Mary Jo Foley is reporting that Microsoft has “released to manufacturing the version of Windows XP that it has tweaked to run on the One Laptop Per Child XO computer.”
Cool.
Now maybe someone can sneak the Tablet bits in. 
Maybe if everyone looks the other way? Hehehe.
Not only is the next version of the OLPC going to get two displays, it’s going to get haptic touch according to PixelQi founder Mary Lou Jespen.
The design team isn’t sure about pen input though.
Full interview with Mary Lou Jespen at Laptop.com via the link above.
At today’s OLPC Media event, Nicholas Negrponte announced concept designs for the next generation device.
Wade Roush is blogging the event here and I’ve borrowed one of his photos of the proposed OLPC 2, shown below.
The small device will boast two touch screens that can be used as a two-page book, as a notebook-style keyboard/display combination, or a horizontal/slate mode.
Of course, this is a concept design and who knows what a shippable device will really look like. We all know how far Haiku got, for instance.
But I think this is going a good direction.
Very nice.
Laptopmag.org is at the event too and has some more pictures and a video of part of Negroponte’s presentation.
The speculation is growing over the next steps that the OLPC will follow. The top topic appears to be that Windows is going to displace the Open Source efforts on the OLPC. This would be quite an interesting development–because I think it points at how difficult it really is to develop not just a good operating system and its base apps, but a great one that inspires. The OLPC tried with Sugar and other efforts, but this only got them so far. It’s hard to do.
Now whether strapping Windows onto OLPC hardware is the solution I don’t know. There’s so much more to what needs to be available to make a killer education product. Mesh networking is one important area, real-time sharing of content and interactions is another. Does Windows deliver here? Not yet. Is it more likely that these types of features will appear first in Windows than on other platforms? No, I don’t think so. It’s a 50-50 chance. However, whatever the technologies, targeting Windows is a smart move because of the shear numbers of users and developers. It’s a large community to leverage.
There’s one other thing for sure: The OLPC has ignited lots of interest in low-cost PCs. I doubt the Eee PC would have made it to market without the OLPC reaching production. Yes, competition is good. That’s one reason why I’d like to see the OLPC continue on.
Darren Waters of the BBC News takes Intel’s Classmate PC for a spin. Although Darren thinks the OLPC and the Classmate PC “herald from polar opposite philosophies about how to end the digital divide,” he sees Classmate PC as “a rival to the XO’s ambitions in the developing world generally and in education in particular.”
One feature I really like with the Classmate: Mesh networking. This alone makes its something that I want to play with. How far can the Mesh networks be pushed?
The success of the $299 Eee PC has ignited a lot of interest in similar devices. HP has stepped into the mix with its HP Mini-Note that starts at $599. James Kendrick has a nice overview as does Gottabemobile.
Actually, ASUS (the creators of the Eee PC), HP and others appear to be flushing out the market more in the $500-$1000 range. The higher prices in my mind aren’t the same thing as the Eee PC.
Where these new devices may make a lot of sense is in the education market. That’s good to see. This is a huge opportunity as schools learn more and more how to leverage computer technology inside the classroom. The lower prices will be enabling much of this market.
What’s interesting to see is how simliar these devices are to the much more expensive UMPCs. Add a keyboard, more plastic, and take away touch and you seem to have a much cheaper device. This doesn’t make sense, except to a marketer trying to position different products. Oh, well. The UMPC is dead. I need to keep telling myself that–and letting it go.
Of course, the UMPC and MIDs for that matter are seen more as companion devices than primary systems. This has placed a huge burden on creating compelling apps and experiences, which haven’t materialized for the mass market. The Mini-Note, on the other hand, appears to want to be a full-time notebook and can leverage all of the traditional software out there. So it’s more of an evolutionary step in notebook trends than a big jump like the UMPCs or MIDs.
I keep thinking though that the OEMs are missing the real opportunity when it comes to education–especially primary education. Where’s the natural input? Typing is fine for many things, but what about when working through a math problem? What about handwriting skills? What about the arts? What about finger painting??? I can envision typing-oriented software that facilitates each of these and lots of multiple choice questions, but is this really the way to go? A pen is much more flexible than a keyboard, so why not leverage it where it makes sense?
I realize cost is a big concern, but I’d like to see these devices bring together the power of other input methods, such as touch, pen, audio, and voice, and video.
I also realize that part of the issue here is that whatever features are built in need to make sense for Linux, because this is where the lowest priced opportunites lie. Not sure how many of the Linux systems will actually be sold, but I can see where if touch is used just like a mouse, then where’s the motivation to add touch? Now if pen input is achievable and Microsoft made its handwriting recognition available to Linux (via Silverlight, for instance), then maybe this equation would change. Same goes for speech recognition. Of course it’s very important to realize that touch and pen input are too different animals and have different hardware considerations. Personally I’d like to see both supported in the hardware.
Video and audio recording is another area that makes a lot of sense for education systems. Producing a good recording is going to be a challenge, but solveable I think.
Assuming the teacher writes (types) on a smart board or Tablet PC or something, their screen content ought to be streamed to each of the student PCs or lazy streamed if you will–meaning the stream will be made available for download later because of real-time bandwidth issues or to preserve battery power in the student systems during the class. Actually, the content all ought to be stored on a remote server for archiving reasons no matter what.
Now if the streams are brought down from a server later (in whole or in part) there’s a synching issue with each student’s notetaking. Assuming all the clocks are the same, the built in clocks might be OK. It may also mean that student computers may need to “hear” a clock sync event from the classroom–or maybe when they boot up they do a little peer-to-peer request asking the teacher’s system (if it’s available and you can trust it) what time it is.
I also think that the mics ought to be used collectively in a classroom/presentation setting. In other words, think of all the mics working in the classroom as a collective mic array. Software runs real time or psuedo real-time to leverage the closest mic to get the best audio for a stream that everyone can record in their notes. If the teacher’s talking as they write on a smart board, then the smart board’s mic(s) is used. If a student in the back of the class asks a question, then the mic on their computer is used. Again, maybe the audio stream is made available in real time for personal recording and syncing with notes taken, or maybe its brought down and synced in some lazy fashion.
Now video is an interesting challenge too. Ideally what I’d like to see are cameras in the classroom (fixed would be fine) with a “robotic director” if you will picking the best shot. In other words, using a model about how a teacher usually teaches in a classroom (follow the teacher in front of the classroom and follow them as they move about, switch to a classroom view if many students move about, switch to a student(s) view when a student is “talking” and so on). There might also be a way to leverage the cameras in the student computers, particularly when a student asks a question–the system might switch to their local camera, for instance–but I’m not so sure about this. Fixed cameras are probably easier to manage. No matter how their managed, though, streaming and recording all the image streams is probably the wise way to go.
I mentioned earlier that the screen capture/video/audio ought to be available random access from a remote server, because in most cases I imagine students won’t want to review everything. Instead, they’ll want to get right to something that they’re having trouble with. Indexing the content or previewing thumbnails of the content (on the server and/or locally) is going to be key. I can see a student, for instance, reviewing some notes, getting confused, and then simply tapping on a video icon, which goes up to a server and starts streaming down the classroom video from that time slot. Likewise, they could jump to that part of the presentation where they realized they misunderstood something. Maybe they want to review a portion of the class where they had to step out to the restroom. Or maybe they want to get a video snipit of themself giving a presentation in the classroom and sharing it with their grandparents. Of course, recording class presentations would bring a whole new meaning to what it means to miss a class. Since public schools are paid on attendance, for instance, would students reviewing a presentation later that they missed while they were sick (or watching live while home in bed) be good enough to be counted as having attended so the school gets its money? Video recording and streaming could change where the focus lies in student attendance.
Now let me get back to the computer hardware itself. Typing noise in a small class (where a teacher doesn’t have a mic) would seem to be an issue. I wonder how quiet the Mini-Note and other systems are? I know a bunch of people that type awfully load; I sure would find it distracting to be around them all day long in a classroom while I’m trying to focus on what the teacher is saying.
Durability is going to be a big issue too, but it sounds like HP has thought through some of this with the Mini-Note. I imagine this is going to be a bigger and bigger challenge not only for the case companies, but for the display manufacturers. The rest of the components can do OK. Screen breakage is going to be an issue. It means that if nothing else the screen needs to be dirt cheap and as easy to replace as a scratched DVD. Shouldn’t the displays just pop right out for easy changing??? I know Intel was working with OEMs for awhile to make components like displays easy and inexpensive to replace, but I don’t think it ever caught on. Maybe with education PCs we’ll see this become more popular and feasible.
Of course, maybe it’s not displays that students break the most. That’s just my guess. It would be interesting to see a breakdown of what gets broken. Anyone know of any oneline data?
Anyway, lots of thoughts and still more thinking to do….
Microsoft is giving more breathing room to XP on low-cost PCs by extending the time that it will make XP Home able to OEMs for these devices through at least June 30, 2010. It refreshing to see this, although in my mind Microsoft is not going far enough to address the challenges at hand.
There’s no doubt that Microsoft has missed the boat when it comes to low-cost PCs, MIDs, and even its own UMPC. It’s in a catch up game. Microsoft is getting challenged on the low end by the hardware and cost frugality of Linux and on the coolness side by Apple’s iPhone. Lots of body punches. No knockouts, just draining body punch after body punch. As a tech enthusiast and long time user of Microsoft products it’s hard to watch. (But I know time will heal all wounds, as I sit here typing this on my Mac Pro after reading about the announcement on my iPhone. Heh.)
It’s not that Vista is terrible on these machines although in some cases it’s sluggish, it’s that these low-cost systems simply often don’t have the drive space to hold the larger Vista. But that’s only part of it. Solid state drives, for instance, will get bigger. The bigger issue is that Vista is biased towards the desktop and large displays. XP is for that matter too, but not as bad (no sidebar, for instance). Yes, Vista can be set up like XP, but it would need to be stripped down to really make a good comparison. I’m not sure if Microsoft would want to take the engineering and test time to strip Vista down though.
What I hope Microsoft really understands is that it’s not simply a matter of XP over Vista. The user experience matters too and simply giving the nod to XP doesn’t address this issue. As Linux-based MIDs and low-cost PCs running optimized shells are going to demonstrate and the iPhone excells at, a good OS needs a good user experience. XP is so-so when it comes to small displays. For instance, some windows need at least 600 pixels high or they won’t fit. OEMs have addressed this by bumping up the display resolution. But then everything is itsy bitsy. Fine for young eyes, but not mine. Actually it’s not the number of pixels that’s the real issue, its how the pixels are used. Tiny buttons are hard to target, for instance. And frankly, small displays should have a different shell. It’s fine for Windows Explorer to be an option or the desktop to be front and center, but that’s not the best user experience. And then there’s the whole issue as to whether everything should be mouse and keyboard oriented on small devices. Try an iPhone and you’ll see.
Here’s one other thing that’s troubling me about this whole announcement: Mary Jo Foley is reporting that the XP extension will not apply to “higher-priced and more robust UMPCs.” Wow, this is a misreading of the UMPCs space. So soon Microsoft itself forgets that the whole idea of the UMPC was to build a low-cost device. Further, these new low-cost PCs are essentially UMPC-like systems with a keyboard and without touch and for lower price. They are UMPCs. I’m hoping that this is just a bit of miscommunication. UMPCs are supposed to be low-cost devices and they will run on low end hardware. The OEMs messed this all up, which is why in part the sales have been lackluster. (Although I think it’s also because the user experience wasn’t all the inspiring either.)
One more thing: Microsoft I’m sure is focused on competition along the OS front–both from Linux and OS X–and the web too for that matter–but it’s important to not lose sight of Intel. Intel really defines what the industry does, in large part because it makes the processors and chips that many systems use. Here’s the thing, for the last year or so and at least the next year or two Intel’s roadmap is about “portable” processors, not power house notebook systems. In other words, I would not be surprised to see the growth on the low-end systems to outpace most others–simply because this is where Intel is putting its energy. Microsoft I assume knows this and I expect the next version of Windows will address this…maybe? If not, we’ll be hearing the slam of more body punches.
Now here’s the part that really erks me: it appears from Microsoft’s announcement that XP Home addition is all that Microsoft is giving extra time for. But what about ink? There’s no Tablet PC edition. So in other words, the low-cost PCs, which are great for young students on up, which is exactly where ink makes a lot of sense, won’t have it built in. Amazing.
Now here’s the real kicker. There is a way around this: the browser. Using Silverlight and web services to handle recognition, you can build ink enabled applications for XP Home. So essentially Microsoft is saying no to ink and yes at the same time. It doesn’t make sense. (We have yet to see how good Silverlight will be on Linux systems though. Depends on what Novel comes up with.)
Microsoft needs to think a bit harder about its commitment to ink and the ink ecosystem. It appears that it’s getting too defensive, trying to separate out its value at the high end. Come on, what about the kids? If for no other reason, Microsoft should be doing the right thing to make the education experience better for students–no matter what the lost revenue at the high end–which is a stupid argument in itself, because ink is essentially given away for free in several higher versions of Vista and under marketed across the board at that.
If I were Microsoft I’d flip this whole notion of technology exclusivity and license the heck out ink and its top-notch recognition. Why not? Go make some money from it. Get it out there. People will know that it comes from you. Isn’t that a good thing? Make some money. Get some exposure?
So I’m sitting here, shaking my head, realizing that as a Tablet developer I have to keep thinking beyond Microsoft’s immediate strategies. I hope they change or at least Microsoft blows me away with the next version of Windows–because if it doesn’t my head and shoulders are going to get mighty sore from shaking and shrugging and squinting my eyes every time–BAM–there’s another–WHAM–body punch. Ugh.
Update: Not everyone agrees with the idea of extending XP. Joe Wilcox blogs that he’s been advocating to shutdown XP for awhile in order to boost Vista sales.
The other day I got the opportunity to have some hands on time with an OLPC and Eee PC–side-by-side. I wasn’t able to take pictures, but there are a couple of impressions that are plastered in my mind.
First, the OLPC seemed like a brick to me. I realize it’s supposed to be durable. But it feels heavy. It’s awkward to open. I can’t type on the membrane keyboard. Quite simply, first impressions were not impressive. Bootup and the screen itself were OK, but I didn’t get a chance to try out the apps. It looks OK, though, from what I saw. After I left I was kicking myself that I didn’t try writing anything on the touchpad. What was I thinking?
The Eee PC I had seen before, but when placed next to the OLPC it took on a new glow. It’s lighter. The keyboard is more “real” although it is very small for my hands. Bootup times and the like were OK too.
Now both machines are slow for me. But that’s just me. And I realize that the Eee PC is not a ruggedized machine.
However, if I was picking one for a kid I know–I’d go with the Eee PC. That’s just my 10 minute hands-on impression.
David Rotham goes into great detail discussing how the OLPC XO can be used as an e-book reader.
My thoughts? Hmmm. Maybe a little too heavy for long term use, but interesting nonetheless.
Intel has decided to make an about face and has resigned from the OLPC board according to the Wall Street Journal.
News.com reports that the OLPC effort asked Intel to stop working on the Classmate PC as well as with others on small computers such as the ASUS Eee PC. Of course, Intel said no.
In the competitive world, I don’t blame the OLPC effort for trying to force Intel’s hand, but on the other side, I also don’t blame Intel for saying no and resigning.
Well, I guess that insures that the OLPC will have at least one more competitor. I’m not sure that’s what the OLPC team wanted in the first place, but oh well.
Things are definitely heating up in the low-cost, laptop space.
As I see it, the OLPC XO is a Tablet PC. It folds down into a Tablet….er….reading mode. It has a touch sensitive pad that the user can write on. It’s mobile conscious. It’s designed for connectivity and sharing. All of these are Tablet properties. So…..the OLPC XO is a Tablet.
The question then becomes: Will the XO outsell classic Tablet PCs this year? 2008? Should be an interesting faux competition to watch.
My prediction? It won’t–at least this year. The XO will be ramping up this year. Schools will be accessing its value, trying to figure out how it fits in. Next year, the score may change and flip to XO’s favor. We’ll have to see. But this year, like Classic Coke, classic Tablet PCs are safe.
Yves Behar talks about the design of the OLPC. One cool Tablet, if you ask me!
Visit Scribemedia.org.
This is very good news indeed. I’ve been blogging for awhile that Microsoft needs to develop a better “mobile” version of XP in order to compete with light weight devices like the XO and Intel’s MIDs. Microsoft needs to provide an alternative to Linux as it evolves over the next couple years. The way it looks to me is that Linux and OS X could become the de facto OSes for small devices.
There’s no way that Vista can fit within the Flash constraints these devices include–Vista is 3 to 4 times too big. So XP is the next best choice.
My only hope is that along the way the dev team realizes they should simplify the shell and make it more mobile friendly.
In terms of the XO, I also hope that the dev team is including the Tablet bits. Please, oh, please do so. It would be a good competitive advantage. After all the XO is essentially a Tablet. It folds down into a reading mode; it includes a digitizing strip that supports handwriting, and most importantly it has a mobile mentality. All of these features are Tablet minded features.
I’ll be blunt, if Tablet bits aren’t included, they’re making a terrible mistake. There’s no indication in the article that Will Poole’s group at Microsoft is considering Tablet bits. So I’m fearing the worst. This makes me shutter to the core. If Microsoft doesn’t see a Tablet in front of its nose, who else will?
Now one could argue that Tablet bits aren’t that crucial on the XO. After all, it doesn’t have a digitizer built into the display. That’s correct. It doesn’t. At least now. But it does have a digitizing strip meant for handwriting–and am I the only one that sees that supporting handwriting in an educational device is obvious? The XO team does. I hope that Microsoft’s team does too.
So maybe the Tablet bits are too big. My guess it’s a matter of “packaging” the code correctly. There’s a core that’ll make sense for the device. And this is what’s needed.
Just take Silverlight, for instance. If it can run on the XO, then there will be Tablet bits in the browser. And Silverlight is designed as an ultra-light-weight download. So if Silverlight can do include the Tablet bits, can’t a lightweight XP?
Oh, how I wish I was sitting in the room with the developers. They can do this. They can strip down XP. They can make a killer Tablet device out of the XO. And they can lay the path for a top-notch mobile experience. Maybe not everything is achievable in the first pass, but this is the opening that many of us have been cheering for. Please let it be.
The New York Times is reporting that the so-called $100 (OLPC) laptop isn’t selling in the millions of units as its developers originally intended. The goal was to reach the multi-million mark in hopes of driving down costs. So far, sales sound like they’re below the million mark and there’s no word whether sales the stated sales figures are for purchases that are to be all at once or spread out.
In the meantime, the OLPC group will offer US and Canadian citizens a chance to purchase a OLPC laptop for $400 which would cover the costs on one unit plus an extra to be donated. It’s not a bad idea–especially during the holiday season–but at $400 we’re probably not talking about very many units. Negroponte who runs the programming is aiming for 100,000 units that can be donated. Sounds optimistic to me, but who knows.
If he wants unit numbers to drive down cost, I think he’d be better off offering a $200 units as well as a $400 unit that includes the 1:1 gift idea. I realize that the US/Canadian market is not what he’s aiming for, but it would help get the numbers up.
My guess is that the $100 laptop has to demonstrate its educational value–which means the value of its hardware and software and networking capabilities.
Also, news like this is going to give the ASUS Eee PC some breathing room and may just canabalize the OLPC market in the US since the products will be priced about the same. It may depend on the reactions of 7-11 year olds on which computer they like better.
Yesterday, MIT presented more details on their “$100″ (XO) laptop to press and analysts. One surprise in the conversation was that Microsoft is working on getting a version of Windows to work on the inexpensive computer. This is generating a bunch of surprised speculation, particularly because Microsoft announced this past week that they are offering a $3 version of Windows and Office.
It makes sense for Microsoft to give it a try, but as Michael Gartenberg blogs, bundling Windows with the device is unlikely. He gives his reasons. I have my hunches too and mine come down to the device’s hardware support for touch and handwriting. How can this be? After all touch and handwriting support are some amazing features that Windows Vista already provides and Microsoft is a leader in Tablet PC/UMPC technologies. Touch and handwriting support are some of the great differentiators in Vista. Nothing comes close. Wouldn’t an XO laptop be a good match then for the $3 Windows offering then since there’s built in hardware support for this capability? Yes and no.
Here’s the thing. The $3 version of Windows that Microsoft is offering doesn’t include Microsoft’s top-notch handwriting recognition. I’m not sure if it includes “ink” support–the ability to render handdrawn strokes as smooth as they might appear on paper. Without ink and handwriting support in the software, Windows is going to look odd on the device. People will see the built in digitizer and expect there to be software support. I’m guessing there will be with the Linux version, which would make Linux appear more functional on the device out of the box. Yes, there are third-party solutions that could fill the void, but this only complicates deployment issues. I imagine also there could be an upsell opportunity, but to what? A $4 version of Vista Home Premium that supports the ink? Things get complicated.
Sure Microsoft could change its mind and “upgrade” all versions of Windows so that they support ink and their excellent handwriting recognition, but when might this happen? My guess is that XO is most likely to keep its Linux OS for now and Microsoft’s $3 Windows/Office offering is a better match for Intel’s Classmate PC which does not support touch.
Of course, in the competitive world all this could change in the blink of a business decision. We’ll see how things unfold. I imagine what might happen next probably depends on how useful students and teachers find the touch capabilities on the XO. If touch doesn’t prove out to be all that useful, noone will probably care if the $3 Windows supports it or not and Microsoft doesn’t have to make any licensing changes with Windows for now. Doesn’t it seem like it puts Microsoft in the camp of hoping that touch isn’t all that successful on the XO? Kind of ironic isn’t it?