User:NeoAmsterdam/8.0.2/Activities: Difference between revisions

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(That covers the "Must-have"s, "Might've-had"s, and "What in /dev/random where you thinking?!?"s)
 
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Occasionally (perhaps too often) I do a thorough cleaning and [[User:NeoAmsterdam/Installing_build_8.0.2_to_a_bootable_SD_card|reinstallation]]. Part of that process is to reinstall all the activities I use.
Occasionally (perhaps too often) I do a thorough cleaning and [[User:NeoAmsterdam/Installing_build_8.0.2_to_a_bootable_SD_card|reinstallation]]. Part of that process is to reinstall all the activities I use.


Normally, the XO will ask for permission to check for activities over the wireless network. But I reason that if I have the up-to-date OS on a USB key, then I might as well have my up-to-date activities on a USB key as well. [http://sugarlabs.org Sugar Labs] tends to have the most recent versions of activities on their [http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/ downloads site]. But figuring out which version of what works with 8.0.2 isn't quite as straightforward as one would think. So here's a table of activities I like and/or rely on, which is the latest version works with 8.0.2, and where to get it.
Normally, the XO will ask for permission to check for activities over the wireless network. But I reason that if I have the up-to-date OS on a USB key, then I might as well have my up-to-date activities on a USB key as well. [http://sugarlabs.org Sugar Labs] tends to have the most recent versions of activities on their [http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/ downloads site], but some activities are found elsewhere.


After a lot of trial and error, here's a concise, condensed, and wholly incomplete table of activities that work with build 8.0.2 and where to obtain them. These can be stored on the same USB drive as the OS installer. That way, all you have to do is copy the activities to <tt>/home/olpc/Activites</tt> and <tt>unzip</tt> them.


<table class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: thin solid rgb(80%, 80%, 80%);">
<table>
<tr style="font-weight: bold; background: rgb(90%, 90%, 90%);">
<td>[[Image:Xo_s.png|25px|link=]]</td>
<td>Activity</td>
<td>Version</td>
<td>Notes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:activity-terminal.svg|25px|link=Terminal]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4043 Terminal]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/26561/terminal-31.xo 31]</td>
<td>Tabs aren't fully functional and <tt>$PATH</tt> isn't always respected, but that's what the console shells are for.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Activity-write.svg|25px|link=Write]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4201 Write]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/26215/write-60.xo 60]</td>
<td>Newer versions appear to have abandoned 8.0.2/Sugar 0.82</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Viewslides.svg|25px|link=View Slides]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4039 View Slides]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/26878/view_slides-12.xo 12]</td>
<td>I have not tested version 13, but suspect it will work. Great for standalone slide presentations (Read: "Lemme show you some of the cool OLPC stuff I've done and others are doing" in a single zip file)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4921 Sugar Commander]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/26922/sugar_commander-5.xo 5]</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Activity-record.svg|25px|link=Record]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4081 Record]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/26885/record-67.xo 67]</td>
<td>Video capture at "best" quality barely averages 1 frame per second; at "high" quality, 5 frames per second; "low" quality has fluid motion but terrible picture quality. Also, trying to remove a recording that's being viewed will crash the activity and force Sugar to restart.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Moon-icon.png|25px|link=Moon]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4034 Moon]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/26476/moon-11.xo 11]</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Activity-log.svg|25px|link=Log]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4056 Log]</td>
<td>[http://dev.laptop.org/%7Eerikos/bundles/0.82.1/Log-16.xo 16]</td>
<td>Sugar Labs does not provide version 16.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4032 Image Viewer]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/26485/image_viewer-8.xo 8]</td>
<td><small><i>Handy, but I prefer <tt>gqview</tt></i></small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Activity-chat.svg|25px|link=Chat]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4069 Chat]</td>
<td>[http://dev.laptop.org/%7Emorgan/bundles/Chat-60.xo 60]</td>
<td>Sugar Labs does not provide version 60.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Activity-web.svg|25px|link=Browse]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addons/versions/4024 Browse]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/26063/browse-102.xo 102]</td>
<td>Even though [[Firefox]] [http://dev.laptop.org/%7Ecscott/bundles/Firefox-6.xo 6] runs well, its UI doesn't translate well into Sugar and the downloads manager is annoying. Besides, Browse uses less resources and has a very elegant UI for bookmarking.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Activity-journal.svg|25px|link=Journal]]</td>
<td>[[Journal]]</td>
<td>[http://dev.laptop.org/%7Eerikos/journal/Journal-86.xo 86]</td>
<td>Sugar Labs doesn't host Journal.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Activity-activity-read.svg|25px|link=Read]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4028 Read]</td>
<td>[http://dev.laptop.org/%7Emorgan/bundles/Read-52.xo 52]</td>
<td>Sugar Labs does not provide version 52.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Stars_icon.svg|25px|link=StarChart]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4300 StarChart]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/26976/starchart-12.xo 12]</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Minivmac.svg|25px|link=Mini vMac]]</td>
<td>[[Mini vMac]]</td>
<td>[[Media:MiniVMac-1.xo|1]]</td>
<td><small><i>Between [[User:NeoAmsterdam/Customize Mini vMac's disk image#Notes|my notes]] and the [http://minivmac.sourceforge.net/doc/build.html build notes], surely you'll find a way to build your own [better] version.</i></small></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Ucblogo.png|25px|link=Berkeley Logo]]</td>
<td>[[Berkeley Logo]]</td>
<td>[[Media:Ucblogo-4.xo|4]]</td>
<td><small><i>The next-best thing to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_LOGO Atari LOGO]...</i> </small>☺</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>[[Image:Xoirc.svg|25px|link=]]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/addon/4029 IRC]</td>
<td>[http://activities.sugarlabs.org/en-US/sugar/downloads/file/25975/irc-5.xo 5]</td>
<td><small><i>You need to tinker inside <tt>~/Activities/IRC.activity/</tt> to change some (all?) of the default settings</i></small></td>
</tr>
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</table>
That pretty much sums up all of the Sugar activities that I've come to rely on over the years.


A few activities didn't make my "must-have" list. Here's why:
[[Image:activity-terminal.svg|40px]]
* [[Jukebox]]<br />I've never gotten it to "see" my media files.
* [[SimCity]] and/or [[Micropolis]]<br />Illegible UI, cities can't be saved, and more often than not crashes when quitting.
* [[Doom]]<br /><tt>&lt;rant&gt;</tt><small><br />The most counterproductive Sugarization ever: it's not educational, it gives reactionaries and alarmists the "violence argument", it saps precious battery power, and I sincerely doubt that [[Nicholas Negroponte|You-Know-Who]] intended to fill childrens' lives with the stuff of nightmares.<br /><small>Computing should be fun, liberating, helpful, empowering, and the stuff of wonder.A shoot-anything-that-moves electronic killing spree smacks of sheer ignorance, as some young XO recipients have already been subject to warfare, violence, and terror.</small></small><br /><tt>&lt;/rant&gt;</tt>

Latest revision as of 06:17, 31 August 2010

Occasionally (perhaps too often) I do a thorough cleaning and reinstallation. Part of that process is to reinstall all the activities I use.

Normally, the XO will ask for permission to check for activities over the wireless network. But I reason that if I have the up-to-date OS on a USB key, then I might as well have my up-to-date activities on a USB key as well. Sugar Labs tends to have the most recent versions of activities on their downloads site, but some activities are found elsewhere.

After a lot of trial and error, here's a concise, condensed, and wholly incomplete table of activities that work with build 8.0.2 and where to obtain them. These can be stored on the same USB drive as the OS installer. That way, all you have to do is copy the activities to /home/olpc/Activites and unzip them.

Xo s.png Activity Version Notes
Activity-terminal.svg Terminal 31 Tabs aren't fully functional and $PATH isn't always respected, but that's what the console shells are for.
Activity-write.svg Write 60 Newer versions appear to have abandoned 8.0.2/Sugar 0.82
Viewslides.svg View Slides 12 I have not tested version 13, but suspect it will work. Great for standalone slide presentations (Read: "Lemme show you some of the cool OLPC stuff I've done and others are doing" in a single zip file)
Sugar Commander 5
Activity-record.svg Record 67 Video capture at "best" quality barely averages 1 frame per second; at "high" quality, 5 frames per second; "low" quality has fluid motion but terrible picture quality. Also, trying to remove a recording that's being viewed will crash the activity and force Sugar to restart.
Moon-icon.png Moon 11
Activity-log.svg Log 16 Sugar Labs does not provide version 16.
Image Viewer 8 Handy, but I prefer gqview
Activity-chat.svg Chat 60 Sugar Labs does not provide version 60.
Activity-web.svg Browse 102 Even though Firefox 6 runs well, its UI doesn't translate well into Sugar and the downloads manager is annoying. Besides, Browse uses less resources and has a very elegant UI for bookmarking.
Activity-journal.svg Journal 86 Sugar Labs doesn't host Journal.
Activity-activity-read.svg Read 52 Sugar Labs does not provide version 52.
Stars icon.svg StarChart 12
Minivmac.svg Mini vMac 1 Between my notes and the build notes, surely you'll find a way to build your own [better] version.
Ucblogo.png Berkeley Logo 4 The next-best thing to Atari LOGO... ☺
Xoirc.svg IRC 5 You need to tinker inside ~/Activities/IRC.activity/ to change some (all?) of the default settings

That pretty much sums up all of the Sugar activities that I've come to rely on over the years.

A few activities didn't make my "must-have" list. Here's why:

  • Jukebox
    I've never gotten it to "see" my media files.
  • SimCity and/or Micropolis
    Illegible UI, cities can't be saved, and more often than not crashes when quitting.
  • Doom
    <rant>
    The most counterproductive Sugarization ever: it's not educational, it gives reactionaries and alarmists the "violence argument", it saps precious battery power, and I sincerely doubt that You-Know-Who intended to fill childrens' lives with the stuff of nightmares.
    Computing should be fun, liberating, helpful, empowering, and the stuff of wonder.A shoot-anything-that-moves electronic killing spree smacks of sheer ignorance, as some young XO recipients have already been subject to warfare, violence, and terror.
    </rant>
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