Sam Hiser

Will the OLPC interface ruin computing for millions of kids? (Download Squad)

Nov 25th 2006 2:29PM There's a lot of ignorant talk and negative framing of OLPC going around. Not only do Intel, Microsoft and Bill Gates personally want to see The Little Green Laptop fail, but the whole existing hardware ecosystem reviles the threat of a successful $100 machine. I understand Scott McNealy buys into this thinking too, for whatever reason.

There is a great deal of innovatitive and different thinking driving the design of the hardware & software in OLPC -- largely because it is an EDUCATION and not a COMPUTER project. Accordingly the project is constantly being defined by our own experiences in the so-called First World. Some of the comments already address the interesting work to mitigate the power constraints, a portion of which guides the choices behind software UI design & experience. (I'm more inclined to see Sugar as the more "natural" and "correct" UI than the GNOME, KDR or Windows UIs, particularly considering the language/symbol work-arounds.)

The title of this post falls into that same catagory as negative, derogatory framing. Shame shame, Brad! It is incumbent upon readers to pause and absorb enough detail about the objectives of OLPC to establish independent opinions of any decent quality. Sadly, of late, this is like swimming against the current.

I think OLPC will have its hiccups: undoubtedly the chorus will cheer these. It is, however, likely to surprise favorably a good many more than it disappoints -- not least the kids in the favellas.