More OLPC accomplishments
I’m lost in the details, again. When “Sassafras” the cuddly Kaypro came into my “life” two decades ago, the whole be accurate or suffer lifestyle was new to me. I wasn’t a programmer; my methods could lead to madness for anyone that wanted meticulous attention to detail as a rule of thumb. But, I had no choice because to a computer, a misplaced comma IS important.
The training worked; I now make my living helping others to get the comma into their lives (and no, I’m still not a programmer.) The discipline of a machine is exacting, but there are associated positive results. I grew into the bigger boots from Linux and never looked back.
Tonight, I had two OLPC projects to “test”. First, my experience with overclocking was conclusive; it works. I haven’t decided whether or not I’ll integrate the commands into the boot routine, but I now know how to tickle the stack. The 133% speed boost in return for a few lines of code is impressive.
Next, I installed VLC. One important note for other newbies: if you lose your connection to the Internet, the downloading of various .rpm files might take a LONG time. After reconnecting to the wifi point downstairs, the installation only required that I type EXACTLY what the crib sheet suggested. In minutes, a fresh media player was up and running and I attached myself to a media stream from CBC with ease. I now have a computer that thinks it is a cheap FM radio. Woo hoo!
The week isn’t over, and the next need will be printing. There are a few ways of accomplishing that; I will have to see what the “disk space cost” will be. With only 1 GB total, there is a definite conservatism required. Stay tuned for the next chapter.
