[Fsfe-uk] OLPC XO laptop on BBC News

[Jon Grant]

Nice to see a bit of coverage of this:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6679431.stm#software

Different programs appear in the doughnut icon as they are opened
The laptop has a bespoke Linux operating system (OS) developed by
leading open source software company Red Hat.

In contrast to sometimes costly proprietary software, open source
software is free and allows users to access and alter the code. OLPC
hopes some children will tinker with the code to develop new programs.

In comparison to standard operating systems (OS), it is very small
when compressed, taking up just 130MB of space. By comparison, Windows
XP takes up around ten times that amount, requiring 1.5GB of hard
drive space.

Its user interface is known as Sugar. At the centre of the screen is a
customised icon surrounded by a white circle known as the "doughnut".
As different programs are opened icons appear in the doughnut.

Different programs take up different amounts of space on the ring
depending on their size and system requirements. Because of the
machine's limited memory, when the doughnut is full, no more programs
can be opened.

It includes standard programs such as a web browser based on Firefox;
a word processor able to handle most common document types, including
Microsoft formats; a PDF reader and media player. In addition, it
comes with games, a music creation tool and drawing programs.