[OLPC-SF] OLPC-SF October 11, 2008 meeting

[Greg Smith]

Hi Guys,

If you're looking for a good project, I have one on the back burner that 
I could use help with. Its a tough one so I wouldn't recommend it to any 
lesser community group!

5K XOs are being deployed in Ethiopia. One of the schools there has 
about two dozens blind kids attending. They have asked  if we have any 
software for them.

That's the high level challenge!

I got a few suggestions on the accessibility list. See: 
http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/accessibility/2008-October/000198.html

I have a good contact and rapport with a technical lead in Addis Ababa 
who assure me they can get the software in to the school if we can come 
up with something. He also said they use Braille if that matters.

In short, I could use help finding some useful software for visually 
impaired kids that runs on the XO and supports Amharic.

Hard enough challenge for you :-)

Let me know if anyone wants to help figure out what is possible. I think 
there will be a big pay back in happy kids and a closer relationship 
with a lead deployment.

Thanks,

Greg S


> Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2008 13:39:01 -0700
> From: "Sameer Verma" <sverma at sfsu.edu>
> Subject: Re: [OLPC-SF] OLPC-SF October 11, 2008 meeting
> To: "rihoward1 at gmail.com" <rihoward1 at gmail.com>
> Cc: "olpc-sf at lists.laptop.org SF" <olpc-sf at lists.laptop.org>
> Message-ID:
> 	<5fb387c70810091339j3207f3see7ba997b8f69659 at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
> 
> On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 8:53 AM, rihoward1 at gmail.com <rihoward1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I forwarded this on behalf of Sameer, so it is not me that will be talking
>> about OLPC Jamaica.
> 
> Thanks for forwarding the whole post. I will talk a bit about my OLPC
> Jamaica experience and what the plans are going forward with OLPC
> there. It was an eye opener in terms of what's needed in some of these
> countries. We tend to enjoy our XOs at Borders and Starbucks, but the
> real need is in the schools and communities in places like Jamaica! I
> am not suggesting we give up our multi-faceted frothy drinks at
> Starbucks/Borders/etc., but to think about how we can help get some of
> these projects off the ground, while sipping those frothy drinks :-)
> In other words, apart from meeting and greeting and meshing at monthly
> meetings, I am proposing that we take on some projects that are small
> in scope, but feasible to complete. Maybe even partner with specific
> volunteers in other countries and help them jumpstart their efforts.
> 
> Of course any ideas are welcome.
> 
> See you Saturday!
> 
> cheers,
> Sameer
> 
>> On Oct 9, 2008, at 8:48 AM, rihoward1 at gmail.com wrote:
>>
>> What: OLPC-SF October 2008 meeting
>>
>> Bring your XO laptop, or just come on down to SF State's downtown San
>> Francisco campus for a get together. Bring your XOs! Have [grand]kids who
>> like XOs? Bring them too! We will have a school server, XOs with the latest
>> Release Candidate build, and help for updating your XOs. Additionally, I
>> will share my experiences of kickstarting OLPC Jamaica and some plans for an
>> upcoming translation jam!
>>
>> When: Saturday, Oct 11, 2008.
>>
>> 10 am to 1 pm
>>
>> Where: Room 553, SF State Downtown campus (835 Market St., San Francisco,CA,
>> 94103). Note that this location is NOT the main campus. This is the same
>> building as the new Westfield mall that houses Bloomingdale's. Look for the
>> SFSU banner on Market St. between 4th and 5th streets, right next to
>> Walgreens. Take the elevator to the 5th floor.
>>
>> By car: http://www.sfsu.edu/~parking/directions/downtown_center/car.html
>> By Muni: http://www.sfsu.edu/~parking/directions/downtown_center/muni.html
>> By BART: http://www.sfsu.edu/~parking/directions/downtown_center/bart.html
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> OLPC-SF mailing list
>> OLPC-SF at lists.laptop.org
>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-sf
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> OLPC-SF mailing list
>> OLPC-SF at lists.laptop.org
>> http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/olpc-sf
> 
> 
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> End of OLPC-SF Digest, Vol 10, Issue 4
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