Re: [PLUG] OLPC Comments

["Sasha R" <sashar@sas.upenn.edu>]

Ive had one for two months now, got it on Craigslist. I think its a brilliant machine. It can only connect to unencrypted and certain WEP networks. WPA wireless encryption is currently is a no go. I found it quite intutive, the terminal works just as well as any other linux terminal works. The keys are too small for me to type on it, but no matter. I used it in class to take notes by bringing along a small usb keyboard. 

A friend of mine also has one [craigslist again], and also loves it. Superb hardware, and decent storage if you pop in a 4 or 8gb sd card. You can can also go through some hassle and get it too boot off the sd card so you can easily install OS's not as compact as DSL. 

Sasha

On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 7:09 PM, Bill Hance <bill@billhance.com> wrote:

I bought one thru their G1G1 (give one get one) program
on 12/31 and have yet to receive mine.

It does have a terminal program:

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Terminal_Activity

 -Bill

> My dad bought a couple of the OLPC mini-laptops (You buy 2.  You get 1,
> the other is
> donated).  He messed around with it for a while, then sent it to me to
> try.   I was
> not very impressed.   Here are my thoughts on the unit.
>
> - It's fairly small, and looks like a Fisher-Price toy.  Definitely aimed
> at kids.
> - It is amazingly non-intuitive in almost everything about it.  (at least
> to this 50
> year-old kid)
> - I couldn't get the blasted thing open at first.  The latches that keep
> it closed are
> well hidden.
> - It's physically robust, and probably very resistant to being damaged
> through misuse.
> - I couldn't get the networking to connect to my WAP, although it saw lots
> of other
> WAPs in the neighborhood.
> - The Black & White display was small, but very crisp.
> - I couldn't get to a "Linux" prompt.  They've hidden the OS pretty well
> behind the
> custom GUI.
>
>
> The biggest disappointment for me was that I couldn't connect to my
> Wireless Access
> Point.   I have a rather old WAP, but have no trouble connecting to any
> other machine,
> but the OLPC never did see it.  it did see several other Wireless ports in
> my
> neighborhood, but could not connect to them when they were encrypted.   It
> reported
> that it saw lots of "mesh" network points (my WAP may have been one of
> them.  Who
> Knows?), but even tough it said it was "connected" to one of them, I never
> got any
> networking action.   If I could have gotten to a CLI, I might have been
> able to figure
> it out, but the GUI hid every drop of Linux from me.  <sigh>
>
> I thought perhaps I was just missing something since I'm too darn old, but
> my 13
> year-old nerdette daughter got nowhere either.
>
> All in all, a great disappointment.
>
> --
>
>
> Casey Bralla
> Chief Nerd in Residence
> The NerdWorld Organisation
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___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
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