Developer Fun - Anyone wants to work on Intel Classmate PC?

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raffy
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Developer Fun - Anyone wants to work on Intel Classmate PC?

#1 Post by raffy »

Alternative low-power PCs are already around, something that boosts (is boosted by ?) Puppy development. Puppy makes the emerging mobile x86 platform a serious undertaking, whereas before, people would not give it much thought.

Initially, no less than Puppy creator Barry Kauler welcomed a "$100 PC" project, but got no positive response. Now, we've seen that Intel has welcomed Puppy through initial cooperation with Barry. In the global market, Vietnam's Hacao (based on Puppy) has succeeded in becoming a contender for Vietnam's education project through Intel's Classmate PC.

Here is an opportunity to join in expanding knowledge about the "ultra-mobile PC". Our usual way is simply joining Puppy's development, but you can enhance your effort by getting your hands on the latest hardware (a possibility).

If you feel you have the time for this, then please let me know via PM or post a reply below. The deal: if you signify interest to receive the hardware prototype, your email address, postal address as well as phone number will be requested (Later, it's possible that your email address will be added to a developer mailing list).

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ttuuxxx
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Re: Developer Fun - Anyone wants to work on Intel Classmate

#2 Post by ttuuxxx »

raffy wrote:Alternative low-power PCs are already around, something that boosts (is boosted by ?) Puppy development. Puppy makes the emerging mobile x86 platform a serious undertaking, whereas before, people would not give it much thought.

Initially, no less than Puppy creator Barry Kauler welcomed a "$100 PC" project, but got no positive response. Now, we've seen that Intel has welcomed Puppy through initial cooperation with Barry. In the global market, Vietnam's Hacao (based on Puppy) has succeeded in becoming a contender for Vietnam's education project through Intel's Classmate PC.

Here is an opportunity to join in expanding knowledge about the "ultra-mobile PC". Our usual way is simply joining Puppy's development, but you can enhance your effort by getting your hands on the latest hardware (a possibility).

If you feel you have the time for this, then please let me know via PM or post a reply below. The deal: if you signify interest to receive the hardware prototype, your email address, postal address as well as phone number will be requested (Later, it's possible that your email address will be added to a developer mailing list).
Hey raffy I think I could be a large asset for a project like this, I have a few excellent ideas how the operating system should work,look,feel. Does that mean you'll send a laptop?
lol ttuuxxx
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tronkel
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#3 Post by tronkel »

Yes, a very good point Raffy.

These small plastic mobile PC's could get so cheap, that they could be installed on the customer's wall by ISPs or telecoms companies. (all included in the ISP package).

What does this mean for Puppy development? Could well be that all this dinosaur metallic PC hardware that we go to so much trouble to provide suitable OS's for will very soon be history. It may not even be worthwhile doing too much more with the Puppy 2 series, since nobody will be using the hardware it was designed for. Same applies to 3 series as well.

Barry is right about concentrating his development effort on the next generation of mobile hardware. That's where it's at now. It can only be a matter of weeks/months now before we see this actually happening.

Also web services will play a key role here.

Puppy is ahead of the game and is well placed to take a central position in this new world of thin computing. It may even be the case that it will be one of the few Linuces that will survive in this new kind of computing world. Time to learn all about it I'd say. I'm saving up my pennies for a Classmate (if I can find one!)

Any volunteers for Puppy Linux CE Classmate-1.0 -opera_mini.iso ?
Life is too short to spend it in front of a computer

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ttuuxxx
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#4 Post by ttuuxxx »

tronkel wrote:Yes, a very good point Raffy.

These small plastic mobile PC's could get so cheap, that they could be installed on the customer's wall by ISPs or telecoms companies. (all included in the ISP package).

What does this mean for Puppy development? Could well be that all this dinosaur metallic PC hardware that we go to so much trouble to provide suitable OS's for will very soon be history. It may not even be worthwhile doing too much more with the Puppy 2 series, since nobody will be using the hardware it was designed for. Same applies to 3 series as well.

Barry is right about concentrating his development effort on the next generation of mobile hardware. That's where it's at now. It can only be a matter of weeks/months now before we see this actually happening.

Also web services will play a key role here.

Puppy is ahead of the game and is well placed to take a central position in this new world of thin computing. It may even be the case that it will be one of the few Linuces that will survive in this new kind of computing world. Time to learn all about it I'd say. I'm saving up my pennies for a Classmate (if I can find one!)

Any volunteers for Puppy Linux CE Classmate-1.0 -opera_mini.iso ?
I wouldn't go with opera, I would go with skipstone, the reason why its really basic, has good features, and I could make a real nice theme for it:)
ttuuxxx
http://audio.online-convert.com/ <-- excellent site
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BarryK
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#5 Post by BarryK »

I'm probably not supposed to blab about what the Intel engineer has told me about the next Classmate. One thing though, is it will have a 9 inch screen -- that may be an option, I'm not sure. The current model has a 7 inch screen. This is no surprise, it's what we expect as these baby laptops are made to a price. The 7 inch LCDs are mass produced for DVD players and so cheap, but the 9 inch screen will move down in price. I think the Eee PC will soon have a 9 inch screen to.
You can see in both of them, there is room for a bigger screen, so they have planned ahead.

UPDATE: I think an 8 inch screen was mentioned as a possibility too.
Last edited by BarryK on Mon 28 Jan 2008, 23:20, edited 1 time in total.
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alienjeff
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Re: Developer Fun - Anyone wants to work on Intel Classmate

#6 Post by alienjeff »

raffy wrote:... but you can enhance your effort by getting your hands on the latest hardware (a possibility) ... The deal: if you signify interest to receive the hardware prototype ...
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koolie
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Re: Developer Fun - Anyone wants to work on Intel Classmate

#7 Post by koolie »

raffy wrote: The deal: if you signify interest to receive the hardware prototype, your email address, postal address as well as phone number will be requested (Later, it's possible that your email address will be added to a developer mailing list).
Who gets to have access to this information, and where is it stored and displayed?

raffy
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access to information

#8 Post by raffy »

koolie wrote:Who gets to have access to this information, and where is it stored and displayed?
I guess it's the same with a website requiring user information - you have to give personal information like email address. If you do, there's a good chance that you would receive information updates or questions from the site. AJ is pointing this out as the "no free lunch" situation. If you can live with that and you feel that your work goes along the same direction anyway (mobile, low-cost PCs), then you may choose to participate. It's all voluntary.

In this case, there is an Intel engineer* who has offered sending prototype Classmate PC to interested Puppy developers. Note that Barry has referred to an "engineer" in his blog a few times.

However, I plead to the reader not to dump emotional load on the person - he is an ally in this case, coming to us and offering to cooperate. While he has his own influence in the organization - promoting Puppy among his other pet ideas - he would have organizational boundaries (and bosses) to worry about, so please give him some slack. (if you want to refer to him, please just say "engineer", OK? :) )

Let's approach this very positively, the usual way of the Puppy Linux community.
--------------------------
* Edit: Link to personal site was removed (as announced here).
Last edited by raffy on Tue 29 Jan 2008, 03:57, edited 1 time in total.

JustGreg
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#9 Post by JustGreg »

As AJ, with his negative comment, graphically points out; "There is no free lunch". However, I say "one hand washes the other". The information being requested is the same (maybe less) this is collected when one places an internet order. The amount of money for Intel is very small. It sounds like the 'engineer" has been told to "think outside of the box" by management. The "engineer" sees that puppy can meet the demands for a small robust operating system with sufficient applications to meet the needs of most users and is an "out of the box" solution.

At the start of the microprocessor age, Motorola handed out samples of its 6800 series and development kits. At the time, a 6800 microprocess cost about fifty to seventy US dollars for the device alone. The development kit was about 200 to 300 dollars. The dollar was worth a lot more then. One of the processor/kit samples ended up in the hands of a Mr. Jobs. Which is why Apple used the Motorola processors for a long time. In technology, spending small amounts of money in giving away samples can produce some great ideas that use the product.

Do you really think if you take part in this you will lose and only Intel will profit. If you like Puppy, here is a great chance for it to become a big part of the future. Haco is doing it with the Classmate in Vietnam.
Enjoy life, Just Greg
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koolie
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Developer Fun - Anyone wants to work on Intel Classmate PC?

#10 Post by koolie »

@raffy

I didnt mean to imply anything in regard to the offer.

My stumbling block is the requirement for a telephone number.
Ordinarily, if some site requires a phone no. I wont deal with them, or I give a bogus no. , which I wouldnt do in this case.

I have no problem with someone like HP having my no., but who else gets hold of it is a concern.

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iottmco
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Re: Developer Fun - Anyone wants to work on Intel Classmate

#11 Post by iottmco »

koolie wrote:@raffy

I didnt mean to imply anything in regard to the offer.

My stumbling block is the requirement for a telephone number.
Ordinarily, if some site requires a phone no. I wont deal with them, or I give a bogus no. , which I wouldnt do in this case.

I have no problem with someone like HP having my no., but who else gets hold of it is a concern.
To ship with Fedex, they require a phone number, an address and a name.
Phone number is used so that they can contact you if they deliver and you are not there. I shipped some books to Cape Verde and they ended up in Cape Verde, Chile. Fedex, bless them, worked this out by phoning the person I had sent the books to.

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#12 Post by John Doe »

AJ is always the one on the left.

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raffy
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Supply exhausted

#13 Post by raffy »

Looks like supply has been exhausted. Thanks for your PMs. I will post again if there is another opportunity.

I received clarification to the effect that the available units are among the first build of the Classmate PC. It may not be fresh out of the box - the unit that I would receive may have been used in a few demo activities already. No problem there. :)

koolie
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Re: Developer Fun - Anyone wants to work on Intel Classmate

#14 Post by koolie »

iottmco wrote: To ship with Fedex, they require a phone number, an address and a name.
Phone number is used so that they can contact you if they deliver and you are not there. I shipped some books to Cape Verde and they ended up in Cape Verde, Chile. Fedex, bless them, worked this out by phoning the person I had sent the books to.
Exactly right.

Not wanting to dwell on this too long..
Because of where I live, it is very convenient to buy lots of stuff online, but:
I only do purchases using secure transactions, and I always give my phone no.
This, for me, is a blessing, as they always ring to see if I am going to be home before they come out here, and allows me to be there when they arrive.

To me, giving out my phone number, not knowing where it is going to be displayed, is not worth a truckload of freebies.

I have already had to alter my email address on the forum due to many solicitations from "cute young girls in Africa needing a sponsor to immigrate".. etc, etc.
originating from having that address publicly available on the forum.

Barry is the only one here who has my details now.

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#15 Post by delphi »

BarryK wrote:I'm probably not supposed to blab about what the Intel engineer has told me about the next Classmate. One thing though, is it will have a 9 inch screen
One of the obvious uses of a machine of this type is as an eBook reader (or other content for that matter). Unless Classmate PC's screen resolution is increased from its current 800 x 480 (compare this to OLPC XO's max 1200×900 resolution), the increased screen size is not going to make things much better... Here is a good example of what I mean:
( http://www.olpcnews.com/hardware/screen ... splay.html )

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#16 Post by mysticmarks »

Hey guys,
I live 10 minutes from Intel headquarters and would be willing to get more involved. I feel that there is a perfect balance not yet reached here with Puppy. Puppy was Barry's vision of a tiny OS that does the job, and from as many mediums as possible. I feel Puppy is special, but i've found that there are too many deviations from the overall improvement puppy needs. I have an extensive list of how we can pool as a community to stablize puppy in a way that will help make some real headway, and ultimately simplify development and end-user experiences.
In any case, i would like to see the shared passion of this community be turned into a spirtually rewarding development venture for everyone involved. Within a few years, every child could have a real learning tool that is extremely affordable but not cheap, functional but simple, pleasing to the eye yet eligantly basic. If doing what we do with puppy now will possibly help reveal what i see as the Book of Knowledge to vast numbers of thirsty minds, then I feel we simply must.

I'm in. :wink:

raffy
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Received the Classmate PC

#17 Post by raffy »

Just so the other recipients will know, I received my unit today, together with 2 other units for the teachers doing elearning using Puppy Linux. (WinXP Pro is bundled with the unit, with an install wizard at startup.)
Attachments
cmpc_received01-320.jpg
Classmate PC received April 1, 2008 at Manila.
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Ray MK
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#18 Post by Ray MK »

Hi Raffy

Nice looking bit of kit - looks sturdy and the mains adaptor/charger
looks as if it's heavy enough to give any potential "Dick Turpins" a
nice headache.

Have looked at EeePc, very impressive but have to admit to having more than a passing interest in the classmate - but where are they?

Can't find one anywhere but if the pictures offer a true indication of
build quality throughout - "battle tank" is the impression one gets.

Am running Breezy, MiniPup, PupEee and Dingo on a 5yr old Patriot Laptop with (128mb ram) 94mb ram really and a 1GHz celeron proc. and Breezy really flies.

All are frugal install's booted using GRUB on a 9gig ext2 partition.
Also have a few more puppy's frugally installed on same partition and they all run very well together.

Wonder why Intel only provide 1gig storage for linux units and yet
offer 2gig storage for XP units. Surely it would be easier for them to
make them all the same.

It would be interesting to see how the local education authority would
react to a ClassMate/Breezy/MiniPup/EduPup combination, before they get too involved with Asus and EeePc.

Also be intresting to see how Breezy takes to ClassMate - look forward to seeing/hearing what you think.

Meanwhile - Best Regards - Ray MK

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