiar with the hardware and to enable testing of both the hardware and software.
Better yet, there is a wonderful photo set of the One Laptop Per Child creation, starting with this great overview of the computer hardware:There are bugs that are currently being worked on and not all components are operational, e.g., some keys do not work. We will do our best to document these and get them fixed in a timely manner.
- The touch pad is sensitive and can be hard to maneuver until you get used to it. (It needs tuning.)
- When you click on an icon, please click only ONCE or the application will load many times. Sometimes applications are slow to load. BE PATIENT.
- Static is an issue with these units, please use static guard around demo areas to reduce static from carpet.
- We have yet to implement power management, so keep the machine plugged in as much as possible.
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