Demoing the litl webbook to Sugar Labs’ Sean Daly at a recent impromptu meet-up.
*** Note new time for August meeting. See end of this post. A new blog post will have more details.
This month, we’re doing a weeknight meet-up to look at a bunch of cool new OLPC-related hardware and another new release of the Sugar Learning Platform.
OLPC News July DC Meetup: See the Pixel Qi screen Tuesday, July 13 at 6:30pm - 10:00pm Looking Glass Lounge 3634 Georgia Ave NW in DC 1 block south of Georgia/Petworth Metro Station RSVP on Facebook if you do the social networking thing…
The star of the evening will be a working example of the long awaited daylight-readable Pixel Qi 3Qi netbook screen recently offered as a DIY kit to swap into several models of off-the-shelf netbooks. The screen is the breakthrough technology originally developed by Mary Lou Jepsen for the OLPC XO that is now deployed on close to 2 million machines in developing countries. This technology is not only available now as a kit for hobbyists from Maker Shed, but will also soon be built into some major brands of consumer netbooks. See our previous blog post about this impressive DIY screen replacement kit.
We will also have the latest major milestone 10.1.1 build of the Sugar Learning Platform on Fedora for BOTH the OLPC XO-1 and XO-1.5. More details on the release notes page. This is a must-have if you own a G1G1 XO laptop. It’ll be like you have a new machine after this upgrade and the Learning Club can advise you on the process at this and future meet-ups and meetings.
Hot off the UPS truck after a big (and much needed) price drop is Mike’s “litl webbook,” which is a large digital picture frame that flips around to become a web-only laptop that also connects to your flat screen TV. The litl is significant to the OLPC movement in that it was designed by the same firms that worked on the original OLPC XO. Pentagram NY designed the user interface, and fuseproject the industrial design. The litl’s radically simple new user interface even contains software coded by several former OLPC employees. The litl is the closest embodiment to a consumer oriented XO laptop, except that it’s meant for your comfy broadband-connected living room or kitchen.
Jon Camfield will have the current incarnation of FrontlineSMS installed on his GSM modem-equipped OLPC XO-1. FrontlineSMS can send text message blasts out to groups, and manage replies, using only cellphone service. The system has proven invaluable for effecting agile communications in remote areas that do not have standard internet connectivity.
The Learning Club’s next meeting will be back at the Arlington Career Center on Saturday August 21 August 7, 2010*** at 1pm. Sugar Labs DC will present a much-anticipated workshop on TurtleArt as well as provide a peek at the social networking site they are building to support the software. Check back on the blog the week before or in your email inbox for meeting updates.
My six-year-old daughter Cici and I compared our two Pixel Qi screens at high noon. Also see video below.
Like many, I’ve been tantalized by the videos produced by Charbax of the Pixel Qi dual-mode display—originally invented for the OLPC XO-1—that is headed for integration into some consumer laptops and tablets. Pixel Qi’s founder, Mary Lou Jepsen (hardware designer of the original XO), announced months ago that they would partner with a distributor to offer some of the screens as a part to swap into some common netbooks. While I was on vacation last week, the announcement came suddenly that Maker Shed had put the screens up for sale on its online store, and I placed my order immediately. Good thing, because they sold out in a few hours. Though I only requested USPS shipping with delivery confirmation, I was really surprised to find the box from Maker Shed waiting for me when I arrived home two days later. Some folks who paid for FedEx only got it a day or two sooner. The screen module is pricey at $275–the same price as many netbooks out there, but I didn’t want to wait who knows how long until the mass production products come out (maybe later this summer or in the fall). And I imagine netbook manufacturers will add a price premium for these screens.
I had coincidentally picked up an Acer Aspire One D250 netbook last month when Woot.com had them on sale for one day at $199. This happens to be one of the netbooks that can accommodate the screen. So even though I was wiped from a 10-hour car ride, I was excited to do the upgrade that night. I had watched the Maker Shed how-to video a few times to study the procedure. For my Acer, I needed a small phillips-head screwdriver and an X-acto hobby knife with #11 blade. I used the knife to pick off the rubber plugs that cover the four retaining screws in each of the corners of the front black bezel of the screen. With the first screws out, I had to carefully pry off the bezel, making disconcerting snapping sounds as each of the two dozen or so plastic tabs snapped loose as I worked my fingers around between the bezel and screen. Then, with the bezel dangling down on the keyboard, two more screws, one on each side of the screen, had to be removed. This freed the LCD screen module and two vertical hinge bars from the top cover. At this point, several wires (microphone, web cam, etc.) around the screen were exposed and dangled out a bit. Next, while holding up this parted-open, wire-dangling assembly, four more screws had to be removed from the two long metal hinge bars that were snug with the left and right vertical sides of the screen module. The top cover was also free, but not removable because of the microphone and video cables. The most delicate step was peeling off the two sticky tape pieces to free the tiny, thin video connector cable. The new Pixel Qi screen slipped in easily, and I reversed all the steps to reassemble the screen, tucking in stubborn wires and plastic hinge pieces along the way. The Acer booted fine and I immediately noticed that the backlit mode was not quite as contrasty as the Optronics OEM screen, but not so much so that anyone would notice. The procedure took about 30 minutes. As it was night, I was only able to dim the screen to lowest setting and shine a bright light to see the reflective mode. But the screen still looked impressive.
Cici and I went out to our front yard at high noon the next day (more photos here) to compare the Pixel Qi-enhanced Acer with the OLPC XO-1.5, which still has the original four-year-old technology. As you can see in the photo and video, the new Pixel Qi screen has better contrast, darker blacks, and a cooler tone than the beige tinted XO screen. The XO’s dual mode screen still rules in terms of pixel resolution at 1200 x 900 vs. the Acer’s 1024 x 600. It was amazing to see Windows 7, Amazon Kindle software, the New York Times web site and a QuickTime video in direct sunlight. Shades of gray and some color tints are visible. Besides the XOs and e-ink based Kindle ereaders, no other color screen device I own can be seen as clearly in sunlight. Not even the famed iPad. In the video, you can see that at a certain angle where line of sight and sun are aligned, the new Pixel Qi screen glows as if backlit! While the bright sun easily overpowered the minimal screen backlight that persisted, future netbooks will have software driver updates to enable the backlight to be completely turned off. I couldn’t find a straightforward way to turn off the backlight in Windows 7 on the Acer without possibly hacking the registry (not). Mary Lou says the power saving with backlight off can be up to 80%. My basic three-cell battery may now effectively become a six-cell!
After seeing this screen’s content practically explode into the daylight, I just have to expect that soon, all mid-to-high end netbooks will have this technology. Related screen technologies such as Mirasol and Liquivista are still many months away and will definitely be more costly.
I’ll be bringing the modded Acer to our upcoming OLPC News Meet-up on Tue 7/13 at 6:30pm at the Looking Glass Lounge, and to our meeting at the Arlington Career Center the following Saturday at 1pm. Do check back here on the blog or for the email confirming those events.
We’re postponing our normal June meeting due to office moves, vacations and general busyness. I am working with Wayan Vota to do an OLPC News Meetup in early July as well as having a Saturday meeting back at the Arlington Career Center.
OLPC is actively working on the XO-1.75 laptop as well as starting to brainstorm about the tablet-based XO-3. Sugar Labs has released another version of their USB drive-based software called Sugar on a Stick Mirabelle. OLPC Headquarters staff are updating their official blog much more often, so do visit the Planet OLPC and Planet Sugar Labs news aggregator sites.
Please don’t hesitate to contact one of us via the email addresses listed on our home page if you need help with anything.
Our second annual Scratch Day–sporting a circus theme for concurrent workshops–will arrive this Saturday afternoon at the Arlington Career Center in Virginia. We’ve expanded our program this year to run three concurrent hands-on workshops (rings!) for teachers, parents and kids. The latest version of Scratch, the MIT Media Lab’s fabulous interactive authoring software, is installed in each of the computer labs. We also expect to be able to show a new release of Scratch 1.4 that runs on the OLPC XO-1 laptop with support for the built-in camera and the Journal file system.
Our special guest is Michael Badger, author of Scratch 1.4: Beginner’s Guide. Michael will help lead one of the workshops. His publisher, Packt Publishing, has generously sponsored our event with several copies of the book to raffle and book discount flyers.
Here is the event schedule:
1:00 - 1:30pm Check in, main lobby
1:15 - 1:30pm Welcome and orientation
1:30 - 3:30pm Scratch workshop for teachers re-certification class
1:30 - 3:30pm Scratch workshop for parents and teens
1:30 - 3:30pm Scratch workshop for young children (8 - 12 years old)
3:45 - 4pm Raffle prizes and closing remarks
The welcome slides are on Slideshare.
Here is the event poster on Flickr.
I’ll try to Twitter with the #scratchday hashtag.
Phone cam shots and other photos will be uploaded on this Flickr set.
It’s that time of year again to do Scratch Day! Returning to the Arlington Career Center on Saturday, May 22nd, 2010, our kid-friendly theme this year is “Scratch Circus.” We plan to have three activities running simultaneously during the afternoon. Like last year’s event, there will be much learning, fun and prizes!
Scratch is a free programming language developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art — and share your creations on the web.
More details will be posted next month, but this coming Saturday at 1pm, we’ll have an informal planning meeting at the Arlington Career instead of a programmed meeting. If you want to participate in planning Scratch Day in any way, please stop by before 2pm. We’ll be up the right-hand staircase in room 208. If you need help with your OLPC XO or have a related question, we’ll be happy to help.
**Special Planning Meeting for Scratch Day**
When: Saturday, April 17th, 2010, 1 pm to 3 pm (please arrive before 2pm)
Arlington Career Center, Room 208
816 South Walter Reed Drive,
Arlington, VA 22204
(Contact Page, Map, Aerial Photo, Bus Info)
In other news, Sugar Labs has released Sugar on a Stick .88. Many bug fixes, usability improvements and new features have been added. Both Turtle Art and Etoys have been substantially updated and there are many new activities available.
A fan of MIT Scratch has developed a project viewer for the iPhone!
This month, we are back at the Arlington Career Center (ACC) with an introductory workshop on the MIT Media Lab’s fabulous (and free) Scratch 1.4 interactive animation software and a reprise of last month’s XO laptop repair clinic.
When: Saturday, March 20th, 2010, 1 pm to 4 pm
Arlington Career Center
816 South Walter Reed Drive,
Arlington, VA 22204
(Contact Page, Map, Aerial Photo, Bus Info)
We will start the meeting with an 90-minute introductory workshop on Scratch, the multimedia interactive programming software developed by the MIT Media Lab Lifelong Kindergarten Group and used by thousands of children, parents and teachers all over the world. The interface and features of Scratch will be covered, and participants will be able to create and upload an animated greeting card. The Scratch software runs on Windows, Macintosh and Linux, so it can be used by virtually anyone who owns a computer. As pictured above, there is even a viewer app that runs on Apple’s iPhone, iTouch and the upcoming iPad.
Luke Faraone, who runs our OLPC DC Repair Center, will do another XO repair clinic to review the takeapart and reassembly procedures (bring a philips head screwdriver and an XO if you want to participate) and help with any specific repairs visitors may need. We have limited quantities of spare parts for purchase. Some of the new early production XO-1.5 laptops have arrived and we will have some on display.
Upcoming
A few of us will gather at the Arlington Career Center the weekend of March 27-28 to update the text and some images of the old web start pages for the XO-1 laptop. More info here: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Start
Our next meeting is tentatively scheduled for April 17 at Gallaudet University. (This meeting has moved to 1pm at the Arlington Career Center. See next blog post.)
On May 22nd, we’ll spend the entire day celebrating Scratch Day 2010 at the Arlington Career Center. Please save the date!
We return to Gallaudet University this snowy February to meet two young social entrepreneurs who are making a big difference in the OLPC community.
What: Family XO Meetup When: Saturday, February 20th, 2010, 10 am to 1pm Where: Gallaudet University [map,aerial photo], Student Academic Center,
**NOTE ROOM CHANGE: We are UPSTAIRS from the old meeting rooms in the basement on the first floor [floorplan], in computer lab SAC 1010, Washington, D.C. 20002
In the summer of 2009, Beth Santos (pictured above left with kids) worked with OLPC and an NGO to successfully deploy 100 XO laptops at a secondary school on the small island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, which is in the Gulf of Guinea off the western equatorial coast of Africa. Beth will share some stories from her remarkable journey and detail her plans to return to the island this year with more laptops.
Perfectly complimenting Beth’s talk, Luke Faraone, a longtime member of the Learning Club, will conduct a beginner’s workshop on maintaining and repairing the XO laptop hardware. Luke runs the Learning Club’s busy repair center, which is authorized by OLPC to install original replacement parts and revive laptop software that refuses to start. The XO laptop is uniquely designed to be easily repaired in the field with an ordinary screwdriver. Please bring your XO laptop and a small Phillips head screwdriver if you want to follow along.
More help for the children of Haiti
After the devastating earthquake in Haiti, many immediately thought of the rugged XO laptop as a perfect solution for bringing education to the children in the camps. In addition to longer-term plans with other NGOs, OLPC has come up with a plan to recover unused Give One, Get One laptops. Visit the OLPC blog for details on where to ship if you have one to donate.
Upcoming events…
Thursday, March 11 - Project H Design has begun its Design Revolution Road Show featuring a display of 36 innovative products (from their book of 100, which includes the XO laptop) that are making a significant social impact in the world. The national mobile tour brings their Airstream trailer to Baltimore for a stop and evening lecture at the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Saturday, March 20 - We’ll be back at the Arlington Career Center.
TimeLapse is computer software for the Sugar Learning Platform used to gather periodic data (sound and images). It is the first software activity developed by Sugar Labs DC and runs on the OLPC XO-1 laptop. The idea for TimeLapse grew out of the exciting, eclectic, interdisciplinary meeting of scientists, computer programmers, pedagogues, and hardware hobbyists originally brought together by the OLPC Learning Club DC.
Dr. Frank Linton, who has an observation bee hive in his house, was interested in studying the relationship between the sound made by the hive and the health and well being of the bees inside. He wondered if he could use his XO laptop to gather periodic sound sampling from the hive. This real world need became the seed for the development of TimeLapse.
Over the past two years, with Dr. Linton acting as customer, Jeff Elkner, and a group of young programmers from Sugar Labs, DC have made steady improvements to TimeLapse. The current release is the first one that is installable through the Browse Activity in Sugar, making TimeLapse easily available to Sugar users all over the world.
Come celebrate the accomplishment of these talented young programmers. Bring your XO and try out TimeLapse for yourself.
Update: TimeLapse is now available for download on the Sugar Labs activities site.
Note time change!!!
When: Saturday, January 16th, 2010, 1 pm to 4 pm
Arlington Career Center
816 South Walter Reed Drive,
Arlington, VA 22204
(Contact Page, Map, Aerial Photo, Bus Info)
Walter Bender of Sugar Labs will join in by video conference from Cambridge, MA.
We’ll also raffle off an original copy of the new XtraOrdinary 2010 SD card!
Congratulations to the team at Sugar Labs who has officially released another major update to the Sugar Learning Platform in the form of the significantly enhanced ‘Blueberry’ version 2.0 of Sugar on a Stick. In the time it takes to bake a holiday cake, you can install Blueberry one or two USB flash drives to try out with a young child on a desktop PC or laptop. As can be seen from the photo above, I’ve got it installed on several USB flash drives and SD cards. Blueberry on a flash drive makes a great stocking stuffer, but don’t leave the drive in your stocking or on the tree for too long!
For December, the Learning Club will gather at Taste of India in Woodley Park, DC to reflect on the year past and discuss plans for 2010.
December Dinner
Wednesday, December 16, 2009, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Taste of India
2621 Connecticut Avenue Northwest (near Woodley Park Metro)
Washington, DC 20008-1522
(202) 483-1115
[ Map, Web site http://toidc.com/]
It would be a good idea to RSVP before Tuesday evening 12/15 so we have an idea of the size table we need. Email Mike and Kevin at the email addresses on the right column of the home page.
Other notes and reminders:
The OLPC Contrbutor’s Program is a way to get XO laptops granted free for worthy projects.
The OLPC Support Gang is a group of volunteers that answers help ticket questions that people submit to help@laptop.org. They are always looking for more volunteers of all technical levels to participate.
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