While we saw the
OLPC XO-1's
OS emulation earlier this week, not everyone (including us) took the time to set up the necessary software needed in order to run it. Luckily, we've just gotten a better glimpse (via an online video on the next page) at how the XO's software actually runs. Although Linux-based, the XO-1's operating system appears to have been very much simplified, with menu bars and icons being kept to a bare minimum. Most notably, the entire desktop interface is entirely pictographic, with no title bar menus and very little in the way of pull down commands, which probably makes it easier to teach kids who may still be learning how to read. The YouTube video shows some of the various standard applications that come with the XO-1: Firefox, an unnamed instant messaging program, a variant of Abiword (word processing), and an application called eToys that looks like a combination of traditional computer games (such as Chinese Checkers) combined with something resembling the children's art program Kid Pix. One quick caveat to you soon-to-be-XO-1-toting
Libyan kids: we will so pwn you at Chinese Checkers.
[Via
Slashdot]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Matt @ Nov 24th 2006 10:11PM
i already ran this and the ui sucks ass
LittleJoe @ Nov 24th 2006 10:27PM
Does anyone else think the "Mines" game is a poor choice for kids in developing and possibly war torn countries???
xxdesmus @ Nov 24th 2006 10:55PM
That has got to be the funniest thing I have read all day.
TheWakeUpCall @ Nov 26th 2006 9:33AM
lol!
ironchef @ Nov 24th 2006 10:56PM
woowee that looks simple dimple.
Kauz @ Nov 24th 2006 11:09PM
chinese checkers... for poor chinese orphans. atleast they probably know how to play already?
MASA @ Nov 24th 2006 11:14PM
Cute but it looks like it is too limited
Chad @ Nov 24th 2006 11:25PM
the instant messenger looks like a cut down version of gaim
alex @ Nov 25th 2006 1:53AM
The "games" part looks like the squeak environment for smalltalk. It is much more functional then what the video shows. The kids can program and learn quite a lot with that interface.
Erik @ Nov 25th 2006 4:14AM
Alex is correct, the squeak environment shown is also called eToys.
Overall I'm not so impressed with this demo, mostly with how applications are integrated. I think Firefox looks good, but most other applications don't when you pull up a context menu or preferences.
wayan @ Nov 25th 2006 7:53AM
OLPC News ran the actual emulation in detail, putting each program through its paces. Check the review here: http://www.olpcnews.com/software/operating_system/olpc_emulated_sugar_ui.html
Jon Doezal @ Nov 25th 2006 5:49PM
Works absolutely perfectly, seeing if theres anyway to get linux to actaully be linux and not just this stupid suger.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/ClubAlpha/vmwareolpc.jpg
Jon Doezal @ Nov 25th 2006 8:38PM
Also, I tested it, and it DOES have an address bar, but it just shows the title of the page, as would appear in the title bar of Firefox or IE. You CAN type in an address.