8BitKid: Living Bit by Bit

My friend, Micah, was kind enough to lend me his OLPC to play with for a bit. I had been seriously debating whether or not to pick up this nifty tech toy, but ultimately was never able to make up my mind.

My initial impressions have been mixed. The user interface is certainly novel, but also has some confusing elements. Activating WiFi is a bit tricky, and caused the laptop to freeze up on me. The “pie-style” application management wheel is a fun approach to how to organize running programs. The keyboard leaves a lot to be desired and is really mushy. It certainly is not touch-typeable. However, despite its flaws, the OLPC exudes fun, and looks like the laptop I would have dreamed of immediately following my first viewing of “Short Circuit 2″.

Additionally, spending the night with this toy is immeasurably better than how my night ended yesterday. After attending a talk in San Francisco, I found myself locked out of a closed parking lot that happened to have my rental car still in it. Luckily, some cellular prowess and well-placed financial motivation helped get me home.