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As someone who bought an olpc to have one donated back in 2008 or 2009, I was underwhelmed to say the least by the product. I expected a more intuitive ui for n

As someone who bought an olpc to have one donated back in 2008 or 2009, I was underwhelmed to say the least by the product. I expected a more intuitive ui for non-pc savvy users, but it was cludgy and hard to use. If my friends 2 year olds can operate an iphone, then maybe that is a more suitable ui for new computer users to dive into. I half hoped that the olpc would come with build in curriculum and learning games and videos that the kids could do on their own. i.e. faster than the teacher could teach them. I do believe there is still plenty of potential for these types of programs to work, just need to understand how the end users will use them better, and have properly designed curriculum.

jgrahamc 15y ago
I have to agree with your sentiment about the machine. I too bought one as part of the G1G1 program and it is a horrible device. I've played around with it extensively (even building a temperature sensor so that school kids could do some simple experiments with it: http://blog.jgc.org/2010/01/simplifying-my-olpc-xo-1-temperature.html http://blog.jgc.org/2010/01/simplifying-my-olpc-xo-1-tempera...) and it's an ugly machine. The supplied software is really poor in general (or incredibly limited) and there isn't much of a decent ecosystem of software around it. And the default launcher is hard to use. It is one thing, however: it's really robust. Can't count the number of times local school kids have dropped it on the floor or generally abused it.
klenwell 15y ago
I participated in the program, too, and have struggled to find use for my machine. But I have no regrets. To say because "my friend's 2 year olds can operate an iphone, then maybe that is a more suitable ui for new computer users to dive into" misses the point of the OLPC initiative: - OLPC was at the vanguard of the Netbook revolution. In fact, I remember it being given credit for having helped spur it. - iPhone is significantly more expensive and less resilient and the goal of the OLPC was not to create a polished consumer device. - Someone with no previous computer usage will adapt to become savvy with the UI. Most (all?) spoken languages are pretty kludgey and hard to use at first, but kids become quite savvy with them. I realize these are all common defenses/apologies for the OLPC, but I think they hold up. It's enheartening to read @PelCasandras report (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3811282 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3811282) on the success of the program in Uruguay. As for my machine, it hasn't been entirely demoted to paperweight. It has become my leisure travel laptop because of its durability and great wifi reach. I just don't tend to travel that much.
- reinhardt 15y ago
  Calling netbooks a "revolution" is too much of a stretch for a trend that basically lasted 2-3 years, if that.
  - rbanffy 15y ago
    It's actually sad PC makers decided to rebrand them "ultrabooks" in order to be able to collectively raise prices...
    - brianbreslin 15y ago
      I'd argue the class of power in an ultra book is diff from net book. Ultra books are a response to MacBook air giving real usable performance in slim package. Net books were sub 9" under powered devices who were just eaten up by tablets
bitwize 15y ago
The iPhone UI is a consumerized, touchscreenized version of the OLPC UI. Think about it: a home screen with icons for activities ("apps"), that dominate the screen and can be started and stopped without losing their state; an eschewing of the file system for activity-specific storage; etc. The one really innovative thing that Apple (and Android) didn't integrate was the concept of the Journal. I love the idea of a log of what you did, that you could scroll through and instantly resume prior work with.

jgrahamc 15y ago

I have to agree with your sentiment about the machine. I too bought one as part of the G1G1 program and it is a horrible device. I've played around with it extensively (even building a temperature sensor so that school kids could do some simple experiments with it: http://blog.jgc.org/2010/01/simplifying-my-olpc-xo-1-temperature.html http://blog.jgc.org/2010/01/simplifying-my-olpc-xo-1-tempera...) and it's an ugly machine. The supplied software is really poor in general (or incredibly limited) and there isn't much of a decent ecosystem of software around it. And the default launcher is hard to use. It is one thing, however: it's really robust. Can't count the number of times local school kids have dropped it on the floor or generally abused it.

klenwell 15y ago

I participated in the program, too, and have struggled to find use for my machine. But I have no regrets. To say because "my friend's 2 year olds can operate an iphone, then maybe that is a more suitable ui for new computer users to dive into" misses the point of the OLPC initiative: - OLPC was at the vanguard of the Netbook revolution. In fact, I remember it being given credit for having helped spur it. - iPhone is significantly more expensive and less resilient and the goal of the OLPC was not to create a polished consumer device. - Someone with no previous computer usage will adapt to become savvy with the UI. Most (all?) spoken languages are pretty kludgey and hard to use at first, but kids become quite savvy with them. I realize these are all common defenses/apologies for the OLPC, but I think they hold up. It's enheartening to read @PelCasandras report (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3811282 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3811282) on the success of the program in Uruguay. As for my machine, it hasn't been entirely demoted to paperweight. It has become my leisure travel laptop because of its durability and great wifi reach. I just don't tend to travel that much.

reinhardt 15y ago
Calling netbooks a "revolution" is too much of a stretch for a trend that basically lasted 2-3 years, if that.
- rbanffy 15y ago
  It's actually sad PC makers decided to rebrand them "ultrabooks" in order to be able to collectively raise prices...
  - brianbreslin 15y ago
    I'd argue the class of power in an ultra book is diff from net book. Ultra books are a response to MacBook air giving real usable performance in slim package. Net books were sub 9" under powered devices who were just eaten up by tablets

bitwize 15y ago

The iPhone UI is a consumerized, touchscreenized version of the OLPC UI. Think about it: a home screen with icons for activities ("apps"), that dominate the screen and can be started and stopped without losing their state; an eschewing of the file system for activity-specific storage; etc. The one really innovative thing that Apple (and Android) didn't integrate was the concept of the Journal. I love the idea of a log of what you did, that you could scroll through and instantly resume prior work with.