[OLPC library] Content formats for the XS and XO

[Martin Langhoff]

SJ gave me a heads up recently, and quite timely, about the need to
discuss what formats we can support on the XS and the XO.

My high level goals are that

1 - Local teams are able to include enormous amounts of gorgeous
content coming from untold number of sources on the XS and XO. The
teams handling deployments get to pick and choose content from many
sources repositories repositories.

2 - The content is in such a format that we can serve it from the XS
to XOs (and other clients) and we can also provide it as a bundle (or
similar) so you can download it to the XO and take it with you.

3 - What we do is interoperable with the rest of the world as it
exists. (ie: use established standards)

In general, this means that we need content to be in the simplest,
most standard formats possible. Project Gutemberg clearly gets this.
ASCII, HTML, PNG, SVG and DublinCore metadata are my friends.
Super-simple package formats based on them (think IMS-CP) make me
happy.

The XS is going to grow a "browse-and-download library content" leg
sometime soon. It will be a facility that knows how to unpack and
index the IMS-CP and SCORM metadata (which is all DublinCore stuff),
and it'll be transparent to users how to browse, search and use any
such content placed on the XS.

It's about the content. No special client software, no special server
software. This levels the ground for all the projects -- so you don't
need to worry that your outrageously fantastic content won't be used
because the player ain't sexy. Local teams don't have to worry about
the burden of a particular content requiring special software.
Teachers don't have to worry about the confusion of a different
content player.

My plan is to make that XS feature so that it can also automagically
make a bundle for the XO to download -- after all, happiness is a warm
bundle (  http://blog.laptop.org/2009/01/13/happiness-is-a-warm-bundle/
) :-)

This also means that XS and XO can leverage the large existing pools
of IMS-CP and SCORM content. And that any content you prepare for
OLPC, you are also preparing for the world...

That's my plan at least :-) -- no plan ever survives contact with reality.

cheers,




m
-- 
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 martin at laptop.org -- School Server Architect
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