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[lgarcia]

goney3- another thread touched upon this topic. Here was my answer:
http://olpcnews.com/forum/index.php?topic=492.msg16255#msg16255

[goney3]

From following the progress of the XO at OLPC
http://www.laptop.org/en/vision/progress/index.shtml

And reviewing the basics of the XO and Sugar on the main website:
http://www.laptop.org/en/laptop/interface/demo.shtml

And familiarizing myself with the laptop BEFORE I donated, I noticed things were not yet implemented. (Take this getting started guide for example, that still says that the little hands are "reserved for a future feature")
http://www.laptop.org/en/laptop/start/keyboard.shtml

... I have the feeling I am one of the few that took the time to get informed about the OLPC and XO before donating. I spent weeks laughing at the YouTube videos of donors who blindly purchased their XO's without knowing how to open it up, let alone turn it on and use Sugar.

The blame falls on the consumer for this one, if I was smart enough to figure it out, everyone else should be... And I am pretty dim when it comes to these kinds of things. Maybe its just boyscout tendencies to "look before you leap".

Update 1 is hopefully around the corner soon for those who are still upset. Have patience, heck I still haven't even gotten the XO yet. I am just glad kids in 3rd world countries are starting to get theirs. And that makes me happy

[sracer]

From following the progress of the XO at OLPC
http://www.laptop.org/en/vision/progress/index.shtml

And reviewing the basics of the XO and Sugar on the main website:
http://www.laptop.org/en/laptop/interface/demo.shtml

And familiarizing myself with the laptop BEFORE I donated, I noticed things were not yet implemented. (Take this getting started guide for example, that still says that the little hands are "reserved for a future feature")

http://www.laptop.org/en/laptop/start/keyboard.shtml

What do those links prove?  There is nothing there about the laptop being incomplete.  Where specifically does it state that the stylus areas are inoperable.  That the "view source" is inoperable.  Where there is no suspend/resume feature. 

I have the feeling I am one of the few that took the time to get informed about the OLPC and XO before donating.

Hogwash.  You have yet to produce information (available at the time that the G1G1 program launched...not to pages that were updated AFTER) that stated that the XO laptop was incomplete. 

[goney3]

@sracer: Well one of the links about the track pad said... "The entire surface is also resistive: in the future, activities can be used with a stylus." (I took that as meaning not yet working)

There are also plenty of updates on the wiki under the various programs (paint, chat, etc) that mentioned things that are not yet implemented. (They are probably buried somewhere in the history pages by now and I really don't feel like looking them up).

I also read several reviews from people who tested B2, B3, and B4 machines... so how is your failing to understand what you were getting into OLPC's fault? Do you expect them to spoon feed a donor when their primary mission is children in 3rd world countries?

How about you donate your laptop to a developer group instead of eBay? Do some good in the world please

[fyoder]

Research I did prior to getting it suggested that it would not be a laptop as conventionally thought of, but rather more of an educational appliance.  Having used it for awhile, that impression has been confirmed.

I feel a bit sorry for people who expect it to be a conventional laptop, and who get all frustrated when in order to do things they want to do they have to use the command line and edit text files and such, but then, how many people go to town on their toasters trying to add a clock radio or something?  As an educational appliance, the XO is very nice.  It facilitates classroom sharing over the mesh of a variety of simple activities.  I very much admire the thought that has gone into it.

That said, I'll happily subvert the original intention and install shite and tweak this and twist that in order to make it more useful to me.  Though I do intend to stick with Sugar if only for aesthetic reasons -- whether you like it or not, it's a big part of what the XO is.  Can an XO running Ubuntu still really be considered an XO?  The hardware is the same, but...  I dunno.  I suppose if it was my only computer, I might go that route, but it as a portable auxiliary unit that is handy to use when I'm between desktops, all I need it to do is the web (opera) and ssh.  Since it does that and more, while being a part of a very interesting development in the history of computing, I'm very happy with it.  And it certainly has a lot more character than most laptops! 
   

[delphi]

There is nothing there about the laptop being incomplete.  Where specifically does it state that the stylus areas are inoperable.  That the "view source" is inoperable.  Where there is no suspend/resume feature.

I'm somewhat puzzled by your reasoning. Yes, the stylus and the "view source" haven't been implemented yet. But clearly these features can't be of such importance to you (or  others as no-one else mentioned these) as you indicated that, because of the 'incompleteness' of XO, you might be purchasing EeePC (which has neither of these features) instead. The suspend/resume model in XO is very different and much more efficient (how about CPU suspend between keystrokes...) than in a traditional notebook and yes, it's still not fully implemented. However, if you think buying EeePC will get you suspend/resume you seem to expect then think again - there are so many problems with it on EeePC some users decide not to use it altogether, just read the comments from EeeUser forum [1]. And then there are other issues with EeePC which no updates will fix: tiny screen size and resolution (fancy horizontal scrolling on some websites ;? ) [2], the notebook getting very hot and noisy (fan !) in some conditions (it was 38C max today where I live...), screen unreadable in the sunlight - just to mention the most obvious ones....

[1] From EeeUser forum:

Asus really need to sort out the standby mode
( http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=15379&p=1 )

Problem with standby-ing overnight
( http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=17048 )

REALLY changing suspend time?
( http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=16431


[2] OLPC vs. EeePC screens comparision
( http://regmedia.co.uk/2008/01/16/xo-eee-browse_small.jpg )
( http://regmedia.co.uk/2008/01/16/browsing_xo_eee_vertical_comparison.jpg )

[davewa]

Lack of a view source button is my second biggest annoyance with the XO (right behind the attitude of "it's no problem, just drop to Terminal and do <arcania>").   View Source was the single feature that convinced me to contribute to the program.  And at the time of G1G1, all references to view source *were* present-tense.

As for Update.1 -- don't hold your breath!  They've even stopped updating the "roadmap" for Update.1 and they have pushed Update.2 out to end of May.  Update.1 is six weeks late and slipping at the rate of one week per week.  But according to the Trac wiki page, Update.1 was released on 2/15 and is in manufacturing as of last Friday.  Yeah, right.

Now I read that the mp3 and mpeg player capability which was apparently accidentally included in e-Toys is being removed at the next release -- a triumph of principle over usability if I ever saw one!

Don't get me wrong -- I love my XO.  But it would be far more fun for me if it did what was advertised back in November.  As a developer new to Python, I sure could use that view source button.  But the program it was supposed to connect to never got finished because the community started arguing about how to translate the Python keywords to all the human languages -- let's all get terminally silly (to say nothing of thoroughly contaminating the namespace with unpredictable reserved words!).  So I continue to struggle to write code for the machine without being able to see how a proper, non-trivial Activity handles things like not changing the color of the text in the toolbars when changing the foreground color of the graphics on the canvas.

[CatMoran]

the community started arguing about how to translate the Python keywords to all the human languages

o_O Please tell me you're kidding. I can't imagine what a mess that could turn into.

[davewa]

No, I'm not kidding.  You can read all the details at
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Old_Develop_activity#Human_Language_and_Culture_Concerns
and in the "discussion" sibling page:
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Talk:Old_Develop_activity#Feedback_on_Translation_of_keywords

[Les]

I've had my xo for about 3 weeks and spent "months" reading about it before it got here.  I am happy that I got  involved.  I am one of the older newbies and have never used linux although I admired it from afar....been nursing on macs since the 512. Reading these posts has been a great help......somewhat intimidating........uplifting...exciting...all good stuff. I've learned a lot but not enough to even think about doing some of the stuff you all discuss rather casually. It's good to be a part of this monumentally hopeful project.  Some times my 75 yr old brain just doesn't get it.
questions to come......Les

[eden]

Go Les!  I'm happy you're here!  I like what you called this, a "monumentally hopeful project."  Playing and learning with my XO has given me hope that I can learn a new operating system, learn some programming, and be a part of something really good.

In the couple of months since I got the XO, I have continued to try new things at a rate I never did on any other computer.  I do get frustrated at times with some things being slower to load or process or do.  (Hey, I get frustrated with microwaves too.) 

I take it almost everywhere.  I used to always pack a book with me in case there was time to read while waiting in a line.  Now I have 100 books with me and they weigh less than some of the tomes I used to tote.  I even went for a walk at lunchtime using it to listen to a documentary--I carried it in my hand with it folded into ebook mode and had my earplugs in (with one antenna a little open).  A bit bigger than the average mp3 player, but it did the job nicely.   

[quixote]

I love my xoxu.  (Pronounced Zo-Zu, and means XO + Xubuntu).  I can throw it in a backpack (and I do mean throw), the battery lasts as long as I need it to (a first!), I can see the screen anywhere, including on the beach wearing glacier glasses. 

And it only cost me $400.  And I get to feel all tickled that somewhere in a yurt lives its twin.

The Green Machines are a miracle.

[lgarcia]

I love my XO, too. What I found was that I am not using the things I expected to use and I am using activities that I never thought would be a big deal to me.

Before I got my XO, I expected to use Write all the time, but the limitations of Write just make me go on a regular PC, instead. (Now, I do realize that I can go into the terminal and expand to the full Abiword. But, I only have wi-fi at work and I have to at least give the appearance of working while there, so the upgrades have to wait a while.) Then I save to a USB stick and pull up the documents I need.

Which takes me to what I do use all the time - the Reader/ebook mode. This is by far my favorite thing of the XO. This surprises me, because reading a PDF file or a book on a PC is not normally a high priority with me.  Often, I just print and read it as a handout (which negates the whole point of having it in a mediated format.)

But, reading on the XO is great. I commute with my husband and often have to wait for him to get off work. I can read in a dark car interior without having to squint using an overhead dome light. It just shows up so well in a darkened environment. I can also read forever in bed without constantly being asked when I am going to turn off the bedside light - again because of the illumination of the screen. Plus, I can read laying on my side, sitting up, laying down flat etc. because of the versatility of the screen position. I find that I usually read with the XO turned around in ebook mode and the screen tilted up as that creates the smallest footprint. I have a touch of arthritis and my hands get tired holding a book open. With the XO, I don't have to hold anything.

Like quixote, I just toss it in my backpack and take it everywhere. I use it constantly in the classroom since my lecture notes and weblinks are available to me via my online class sites. It is hard to walk around with a conventional laptop, but the XO gets carried all over the classroom. This get me out from behind the lectern and into having more immediacy and interaction with the students.

[Hope]

Can you download books designed for the Kindle?

[lgarcia]

Can you download books designed for the Kindle?

This link makes it sound like you can read things it can't, but perhaps the wiki addresses the Kindle format.
http://olpcnews.com/forum/index.php?topic=690.0