'Cheap laptops will change the way of learning'

Hard to imagine a non-working windows computer interface, no directory and no dialog box. But that is becoming reality when students in Thailand, Libya, as well as many other developing countries are getting access to $ 150 laptops from the One Laptop Per Child project (every child). a laptop). In 2007, this line of computers promises new innovations, different from traditional computers.

New-style computers will be named XO. For many children, these will be the first computers they used. Nearly everyone has no idea about the new model, the inventors have started every creation right away from designing the user interface so that it is intuitive and lively for children.

Those innovations would not be normal, even a bit risky when many features and characteristics of this model are still controversial. People talk a lot about the cost-saving goal of products and hand-pull mechanism when charging the device's battery. The XO is a popular low-cost laptop for $ 100, and with such a low price, manufacturers can only expect to receive profit when selling a large amount of products.

Child friendly interface

Cheap XO laptop model for poor students.Photo: AP

When using this laptop, the boot screen will consist of a stick-shaped icon in the center, surrounded by a white circle. Full desktop cover is a black frame with other icons. The stick icon symbolizes the user in the middle, the surrounding circle contains the programs the user is using, starting the programs also by clicking on the corresponding icon on the black frame as the way to start in traditional computers.

If the user selects the panoramic view of 'neighborhood' - the term XO line computers use instead of the term 'desktop' - different colored stick icons represent the user's friends. Being nearby may appear on the screen. A wireless network feature built into the XO computers takes care of finding those symbols.

As long as the user clicks the mouse over your icon, immediately his or her name and image will appear. With a few other 'clicks', you can talk to each other or work together on something like an art project, a music program on your computer with built-in speakers.

The design of the XO series represents every smart attempt to make the most of the machine's limited capabilities. For example, to save costs and reduce energy consumption, XO machines use the simplified Linux operating system version, AMD's 366 megahertz processor chip and no hard drive. To ensure data storage needs, the XO series has 512MB flash memory and USB 2.0 ports.

Cheap but "breakthrough" in technology

But the main purpose of the XO 'fathers' is to serve better in the field of education, far beyond traditional computers. Nicholas Negroponte was the project developer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab two years ago, before the project became an independent non-profit program today. He said he deliberately wanted to avoid having children use computers as a tool for office purposes only.

In an email interview, he wrote: 'From reality, one of the most annoying things is also more common in computer rooms in elementary schools in developing countries. Now, children are only taught programs like Word, Excel and PowerPoint. I think it is sinful, because children need to learn how to do everything, be exchanged, discovered and shared, not to be as strong as mobile office machines. '

To realize that idea, directories are no longer considered data organizing tools like most computers launched since Apple Group's first Mac in 1984. According to OX inventors, such a directory requires users to remember the location of data storage rather than using the directory for what to do. And for reforms, XOs will be organized around a "journal", which automatically generates and saves all the things the user has done on the machine. From there, users can review all journals to check their work as well as retrieve files that were created or modified in those sections.

Although the design trend is primarily for school users, the inventors will "not let go" if someone says that the XO is just a toy machine. There will be a lot of programs that can run on it like web browser, text editor and RSS feed reader.

Not only that, XO-branded laptops also have other attractive features such as an integrated camera and color display mode that allows the device to be switched to monochrome for easy viewing in the sun.

Open source software

Red Hat expert Chris Blizzard said that up to 90% of the code for building basic programs is combined from the technologies already in the open source program community. To continue with that "open" nature, details and simulations in the user interface design (nicknamed Sugar) will also be published online for readers to freely review and evaluate.

Some bloggers said that on the one hand Sugar has avoided the complexity inherent in familiar operating systems from Microsoft or Apple, but on the other hand, it creates a series of other subtle things to learn to be able to grasp. OK.

Of course no one expressed any doubts about the technology ideas expressed in the Sugar interface. Mr. Wayan Vota, who built the OLPCNews.com blog to track the progress of the project due to skepticism about success, calls the Sugar interface a "nice re-design". He said: ' It is not like the interface of Linux. Unlike Windows. Unlike Apple '. Of course, he did not forget to emphasize that it was his own opinion rather than representing Geekcorps, the organization that sponsors technology volunteers in developing countries where he is the director.

Coming soon "small customers" around the world

In fact, the XO laptops are still being modified to be further optimized and it is not until February this year that the new Sugar interface has the opportunity to be tested. By July of this year or later, there could be millions of computers that are 'naturalized' Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Nigeria, Libya, Pakistan, Thailand and Palestine. Negroponte said that in the next two weeks there will be three other African countries joining the program. North - South America Development Bank is trying to bring XO laptops to countries in Central America.

The low-cost line of computers is being manufactured by Quanta Computer Group. Interestingly, all countries have computers that use the program installed in their own language. Government as well as donors will buy children's computers with attached server devices for schools. The project alone received $ 29 million in funds from companies like Google, News and Red Hat.

But saying that doesn't mean it's all about the One Laptop campaign. The Indian government at first proved to be very interested in the campaign but then retreated. Brazil, despite its intention to join the group, is seeking ways to refuse it when it buys Intel's $ 400 Classmate PC line. The Brazilian government, though very popular with open source software because of cost-saving factors, but in its first tests with Classmate PCs, will still have to use Windows.

Kim Thoa