Run The OLPC OS From A Thumb Drive

I've got a spare 1GB thumb drive and have tried just about every bootable option I can find for it. While I'd rather it was something a little more 'troubleshooty', a la UBCD, this might be good for my junker laptop with no HD in it.

@masterthundar: First thing I thought of looking at the convoluted instructions.
You any still need to set a boot flag, but Unetbootin is far easier. Good call!

Jerrard Joseph McNeill

Try the program Unetbootin (use Google) for your drive. I thought my drive was just crummy for bootable OS's but that program makes any .iso file bootable from your thumb drive (not just usb drive specific ones). It's worth a shot.

masterthundar

The virtual appliance they have for download is an alpha release for developers. I think I'd stick with downloading the stable or beta .iso and making my own virtual machine - VirtualBox makes it awfully easy.

I've always wanted to try SugarOS. Maybe I'll load this up in a Virtual Machine :D I think it looks very sleek.

BrianB

I like running Ubuntu from an SD card on my XO, but this is cool - it's really hard to convey what working with Sugar is like without demonstrating it since it's so alien to typical OSes with the "journal" system.

I like running Ubuntu from an SD card on my XO, but this is cool - it's really hard to convey what working with Sugar is like without demonstrating it since it's so alien to typical OSes with the "journal" system.

I like running Ubuntu from an SD card on my XO, but this is cool - it's really hard to convey what working with Sugar is like without demonstrating it since it's so alien to typical OSes with the "journal" system.

@joelena:

EDIT: The link on the same page as Sugar On a Stick is for an alpha release; the recommended virtual appliance (a beta) is on this page: [wiki.sugarlabs.org]

My friend has the OLPC. While the hardware was interesting, the Sugar OS was almost 100% unusable because of very frequent crashing.

What's funny is SoaS doesn't work right on XO hardware.

Sugar doesn't work right on XO hardware

Windows barely works on XO hardware.

No GOOD educational content exists for the platform.

The whole project is basically a disaster.

johnsmith1234

What's funny is SoaS doesn't work right on XO hardware.

Sugar doesn't work right on XO hardware

Windows barely works on XO hardware.

No GOOD educational content exists for the platform.

The whole project is basically a disaster.

johnsmith1234

@joelena: There's no complete production version of the operating system. Only Alpha releases and alpha releases masquerading as beta releases.

johnsmith1234

I have an XO laptop and put XFCE on it as soon as possible. The Sugar interface is often frustrating to use for me. It's probably perfect for an 8 year old in a 3rd world country, but it drove me crazy.

BaronMelachony

I have an XO laptop and put XFCE on it as soon as possible. The Sugar interface is often frustrating to use for me. It's probably perfect for an 8 year old in a 3rd world country, but it drove me crazy.

BaronMelachony

@BaronMelachony: :(

antoniomax

@BaronMelachony:
"It's probably perfect for an 8 year old in a 3rd world country"

I get the reference to age, I don't understand why you had to specify "3rd world country". Care to elaborate? How is that different than a child of the same age in a NON-3rd world country?

Remember, You buy two computer, YOU KEEP ONE and donate one. Is the one that you are keeping designed differently?

I hope you didn't mean to say that kids in 3rd world countries are dumb.

eLearnDev

@BaronMelachony:
"It's probably perfect for an 8 year old in a 3rd world country"

I get the reference to age, I don't understand why you had to specify "3rd world country". Care to elaborate? How is that different than a child of the same age in a NON-3rd world country?

Remember, You buy two computer, YOU KEEP ONE and donate one. Is the one that you are keeping designed differently?

I hope you didn't mean to say that kids in 3rd world countries are dumb.

eLearnDev

@eLearnDev: Maybe not dumb, but uneducated. There's a good chance that the majority of the 3rd world kids that end up using one of these laptops have never used a laptop before, let alone gotten used to a specific OS. Most 8 year old kids in the US or other industrialized nation is probably used to Windows or Mac.

termitehead

I have to agree, but I also think that the laptop could be aimed downwards for much success! The "faketops" they sell for the baby set could be easily replaced with an OLPC, retain all the same functionality, be easier to write "content" for, AND double as a baby monitor/alert system using the built in camera. Why won't someone go make this NOW?!? :)

SultanaJay

@BaronMelachony: It's best interface since sliced bread for them...oh wait...maybe they'd prefer a slice of bread

Angry Numismatist

@BaronMelachony: It's best interface since sliced bread for them...oh wait...maybe they'd prefer a slice of bread

Angry Numismatist

@termitehead:
I grew up in a 3rd world country. I had my first computer when I was 9, while others might not have even known what a computer is (regardless of their location on the globe). I am talking about back when computers didn't even have a hard drive.

Of course I feel fortunate that I was exposed to technology at such a young age. I also feel fortunate that I benefited from a 3rd world country education; public school education nonetheless.

At the high school level, I knew more than any high school kid in the U.S. about Maths, Physics, Biology, Geography and History. And I say this with a good deal of regret, as I would like to see the kids here in the states exposed to a better, more rounded education.

A lot of people assume our kids are better educated, or even worse; assume that other kids lack the mental capacity to excel because they live in a 3rd world country. Wrong, and wrong. I am not saying that this is your case, and that is the reason why I ASKED those questions.

No doubt, the OLPC project is put in place so the most unfortunate kids (in 3rd world countries) can benefit from having access to what the device offers. Did they design the OS and the UI specifically for uneducated kids? NO, remember when you buy it, you are keeping one for your own kid. Is the UI designed for under developed minds? No, again, your kid will be using the same thing. Is your kid better than a kid in a 3rd world country? Well, I'll let you decide :)

I am going to throw a couple smilies :) :) just to lighting up my comment. BTW, I know a thing or two about education and learning. I didn't pick a username on LH just for this thread :)

eLearnDev

@termitehead:
I grew up in a 3rd world country. I had my first computer when I was 9, while others might not have even known what a computer is (regardless of their location on the globe). I am talking about back when computers didn't even have a hard drive.

Of course I feel fortunate that I was exposed to technology at such a young age. I also feel fortunate that I benefited from a 3rd world country education; public school education nonetheless.

At the high school level, I knew more than any high school kid in the U.S. about Maths, Physics, Biology, Geography and History. And I say this with a good deal of regret, as I would like to see the kids here in the states exposed to a better, more rounded education.

A lot of people assume our kids are better educated, or even worse; assume that other kids lack the mental capacity to excel because they live in a 3rd world country. Wrong, and wrong. I am not saying that this is your case, and that is the reason why I ASKED those questions.

No doubt, the OLPC project is put in place so the most unfortunate kids (in 3rd world countries) can benefit from having access to what the device offers. Did they design the OS and the UI specifically for uneducated kids? NO, remember when you buy it, you are keeping one for your own kid. Is the UI designed for under developed minds? No, again, your kid will be using the same thing. Is your kid better than a kid in a 3rd world country? Well, I'll let you decide :)

I am going to throw a couple smilies :) :) just to lighting up my comment. BTW, I know a thing or two about education and learning. I didn't pick a username on LH just for this thread :)

eLearnDev

@BaronMelachony: I did the same thing. I like Sugar, but there aren't enough "useful" apps for it.

VMAAXT

@BaronMelachony: I did the same thing. I like Sugar, but there aren't enough "useful" apps for it.

VMAAXT

@BaronMelachony: I did the same thing. I like Sugar, but there aren't enough "useful" apps for it.

VMAAXT

@eLearnDev:
Two observations
1) Are education system in the use is in the crapper we need to fix, without a bailout Obama you seem to give my kids money away to easy.

2) In the US you have to buy two, why? Are they saying people here deserve to pay more and not get as cheap a laptop for those with not much money?

@eLearnDev:
You, my friend, need a star for that comment.
Well done.

@eLearnDev: Now THAT's a comment. Thanks for the good question and thoughts eLearnDev.

Jimmer

@[wiki.laptop.org]]

zaq2g

@eLearnDev:

Hmmmm... I see the anger in you... You just cant resist the force of dark side... I agree with you comments though

BUT

Better to keep the discussion focused on the subject

@eLearnDev: Maybe you are a little overly sensitive. It is my understanding (forgive me if I was wrong) that OLPC's are destined for developing countries, which usually means the 3rd world. Sugar was created for young children in those countries to learn about computers and to use them to learn other subjects like math, science and reading. I believe that saying the interface is "perfect for an 8 year old in a 3rd world country" validates the intent of its design. Sugar may drive one person crazy because maybe it's not quite set up the way they would like it but it may be perfect as a learning tool for the target audience. That does not mean that the children in a developing nation receiving the XO are dumb. If you check out the web site for OLPC, you can see that they have solar chargers and hand cranks to charge the batteries for remote villages and other areas with no power. The mesh network function exists to compensate for lack of infrastructure as well. That would indicate to me that these laptops are going places where maybe the kids don't have the same advantages you did when growing up, that they ARE uneducated...the purpose oif the thing is to help EDUCATE. There is nothing wrong with an 8 year old in circumstances like that not being educated, they have not had the opportunity. That's why I paid for two OLPC's...so I could help an uneducated child get the education everyone deserves. My first computer was a Vic20. There was no solar charger for it, no hand crank, etc. We had power. We did not have the ability to network with others though since my parents could not afford the VicModem. They also could not afford a disk drive so cassette tapes were my storage medium. I also grew up in the US and went to public schools so am, according to your post above, suffering from an inferior education. It sounds like you may have had a privileged childhood in whatever 3rd world country you grew up in: power for that computer, possibly indoor plumbing, superior education and intellect. What confuses me is how, with all your advantages and intelligence, you read that post on LifeHacker and assume that it was derisive.

ilvlinux

@eLearnDev: "OLPC's mission is to provide a means for learning, self-expression, and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education."

That is from the OLPC website.

"Third World is a categorical label used to describe states that are considered to be underdeveloped in terms of their economy or level of industrialization, globalization, standard of living, health, education or other criteria for 'advancements'.

That was from Wikipedia.

The OLPC was designed for children in the 3rd World in areas that lack resources for education. Yes, those children are likely uneducated due to their circumstances. Heck, a lot of them don't even have electricity, which is why they provide solar chargers and hand crank chargers for those areas.

If someone says that Sugar is not the interface for them but should be perfect for those poor, uneducated children of the 3rd World...wouldn't you think that maybe their statement implies that the OLPC team did their job? How one could get all upset about that statement is beyond me. Maybe it's my inferior, public-schooled US education getting in the way, but I don't see it.

Also, I did the Give One, Get One deal for myself, not my kid...I don't have any kids. I wanted an XO laptop and I wanted to help out a kid who needed one as well. Once I got it, I found Sugar to be too limiting and it kind of annoyed me. I installed XFCE on it along with Opera and some other apps and it is great. Does that mean that Sugar is for dumb people? No. It means that I don't like it and prefer a normal desktop and more freedom.

I posted my first comment as an unregistered user and the LifeHacker team gave me the name BaronMelachony but your somewhat impassioned response prompted me to sign up so I could explain my angle on this. Congratulations, you just got LifeHacker another registered user! I hope that my signing up just to comment on this thread does not diminish me in any way as implied by your statement:

"I didn't pick a username on LH just for this thread"

I really do love Linux...

ilvlinux

I actually like Sugar; it's very cute and simple. I use my OLPC because it's so tiny and portable (yes, I have one of the laptops from the promotional give-one-get-one things they held) and mostly, I use it for surfing the net and word processing -- though the tiny keyboard is a bit frustrating from time to time (a problem I also had when using an eee pc, the other tiny-laptop I've run into). It's not the best operating system, but it's very streamlined and simple and -- at least for me -- very intuitive. Its childishly simple environment suits me. I think it would be worth a download for people who are interested in the operating system -- if for no other reason than that it's cute and fun.

HarcourtGaius

@ilvlinux:

Dude, did you reply to my comment TWICE? :)

I just asked you to elaborate, I didn't think I said anything offensive while replying to you!

Anyway, getting back to the subject at hand. Since I am considering getting an XO-2 if/whenever they're released. I am gonna run this thing on a tablet PC, turn my 2 year old loose at it and see how the kid interacts with the OS. Well I'll be testing how I interact with the OS too :) Those XO-2s look awesome.

eLearnDev

@eLearnDev: I didn't realize that the LifeHacker staff had to clear your first comment and thought that there was a glitch because I used Opera for the first comment so fired another off the next day. They both showed up though I emailed in and asked them to kill one of them...=) Oh well, now I look angry and verbose...LOL

ilvlinux

@ilvlinux:
"Oh well, now I look angry and verbose...LOL"
I am glad to hear that you're not angry :) Hey, look at the bright side. Now that you signed up, you'll be commenting left and right and contribute to the greatness of this site.
Take care.

eLearnDev

@termitehead "Maybe not dumb, but uneducated. There's a good chance that the majority of the 3rd world kids that end up using one of these laptops have never used a laptop before, let alone gotten used to a specific OS. Most 8 year old kids in the US or other industrialized nation is probably used to Windows or Mac." OK now you start stereotyping children from 3rd world countries? FYI I was born, raised, and live in one of 3rd world countries. I recently gave my two years old daughter a leopard macbook and a vista-loaded vaio P. So based on what you said, I'd say not bad eh for a child from a 3rd world country?? To be fair, the Sugar OS wasn't designed with you in mind in the first place anyway. It was made for children (regardless of country and status) and so far nobody requires you to use it, true? Do you use kiddie-sized clothing and toothpaste? I hope not for your own sake. Technically you could, but you would look dumb using them, right? Same goes for the Sugar OS. Hey at least it's more stable than XP... :) Please do forgive me if I sounded rude...

SiennaLurco