[design] Lack of built-in serial and // port ?

[Rafael Enrique Ortiz Guerrero]

Hi all,

The serial port in the XO is designed for low level debugging,

please see

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Serial_adapters.

Cheers!
On 10/23/07, Ian Daniher <it.daniher at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Samir,
> IIRC, there *is* a serial port, but due to constraints I have not been
> made aware of, It isn't exposed, instead it is buried inside the case.
> Sorry I can't help more,
> --
> Ian Daniher
> it.daniher at gmail.com
> Skype : it.daniher
> irc.freenode.com: DyDisMe
>
> On 10/23/07, Samir Saidani < saidani at squeakfr.org> wrote:
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > I have heard about the OLPC initiative a while ago, and recently
> > I have decided to take a further look at this very interesting
> > initiative... Here are first thoughts about it...
> >
> > I'm quite new to this project, and one thing that strikes me was the
> > lack of built-in serial and parallel port.  Why ? When you don't have
> > a lot of money, you tend to use obsolete technology which are cheaper
> > than the newer one, like parallel printers, serial modem, serial mouse,
> > parallel scanner, etc ... This obsolete technology are easily available
> > on poor countries, because it's easy for an non profit organization
> > to send this kind of technology that almost nobody wants anymore (at
> > least the enterprises, and the schools of rich countries update quite
> > often their hardware and throw the old one to the garbage or donate it
> > to a NPO).
> >
> > So you can have the old tech for free, because they often end into the
> > gargage while they are still working great. And this is not a theory,
> > we have founded here in France a npo which locally is working to give
> > One Computer Per Child for 0 $. We have already a lot of computers,
> > and we are slowing down the process to avoid a computer hardware
> > overload... Recycling is an ecologic approach to the environment, and it
> >
> > seems that it is a concern of the whole OLPC initiative. Recycling
> > allows
> > you to do things by yourself with little money (or none at all). I know
> > that there is a serial/USB interface, but I'm not sure that it would be
> > as easy to use as built-in ports (possibility to lost it, unable to do
> > it
> > by yourself due to the complex USB electronics component...). So when
> > you
> > consider the target audience (poor countries, rural zone, poor people),
> > I think this is a design mistake. Or at least it's reducing a lot the
> > possibility of hacking and recycling obsolete hardware lying around.
> >
> > Maybe and probably do you have already talk about this matter ?
> >
> > Thanks !
> > Samir
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Design at lists.laptop.org
> > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/design
> >
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
Rafael Enrique Ortiz Guerrero
One Laptop Per Child
rafael at laptop.org
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