[iDC] One Laptop Per Child - MIT/Negroponte Initiative

[Andreas Schiffler]

lizlosh at uci.edu wrote:
>
> But I saw the actual machines at SIGGRAPH and used them, and so I will not
> be getting one of their laptops for my 11-year-old this Christmas season.
>
>   

I don't buy Liz's "small keyboard" argument.  Regardless of that the 
design intention was, the device will be used for many things and by 
many people simply because it is a cheap and open/hackable computing 
device that will be widely available in regions where things like this 
come at a premium. So as for the keyboard issue:
- There are 8 Million blackberry users hacking away on a 5x5cm (2x2") 
keyboard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BlackBerry#Keyboard). They seem 
to 'not-mind' the size and these adults get real work done with the tiny 
buttons (and when the network is down, the US government stops 
functioning).
- Also keep in mind that the 'mobile terminal' market pushes smaller 
'keyboards' in the Billions. 
(http://www.windowsfordevices.com/news/NS5566717572.html) and since 
these devices are the communication and transaction equipment of choice 
in many countries, people should feel right at home with the OLPC's 
luxurious (compared to a phone) keyboard size.
- As a blog commentator pointed out, there are USB options for keyboard 
expansion. May I suggest a particular kind: "Flexible Fullsize USB 
Keyboard" is waterproof, washable and rugged, yet still relatively cheap 
(available for $20 at TigerDirect ... hence available for a few $ a 
piece when purchased in lots of 1K directly from the Chinese 
manufacturer). I am sure if the OLPC market gets going in places like 
solutions like these will become available as well. I guess one could 
see this as an "upgrade" plot by the manufacturer, but ...
- If the keyboard sucks, people will be inventive. I guess that is part 
of the idea behind this thing. Maybe the microphone could be tapped and 
voice recognition can be made to work by users in Egypt using only the 
puny 433Mhz of CPU power available. Or people will switch to touch pad 
mode (aren't the iphones and ipods teaching our thumbs just now) 
rendering the CapsLock ... oops, that's gone on the OLPC ... mode of 
ASCII data entry as obsolete as programming C/C++ is painful on a German 
keyboard (it's that { key that's killing them). So just maybe the 
ingenuity of some kids in Peru will deliver something useful that we 
have yet to find on our multi GHz MacBooks and Vaio's.

I am on the OLPC pre-order list and will stay on it, if only to sponsor 
one 'digital rabbit' for someone else. But western buyers have to be 
realistic about the digital divide such a low powered computing device 
opens up for us: I doubt my son (7y) old will make much use of it, 
because he's already much too used to the hectic I/O demands of games 
like 'Supreme Commander' (the DVD that came free with my latest video 
card upgrade). But who knows, maybe the 'kiddie' color will attract my 
daughter (4y) which does seem to have a genetic attraction to certain 
RGB values ... and just maybe she'll become a hacker chick (and not a 
princess or ballerina) because of the OLPC.

So the key point I was trying to make is that the device doesn't have to 
be perfect for people to take advantage of it. And shortcoming may 
actually advance the state-of-the-art, especially since the device is 
designed to be open: to quote from the kernel developers "Nicholas 
Negroponte's one absolute demand is to get rid of Caps Lock," Gettys 
says. And, Bender says, "There's one new key they get that's the 
important one and that's the View Source key." It is that "Design for 
Hackability" aspect of the OLPC that allows for 'redefinition' beyond 
customization 
(http://www.purselipsquarejaw.org/research_design/papers/panel_hackability_DIS2004.pdf) 
which is really the strength of the device and its open source software 
'matrix'.

--AS

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