Power-on to GUI in 20 seconds

[Edward Cherlin]

On Fri, Aug 29, 2008 at 11:38 AM, Mitch Bradley <wmb at laptop.org> wrote:
> pgf wrote:
>
>> bert wrote:
>>  > Am 29.08.2008 um 15:34 schrieb pgf at laptop.org:
>>  >
>>  > > bert wrote:
>>  > >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0fAUGRUDVA
>>  > >>
>>  > >> Brought to you by Gerardo Richarte, with bootstrapping help from
>>  > >> Mitch Bradley.

Thanks, Mitch. Where can we get details and code?

>>  > > i can't resist pointing out that we could probably do that with
>>  > > linux too, if we weren't committed to using an off-the-shelf desktop
>>  > > distribution.
>>  >
>>  > Are we committed to that?
>>
>> i suspect so.  it gives us huge leverage in terms of reducing
>> development time and in increased numbers of familiar developers.
>> while i'm sure there's a bunch of savings that could be had
>> in boot time, some of it would come in terms of reduced or
>> delayed services and system flexibility.  the fact is that
>> once the XO is up and running, it's an extremely powerful,
>> full-fledged workstation.  (approximately speaking, of course.  :-)
>> there's something to be said for that.
>
> I think we need to be careful to stay focused on our mission.  To the
> extent that we are too compatible with the big wide world of PCs and all
> the different flavors of Linux, we risk becoming irrelevant.  If you
> want a PC, there are plenty of choices, nearly all of them better (at
> running conventional software) than XO.

I disagree with that analysis. If we had to dump Sugar to be
compatible, that would be a disaster. Multiple boot from flash drives
just strengthens us. I have been talking to other Linux distro groups,
and BSD also, at trade shows, to encourage them to get their software
working on the XO so that our children can study _everybody's_ source
code.

> In my mind, making yet another PC is uninteresting.  We need to focus on
> doing something that is fundamentally better.  We cannot win at the old
> game; we have to invent a new game.

We did that. There is no going back, and the competition knows it. We
inspired dozens of less-capable but higher-priced imitations (see
liliputing.com), which will eventually get mesh networking and
versions of Linux with Sugar, becoming more-capable but higher-priced
imitations, and spreading our work everywhere. I'm all for it.

>> (i do think we should be making our dual-boot capabilities
>> equally available for all OSes.  i'd love to be able to
>> (trivially) try SqueakNOS or debxo, for instance, or be able to
>> experiment with application-specific fast-bootable images.  and i
>> think a lot of G1G1 folks that might prefer an "alternate"
>> distribution of some sort for day-to-day would probably like to
>> keep the OLPC code around as well, just to keep their laptops
>> "stock", and to track our progress.)

I also want to see Open Firmware replace proprietary BIOSes
everywhere. In fact, I would like to see OFW-only embedded systems,
since FORTH is designed for that environment. (I am assuming that
Mitch can add real-time capabilities to OFW, and that a variety of
development environments are available for such systems.) Or perhaps
OFW/Parrot hybrids. I don't know. It's Free Software, folks, what do
you want to implement today?

-- 
Silent Thunder [ 默雷 / शब्दगर्ज / شبدگر ج ] is my name,
And Children are my nation.
The Six Worlds are my dwelling place,
And Truth my destination.