C. Scott Ananian wrote: > I'm not sure exactly what you mean. About a million kids will be > using the XO-1, in *just this calendar year*. The XO-2 will not be > ready until 2010 at the earliest. How do you feel that the XO-1 is > merely a test bed? > > This is a serious question: if this impression is widespread, we need > to do a better job communicating, and your help in discovering what we > still haven't said is important. (See > http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/devel/2008-May/013694.html for my > previous best effort.)
I disagree that XO-2 announcement really makes it look like XO-1 was a "test bed", however I still see it as being extremely poorly timed. XO-1 still has multiple unresolved issues that users see as serious defects. It has one issue that *I* see as a serious defect (SD corruption), it's just being a kernel developer I am less likely to blame anyone but myself for not working on it. There already was a serious shortage of good will toward the project due to Negroponte badmouthing Open Source development in public. Microsoft announcement of their "$3" Windows XP makes everyone suspicious about existence of some backroom agreements or even payoffs. Then Negroponte openly announces "alliance" with Microsoft that all but confirms people's worst fears. Then we hear about plans for finding some "third parties" that will port Sugar to Windows despite the fact that such a project has no popular support inside or outside current Sugar development that is, on top of everything, is in a state of flux and organizational transition. At this moment, when everyone is trying to find out what the direction of development and deployment of XO-1, Sugar or XO-with-XP is going to be, when the answer to that question will determine which people are going to participate and support the project, and which people will dedicate their time, influence and energy to damage the reputation of OLPC (BTW, I can go into either of those categories depending on actual answers that I still don't know) -- at this moment what is the most damaging thing Negroponte can do short of shutting down the project or "donating" it to Bill Gates, SCO or other similarly odious entity? Right, it's to make a "big announcement" that addresses none of those questions, and provides no information that is going to be relevant to the public for at least two years (and likely longer because development timeframe sounds pretty unrealistic in the absence of massive volunteer support). If I was anywhere close to OLPC management I would recommend to avoid any announcements before they can clearly and unambiguously announce some kind of position and plans for continuing development of the current project that can be seriously taken as immutable for the foreseeable future. Especially announcements that require 3D mockups in place of actual prototypes. -- Alex _______________________________________________ Devel mailing list Devel@lists.laptop.org http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel