If you checked out my blog back in November, you may have thought I was obsessed with the OLPC XO laptop--you would be wrong. I was just excited for it. I give my blind faith to nothing and when I see the writing on the wall, I'm perfectly willing to read it out loud for all to hear. I think that's how that metaphor is supposed to work, anyway...
For anyone just tuning in, the XO is a laptop designed to cost so little to build that 3rd world countries would want to buy One Laptop Per Child (hence OLPC) in their country. Originally intended for sale to only 3rd World countries, NGOs, and domestic government bodies, the OLPC non-profit decided to sell XO's to us in the 1st world, for just a few months, late last year. The only catch was that you had to pay for two at $200 each--one would go to a 3rd world kid and the other, to you. Pretty cool, really.
My XO was delivered on December 22 and for quite a while I was very excited to have it. However, over the following months I found myself becoming more and more disappointed with it. The hardware is brilliant--it's got the features of a full-sized laptop from about seven or eight years ago, but costs a fraction of a similarly-sized (9x9.5") laptop. When I thought back to what I could do on my old laptop from 1998, I thought "and it'll fit in a small bag? SWEET! I'd love one!"
Mind you, I'd not have even paid attention were it not for the charity aspect of the project.
The hardware also contained features that no other laptop has, even now. Mainly, these are power saving features that allow for a much lower power consumption. I remember reading that a regular laptop pulls something like 50 or 60 watts but the XO pulls 6. Plus there's a backlight to the LCD you can turn off and still use the display in a black-and-white mode that is completely visible in direct sunlight. Another cool feature in the XO that you won't find in any other lappie is the Mesh networking capabilities--each XO can connect to other XOs within a kilometer away and share activities and an Internet connection. Pretty damn clever, if you ask me.
Sadly, the hardware is about all the XO has going for it. The OS is a stupified version of Linux and actually seems to hobble the hardware. Despite that old laptop of mine from 1998 having crappier specs than the XO, I can do more on it than I can on the XO. The XO won't let me novel have my manuscript open and surf the web at the same time (I don't like to close my word processor just so I can research something on the web). In fact, once my latest manuscript got beyond about 350 pages, the XO's word processor would crash. I installed a full word processor and it didn't always crash--but inconsistent crashes are worse than consistent ones, if you ask me.
While the XO does make a passable media player (command line-comfy users only, please), e-book reader and hobby computer (installing other OSes is possible, but pretty challenging), I wanted a cheap, low-end UMPC--which is just not what SugarOS, the current operating system, will let it be. Until a later version of Sugar can handle memory better, the XO is simply not ready for prime-time.
Don't get me wrong, I'm completely behind the concepts of OLPC and providing cheap computers so everyone can have better access to education (and yes, porn). However, I think the software guys are trying to reconstruct the culture of computing by teaching kids NOT to multitask. While I think having kids learn about computers differently from the way we learned about them is a good idea, hobbling the machine so only one or two things (max) can be done at once I think ill-prepares kids of any country. The world multitasks and teaching any kid to do one thing at a time hobbles them, in my opinion.
Obviously, kids need to learn to do one thing at a time, first, but when they're ready to do two or three things at once, what do they do? Buy a new computer? Can they do that easily (or at all) if they live in the 3rd world or the inner city? Maybe these kids would be better at hacking the XO than me, but I don't think it's a good idea to expect this--I'm no slouch and it took me forever to get Xubuntu installed. Besides, how are they supposed to learn to instal another OS if they're only familiar with the XO's OS?
I'm not saying SugarOS has to be windows-based, I'm just saying it needs to be able to do more. If kids need truly dumb computers Radio Shack and Toys "R" Us has them for like $30. Those machines are much better suited to kids who have no experience with computers.
Again, don't get me wrong, I think where the software engineers were coming from was a good place--I just question their choices. Of course, a lot has changed since I stopped using my XO a couple of months back.
For one, Ivan Krstic resigned. He was the main guy behind XO security. OLPCNews.com quoted (here: http://www.olpcnews.com/…_olpc.html ) Krstić saying in a blog post (here: http://radian.org/…ng-clarity ) that: "OLPC undertook a drastic internal restructuring coupled with what, despite official claims to the contrary, is a radical change in its goals and vision from those that were shared with me when I was invited to join the project.
Adding insult to injury, I was asked to stop working with Walter Bender, without a doubt one of the most stunningly thoughtful and competent people I%u2019ve ever worked with. Following Walter%u2019s demotion from OLPC presidency, I was to report instead to a manager with no technical or engineering background who was put in charge of all OLPC technology.
I cannot subscribe to the organization%u2019s new aims or structure in good faith, nor can I reconcile them with my personal ethic."
Wow.
That's some seriously heavy stuff.
Then, Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of OLPC, said he would be changing his position in a way that made it sound like he was quitting OLPC entirely. It turned out he just wanted someone else to be CEO. So far, no one has officially taken over the spot. Still, when the CEO decides he's no longer the right guy for the job, you have to wonder.
Then, just today, I learned that Walter Bender, the president of Software and Content, has quit. OLPCNews.com reported it here: http://www.olpcnews.com/…_olpc.html and Engadget.com here: http://www.engadget.com/…r-transit/
The theory is that Negroponte's interest in becoming more like Micro$oft and using a version of Windows XP on the XO is at the core of Bender wanting to leave. Who knows, this might have been the real reason Krstic wanted to leave, as well.
So, things don't look so good for OLPC and the XO. Personally, I don't mind XP for or on the XO. I absolutely despise Windows XP and Micro$oft, but would welcome an OS that doesn't hobble the XO. I had hoped to see what the guys behind the SugarOS would come up with, but when two of the most visible guys behind the OS bail, you wonder who is next to leave the Good Ship OLPC and if said ship is sinking.
I really hope OLPC can correct its course and get back on track to helping get computers into the hands of kids. I have no idea what to suggest to get them back on that track aside from making Sugar handle memory better. The last I heard they were planning on retooling the graphics. I'm thinking they should get the code right, first. Then worry about what it looks like.
Back in the mid-twentieth century, a bunch of well-meaning educators thought it would be a good idea to try to teach kids practical life lessons by shooting short films that would be shown in classrooms around the country. I'm old enough to remember being subjected to some of them and even as a kid I remember finding them rather patronizing. As an adult, I realize that the people behind the movies meant well and truly thought they were doing a good thing. I'm concerned the XO will end up in a similar place in our culture. I hope I'm wrong, of course.
I do plan on using my XO again once I'm through with my current manuscript. I do want to keep my books a little shorter, anyway. ^_^
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