Further thoughts on my new XO-1 Laptop:

1. It is possible to type on it, albeit not as fast as on a regular keyboard.
2. It’s a real Linux installation — Redhat — on an x86-compatible processor. You can run “yum” in a root shell to install any package you want.
3. The hardware/software integration needs some more work. For example, there’s a cool button that rotates the screen to any orientation, but it doesn’t re-map the arrow keys or touchpad axes, so it’s confusing to scroll through an ebook in portrait mode.
4. There’s a lot of room for the platform to grow — the designers included keys on the keyboard that don’t do anything yet, in anticipation of future features.
5. It is reasonably clever in remembering which WiFi networks you prefer.
6. There’s no Ethernet port — if you want network access, you gotta have WiFi (or perhaps a USB network adapter).
7. The bundled web browser only works with file types the XO is configured to handle. I downloaded a .tar.bz2 file but I couldn’t find where it got stashed on the filesystem.
8. The “Sugar” interface is cute, and the “Journal” feature is downright innovative, but neither is complete enough to serve as a general-purpose computing platform. This isn’t necessarily bad — they were designed to be restricted to child-oriented tasks — but may limit the XO’s usefulness in other areas.
9. The interface features (menus, icons, transitions) are slow. Unfortunately, I think this is due to the designers’ reliance on Python. Now, Python is a great language, and probably the best choice for an educational tool like the XO, but more optimization — perhaps from the PyPy project — is needed.

Just got my XO-1 laptop today, and I’m using it to write this post. First impressions:

1. It’s light–weighs about as much as a hardback book.
2. The screen is sharp and readable, with or without the backlight.
3. The built-in rubber keyboard is difficult for an adult to touch-type on. I’m hoping I’ll get used to it.
4. It comes with a terminal app pre-installed!
5. It’s slow to boot and start apps. I hear a suspend/resume feature is in the works.

Need to play with it more to get a clear idea of its capabilities.

I got to see Steve Wozniak speak at Columbia University last night, promoting his new book iWoz. Strongest impression: The man has an incredible amount of energy. He talked in a strong voice at high speed for nearly an hour before rushing off to tape a spot on The Colbert Report. Most interesting fact: he hooked up his Apple I to his television set — creating the first practical video monitor — because he needed a cheaper input/output method than the teletypes everyone was using at the time.

He’s obviously obsessed with engineering and programming to a degree that most mortals can barely imagine. Who else would think of building a 10-bit digital computer as a middle school science fair project?

Another thing that struck me was his stated desire to start fresh on each computer he designed, building in capabilities — like color for the Apple II — from the ground up. That seems like the complete opposite of the approach most of the PC industry has taken of layering new functionality on top of old, to the point where it takes 5 minutes to boot a modern PC. What might the Woz come up with if he started today designing a new PC from the ground up, taking advantage of all the advances of the past two decades but leaving behind the legacies?