Release notes/8.2.0: Difference between revisions

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<span style="font-weight: bold; font-color: red; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 120%;">DRAFT</span>


= New Features in 8.2.0 =

== GUI and Usability Improvements ==
#7380 Graphical Sugar Control Panel <br>
#7381 Sugar Frame / Home View Redesign <br>
http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/User:Walter/sandbox

== Improved Power Management ==
Manually enabled USB-disabling Power Management <br>
master trac ID #7384

== Collaboration Improvements ==
IDs
#7387 Server-based Collaboration Scalability Improvements (Gadget) <br>
#7389 Collaboration and Presence Bug fixing <br>
#7390 Alternate Collaboration Technology (Cerebro) <br>

http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Designs/Activity_Management <br>
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Designs/Frame<br>

== Activity Related Improvements ==
#7396 Activity Management <br>
7382 Browser Improvements <br>
#7428 Chat with non Sugar XMPP clients <br>

== Unknown User Impact ==
#7392 Disaster-recovery backup+restore w/ XS <br>

#7393 Kernel, initramfs, and wireless firmware Refresh <br>
#7394 OFW Refresh <br>
#7395 Rainbow Improvements (Speed + Compatibility) <br>
#7397 Theft-deterrence Features <br>
#7413 High-quality release <br>


''Our apologies, but if you are using Browse in version 10.1.1 on XO-1.5 you may have been directed to this page by [http://dev.laptop.org/ticket/10243 mistake]. If so, please go to the [[Release_notes/10.1.1|10.1.1 release notes]]. The rest of this page relates to version 8.2.0.''
== New Base Operating System ==
Better security than Fedora 7 <br>


== Before you update to this release==
More wireless access types <br>
* If you are in a school or other deployment, make sure you contact your technical support team before updating. Some deployments have special configurations which will need special steps taken before update. Your deployment may not yet support this release.


== New features in 8.2.0 ==
More external device support <br>


There is a new Help Activity in this release that includes a full manual on the laptop. Look for the icon of a Question Mark.
Master trac ID: #7383 <br>


In addition to fixing bugs, we've added lots of new features to our 8.2 release, including
= Changes from official-656 '''Needs update''' =
* [[Feature_GUI and usability improvements|GUI and usability improvements]]
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-color: red; font-size: 24pt; line-height: 120%;">Activities must be [[#Finding Activities|installed separately]].</span>
* [[Automatic software updates]]
* [[Feature_Backup and restore to school server|Backup and restore]] to school server
* [[Feature_Longer battery life|Longer battery life]]
* [[Feature_Keyboards and Languages_8.2|New Keyboards and Languages]]


The new XO manual for release 8.2.0 is available [http://www.laptop.org/manual/ here.]


== Upgrading from previous releases ==


For technical details and other upgrade options see [[olpc-update]] and [[Clean-install procedure]]. If you run into trouble, see [[Upgrade troubleshooting]], [[Support FAQ]] and [[Support]] to email our tech support volunteers.
Motivation: OLPC cannot presently afford to maintain more than one stable build. Therefore, we have decided to provide a "blank slate" which must be [[Customization key|customized]] with activities and content bundles at installation time.


=== If your XO is connected to the internet ===


'''Note that this process may make some of your Activities and the Journal items that depend on them not work - make sure you have backed up any files you want to save!'''
= What's the recommended way to upgrade? '''Needs update''' =


This process can take more than 30 minutes, much longer if you have a slow internet connection.
If you are upgrading from any build after 699, the build is already separated from the activities.
So you can run <tt>olpc-update -f candidate-708</tt> and your activities should not be affected. Just:
# Plug the XO into AC power and connect it to the internet.
# In a console, run [[Olpc-update]] to the new build. ( [[Terminal Activity|terminal]] -> <tt>su -l</tt> (lowercase L, not 1) -> <tt>olpc-update -f candidate-708</tt> ). This may take half an hour or more, depending on your internet connection.
# [[Reboot]]


# Make sure your XO is plugged in, turned on, and [http://laptop.org/manual/XO_GiveMeTheInternet.html connected to the Internet] (you should be able to load http://laptop.org in the Browse Activity). If your XO is not connected to the internet, you will not be able to use this upgrade method.
If you are upgrading from a build prior to 700, such as Ship.1 or the original G1G1 software:
# Open the Terminal Activity. [[Image:Activity-terminal.svg]] You can find it by going to the home view (press the 5th symbol from the left, top row), clicking on the little arrow at the bottom right of the screen, and then on the symbol that looks like this one.
# Download the [[G1G1 Activity Pack]] (from [http://wiki.laptop.org/images/6/62/G1G1_Activity_Pack_1.zip here]) and unzip it in the base (root) directory of a USB flash drive. You should see two directories (boot and bundles, and a file called customization-2) in the base directory. Commands such as "extract here" in ubuntu / windows will sometimes create a directory with the same name as the zip file, placing the unzipped files within it. If this happens, you will have to move the files to the base directory in order for your XO to see them on boot. (Note that the "boot" directory will contain two zip files, actos.zip and runos.zip. This is normal; these files SHOULD NOT be unzipped).
# In the Terminal Activity, type <code>su -</code> (lowercase letter 's', lowercase letter 'u', a space, and a hyphen). Press Enter.
# Plug the XO into AC power and connect it to the internet.
# At the <code>"-bash-3.2#"</code> prompt type <code>olpc-update 767</code>. Press Enter.
# In a console, run [[Olpc-update]] to the new build. ( [[Terminal Activity|terminal]] -> <tt>su -l</tt> (lowercase L, not 1) -> <tt>olpc-update -f candidate-708</tt> ) This may take half an hour or more, depending on your internet connection.
# You should see text that looks something like this (sometimes, in addition to the text below, you might get a message about irsync_pristine failing, and that "irsync_dirty" is being tried, this is normal):
# Insert the USB flash drive and [[reboot]] the XO. It will display text on a black screen as the activities are installed, after which it will power off.
<pre>
# Remove the USB flash drive. Connect the XO to AC power, so that it will be able to proceed if it determines that a firmware update is needed. Then power on your XO as per usual.
Downloading contents of build ''{{:Friends in testing/current image}}''
Updating to version hash ''xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx''
Making clean /versions/updates/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Trying irsync_pristine update from rsync://updates.laptop.org/''build-{{:Friends in testing/current image}}''
- Cleaning tree.
- Fetching contents.
- Performing incremental rsync. [Comment: Wait a long time! Could be over an hour depending on your internet connection speed.]
Verifying update.
Installing update in /versions/{pristine,run}/''xxxx''
</pre>
6. At the end of the upgrade, you will either see the words "Installing update in...." or "Update Succeeded!" on the screen. If you see the words "I don't think you're connected to the internet." see the notes below. <br>
<br>
7. Wait for the prompt <code>"-bash-3.2#"</code> and type <code>reboot</code> then press Enter to restart your XO. You will probably hear the little XO tune 2 times, then it will say erasing and a countdown will appear. Finally it will reboot again, you will hear the tune for a third time. Now you are ready to go to step 8.<br>
<br>
8. After your XO reboots, the last step is to download the new versions of Activities. When the XO boots you will see a bar toward the top of the screen that says "Software Update" and the options being "Cancel", "Later" and "Check now". Before you choose "Check now" to update the activities, you must reconnect your XO to the internet. You may see the sign-in box appear in home view. If it does, and it lists your router, you can do it from there. If it doesn't appear or offers the wrong connection, go to the Neighborhood view and connect from there. Then go back to Home view and then click "Check now" (it's ok to leave the home view because when you go back the options should still be there). First the XO will check for any updates and then it asks if you'd like to install them. Click "Install selected" to install your newest versions of your activities. <br>


Congratulations, you've upgraded!
= Finding Activities '''Needs update''' =
OLPC hosts many [[Activities]]. These activities can be installed in en masse onto 8.1.1 with either:


'''Note:'''
* a [[Customization key|customization key]] and an [[Activity pack|activity pack]] or
* When upgrading from build 703 or 708 you will not see the Library (links to science, books, etc links on the left side) in the Browse home page. You can re-install the Library as follows:
* with [[Bert's script]]
** Open the Control Panel and go into Software update.
** After it checks for updates, go to <code>"Modify activity groups"</code> and click on the triangle.
** Beside <code>"Group URL"</code> type: <code> http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Activities/G1G1 </code> and click the <code>"Add"</code> button.
** Click <code>"Refresh"</code> and allow the XO to upload the new updates.
** Click on Install selected. Once it completes, reboot.
* If you can browse the Internet (see step 1 above) but the <tt>olpc-update</tt> command returns the error <code>"I don't think you're connected to the internet."</code>, you may need to open TCP port 873 (rsync) on your firewall for the outbound connection.


=== Offline upgrade ===
Some commonly installed activity packs include the:
[[Image:YamaDone.JPG|thumb|''for new users'' [[USB_upgrade|<br>'''illustrated guide to upgrading using a USB stick<br>''']]]]
You can use another computer that is connected to the internet (a desktop at home, a computer lab, etc.) plus a USB storage device (such as a compatible [[USB_drive#USB_drives_and_firmware|USB flash drive]]) to upgrade your XO.
The way it works is on your non-XO computer you download two files containing the upgrade data, saving them to the USB flash drive; then you insert the USB flash drive into your XO and trigger its upgrade process.
'''Note that this process will COMPLETELY erase ALL files on your XO! Make sure you have backed up any files you want to save!'''


Plug an empty formatted USB flash drive into the computer that is connected to the internet.
* [[G1G1 activity pack]] ([[Media:G1G1 Activity Pack 1.zip|download]])
Then, right-click (Ctrl-click for Mac) on each of the two URLs below and choose "Save Target As" ("Save Link As" for Firefox). Save both files to the USB flash drive. Do not open the files.
* [[Peru activity pack]]
* [[Nepal:_Testing%2C_QA%2C_and_Configuration#Nepal_Activity_Pack|Nepal activity pack]]
* [[:Category:Activity Pack|...more activity packs]]


* http://download.laptop.org/xo-1/custom/g1g1/gg-767-4/fs.zip (This file contains only instructions for the firmware to update with the following file.)
(The Nepal activity pack contains some [[Nepal_Customization_702|additional customizations]] made by [[OLE Nepal]] for their pilot).
* http://download.laptop.org/xo-1/custom/g1g1/gg-767-4/gg-767-4.img (This file contains the Sugar platform with the G1G1 2008 set of Activities.)


The first file is about 297 KB, and the second file is quite large (about 450 MB), so they might take a while [15 - 20 min.] to download. When the download is complete, Eject/Remove the USB flash drive, and unplug it. After you have finished this step, there should be two files on the USB flash drive, the <tt>fs.zip file</tt>, and the <tt>.img</tt> file. The MD5 checksum for fs.zip is 1bb452e77b7390e00bdd7fdcc7cbc793 The MD5 checksum for gg-767-4.img is 3f281dda352d32320879728377b32476
'''TO INSTALL AN ACTIVITY PACK:'''
{{:Install an activity pack}}


Now, follow the steps below to complete your installation:
= Activity Incompatibilities =


# Turn off your XO and connect your USB flash drive to it.
* Pippy-21 (and older versions) will fail to launch, upgrade to Pippy-22.
# Make sure your XO is plugged in.
* Record-54 (and older versions) will fail to take photos and record videos, upgrade to Record-55.
# Hold down all four gamepad keys (on the right side of the screen, above the power button). While still holding the four gamepad keys, push the power button to turn the XO on. Keep holding down the four gamepad keys until the message "Release the game key to continue" appears on the screen.
* Browse-91 (and older versions) will fail to download files and install .xo/.xol bundles. Upgrade to Browse-92.
# Release the gamepad keys. If you see a grid of colored boxes on your screen, congratulations! Your XO is reflashing. It will take about 10 minutes and your XO will automatically reboot when it is done. Your XO may reboot twice, playing the little XO tune.
# After your XO reboots, the last step is to update to the newest versions of Activities. When the XO boots you will see a bar toward the top of the screen that says "Software Update" and the options being "Cancel", "Later" and "Check now". Before you choose "Check now" to update the activities, you must reconnect your XO to the internet. You may see the sign-in box appear in home view. If it does, and it lists your router, you can do it from there. If it doesn't appear or offers the wrong connection, go to the Neighborhood view and connect from there. Then go back to Home view and then click "Check now" (it's ok to leave the home view because when you go back the options should still be there). First the XO will check for any updates and then it asks if you'd like to install them. Click "Install selected" to install the newest versions of your activities. <br>
Congratulations, you've upgraded!
Now, you should be ready to go. Have fun!


(If you chose "Later" on the software update, go to the Sugar Control Panel and select the "Software update" when you are ready to install the updates)
= Resolved Bugs In This Release =


== Resolved bugs in this release ==
= Notable Open Bugs In This Release '''Needs update''' =
Many bugs were closed in this release. A few important ones include:<br>
* {{Ticket|6532}} SD Card Corruption: partition table gets corrupted on ext3-formatted SD cards on suspend/resume
<trac>5156</trac> Browse can view Google calendar.
* {{Ticket|7158}} Upgrade from 656 to 703 leaves su unusable when you fallback to 656


<trac>5613</trac> The XO name can now accept any characters. This is important for languages which do not use the ASCII characters.


<trac>6014</trac> Activities try to save their data when the XO is shut down while an activity is open. This is better but not complete. Users should close their activities before shutting down the XO.
== Customization Issues ==
* Customization key won't install if the activities or library directories had already been created as root


<trac>7480</trac> You can reset your network history in the Network control panel in case you need to remove old configurations. However, you will need to re-enter all AP passwords after doing this.


For a list of all closed bugs in this release click [http://dev.laptop.org/report/22 here]. <br>
== Activity Issues ==
* {{Ticket|6773}} TamTamJam: Recorded microphone slots don't playback. ?need to test
* Couldn't add feeds to news reader because clicking "+"/dropdown on the feeds tab didn't do anything. ?need to test
* Read will not reliably share a PDF document.
* {{Ticket|6729}} Read doesn't save the PDFs it opens (when sharing)
* {{Ticket|4539}} Sharing in Etoys only works if the laptops are in the same network (on same mesh channel, or connected to same access point). ?need to test


== Notable open bugs in this release ==<nowiki><nowiki>Insert non-formatted text here</nowiki></nowiki>
[[OLPC_Update.1_Software_Release_Notes_Activity_Testing_Results|(Almost) full activity testing results for Update.1 RC-2]], all results are from build 702


For the best experience and maximum reliability with the XO we recommend the following best practices:


'''For all XOs'''
== Touchpad Issues ==
* If you open too many activities (generally more than 3) at once you may experience slow response. To close activities, use the frame button (upper right), hover over the open activities, and click on close.
* The Nepal pilot reported "jumpy touchpad" problems in dusty conditions. In response, we have [http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/devel/2008-May/013580.html surveyed known touchpad issues] and have examined potential software work-arounds . See also [http://www.olpcnews.com/forum/index.php?topic=1996.msg19390].
* In general, you do not need to double click on anything in the XO interface. It is designed for a single click. For example, double clicking to launch an activity will cause the XO to launch two instances of the activity which may cause one to fail.
* Drag and drop has limited support in this release. It may work in some cases but it does not work consistently everywhere.
* Power save mode is still in development. In this release it is turned off by default in the control panel. If you use it and experience problems, please turn it off.
* If the XO stops collaborating or stops responding, you can reboot it from the home screen (hover over the XO in the center) or hold down the power button for more than 6 seconds.
* Ensure that you have unmounted a USB stick before removing it. Go to the Journal, hover over the USB stick icon and click on 'unmount'. Another method to remove a USB stick and avoid corruption is to power down the laptop before removing the USB stick..


'''For XOs used in school with many XOs present
* Reliable collaboration using the Write activity over mesh or access point networks may not exceed two hours. If there are a lot of XOs or a lot of wireless traffic (e.g. many XOs or many access points) then Write may shut down during collaboration. In this case you may be able to reconnect Write to the collaboration in the Neighborhood view.
* When collaborating over a Mesh (i.e. XO to XO collaboration with no access point or school server) you should limit the number of XOs on any channel to 10. There are three Mesh channels available (1,6 and 11) and each should have a maximum of 10 XOs. More XOs in a channel may cause instability in the collaboration.




* Please see the [[Deployment Support]] pages for information on collaboration and connectivity in schools or areas that are densely populated with XOs.
= Network Related Issues '''Needs Update''' =
== Access Points ==
* When a number of laptops try to connect to the school server (either over a WiFi AP or a mesh) at one time, random "failure to associate" will occur and the laptops will join a simple mesh instead {{Ticket|4153}} ({{Ticket|5963}} is dup). This is indicated by the network indicator in the home view (it will say "Connected to a simple mesh" instead of "Connected to a school mesh portal" or "Connected to <school_essid>" when hovered over. Simply click on the school Wifi AP or one of the mesh circles in the laptop's neighborhood view to restart the association process.
* Sometimes when a number of laptops try to connect to the school server at one time, random laptops may be unable to connect to schoolserver presence service (ejabber) {{Ticket|5908}}. This is indicated by a greatly reduced number of XO icons in the neighborhood view (compared to a laptop which is connected to the presence service). Simply click on the school Wifi AP or one of the mesh circles in the laptop's neighborhood view to restart the association process (in extreme cases, restart Sugar (CTL + ALT + ERASE) or reboot the laptop).
* Association with WEP/WPA encryption works. However this must be tested for a wider range of access points.
* Sometimes obsolete APs show in the neighborhood view, or an AP is shown more than once. {{Ticket|6909}}


''' Click [[OpenBugs_8.2.0|here]] for a more detailed list of open bugs'''


{{Developers}}
== School Server/ Jabber Server ==
* To register to a school server and connect to the school jabber server you must
*# Ensure that you are connected to the appropriate Network by hovering over the Network circle in the Home View.
*# Hover over the XO icon in the main view and select <code>Register</code>.
*# Hover again over the XO icon and verify that the <code>Register</code> entry has disappeared.
*# Restart sugar by pressing <code>Ctrl+Alt+Erase</code>.
*# Confirm you have connected to the jabber server by typing <code>olpc-netstatus</code> from the terminal.
* When registering with a school server, you MUST associate with the correct network before clicking <code>Register</code> for the first time. Otherwise, you wont be able to register until you restart Sugar (<code>Ctrl+Alt+Erase</code>) {{Ticket|6857}}.
* You should restart sugar (<code>Ctrl+Alt+Erase</code>) to resolve the following bugs
** You can't register with the school server. {{Ticket|6857}}
** You can't connect to the default jabber server alhtough you have registered.{{Ticket|6881}}
** You connected to the jabber server, and gabble is running, but no XOs, or few XOs are seen in the neighborhood view. {{Ticket|6883}},{{Ticket|6884}}
** You are running both gabble and salut. {{Ticket|6881}},{{Ticket|6886}}
* If you are not at a school (G1G1 user) you can connect to a [[Community Jabber Servers|community jabber server]] with [[Jabber#Connecting to a community jabber server|this method]].


== Simple Mesh / Salut ==
== API Changes ==
* When XOs leave the mesh, the neighborhood view will notice with a delay between 10-30min.{{Ticket|6282}},{{Ticket|5501}}
* However, when XOs enter the mesh or start an activity it is shown instantly.
* You can refresh the data of the neighborhood view by reconnecting to the mesh.
* [[Suspend_and_resume|Suspend/Resume]] will not work with salut.


Release 8.2.0 incorporates version 0.82.1 of the Sugar UI.
== UI ==
* Sometimes in the neighborhood view, when connected to an Access Point a mesh circle continues to blink. This will also show up as two network circles in the Home view. This shows false information, but also causes no harm, so it may be ignored. {{Ticket|5459}}
* When an XO joins a shared activity its icon should disappear and reappear next to the activity. It happens that the XO icon will just disappear. Its collaboration will work properly, and if it leaves the activity it will show again as normal. You can see the correct number of XOs clustered around the activity by restarting sugar(<code>Ctrl+Alt+Erase</code>). However the bug will continue from this point on when new XOs join the same or other activities. {{Ticket|5904}}


[[API changes]] documents Sugar and system API changes since release 8.1.x.
[[Category:Builds]]

Latest revision as of 07:36, 6 August 2013

The contents of this page are considered outdated and some of the information may be stale. Please use information here with caution, or update it.
  This page is monitored by the OLPC team.
  For the general public

Our apologies, but if you are using Browse in version 10.1.1 on XO-1.5 you may have been directed to this page by mistake. If so, please go to the 10.1.1 release notes. The rest of this page relates to version 8.2.0.

Before you update to this release

  • If you are in a school or other deployment, make sure you contact your technical support team before updating. Some deployments have special configurations which will need special steps taken before update. Your deployment may not yet support this release.

New features in 8.2.0

There is a new Help Activity in this release that includes a full manual on the laptop. Look for the icon of a Question Mark.

In addition to fixing bugs, we've added lots of new features to our 8.2 release, including

The new XO manual for release 8.2.0 is available here.

Upgrading from previous releases

For technical details and other upgrade options see olpc-update and Clean-install procedure. If you run into trouble, see Upgrade troubleshooting, Support FAQ and Support to email our tech support volunteers.

If your XO is connected to the internet

Note that this process may make some of your Activities and the Journal items that depend on them not work - make sure you have backed up any files you want to save!

This process can take more than 30 minutes, much longer if you have a slow internet connection.

  1. Make sure your XO is plugged in, turned on, and connected to the Internet (you should be able to load http://laptop.org in the Browse Activity). If your XO is not connected to the internet, you will not be able to use this upgrade method.
  2. Open the Terminal Activity. Activity-terminal.svg You can find it by going to the home view (press the 5th symbol from the left, top row), clicking on the little arrow at the bottom right of the screen, and then on the symbol that looks like this one.
  3. In the Terminal Activity, type su - (lowercase letter 's', lowercase letter 'u', a space, and a hyphen). Press Enter.
  4. At the "-bash-3.2#" prompt type olpc-update 767. Press Enter.
  5. You should see text that looks something like this (sometimes, in addition to the text below, you might get a message about irsync_pristine failing, and that "irsync_dirty" is being tried, this is normal):
 Downloading contents of build ''{{:Friends in testing/current image}}''
 Updating to version hash ''xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx''
 Making clean /versions/updates/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 Trying irsync_pristine update from rsync://updates.laptop.org/''build-{{:Friends in testing/current image}}''
 - Cleaning tree.
 - Fetching contents.
 - Performing incremental rsync. [Comment: Wait a long time! Could be over an hour depending on your internet connection speed.]
 Verifying update.
 Installing update in /versions/{pristine,run}/''xxxx''

6. At the end of the upgrade, you will either see the words "Installing update in...." or "Update Succeeded!" on the screen. If you see the words "I don't think you're connected to the internet." see the notes below.

7. Wait for the prompt "-bash-3.2#" and type reboot then press Enter to restart your XO. You will probably hear the little XO tune 2 times, then it will say erasing and a countdown will appear. Finally it will reboot again, you will hear the tune for a third time. Now you are ready to go to step 8.

8. After your XO reboots, the last step is to download the new versions of Activities. When the XO boots you will see a bar toward the top of the screen that says "Software Update" and the options being "Cancel", "Later" and "Check now". Before you choose "Check now" to update the activities, you must reconnect your XO to the internet. You may see the sign-in box appear in home view. If it does, and it lists your router, you can do it from there. If it doesn't appear or offers the wrong connection, go to the Neighborhood view and connect from there. Then go back to Home view and then click "Check now" (it's ok to leave the home view because when you go back the options should still be there). First the XO will check for any updates and then it asks if you'd like to install them. Click "Install selected" to install your newest versions of your activities.

Congratulations, you've upgraded!

Note:

  • When upgrading from build 703 or 708 you will not see the Library (links to science, books, etc links on the left side) in the Browse home page. You can re-install the Library as follows:
    • Open the Control Panel and go into Software update.
    • After it checks for updates, go to "Modify activity groups" and click on the triangle.
    • Beside "Group URL" type: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Activities/G1G1 and click the "Add" button.
    • Click "Refresh" and allow the XO to upload the new updates.
    • Click on Install selected. Once it completes, reboot.
  • If you can browse the Internet (see step 1 above) but the olpc-update command returns the error "I don't think you're connected to the internet.", you may need to open TCP port 873 (rsync) on your firewall for the outbound connection.

Offline upgrade

You can use another computer that is connected to the internet (a desktop at home, a computer lab, etc.) plus a USB storage device (such as a compatible USB flash drive) to upgrade your XO. The way it works is on your non-XO computer you download two files containing the upgrade data, saving them to the USB flash drive; then you insert the USB flash drive into your XO and trigger its upgrade process. Note that this process will COMPLETELY erase ALL files on your XO! Make sure you have backed up any files you want to save!

Plug an empty formatted USB flash drive into the computer that is connected to the internet. Then, right-click (Ctrl-click for Mac) on each of the two URLs below and choose "Save Target As" ("Save Link As" for Firefox). Save both files to the USB flash drive. Do not open the files.

The first file is about 297 KB, and the second file is quite large (about 450 MB), so they might take a while [15 - 20 min.] to download. When the download is complete, Eject/Remove the USB flash drive, and unplug it. After you have finished this step, there should be two files on the USB flash drive, the fs.zip file, and the .img file. The MD5 checksum for fs.zip is 1bb452e77b7390e00bdd7fdcc7cbc793 The MD5 checksum for gg-767-4.img is 3f281dda352d32320879728377b32476

Now, follow the steps below to complete your installation:

  1. Turn off your XO and connect your USB flash drive to it.
  2. Make sure your XO is plugged in.
  3. Hold down all four gamepad keys (on the right side of the screen, above the power button). While still holding the four gamepad keys, push the power button to turn the XO on. Keep holding down the four gamepad keys until the message "Release the game key to continue" appears on the screen.
  4. Release the gamepad keys. If you see a grid of colored boxes on your screen, congratulations! Your XO is reflashing. It will take about 10 minutes and your XO will automatically reboot when it is done. Your XO may reboot twice, playing the little XO tune.
  5. After your XO reboots, the last step is to update to the newest versions of Activities. When the XO boots you will see a bar toward the top of the screen that says "Software Update" and the options being "Cancel", "Later" and "Check now". Before you choose "Check now" to update the activities, you must reconnect your XO to the internet. You may see the sign-in box appear in home view. If it does, and it lists your router, you can do it from there. If it doesn't appear or offers the wrong connection, go to the Neighborhood view and connect from there. Then go back to Home view and then click "Check now" (it's ok to leave the home view because when you go back the options should still be there). First the XO will check for any updates and then it asks if you'd like to install them. Click "Install selected" to install the newest versions of your activities.

Congratulations, you've upgraded! Now, you should be ready to go. Have fun!

(If you chose "Later" on the software update, go to the Sugar Control Panel and select the "Software update" when you are ready to install the updates)

Resolved bugs in this release

Many bugs were closed in this release. A few important ones include:
<trac>5156</trac> Browse can view Google calendar.

<trac>5613</trac> The XO name can now accept any characters. This is important for languages which do not use the ASCII characters.

<trac>6014</trac> Activities try to save their data when the XO is shut down while an activity is open. This is better but not complete. Users should close their activities before shutting down the XO.

<trac>7480</trac> You can reset your network history in the Network control panel in case you need to remove old configurations. However, you will need to re-enter all AP passwords after doing this.

For a list of all closed bugs in this release click here.

== Notable open bugs in this release ==<nowiki>Insert non-formatted text here</nowiki>

For the best experience and maximum reliability with the XO we recommend the following best practices:

For all XOs

  • If you open too many activities (generally more than 3) at once you may experience slow response. To close activities, use the frame button (upper right), hover over the open activities, and click on close.
  • In general, you do not need to double click on anything in the XO interface. It is designed for a single click. For example, double clicking to launch an activity will cause the XO to launch two instances of the activity which may cause one to fail.
  • Drag and drop has limited support in this release. It may work in some cases but it does not work consistently everywhere.
  • Power save mode is still in development. In this release it is turned off by default in the control panel. If you use it and experience problems, please turn it off.
  • If the XO stops collaborating or stops responding, you can reboot it from the home screen (hover over the XO in the center) or hold down the power button for more than 6 seconds.
  • Ensure that you have unmounted a USB stick before removing it. Go to the Journal, hover over the USB stick icon and click on 'unmount'. Another method to remove a USB stick and avoid corruption is to power down the laptop before removing the USB stick..

For XOs used in school with many XOs present

  • Reliable collaboration using the Write activity over mesh or access point networks may not exceed two hours. If there are a lot of XOs or a lot of wireless traffic (e.g. many XOs or many access points) then Write may shut down during collaboration. In this case you may be able to reconnect Write to the collaboration in the Neighborhood view.
  • When collaborating over a Mesh (i.e. XO to XO collaboration with no access point or school server) you should limit the number of XOs on any channel to 10. There are three Mesh channels available (1,6 and 11) and each should have a maximum of 10 XOs. More XOs in a channel may cause instability in the collaboration.


  • Please see the Deployment Support pages for information on collaboration and connectivity in schools or areas that are densely populated with XOs.

Click here for a more detailed list of open bugs


API Changes

Release 8.2.0 incorporates version 0.82.1 of the Sugar UI.

API changes documents Sugar and system API changes since release 8.1.x.