Hi, Sebastian
Thanks for your input.
My perspective is somewhat limited. I am looking at a deployment where
(a) internet access is unavailable or limited in capacity so that online
browsing by the laptop is not feasible, (b) a school server is available
to provide access to educational resources beyond what can be stored on
1-4GB of local storage, (c) institutional staff control access to the
laptops (users taking them home, a rare exception), and (d) all laptops
on the local school server network should, in so far as possible, behave
in the same way. This last is increasingly difficult: the XO-1 does not
have enough storage for Libre Office, the ARM based XOs do not execute
many of the Sugar activities with binary components (e.g. GCompris), the
move to support touch-screen has apparently put the XO-1 at software
end-of-life (while the XO-1 probably represents 80+% of the XO laptops
in current use).
Someone who comes to us with hopes to deploy the XO to a community
school, library, or orphanage has limited opportunities to acquire XO
laptops.
There is surprisingly limited useful advice on things to consider in
planning such a deployment: solar or grid power, battery charging,
capacity of routers to support concurrent access to the school server,
good performance studies on the load placed on the school server by
40-100 XOs connected concurrently, how well sharing works with (or
without) ejabberd in an environment of 40+ laptops or what
teachers/staff need to know to support such a deployment. Strangely, a
much of this has been addressed in scattered emails and web pages (e.g
Richard Smith's contributions to understanding the electrical power
requirements).
There is no clear consensus within the community on what the laptop
brings to the educational experience: collaborative learning using Sugar
activities, access to information (Wikipedia, Gutenberg books, Open
Street Maps), opportunity to learn to use a computer effectively,
opportunity to learn programming through Turtle Blocks, Scratch, Etoys,
Pippy, or View Source, and/or interactive support for meeting the
learning objectives of the school's curriculum. The 'commissioned'
studies on the impact of OLPC deployments invariably are focused on
observed improvements in student performance on standard tests - that,
at least, is the official consensus on what we are about.
Tony
On 02/19/2015 10:32 AM, Sebastian Silva wrote:
Hi Tony
I applaud you for asking some important questions going forward in
such a concise way.
Even though we're officially, as a software community,
hardware-agnostic, it is very good to discuss and find solutions to
common problems (such as availability of appropriate hardware).
It seems from here as if consumer product manufacturers, telecoms, and
software vendors were coalesced, and wished communities such as
ourselves did not exist.
I'll try to answer bellow, but I am just a volunteer such as yourself
and don't represent Sugar Labs.
El 17/02/15 a las 21:05, Tony Anderson escibiĆ³:
Hi,
I am sceptical that the XO market will ever be able to sustain
manufacture of an XO-specific product. I hope and wish I am wrong.
However, I think we need to look for alternatives. Possibly the most
serious impediment to success of the OLPC initiative has been the
lack of laptop available for purchase by a deployment in small
quantities.
+1
I like initiatives like the Kit Kano, for instance. I've grown to
expect revolutions to happen slowly. I know eventually the killer
durable, attractive, affordable, usable and truly libre solution will
arrive. Part of that task is in our hands (the software, this /is/ the
Sugar community after all). Attractive, usable, truly libre. Simple,
collaborative, reflexive.
As Wayan Vota said, 'Would you recommend a new deployment with the
XO?'. My answer would be yes, provided the deployment had a reliable
source of XO laptops for under $200 (and spare parts).
The XO-1 is still viable provided that there is a source of ongoing
support.
I do all my work in a year old $199 Chromebook with Parabola
GNU/Linux. It is about as libre as it gets, and whooping fast with a
Haswell processor.
However Google seems intent to only allow such a setup for "developer
mode" (which can wipe your drive at a wrong keystroke on boot).
I must applaud Samuel Greenfeld's initiative to create community
builds of the XO software. As Bernie Innocenti pointed out at the
Malaysia summit, finding a community that can sustain support for the
XO builds going forward is probably the number one problem facing the
community.
+1 I've failed to respond but do plan to resume work on XO (and
regular PC) builds soon. I count on picking up from Samuel's work and
as usual, have our develop, build and publish process be
community-oriented.
There are Android tablets on the market which can be purchased with a
case and keyboard:
http://www.sears.com/proscan-7inch-internet-tablet-with-8-gb-and/p-020W006276292001P
Rabi Karmacharya believes we need a minimum 10" screen, the above has
7" and is quoted at $69.
Is there a comparable device with a 10" screen at 1200x900 or better
for under $100, under 200$?
The CTL Education Chromebook is available for $279
(http://ctl.net/ctl-education-chromebook). Does it offer the
capabilities we need? Can alternate software (such as Fedora/Sugar)
be installed?
We must raise awareness at the level of the people who consult with
us, with regard to the importance of devices respecting users (and
deployments). It is not acceptable to be tied to one "software store".
It is not acceptable to have our governments procure machines that
require non-free software to work, or worse, have no support at all.
Is our future to go away from Fedora/Sugar (Linux/Gnu/Sugar) and to
base our deployments on Android?
Fedora/Sugar need not be the only option. I'f like to see more
Sugar-like initiatives, i.e. tailored desktops.
Does this mean we must abandon our insistence on open source and open
educational resources?
Never!
Is it possible to deploy an Android system without access to the
internet?
Probably. Not too interesting.
There are currently 200+ educational activities available for Sugar.
Must we give these up?
No! We should strive to mantain some compatibility for as long as
possible.
Do we need to reprogram them in javascript?
Rather create new ones, support and fix old ones! It's not easy as
there are few hands.
If we are to continue with Fedora/Sugar, can this software be
installed on Android tablets?
Most likely nope.
The world's professional programmers are now either (or both)
programming for the javascript/html market or the Java Android
market. Does this mean we need to jump on those bandwagons? Should we
shift our 'view source' initiative to Java or to javascript/html?
Nope.
In summary, I believe that the future of the olpc initiative depends
on the skills, commitment, and hard work of the community. I think it
very unlikely that our challenges will be met by a 'magic wand' waved
by OLPC reborn, OLPC Australia, or other agency. It's up to us.
Much as yourself, I feel the loss of the momentum the OLPC community
had. But I am profoundly aware that, in all, this story is still just
beginning, and there are plenty of worthy initiatives around us. And
we ourselves keep pushing forward for Sugar, the vision, not
necessarily a specific implementation.
I have a short saying about this last bit. I offer it to you. Call it
Sebastian's Razor. "Si no es libre, no existe".
:-)
Regards,
Sebastian
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