Sugar is the name of the OLPC's human interface/API. It's written in Python. There's a frame buffer for graphics (no coprocessor or OpenGL), but PyGame is powerful enough that I think one could write a Mario game.
This Raspberry Pi hardware is, therefore, significantly more powerful than the OLPC XO-1, but that's not hard, since the OLPC XO-1 is running an under-clocked "586" Geode chip, and has a total max power budget of 2 watts (including backlight). (Rumor has it that the OLPC XO-2 will have a marginally better processor, but a 1 watt total max power budget -- in remote areas, every joule is generated by some kind of animal turning a generator, so halving the power budget means twice as many hours of computing are available.)
By the way, "Sugar on a stick" is a 1 GB USB memory stick that can boot most computers, using some flavor of Linux, and give most or all of the Sugar experience, including the usual programs ("Activities"), web browser, network access, and ability to download new activities. It also runs in VirtualBox. If I had more free time and motivation, I'd be using Sugar in a VirtualBox to write software for kids, because then, at least, I'd be able to use a full-size keyboard.
This Raspberry Pi hardware is, therefore, significantly more powerful than the OLPC XO-1, but that's not hard, since the OLPC XO-1 is running an under-clocked "586" Geode chip, and has a total max power budget of 2 watts (including backlight). (Rumor has it that the OLPC XO-2 will have a marginally better processor, but a 1 watt total max power budget -- in remote areas, every joule is generated by some kind of animal turning a generator, so halving the power budget means twice as many hours of computing are available.)
By the way, "Sugar on a stick" is a 1 GB USB memory stick that can boot most computers, using some flavor of Linux, and give most or all of the Sugar experience, including the usual programs ("Activities"), web browser, network access, and ability to download new activities. It also runs in VirtualBox. If I had more free time and motivation, I'd be using Sugar in a VirtualBox to write software for kids, because then, at least, I'd be able to use a full-size keyboard.
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