Around this time, back in 2007, you may recall me freaking out about the new XO-1 laptop from OLPC I was waiting for.  OLPC is the name of a non-profit that was created in order to design a laptop computer so cheaply that 3rd World governments would want to buy One Laptop Per Child in their country–get it? OLPC.  Their plan initially was to make a laptop that would cost $100, which they'd then charge $100 for.  I know–zero mark-up, these guys must be COMMIES! ;)

Sadly, they didn't quite make their target price, but $200 for a netbook as full featured, as this thing is, still ain't bad.  Last year, OLPC announced a program called "Give 1 Get 1" or G1G1 and it allowed Americans to buy two OLPC XO laptops–they would get one, and the other would go to a kid in a 3rd-world country.  Pretty cool, huh?  So, naturally, since it was mixing gadgets with philantrhopy (and the XO is a great little piece of hardware) I had to support it. 

Today, the program returns via Amazon.com.  Check out http://amazon.com/xo to order now!

But you may be wondering just what the heck some poor kid in a village is going to do with a laptop?  The answer is easy: learn.

The XO's onboard OS, called SugarOS, comes with a bunch of great educational applications (called "activities") that help kids learn about all sorts of things, from math, to music, to more.  If the village has a single computer with Internet access, every XO in the village can access the same connection and can even share Internet connections amongst each other XO thanks to Mesh networking technology.  Mesh allows each XO to connect and each XO user to share activities to encourage kids to work together (up to a kilometer away!).

But a laptop in the middle of the 3rd World?

The XO has a huge battery lifespan–one charge gives it about twice as long a run as my MacBook gets on it's battery.  Part of this lifespan jump is thanks to the XO's dual mode laptop display which allows you to switch from back-lit-color to straight black & white with just a button-press.  The B&W mode is perfect for outdoor settings.  No moving parts also allows the XO to use less energy.  Its case is durable and practical (it even has a handle) and is generally spill and dust proof.  I know, I have one.

My only gripe about the XO is the OS.  While I understand creating a non-windows, non-Windows-based lappie for kids (we want them to use computers in a positive way), I do feel that the OS limits the kids on how much they can do.  While the laptop's processor surpasses that of my old, 1998 Toshiba Satellite's, I was not able to work on my novel and research on the web simultaneously on the XO.  This is something I did every day for a year-straight on my Satellite.  The good news is that it is possible to run Linux (and even Windows XP–though you wouldn't want to) on the XO.  It alows you to pack a bit more punch and take a bit more advantage of the RAM.  Of course, I say this as a computer-geek-extraordinaire–not as a kid in a third world country.  Speaking of which, 3rd World kids seem to enjoy the XO just fine.

Why not drop $400 and let another kid get one?

http://amazon.com/xo

Or get it at my Amazon store here:

http://astore.amazon.com/thepetecom-20/detail/B001GB87EI

Either way, any computer is going to beat the computer most of these kids are going to get.  Make a difference and own the laptop that invented the netbook.

Posted by email from thepete’s posterous

XO Screencap 3: Weee! Isn’t this fun? I’d upload a video shot with my XO, but I can’t work out how to convert OGG to anything without dragging the video onto my Mac—what a drag. Of course, if Utterz could support OGG, that would be so cool!! The cap above shows the homepage for Gnash, the opensource Flash player that comes on the XO. I had such high hopes for this thing but my ignorance of Linux has stopped me from working out how to configure it to play mp4 nd mp3 files. It handled FLash reasonably well, but it’s supposed to do more :( More at Utterz.com

First XO Screencap: Been meaning to post this forever, but Opera wouldn’t do anything when I’d click on utterz’ “choose” button. Now it works fine (after a reinstall of Opera). What the screencap shows is Meebo in action on the XO in Opera. I tried it, it works. Sadly, in typical XO-fashion, it’s hard to multitask with any speed. Then again, I haven’t given it a really testing, but hope to soon. More at Utterz.com

OK, well, it’s been several days of suppressing frustrations that would have resulted in a double-barreled verbal assault on a for-profit corporation, as I play the “Waiting for XO” game. Mind you, it’s only day 4 of the 10-day window they promised us Day 1 Donors (D1Ders=we ordered our XOs on November 12, 2007, the first day of the Give 1 Get 1 program). So, I’m exhibiting the anxiousness associated with being a gadget freak and a gearhead and not the patience of a rational adult. That said, I’m not threatening to demand a refund like at least one person did on the OLPCNews.com forums.

This is especially true since I’ve been able to talk with Courtney. Who is Courtney? She is the helpful, warm, friendly and very patient representative at OLPC I ended up speaking with after I got fed up with calling FedEx every day and getting no useful information. Courtney was able to both give me a confirmation number (that I can effectively use as a tracking number) and confirm that my order had been “sent to shipping.” That means that my XO has begun its trip to me. I confirmed this with the FedEx website. Check out the screencap below:

So, I don’t have a delivery date and my XO is still in Illinois as of this post, but from what I’ve read on the OLPCNews forums, the theory is that it will arrive 3-5 days after it leaves. So, by that logic, I should be looking for an XO on my doorstep sometime between Thursday and Saturday. Which is fine, but not as cool as getting it last week. I have to decide if it’s even worth it to unbox the XO live on BlogTV.com or not, now. I mean, what’s the point since so many people who ordered XOs already got theirs?

In other news, I found the Flickr pool for OLPC XOs! It’s got loads of great pics of the XO in various stages of existence. From shots of just the OS to the prototype, to early builds of the laptop, to G1G1 XOs in the hands of their new owners. Check it out:

I can’t wait to add mine to that pool.

Sadly, there is a brick to report today, however. The first DOA XO fell into the hands of Charles Hoey, who guest blogged today about his experience at OLPCNews.com. Here’s a cutting:

So, I was a first day donor (bought online about two hours in) and finally got my XO this morning… and it is DOA! No lights, no power.

Like many of us, I’ve been reading the blog posts from folks who’d gotten theirs already, and I’ve been dying to get my hands on one. You can only imagine the horror as it slowly set in that I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but that my XO was actually completely non-functional (no charge lights or power up or errors, no activity at all).

Thankfully, Charles is, so far, the only person to have had FedEx deliver a brick. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Finally, I’d like to close today’s OLPCXLPotD with an XO-related pet peeve. Yes, I already have one despite not even having an XO yet. Mainly, it’s the name of the laptop, itself.

People think that because the non-profit org that is behind the XO laptop is called “OLPC” that you call the laptop “OLPC.” This, from my point-of-view, is not the case. OLPC stands for One Laptop Per Child, not Overt Laptop Personal Computer, or something. Yet, I’m seeing people all over the place referring to the diminutive green and white laptop as “the OLPC”.

The acronym OLPC represents the concept behind the laptop–the laptop has had several names over it’s two years of development, but it’s final name–the one it has on the back of the display of every new laptop made is: “XO.”

I’m not suggesting a world-wide campaign against the calling of XOs by the acronym “OLPC.” I’m just trying to help people understand what’s what. I could refer to my MacBook as “an Apple” but that would seem pretty vague to me. So, know your phrasing! Or I’ll call the English police on you… or some crap. :)

Waaay back on November 29, 2007, Wayan Vota of OLPCNews.com posted a Frappr map for XO users to mark where they are in the world. Since it’s been over two weeks I thought it might be a good time to repost it so as people get their XOs delivered they can add themselves to the map.

In other OLPCXO news, I’m already pretty active over at the forum at OLPCNews.com (and so are a lot of other people, like Utterz.com pals PixelFish and Fricka). Meanwhile, Western Illinois University professor Bradley Dilger blogs about how his daughter’s XO arrived last night and what he thinks of it. He has, in part, this to say about the XO:

I’ve only used it an hour or two, but I have to say I’m very impressed. If this is the first version of what will be many hardware and software iterations to follow, a lot of vendors suddenly have some work to do. The SUGAR interface, which OLPC describes as hiding the robust Linux OS, is extremely cool, and I could quite easily see myself using it on a regular basis.

Hey, I thought he said it was his daughter’s XO. o_O

Dilger has much more to say about the XO, so if you’re curious, swing by.

Back at the OLPCNews.com/forum a short stack of people are chiming in to say they’ve already gotten their XOs and plenty more are chiming in on how envious they are–me included ^_^ So, if you’re still waiting for yours and want to feel envious or have gotten yours and want to celebrate, head over to the G1G1 Introduction subforum.

OK, the above was everything I posted on Utterz, but since you came to ThePete.Com, you also get:

MORE XO NEWS!! WAHOO!

SO, here we go, Utterer Fricka Utterz on an XO-related BBC News article that let’s a 9 year-old British kid named Rufus review the XO laptop. Here’s a cutting:

“I just seemed to work it out. It was rather easy. I didn’t even need help.” Surprise, surprise, his first discovery was a game. “I found Block Party. It’s like Tetris. I’m now up to Level 7.”

I thought my young games fanatic might stick there but he moved on. “Then I discovered paint. You can use pencils, change the texture, use different sizes of brush.”

Even better, there was an animation programme called Etoys.

“That’s my favourite.You make things. You can see tutorials and demos. Then you can make a new project. I’ve made a crazy UFO which you can move.”

But Rufus says it isn’t just about play.

“I use the calculator - that can be rather useful for sums. You can even browse onto the internet. You can watch and learn stuff. You can write things and it can also remind you which is extremely useful.”

What, I asked, does a nine year old need to remind himself about? “Christmas stuff,” he said, with an air of mystery.

So, it’s a computer so simple even a kid can learn how to use it. A BRITISH kid, no less!! ;)

What’s even cooler is that Rufus goes on to say that he learned some Spanish from the kids in Nigeria–it seems he worked out how to use the XO to communicate with kids with other XOs. This makes me want mine even more!!! ARG!!

This brings me to an OLPCNews.com post on using the XO to communicate blogged by Robert Arrowsmith. See, the XO comes with Mesh networking technology which is essentially like a macro-WiFi (I think I’m using “macro” properly here) in that it allows you to create a Wide Area Network (WAN) with other XO laptops. You can then share files, apps (or “Activities” as they’re called on the XO), even an Internet connection. What’s amazing about Mesh is that it’s range is said to be over half-a-mile–1 kilometer to be specific. Of course, I’ll try to put that to the test, assuming any other XOers in the LA area want to hang out. :)

The nice thing about Arrowsmith’s article is that, in the comments, we learn all sorts of other stuff about the XO and the Internet. Apparently, it not only spots XO users, but also, through your WiFi connection, spots other people on your network and on the Internet who are connected to the same Jabber network as you. The XO uses a Jabber network to connect other XOs but (I believe) it can also be used by other ‘net users.

Finally, from the gadget-freak files, we have an awesome “Calvin and Hobbes” parody comic stript totally captures where most of us XOers are mental-state-wise. I liken it to the days leading up to the purchase of my first iPod back in 2003–a period in my life I recreated for a storyline in my Otis the Elevator comic, which you can check out at thepete.com/otis. I need to draw more. Perhaps, with the help of the XO, I will!

Anyway, so the strip is a riot and it’s by DeviantArt-user Torokun be sure to check out his other art or swing by the OLPCNews post I found the strip at originally.

Also, stay tuned at ThePete.com for news on the unboxing of my XO when it arrives. That’ll come later today.

One of the things I’ve noticed about my two Apple laptops is a certain inability to read the keyboard without adequate lighting. Now, I’m a writer, so I don’t need to see the letter-keys to type. I do need lighting to see the function keys along the top of the keyboard, however. My PowerBook’s keys are silver with a black font. My MacBook has black keys with white font, so it’s a little less of a problem. The XO’s keyboard features green keys with black font. So, seeing the function keys on it will be an issue and it’s an issue Mike Lee deals with in a recent OLPCNews.com post. (Mike Lee is some kind of developer connected to the XO–I haven’t been able to work out how, but he’s based in DC and is helping to run the DC XO users group there.)

Now, according to Mike Lee, who has had “a couple B4 machines since August” (lucky bastard!):

“there were two LEDs in the plastic bank on either side of the screen hinge of the B2 prototype that could be activated to bathe the keyboard in bluish light. The LEDs were removed…

Because:

Mary Lou Jepsen, the CTO of OLPC, explained that the LEDs were removed to save a little money and complexity.

These made for ideal keyboard-viewing in low-lighting, according to Lee, and in his recent post on OLPCNews.com, wrote about finding another way to see the keyboard in poor or no-light situations. The idea for kids was that they would just angle the screen down a bit to see the keys. However, since adults tend to be taller, Lee felt that another solution was in order. He writes about the iLite, a small USB light for the XO laptop’s keyboard that you can plug in and aim at the keyboard in a way that won’t disrupt your view of the XO’s screen.

Mike Lee also explains in his post that he will be doing a series of posts at OLPCNews.com on accessories for the XO that I, for one, am chomping at the bit to read.

In the comments of Lee’s post, people ask him about solar solutions for the XO, while I was able to share some of my limited knowledge about solar and my research on powering the XO with it, I don’t know anything first hand. Lee linked to Solar-UMPC.com, a: “blog covering the topic of powering ultra-mobile and ultra-efficient personal computers through solar and natural energy sources.”

The site looks packed with great DIY solutions for mobile computing under the power of the sun. Sadly, it all looks like it requires a bit more tech-skill than just walking into your local Radio Shack and asking the first employee you see: “Can I have the 2nd solar panel on the left?”

But Solar-UMPC.com seems to make solar-powered computing a definite possibility even if it’s not without some doing. All fascinating stuff if you’re a gear head.

Both Mike’s blog and Solar-UMPC I’ll have to add to my reading list now! Damn!

ANYway, so there are quite a few other things you can buy for the XO, even if solar panels aren’t quite read for admission into the XOniverse. One question I asked Lee about in his OLPCNews post was about a slipcase for the XO. The XO laptop is 9×9.5 inches in size. I’ve never come across a laptop bag that small before. What does Lee suggest? A slipcase for 10 inch DVD players. He recommends the Case Logic model that has an extra pocket for the XO’s AC adapter. I’m not a big fan of handles on my slipcases, so I may look for something else. Still, looking for cases for portable DVD players is a great idea. I was also contemplating working on something custom-made with TheWife’s sewing skills in tow. Though I’m thinking we may not have the time for it.

Either way, keep watching this space or OLPCNews.com for more on the XO laptop and what can be done with it. Remember, as Mike Lee said on one of his posts on the average person’s reaction to the XO at Hiptop Nation:

…when you spend $399 to donate the XO laptop to a child in a developing country, you get a laptop to keep AND T-mobile throws in a year’s worth of WiFi access. That’s a $349 value. Plus you write off $200 on your taxes.

You can still take advantage of what Lee says there by going to XOgiving.org (or laptopgiving.org). Once there, place your order for an XO (it’ll run you around $425 with shipping). This is a limited time offer as I type this–December 31, 2007 is the cut-off. It may be extended again, but there is no guarantee. If you’re thinking about it and can afford to do it, I suggest you don’t wait (especially considering that they’re manufacturing each XO as it’s ordered which means it could take a couple months to get delivery).

Actually, the tax write-off may not be as possible, as Lee suggests, thanks to the free T-Mobile service being a “profit” in some people’s minds–just be sure to talk to a tax person before you try to write ANYTHING off.

SHIPPING UPDATE: Rumor had it that the G1G1 XOs were shipping out yesterday–however, considering that we all got emails when our donated XOs went to one of a handful of developing countries, I’m not letting myself get too excited about shipments until I either get an email from the OLPC folks telling me it’s on its way or Mr. UPS shows up at my door with a box with green writing on it in his hands.

OK, that’s it for now! Stop by tomorrow for another OLPCXOLPotD (OLPC XO Laptop Post of the Day)!