Support FAQ/Internet, Connectivity, Email, Chat

Internet, Connectivity, Email, Chat

How can I access the Internet?

Our Connectivity Quick Start Guide will answer questions about Internet Connectivity.

The XO Laptop Manual also has a helpful book chapter (click all 5 sections in the orange bar on the left, under "Network").

I am on Google, but the browser then tells me "search failed"!

When the Browse activity is launched, it displays a page with a Google logo and a search box. This page is stored locally in the XO, and it does not indicate that the XO is connected to the Internet. Please check How can I access the Internet for how to connect to the Internet.

Can I use a wired Ethernet connection?

Yes, you can connect to a wired Internet connection; use a USB-to-Ethernet adapter.

Note: XO laptops were intentionally designed for children in developing nations, where it is faster and less expensive to introduce wireless connections, rather than a traditional telecom infrastructure.

How do I disable wireless when flying?

If you are running the latest release (Release 8.2.0) you should hover your cursor over your home view XO man and simply click on the Control Panel option. Click on "Network" and unclick the Radio option.

For older releases use the Terminal Activity's text-based Sugar Control Panel. For details, see Airplane mode.

Can XO laptops share an Internet connection?

At the moment, an XO laptop cannot be on both the Internet and on the mesh network at the same time with a default laptop configuration. This ability will hopefully be re-enabled by default in the future; until then, School Servers can server as Mesh Portals, and further details can be found on the Mesh Network Details page.

What exactly is a mesh network?

A mesh network allows nearby XO laptops to talk to one another directly (wirelessly) without the need for a traditional Internet Service Provider.

This feature makes very rural deployments (say, Nigeria) practical; there isn't much need for dedicated network hardware. The laptops do the heavy lifting, rather than the traditional hierarchical network of hubs/switches/routers.

Try the mesh demo here, to see how a mesh can connect to the Internet.

Is there an email program?

You can use the Gmail activity to access your email, if you have a @gmail.com account; or you can simply use Browse to access most any web-based email program.

Can I install Other software, like Flash, Java, AIM, MSN Messenger, or Skype?

Visit Skype for instruction on how to install and make sure to set the sound device in the options menu, as described on that page. In order to get video with the sound, you need to follow the 'gstfakevideo' instructions at the bottom of that page.

Most Other software is not supported by OLPC. Some software is Free and Open Source Software and supported by its own User Community. Other software does not meet the OLPC standard of Software Freedom.