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[msevior]

Doesn't work for me, either. I get

Code:

bash: abiword: command not found

Ah OK. I'll see if I can find out what is actually shipped on the images.

[jenstclair]

I currently use an Alphasmart Dana which I love, but I wanted to get a XO Laptop for the added ability to get online as well. We'll see about the keyboard; it's a bit smaller than what I'm used to, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I'm going to try to finish my current WIP (work-in-progress) on the XO. We'll see. I just got it today, and have already loaded my book on there. I really like the screen. It's very clear and easy to read.

I'm glad to see other writers had the same idea I did! 

[Kelly73]

I've seen some people who could type real fast with two fingers.  Guess I could learn.

[olpc_franco]

Or you could get a cheap USB keyboard.  I got one a couple of years ago for $10 and it works fine with the OX.  Add a wireless mouse and you're in business! 

[markd241]

My favorite is a wireless keyboard and optical mouse combo. Works well with XO-
Very low power usage and small keyboard footprint. Only $27 here

http://www.directron.com/rk670md.html

Enjoy Mark

[Jimmy]

Sorry for the screwups. Please report them as you find them and I we'll do what we can to fix them.

Thanks for the offer to get the bugs fixed. Calling them screwups is kind of harsh. But, they are unexpected and avoidable problems that make the XO difficult to use in today's world.

Given that many of the solutions appearing here involve installing all sorts of files, apps and OS future-versions, it would be nice to have a Sugarized install/remove tool and a Sugarized file manager.

It would be nice to be able to report our experiences here without getting beaten up by who those who don't use the XO in the classroom. 

[Jimmy]

I currently use an Alphasmart Dana which I love, but I wanted to get a XO Laptop for the added ability to get online as well. We'll see about the keyboard; it's a bit smaller than what I'm used to, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. I'm going to try to finish my current WIP (work-in-progress) on the XO. We'll see. I just got it today, and have already loaded my book on there. I really like the screen. It's very clear and easy to read.

I'm glad to see other writers had the same idea I did! 

Well, it's been a few days. How is that going for you?

[jenstclair]

Well, it's been a few days. How is that going for you?

It's going okay, thanks for asking. I am getting used to the keyboard. And I'm not really worried about the AbiWord problem at the moment, since that's what I'm using as my main word processor anyway. I didn't even notice at first.

I do like it so far.

[Jimmy]

Well, it's been a few days. How is that going for you?

It's going okay, thanks for asking. I am getting used to the keyboard. And I'm not really worried about the AbiWord problem at the moment, since that's what I'm using as my main word processor anyway. I didn't even notice at first.

I do like it so far.

Good!  This may wake up the Dana (Alphasmart) people and get them to upgrade features and review their pricing!  The XO's screen and browser (even with the bugs) are much nicer than the Dana's.

[jenstclair]

Good!  This may wake up the Dana (Alphasmart) people and get them to upgrade features and review their pricing!  The XO's screen and browser (even with the bugs) are much nicer than the Dana's.

Oh, I agree. For cheaper than the price of a new Dana Wireless (say), I got so much more for my money. The only thing the Dana has on the XO is the battery length of time--I'm used to 25-30 hours on the Dana and that was the really big selling point for me.

My Dana has 16mb of flash storage, if I remember correctly. I have probably 20 novels on it, plus snippets of things and such, as well as a few programs I loaded, and I only used up half the space. So I'm thinking that I'll never fill up my XO with stuff, especially writing-related stuff.

Obviously, the XO has a lot more features (not to mention color and the backlight) that are battery hogs.

[LesleyT]

ooooh  good thread.
I'm an MFA student and also do assistive technology for k-12 students with disabilities, so this laptop is my dream machine for both of my lives.

A few years ago, I took a train trip across the US and Canada by myself to do research.  I was wary about traveling alone and did not want the extra hassle and attention of a laptop.  I have rheumatoid arthritis, so the less junk I had in my backpack, the better off I'd be.

I bought a used Audiovox Thera PDA/phone and a folding keyboard.  My folding keyboard gave out on me somewhere in Canada, but it was really a good solution while it lasted.  I never got 100% comfortable with the replacement keyboard I got off of ebay. 

My last great trip, with my husband and sister and law through Europe, had me slinging my Gateway laptop with me.  I was happy to have it -- I really couldn't live without it because I'm too used to composing on screen and I was taking a writing course in Ireland.  Still, it was a pain and although it's not irreplacably valuable, I worried about it a lot.  And I hated life when it was my turn to carry it in my backpack.  Battery life was so bad that I did most of the writing on my thumb keyboard of my HTC 6700 PDA.  It wasn't worth getting out of the bag. 

I've tried to go back to writing on my PDA phone and on a used Alphasmart 3000, but I find the small displays too disconcerting.  I want to see what I've done.

I have also seen Alphasmarts used for kids with disabilities who struggle with writing longhand, yet I think the lack of an ability to see more than a few lines is a big disadvantage for kids with visual impariments or learning disabilities. 

When I get my XO, I'll have more to report, but I am really excited about writing/blogging on it.  I'm also excited about using it with "my kids" with disabilities and not worrying so much what will happen to it if it flies at my head (yes, that happens in this field)

[Kay]

Re: Tamichan's Instructions for opening AbiWord on G1G1 XOs
"1. Open Terminal activity.
2. Type su
3. cd /usr/share/activities/Write.activity
4. mv keybindings.xml keybindings.xml.orig
5. Start Write activity.
6. Press Ctrl-N

If you like to restore the original settings, you can move keybinding.xml.orig file back to keybinding.xml."

Tamichan, I tried this and it worked beautifully! I'm very excited to have a good word processor on my XO.

Also, everyone might be interested to know that, using AbiWord, I've been able to save a file as .doc, put it on a USB stick, and open it on a Mac using MSWord. It requires a little bit of fiddling, but I'm a complete newb to this stuff and figured it out in about half an hour, so you can too.

Here, I hope, are the directions:
1. Open AbiWord using the above instructions. Note: The circle appears (for me, at least), not in the Activities bar on the bottom but on the ring around the logo.
2. Type something.
3. "File" -> "Save as" a .doc file in places: olpc (in this example, let's say the file is called ***.doc)
4. Open Browse (I don't know if this will work in Opera)
5. type file:///home/olpc/***.doc in the finder window. Browse will download the file.
6. The file should now appear in your Journal, from which you can transfer it to your USB stick.

[Frank Scott]

Thanks, Kay (and Tami) - great advice. It will be nice to have a functional word processing application on the XO. Along with Opera and Midnight Commander (file manager), I finally feel that the XO will be really useful for me.

[jlc]

Moving the keybindings file and opening a new document works like charm.

I ran into a problem with Write trying to edit a  largish file (375 page novel, 500+kb).  It takes forever to load; once loaded, the machine gets slow as syrup and periodically becomes unresponsive for a couple of minutes at a time.  I suspect this has something to do with the journal.  Anyway, using Abiword (as above, rather than Write) the problem with responsiveness goes away.  Still takes forever to load the file to start, but it's not like I'm not going to waste that time procrastinating anyway.

Finally (caution, cognitive whiplash), the only problem I'm having with the keyboard is the space bar. It (mine at least) is more responsive on the ends than in the middle, i.e., usually the middle of the space bar does nothing.  So I'm learning to keep my space bar thumb sort of tucked under my palm whence I can easily (ha!) hit the end of the space bar.

Anyway, I hope to get a lot of writing done with this little machine and am glad to see I'm not the only scribbler with that notion.

[strollin]

Re: Tamichan's Instructions for opening AbiWord on G1G1 XOs
"1. Open Terminal activity.
2. Type su
3. cd /usr/share/activities/Write.activity
4. mv keybindings.xml keybindings.xml.orig
5. Start Write activity.
6. Press Ctrl-N

If you like to restore the original settings, you can move keybinding.xml.orig file back to keybinding.xml."

Tamichan, I tried this and it worked beautifully! I'm very excited to have a good word processor on my XO.

Also, everyone might be interested to know that, using AbiWord, I've been able to save a file as .doc, put it on a USB stick, and open it on a Mac using MSWord. It requires a little bit of fiddling, but I'm a complete newb to this stuff and figured it out in about half an hour, so you can too.

Here, I hope, are the directions:
1. Open AbiWord using the above instructions. Note: The circle appears (for me, at least), not in the Activities bar on the bottom but on the ring around the logo.
2. Type something.
3. "File" -> "Save as" a .doc file in places: olpc (in this example, let's say the file is called ***.doc)
4. Open Browse (I don't know if this will work in Opera)
5. type file:///home/olpc/***.doc in the finder window. Browse will download the file.
6. The file should now appear in your Journal, from which you can transfer it to your USB stick.

Kay,

In step #3, you can save directly to your USB stick.  If you navigate io the media folder your USB stick (and SD card) will be listed there.  That way you can eliminate steps 4, 5 & 6.