questions

QUESTIONS FOR JOEL

Q: Gruntyrumble: Would there be an option to set up the graphics and tweak the performance according to how we want it?

A: Sugar is designed to require minimal configuration. The newer versions let you tweak the way the frame works, but in general, the developers + visual designer spend lots of time debating the best options, and hardcode them appropriately.

Q: Gruntyrumble: Will we be able to remove or install additional applications if there were any?

A: Yes. More activities exist on http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Acitivites, or you can place the .xo on a USB key, and install it by clicking on in the journal (plugging the USB into a computer running sugar will allow you to open the key via the Journal). Newer versions of sugar will include an Add/Update utility to ease installing and updating.

Q: Gruntyrumble: Is it possible to run Flash applications/games on this os?

A: Yes. You can install Gnash, swfdec - free software Flash plugins - or Adobe's proprietary flash plugin. The XO's ship with Gnash installed by defualt.

Q: Gruntyrumble: Is there an option to change the hardware/driver settings, e.g change the volume?

A: The volume is adjustable using keys on the laptop. When running Sugar on your desktops at school, you don't have those buttons available, so the only option I can think of is to run "aslamixer" inside the Terminal activity. Newer Sugar versions allow you to adjust the volume from the Frame.

Q: Azumanga: One question I keep asking is can we change the colour scheme or include a background for individualality?

A: You can customise the colours of your XO icon when you start sugar. This setting is stored the file ~/.sugar/default/config and you might be able to change the colours by editing the line color = #FF2B34,#FF8F00. The two numbers # represent colours in hexadcimal notation, you can randomly experiment, or use a website to check them out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colors

Q: Sinister-Moon: Not really a technical question but can you estimate how long it would take for the XO to reach its ideal marketing price of one hundred dollars?

A: It is a hard thing to guess, mostly due to lack of information. OLPC hasn't released any figures for how the cost of the XO has change since they began mass production 10 months ago.

Q: Baby angel: Can you tell the comparison between the progress of students who receive the __Sugar XOs__ versus those who receive the __microsoft windows version__ of any computer?

A: I don't know. Perhaps you could ask your teacher if he's seen any changes in you and your classmates after using sugar this term? A2:Hi Baby Angel, you have asked the BIG question. Well done! Sugar is a purpose designed operating system for education. It has undergone limited trials in Nepal and is now being rolled out in the 100,000's in South America. To me, the most interesting trial is being done by [|www.waveplace.com] because it aligns better with the learning philosophy. Actually, you are one of the best people in the world to answer your own question. Is Sugar better? Why? Is application sharing useful? Is the journal better than file manager for primary school kids? I am interested in what you think. (TF not Joel)

Q: Death-God: I have a question which I would love to answer but I've tried everything. I have MP3 files on my USB and they come up when I go to it. However, can you play them? There is a volume option on Sugar and everything but when you click start on the file nothing happens. Any help? //Tuesday 9th September 2008

A: You don't have the correct codec installed. http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Fluendo_mp3_decoder will tell you about this, along with some instructions. Incase you can't visit that website, do the following:

code su - cd /tmp wget "http://shop.fluendo.com/pub/fluendo-mp3-1.i386.tar.bz2" tar -jxvf fluendo-mp3-1.i386.tar.bz2 mv fluendo-mp3-i386/libgstflump3dec.so /usr/lib/gstreamer-0.10/ code

Note that you won't be able to do this at school without setting up the proxy. Perhaps you could download the fluendo-mp3-1.i386.tar.bz2 file somewhere else, and put that on your USB key.

also why does the system lag wen you put in your usb drive?
 * Flux**: Can you change or turn of the splash screens becuase the ones in fedora 9 make the system lag!


 * Kasparov**: How do you copy and paste from a browser URL to terminal command line. Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V does copy and paste in some cases but doesn't work when pasting to the terminal command line.


 * Kasparov**: These linux commands don't work: locate, man (command not found message) - what are the equivalents?
 * Answer**: I asked Joel and he pointed me to a link (can't find it right now) which said that due to the size of man it had been left off. It's a cut down linux distribution. Others have complained (eg. Bryan Berry, Nepal) since man is necessary for students to learn linux command line


 * Machineab**: Why doesn't a pop-up window or a message appears when a USB is plugged in?
 * TF**: In fact there are no windows, everything runs full screen. Is this just to account for the limitations of the small screen or a slow processor? Is this better for education? A downside is that you cannot run a chat session simultaneously with say a shared paint session.


 * Machineab**: Can you make XO more famous and common among young children if its speed is increased and its is advertised more often in the media?


 * Machineab:** Is there any sound contoller in E-toys so that you can control the volume made by different sounds.


 * Machineab:** Can you open the files in E-toys which are made by different or new version of E-toys.


 * Azumanga:** We've seen how to change the XO icon on the homescreen (see SVG) but how do we change the mouse cursor?

Isn't their any editor that can edit and view the graphic at the same time ?
 * Machineab:**