Posts in category 'olpc'
Running Debian Buster on an OLPC
Back in 2008 I got an OLPC XO-1 during the G1G1 program. Question: Can you successfully run Debian Buster on this modest hardware? Answer: Yes!
Way back in the before time, in the long long ago of 2008, I decided to participate in the One Laptop Per Child Give One Get One program. The vision of the program was compelling: play a small part in enabling childhood education by providing children in the poorest parts of the world access to cheap, simple, rugged computers. Load them with electronic books and educational software. Add support for wifi and mesh networking to enable connectivity. Unlock creativity in kids the way computers unlocked creativity in me.
Things didn’t exactly pan out as everyone had hoped, but I still ended up with my very own OLPC XO-1, and it’s sat quietly in a closet ever since, a toy that I take out and play with occasionally.
Well, we recently did a top-to-bottom purge of our house, and in doing so I once again ran across my XO-1. So I decided to take it out and play with it again. In particular, I was curious: what would it take to run the very latest version of Debian on this modest little device?
Turns out not much! But where it got tricky, it got really tricky…
Continue reading...The XO Arriveth!
For those unaware, a couple months back I decided to get in on the OLPC G1G1 program, which allowed we priviledged members of the first world two buy two XO units, one which would go to a school somewhere in the developing world, and one that we could keep. The goal of the program was to spur interest in their work while encouraging donations, and let me tell ya, it sure worked on me! As it also did for two of my co-worker. :)
Anyway, I’m happy to report that a couple days ago, my XO arrived! And it’s a fine thing to behold. Compact and cleverly designed, these tiny, kid-focused, ruggedized laptops are a marvel of technology. Darn cute, too.
Anyway, there’s a ton of other pictures and material one these little things, so rather than going on and on about what makes them so cool, I’ll just post a photo and be done with it:
BTW, did I mention I typed this up on the XO? Well, aside from the photo upload, which apparently doesn’t work in the XO browser.
