Support FAQ

How do I get started?

Thanks for asking. You can find our Getting Started guide here: http://laptop.org/start

What are the functions of all the keys on the keyboard?

A detailed description of the keyboard's keys can be found within: http://laptop.org/laptop/start/keyboard.shtml

Look for the link called 'keyboard' on the right side.

How do I save a file?

Files are saved automatically in the Journal. You can get to the Journal from the Home View. Click on the notebook icon just below the XO character to open the Journal and find the activity or file you were working on.

For more on the purpose of the Journal, see OLPC Human Interface Guidelines/The Laptop Experience/The Journal.

How do I power off the laptop?

From the Home View, pause your mouse over the XO character at the center of your screen, and click on 'Shutdown'.

How do I download activities? (programs)

There are many Activities that the community have developed available for download. Just click on the .xo file and it will download the activity into the Journal. Open the journal, click on it to install and run.

How do I save or retrieve files from a USB drive?

Insert the USB drive. Go to the Journal view to see the USB icon in the lower left. To save a file from the journal to the USB drive, click on the Journal item and drag it to the USB icon. To retrieve a file from the USB drive, click on the USB icon first, drag the item from the USB drive to the journal icon.

How to get the wireless MAC address?

1 - first start the 'terminal' activity from the Home View. You may have to scroll the icons along the bottom of the screen to the right, to find the one labeled 'Terminal'.

2 - type in the command: /sbin/ifconfig -a

3 - the hardware address can be found in the first line, marked eth0.

Does my laptop come with a hand crank? Solar Panels?

No. The Give1Get1 laptop does not ship with any human powered device. Such devices are being designed for the developing countries, not for the Give One Get One program. However, future peripheral availability is discussed on the Product News page.

SOLAR PANELS: Our priority with solar panels is the developing world. The manufacturer of these panels may make them available to the us in 2008.

Is there a stylus for the Touchpad?

The touchpad was designed to be able to work with a stylus, but the laptop does not ship with a stylus.

Currently there are no activities that use the stylus. The Draw activity will work with a stylus in the next software update.

How to access a Linux command prompt?

To get to a Linux command prompt, run the "Terminal Activity". This is the pre-installed program with the "$_" icon in the Activities taskbar at the very bottom of your Home View. You'll likely need to scroll the Activities taskbar (at the bottom of your screen) to the right.

The Activities taskbar being that list of icons at the bottom of you screen, while you're in Home view.

Or, you can also get to a root (system administrator) prompt by hitting Ctrl-Alt-Neighborhood, where the Neighborhood key is the one with a circle of 8 small dots, as summarized here: Keyboard_Shortcuts. Then type in username "root" and (generally) leave the password blank. BEWARE: as user 'root' you now have full control to destroy all software!

How do I get started writing programs for the XO?

Get started in developing your own programs for the XO at this Getting started programming wiki page.