Real life kids have been getting their hands on the highly anticipated (?) OLPC. And you know what? For all the nay-sayers out there, the kids like it. According to one twelve-year-old who writes better than pretty much all of us here
It was cleverly designed, imaginative, straightforward, easy to understand (I was given no instructions on how to use it. It was just, “Here. Figure it out yourself.”), useful and simple, entertaining, dependable, really a “stick to the basics” kind of computer.
It’s the perfect laptop for the job. Great for first time users, it sets the mood by offering a bunch of entertaining and easy games and a camera.
The OLPC is so kid-friendly that the youngsters in the above video were able to replace the motherboard in just a few minutes. I wish the PowerBook were as easy to repair as the OLPC, seeing as though I just destroyed my own workhorse trying to replace its hard drive.
And really, OLPC haters, what is so wrong with introducing kids to an affordable laptop in their formative years? They seem to like it, so that’s all that should matter.
Children’s Reviews of OLPC XO Technology [OLPC News via Slashdot]