[OLPC-Games] Play Go issues for laptop

Walter Bender walter.bender at gmail.com
Sun Oct 12 07:21:27 EDT 2008


(Step 1 of the instructions say: "You should already have an ext3
variant XO build image.")

Out of curiosity, which image did you try to load in the emulator?

Obviously, as was pointed out on the Emulating the XO page, we've not
paid enough attention to getting Sugar to install on a Mac yet.

-walter

On Sun, Oct 12, 2008 at 2:59 AM, Paul Barchilon <shimari at comcast.net> wrote:
> Hi Edward,
>
> Response below:
>
>>>
>>> My operating system is Mac OS 10.5.5.  Qemu seems to work without any
>>> trouble.  The final screen mentions something about failing to load
>>> the
>>> Keyboard module.  I tried it with a different keyboard just in case
>>> that was
>>> the problem, but no luck.  My only keyboard options are USB,
>>> hopefully that
>>> is not the issue.
>>
>> What was the exact command you used? Sometimes it is a matter of the
>> correct command-line options. I don't know how that works, but others
>> here do.
>
> I didn't use a command at all.  Qemu has buttons to launch, and drop
> down menus for several items.  I followed the directions on the page
> Walter sent me to:  http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Emulating_the_XO/Quick_Start/Mac
>   I had the same problem with QEMU arguments that whoever wrote that
> page did, so I left it blank.  Qemu fails to find the correct start
> image (even when it is set in the preferences), but if you click on
> the Change CD Rom button, you can navigate to the right one and it
> starts up as I described earlier.
>
> Hope we can figure this out, I really want to try this thing!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Paul
>
>>>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>>>
>>> On Oct 11, 2008, at 8:30 AM, Walter Bender wrote:
>>>
>>>> You can run Sugar (and PlayGo) without an XO laptop. See
>>>> http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Supported_systems for some options.
>>>>
>>>> regards.
>>>>
>>>> -walter
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Oct 11, 2008 at 1:12 AM, Paul Barchilon
>>>> <shimari at comcast.net>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Andres, and Edward,
>>>>> Great to hear from both of you!  We have been very excited about
>>>>> this
>>>>> project from the beginning, and would be glad to offer any
>>>>> assistance we
>>>>> can.  Roy, Terry and I work closely together, so we have all been
>>>>> discussing
>>>>> your project.  I have good news for you, and then several
>>>>> questions.  The
>>>>> kid I got to look at the latest version was delighted with it his
>>>>> message
>>>>> is
>>>>> below:
>>>>> Fromleinad
>>>>> Date10/10/2008 22:03
>>>>> SubjectRE: Play Go
>>>>> THIS IS A REALLY BIG STEP UP FROM THE OLD PROGRAM!!!
>>>>>
>>>>> the ai is not half bad and might beat me... you can pass, it
>>>>> enforces ko
>>>>> and
>>>>> calculates the score... you can refresh the game without exiting
>>>>> out, you
>>>>> have a choice of 19x19, 13x13, or 9x9, and you can undo!!!! there
>>>>> is a
>>>>> problem that i cannot really discribe but i will try to get some
>>>>> screenshots... it does not inhibit game play in any way due to
>>>>> the undo
>>>>> capability.
>>>>>
>>>>> i really think the ai would have beaten me but i stopped playing...
>>>>> then i played a 9x9 game and it did beat me but it filled in a
>>>>> lot of
>>>>> unnecessary points at the end...  i need to practice more...
>>>>>
>>>>> they should include numbers and letters around the edges...
>>>>> I think he is 12 or 13, I know him through our website but have
>>>>> never met
>>>>> him.  He was pretty disappointed with the initial release, so
>>>>> clearly you
>>>>> guys are working on the right things.
>>>>> Is there a way for me to run your program on my computer so I can
>>>>> look at
>>>>> it?  I downloaded the latest version of PlayGo, but as I do not
>>>>> have one
>>>>> of
>>>>> your laptops I can't do anything with it.  I am running Mac OS
>>>>> 10.5 on a
>>>>> new
>>>>> intel iMac.  I have an application that can port some Windows
>>>>> applications
>>>>> on my Mac also.
>>>>> As for using our learn to play section from the website, please
>>>>> feel
>>>>> free.
>>>>> I personally wrote everything, and we own the drawings as well.
>>>>> If you
>>>>> could credit the AGF and provide a link to Tiger's Mouth that
>>>>> would be
>>>>> great.   What would really be ideal is an interactive learn to play
>>>>> module
>>>>> that teaches kids how to play.  There is a good one online
>>>>> already, I
>>>>> link
>>>>> to it from our learn to play page.  If you didn't click on it,
>>>>> the link
>>>>> is
>>>>> here:
>>>>> http://www.playgo.to/interactive/index.html  It is also already
>>>>> available
>>>>> in
>>>>> some 30 languages, so you could save yourself some trouble by
>>>>> using what
>>>>> has
>>>>> already been done.  The interactive way to go was written by
>>>>> Hiroki Mori,
>>>>> I
>>>>> am sure he would be completely supportive of OLPC.  His contact
>>>>> info is
>>>>> on
>>>>> the website.  I would also be happy to work on a learn to play
>>>>> interface
>>>>> for
>>>>> your program if that were more feasible for an end product.
>>>>> What materials describe the application to laptop users, and
>>>>> entice them
>>>>> to
>>>>> explore it?  My understanding was that it needs to be downloaded
>>>>> separately
>>>>> from the main package.  Is that the case or is it bundled with
>>>>> everything
>>>>> else?
>>>>> Another excellent way to get some feedback would be for Andres
>>>>> and I to
>>>>> play
>>>>> a game together online.  The KGS Go Server is a terrific program.
>>>>> Looking
>>>>> at how that works together, and talking about important aspects
>>>>> of the
>>>>> game,
>>>>> could give you a good deal of insight into how to improve PlayGo.
>>>>> This forum is fine, I am happy to conduct these discussions
>>>>> through your
>>>>> list.  I just wasn't sure how many people were on it, or if this
>>>>> was the
>>>>> appropriate place for this discussion.
>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>> Paul Barchilon,
>>>>> American Go Foundation
>>>>> http://tigersmouth.org
>>>>> http://agfgo.org
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Oct 10, 2008, at 7:37 PM, Andrés Ambrois wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On Friday 10 October 2008 06:49:58 Edward Cherlin wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I am a go player and programmer, and I have been involved in PlayGo
>>>>>
>>>>> from the beginning. I am also the one communicating with AGA about
>>>>>
>>>>> PlayGo and about our plans for multilingual content for teaching
>>>>> Go.
>>>>>
>>>>> Some years ago I worked on a multilingual go glossary in Unicode,
>>>>>
>>>>> adding various writing systems to the ASCII original.
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 9:53 PM, Paul Barchilon
>>>>> <shimari at comcast.net>
>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hello to all who are working on this project, and thank you for
>>>>> the great
>>>>>
>>>>> service you are providing to kids around the world!  I am the Vice
>>>>>
>>>>> President of the American Go Foundation, a charitable
>>>>> organization that
>>>>>
>>>>> provides free Go equipment to children and teachers in schools.
>>>>> I spend
>>>>>
>>>>> a great deal of time teaching children, and am an active Go
>>>>> player and
>>>>>
>>>>> organizer on the national scene.  It has come to my attention
>>>>> that there
>>>>>
>>>>> are a number of problems with the Play Go program, and also that
>>>>> a set of
>>>>>
>>>>> rules that are appropriate for children may well be needed.
>>>>>
>>>>> I am not a computer programmer, and do not have one of the
>>>>> laptops, so I
>>>>>
>>>>> haven't actually seen the Play Go program at work.
>>>>>
>>>>> Hello Paul and Edward!
>>>>>
>>>>> I've written most of the code in PlayGo, following Gerard J.
>>>>> Cerchio's
>>>>> initial implementation, so its very encouraging to see so much
>>>>> enthusiasm
>>>>> behind it!
>>>>>
>>>>> While I'm not a great Go player, (I do think it's a fantastic
>>>>> game, just
>>>>> haven't found a good sparring partner :)). I believe it's a great
>>>>> way to
>>>>> teach
>>>>> analytical thinking to young kids in a fun way. Therefore,
>>>>> feedback such
>>>>> as
>>>>> this, from knowledgeable people like you, is paramount to its
>>>>> improvement.
>>>>> Thank you!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> You can download the latest version. I'll get you instructions
>>>>> offline.
>>>>>
>>>>> I did ask a child who
>>>>>
>>>>> has one, and plays Go, to tell me how it seemed.  He may have an
>>>>> older
>>>>>
>>>>> version of the software, but if his observations are correct it
>>>>> sounds
>>>>>
>>>>> like there are some serious issues.  I would be very glad to help
>>>>> solve
>>>>>
>>>>> some of these problems if you would like some input.  As I said,
>>>>> I can't
>>>>>
>>>>> program, but I can tell whoever is writing the software what the
>>>>> problems
>>>>>
>>>>> are.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you.
>>>>>
>>>>> Great! Thanks for testing! Perhaps you could encourage people to
>>>>> try the
>>>>> latest version of the activity. You can find it at
>>>>> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Activities/All . I would love to hear
>>>>> about
>>>>> this
>>>>> issues in more detail.
>>>>>
>>>>> Please feel free to contact me directly at shimari at comcast.net.
>>>>> If you
>>>>>
>>>>> would like a rule set designed for children, please let me know
>>>>> and we
>>>>>
>>>>> will be happy to write one for you.
>>>>>
>>>>> We will be very interested to hear from you on this.
>>>>>
>>>>> Perhaps we could continue this discussion using this list? It
>>>>> would be
>>>>> better for other people that can contribute *hint hint*.
>>>>>
>>>>> You can see one example of our approach to
>>>>>
>>>>> this on our youth go website, which is here:
>>>>>
>>>>> http://tigersmouth.org/viewpage.php?page_id=8
>>>>>
>>>>> Sweet. Now that the Help activity is being shipped, perhaps we
>>>>> could
>>>>> include
>>>>> this work in a help bundle for PlayGo. Is this work under a free
>>>>> license?
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from whoever is programming
>>>>> Play
>>>>>
>>>>> Go.
>>>>>
>>>>> Thank you!
>>>>>
>>>>> Sincerely,
>>>>>
>>>>> Paul Barchilon,
>>>>>
>>>>> American Go Foundation
>>>>>
>>>>> http://tigersmouth.org
>>>>>
>>>>> http://agfgo.org
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> -Andrés
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Games mailing list
>>>>> Games at lists.laptop.org
>>>>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/games
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Walter Bender
>>>> Sugar Labs
>>>> http://www.sugarlabs.org
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>>
>>
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-- 
Walter Bender
Sugar Labs
http://www.sugarlabs.org


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