Laptop clarifications

Early this morning I blogged in relation to the OLPC and my own thoughts on solutions for Labors Digital Education Revolution policy.

Russell Coker picked up my thoughts and wrote an interesting article regarding Laptop vs Book Weight and made some good points.

To continue the discussion in the Blogsphere (man I hate that phrase!), I thought I would answer some of his questions, and clarify some of my initial comments.

What OS does the  ClassMate PC ship with?
The Intel Classmate PC by default ships with Microsoft Windows XP.  Close inspection of the images on their website suggests so.  The Interactive Manual also clearly demonstrates a Windows based OS.  As such, the default shipping system does not meet my own requirements -- without the removal of pre-installed operating system and software.

What age bracket does the ClassMate PC suit?
I did state in my article to mention that "The Classmate PC looks like more of a rival to the XO laptop more than anything." and whilst not clearly stating it; I see it more focused on primary school children then actual high school students.  As such it fails the Digital Education Revolution policy (Years 9-12).
As Russell correctly points out it is 'designed for primary students (ages 5-14)'.  It is also important to note that Intel have also have left the OLPC project.  They are now squarely focusing on the promoting the Classmate over the XO laptop.

What computer candidates for high school children then?
I pointed to the fact of the Everex Cloudbook and Asus EeePC as two possible candidates.  In addition it appears that others are about to hit the market in the next few months including a model from MSI as confirmed.

I do agree with Russell that whilst the EeePC is probably the front runner (with a SSD over a traditional HDD), though the screen size (7") is far too small.  I would add that the keyboard would also be annoying for any length of time.  WithUpdate: potentially 6 hours a day working on this beast, it's likely to be light enough for students to throw across a class-room in frustration.

I am also of the belief that Tablet PCs could also be reworked into a small form factor and low price (sub $500-$600AUD).   It  allows students to either elect to use a keyboard or a pen-based solution if preferred.  In addition, drawing diagrams on a tablet is much easier. TabletPC screens generally are larger as well, making it suitable for viewing for long periods.

 There is some partial Linux support for Tablet computing, but traditional Linux applications are likely to require linking to the correct libraries to provide support for native 'writing'.  It seems Toshiba are also thinking along the same lines about a Tablet PC rework.  TabletKiosk shows it can be done, and use OpenSuSE as an option on their range of Tablets.

Russell's main point that the he disagrees with my statement "A traditional notebook is far too heavy for high-school kids to lug around".   In the adventurous mode that is Russell; he went digging through his old school books, and a set of scales to prove that current high-school text books are indeed heavier.

I could have saved him the pain...  they are indeed heavier. 

However, I'll stress again that my personal belief is that a traditional notebook is far too heavy for high-school kids to lug around.

Let me clarify this point.

1. Text books (those awful paper form) are currently required.  Adding another 1-1.5kgs (weight of a notebook) to a schools bag in unnecessary.
2. Parents are already concerned with the weight of school bags already, adding extra kilograms to the bag won't go well with them and is likely to be met with resistance.
3. The Victorian government has already published details on concerns of the weight of school bags.  Some interesting statistics come out of a study undertaken by the Australian Spine journal:
• The weight of the average backpack is heavier, proportionally, than the legal load-bearing limit for adults.
• 79.1 per cent of children say their backpacks feel heavy.
• 65.7 per cent report feeling fatigued by the weight of their backpack.
• 46.1 per cent report back pain caused by their backpack.
The site  goes on to state:
• The backpack should weigh less than 10 per cent of your child’s body weight – for example, a child of 40kg should carry less than 4kg in their backpack. Ideally, the child in this example should only carry around 2–3kg of books.
4. I agree with Russell's idea of using digital text books and ensuring the children only carry the notebook.  However I do see situations where this will be hard to enforce:
   • Book publishers are unlikely to be swayed into a digital age for distribution, as much as other publishers in the entertainment industry (movies and music spring to mind)  have been dragged kicking and screaming.
   • Whilst Creative Commons licensing would be the nirvana; I could only see this working if a 'redemption' process works.   ie: Each student registers with the school the texts they are using (based on the enrollment of a course), this could be then billed to the students family and the revenue collected is given to the publisher).
   • Another process would be to have Book publishers provide their text books via USB Keys.  A student places an order in a central location, and a USB Key is shipped to them; with all their classes loaded on.  This form is however likely to require some form of DRM; which many (including myself) will be opposed to.
     
   • The most secure approach would be centralization of text-books.  A school intranet or a government based education server that requires authentication is utilized that records the student accessing which book.  A semester bill is then generated.  Internet access is almost mandatory for each child, and if not available at home the local library or school premises could be used to access the text.  This is probably my preferred method.
     
5. Using the argument, 'it was fine for me when I went through school' some 20 years ago, doesn't hold any water.   When I went to school, corporal punishment was still in place!  Things change over time, new research and practices also come to light.  Little work had been undertaken (around 1988) in relation to lifting loads of children at that time.  Much has changed.   Remember, Linux wasn't even an itch in Linus' pants 20 years ago.

I think the discussion and response from Russell is healthy.  I appreciate Russell's input and he does raise some of the questions that will need to be addressed.  Hopefully more people feel prompted to express their opinions and insights.  The FOSS community is wide and diverse; many of these hurdles can be addressed and a superior and less expensive solution is likely to be found.   Whilst traditional system vendors will only look at the opportunity to increase revenue, those in the FOSS community are likely to focus on the end-user experience.

The current focus by the Federal government also helps narrow down the desired solution for high-school students.  It is a perfect time to introduce our next generation of adults on the virtues of OSS.  These students will take that experience into the workplace of the future.   This will assist in a wider adoption of OSS solutions not only in the workplace but in homes around the nation.

Placing computers in the hands of our students and replacing legacy paper-based text books will address two areas in one swoop.  That surely is a Digital Education Revolution and one that both doctors, parents and students will be grateful to take a load off their backs!

Update: Steve Walsh correctly identifies that the ClassMate PC does indeed ship with a Linux variant. I admit, I also missed that myself! As such the ClassMate PC is also suitable for an alternative to the XO Laptop.