OLPC - follow-up
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at 07:36AM 
I was obviously remiss in not providing more detail about the Second Coming of Christ ... I mean, the arrival of what may be the first shipping of an OLPC XO. I was flogged in the OLPC news blog for a less than delirious reaction to the new computer, and had lots of questions from Blue Skunk readers which I will answer below.
In my defense, I had been attending the state tech conference all day Monday and Tuesday, presenting both days, had a long drive home, cooked supper and unpacked before I could get to the new machine. Readers, remember I am a geezer with a geezer's energy and enthusiasm levels. Sorry. The first machine should have gone to someone more geek-worthy.
Anyway, the picture at the left shows pretty much the whole package. The small box included the computer, the power adaptor, 2 sheets of paper with minimal instructions, and the battery which had to be installed. The package was shipped FedEx from Libertyville IL on Dec 7 and arrived on my doorstep at exactly 4:30PM yesterday, Dec 11. I had no advance notice and did not need to sign for the package.
In response to comments and questions regarding yesterday's posting:
HOW CUTE!!! (talking about the cat!! I have an orange and white tabby who also sports this look--half an orange mustache and a brown dot -- or mole dare I say?--on his nose!) I can't wait to hear about the new toy as well--it is cute too.
Thank you, Cathy, for the nice words about the cat. She is lovely thing, but given to upchucking on a regular basis. Like most creatures, she is a mixed blessing.
.we'll have to compare notes.
Dean, I hope your XO arrives soon, and I'll be happy to compare notes. I am hoping a user community will grow up around this computer, much like one has around the ASUS Eee.
Is this a real G1G1 XO laptop? Might you be the very first to get one? Do tell!!
Wayan, yes, as far as I know, this is a real XO. I am surprised to learn that I may be the first to get one. Had I know this, I'd have been far more reverential. Maybe even thrown a little party.
Did you ever get a message from UPS that it was on its way? Or did it just suddenly "show up"? I haven't heard of anyone else even knowing for sure if they had shipped yet (I mean something besides the somewhat weak implication in the weekly news). Where did it ship from? I figured it would be coming from one of the coasts, but to get yours first in Minnesota? Are you just a G1G1 like the rest of us, or do you have some other connection to olpc?
Jared, I think I answered your shipping questions above, and no, I have no special connections with MIT, Negroponte, or FedEx. Come to think of it, I don't know that there is any place in the world I get preferential treatment, which is kind of depressing if you think about it.
Normally, I would be concerned having a laptop, a drink, and a nearby pet cat that could knock the glass over and spill its contents onto the laptop's keyboard. But not with the OLPC XO!If this was a G1G1, did it come with the code to activate the complimentary T-mobile hotspot access?
Con, I do preach care of technology at school and would be horrified if anyone else had a drink and cat near his/her laptop. Thank you for pointing out that I am setting a bad example for others. You are correct. The XO does look pretty damage-proof. It is tough to keep the cats from sleeping on my Mac laptop, given the warmth it generates. I so far have not located how to get the T-Mobile connectivity.
How do you find the screen, in its various modes? I am trying to keep my expectations slightly lowered, but it's difficult ;) I've been downloading various free eBooks with which to keep it occupied, too. Do the included directions give any directions as to how long to charge it (if at all) before use? (That cat is thinking of ways to destroy the laptop, but that's not evil, it's just QA.)
Timothy, the screen in the regular mode is nice and bright. I've yet to figure out how to get it to go into the passive mode. (There is not exactly a wealth of information that came with the machine or on the web about what all the buttons mean on the keyboard or case.) No instructions that I could find on how long to let the battery charge. I just plunked it in, plugged the computer into the wall, used it, then let it charge overnight. I will let it fully discharge today before plugging it in again. The cat loves the laptop - see previous paragraph.
I'm not a First Day Donor but I'm hoping their "conservative estimates" will still mean I'll get mine by January if I'm lucky!
Fricka, I was a first day donor of the G1G1 program. I called in that morning and talked to a nice lady.
I can't wait for mine :) I've got on being sent to a friend in Canada - then have to wait until she comes over in the Spring. ...
Emma, you are welcome to live vicariously though my experiences until yours arrives.
IT HAZ LOLPYTHON???
Morgan, yes, it has a little program called Pippy, which is supposed to be a stripped-down version of Python. The icon is a snake - sort of cute. The whole row of icons on the bottom look more like talismanic figures than computer icons. Mystic!
So a couple initial reactions:
Just a reminder that I am delighted to receive this computer. As you can tell from the photo at left, I can hardly contain my excitement. (Do remember that we Minnesotans tend to be more inwardly expressive.)
This seems to be very much a computer made for children, not adults. From the short time I've played with it, the stripped down feature set of the web browser, text editor, and operating system, are designed for simplicity, not extensibility. The ASUS Eee, on the other hand, feels like a machine made for adults. This will NOT be a replacement for a regular computer for grown-ups, I don't believe.
Everything seems to work out of the box - the keyboard, camera, screen. It took only a few seconds to get connected to my home wireless network. I am having some problems with a spastic track pad when on the web. I think I read that there will be a fix in the next OS release for the problem.
This is a VERY different operating system. Nothing is in the same place you'd find it in a Linux, Windows or Mac OS. The learning curve may be longer for adults with computer experience than for kids with no tech experience at all. But again, I've used this for about an hour and a half and won't get back to it until this evening. (Darned day job.)
So, that's all the news for now... Maybe I will ask the LWW to video me doing a happy dance sometime.
Reader Comments (42)
If you have some familiarity with Linux then don't forget you can use SSH to get into your XO. See Putting your XO on the Web
By the way, I'm having a ball with my XO, including using it in San Macro Plaza in Venice and in Schipol Airport in Amsterdam during a recent trip to Europe.
thanks,
dave
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