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Paul Moews · 12-23-2007, 11:27 PM

I just received a OLPC (one laptop per child) machine and have been trying out the Book reader feature. There is a bit about the OLPC on a NYT video mentioned in this forum:

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) hands-on video

The display is interesting – small, 4.5 inches by 6 inches, but of a resolution higher than that of the Iliad, 900 x 1200 pixels or 200 pixels per inch. It runs in a backlit color mode and in a black and white reflective mode, the reflective mode is claimed to use only 0.2 watts. The reflective mode, like the Iliad, needs ambient light, and works well in bright sunshine.

The OLPC has a simple, easy to learn interface, and comes with a Browser, a Book reader (PDFs only at the moment) an interactive Python interpreter and much else.

As the display is similar to that of the Iliad I thought I would compare the two machines – I downloaded a book in Iliad format (from http://manybooks.net/) directly to the OLPC using its Browser and saved another copy to a MMC card for use on the Iliad.

The OLPC is a sturdy, heavy (about 3.5 lbs) little machine that folds into a 9 x 9 x 1.25 inch chunk with a 4.5 x 6 inch window. Game control buttons are used to rotate the view and turn pages. The display refreshes quickly so that scrolling is possible, an advantage over the Iliad. In bright sunlight the two displays are very comparable. One has to hold the OLPC at the right angle to the Suns rays as the reflective surface can act as a mirror. Picture 1 – see attachments- was taken in bright sunlight. It shows the Iliad and OLPC side by side with the OLPC in reflective mode. The same page ( taken from “Heart of Darkness” by Conrad) is shown on both machines.

Picture 2 –see attachments – is a higher resolution picture of the OLPC running in transmissive mode and again viewed in full sunlight. I find the display very impressive..The Book reader is well done and has the advantages over the Iliad that one would expect from a display that refreshes more quickly.

You can still get a OLPC for a few more days (until Dec. 31st)

See http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php

It’s a nice little machine, well done, and should intrigue most children. A book reader using the same display would be readable in bright light and in the dark.

p. moews

12-23-2007, 11:27 PM	#1
Paul Moews Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jul 2006	OLPC - one laptop per child - compared to Iliad I just received a OLPC (one laptop per child) machine and have been trying out the Book reader feature. There is a bit about the OLPC on a NYT video mentioned in this forum: One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) hands-on video The display is interesting – small, 4.5 inches by 6 inches, but of a resolution higher than that of the Iliad, 900 x 1200 pixels or 200 pixels per inch. It runs in a backlit color mode and in a black and white reflective mode, the reflective mode is claimed to use only 0.2 watts. The reflective mode, like the Iliad, needs ambient light, and works well in bright sunshine. The OLPC has a simple, easy to learn interface, and comes with a Browser, a Book reader (PDFs only at the moment) an interactive Python interpreter and much else. As the display is similar to that of the Iliad I thought I would compare the two machines – I downloaded a book in Iliad format (from http://manybooks.net/) directly to the OLPC using its Browser and saved another copy to a MMC card for use on the Iliad. The OLPC is a sturdy, heavy (about 3.5 lbs) little machine that folds into a 9 x 9 x 1.25 inch chunk with a 4.5 x 6 inch window. Game control buttons are used to rotate the view and turn pages. The display refreshes quickly so that scrolling is possible, an advantage over the Iliad. In bright sunlight the two displays are very comparable. One has to hold the OLPC at the right angle to the Suns rays as the reflective surface can act as a mirror. Picture 1 – see attachments- was taken in bright sunlight. It shows the Iliad and OLPC side by side with the OLPC in reflective mode. The same page ( taken from “Heart of Darkness” by Conrad) is shown on both machines. Picture 2 –see attachments – is a higher resolution picture of the OLPC running in transmissive mode and again viewed in full sunlight. I find the display very impressive..The Book reader is well done and has the advantages over the Iliad that one would expect from a display that refreshes more quickly. You can still get a OLPC for a few more days (until Dec. 31st) See http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php It’s a nice little machine, well done, and should intrigue most children. A book reader using the same display would be readable in bright light and in the dark. p. moews Attached Thumbnails