OLPC

One of our neighbors has an OLPC (One Laptop Per Child, AKA the $100 laptop) and I finally got a chance to play with it hands-on. The laptop is being sold to the general public, but only if they buy a second one and donate it.

First off, the keyboard is really, really small. I couldn't touch-type and had to resort to two-finger mode. The display is nice and bright and I love the way you can swivel it around to make a book-like configuration. I had no instructions or guide, but it took me few minutes to figure out what the various buttons do.

I managed to find a Linux shell, and determined that the thing is running a 500 MHz AMD Geode processor (x86 compatible) and has 1GB of Flash. Unfortunately the shell program cut off the bottom and left-hand part of the screen, which made things difficult, to say the least. I'm sure there's a simple fix for this but we couldn't figure it out in the 15 minutes we played with it.

I played a little with the video recording (there's a built-in camera and microphone) and was easily able to record some indoor videos of the New Year's eve party I was at. The geeks in the room immediately congregated around the OLPC.

The neighbor said that it would connect up to his home wireless network but would often drop out. I didn't play with any network features. Apparently if you have multiple OLPC devices they can automatically connect in a mesh network to allow collaborative work or play, without an actual Internet connection. Useful if you're teaching in the mountains of Bolivia.

Often, when I was playing with it the PC would become sluggish, maybe because too many apps were open. Cycling power seemed to fix things up.

Interesting device, but not something I would buy for myself, or for my kids. But then again, it's really aimed at third-world education.
Jim on 12.31.08 @ 10:05 PM ET [link]

Jailbait-Be-Gone

As a gag gift for some friends I made up a handy Age of Consent wallet card showing all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. Print out, cut out, laminate, and keep handy!

I think I'd seen something like this spoofed on "Reno 911", so I can't claim complete credit.

Jim on 12.24.08 @ 11:49 AM ET [link]

Predictions for 2009

It's that time of year again. Time to gaze into my crystal dodecahedron and divine the future. Here are my top 10 predictions for 2009:

1. Abraham Lincoln will be found alive, living in Argentina, and will return home triumphantly to run Apple Computer Corporation.


2. The Boston Bruins will win the world series.


3. I will not win the lottery. I will, however, win an Oscar for Best Key Grip.


4. I will forget to make a prediction #4.


5. Hawaii will secede from the Union retroactively, thus invalidating Barack Obama's claim to the Presidency.


6. More and more Americans will heat their homes from the energy generated by rubbing two cats together.


7. Topeka, Kansas will be destroyed in a hail of fire and brimstone for no reason whatsoever.


8. Astronomers will discover an earth-like planet orbiting a nearby star -- so earth-like, in fact, that it will be indistinguishable from our own world, with the exception that on their planet Steven Seagal stopped making movies in 1992.


9. The US dollar will be pegged to the Canadian dollar, which in turn will be pegged to the US dollar. This will result in an unstable loop that will cause all currency to instantly vanish.


10. To save on energy, the speed of light will be lowered to 2x10⁸m/s.

Jim on 12.19.08 @ 10:04 AM ET [link]

Dirigible Pilots Wanted!

Google Books now has old and new magazine scans available. Here's a fun example: Popular Science Monthly, January 1930.

This issue covers such interesting topics as: How dirigible pilots are trained, how a Woman Driver learned to maneuver a car, and how to build your own voltmeter.

Jim on 12.13.08 @ 01:10 PM ET [link]