Emulating the XO/Quick Start

This page will help you get a look at the XO software, by running a "virtual XO" in an emulator. Another option is burning a LiveCd.

This page is being revised. Until that is completed, non-Windows users may find the old version easier to use.

Who should read this page

If you don't have access to an actual XO laptop but have some time, patience, and would like to get a taste of how the software looks and feels, this page will guide you through running an emulated XO laptop on your non-XO machine (desktop, laptop, etc). This means that your computer will pretend to be an XO - minus some of the special hardware features.

No programming/Linux experience is assumed, but patience and a sense of humor are required; getting emulation running can be tricky. Estimated time to completion is 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on your system and experience.

If you have any questions or suggestions on how to improve this walkthrough, please contact Mitra.

What to expect

This "virtual XO" was created as a software development tool. It is not intended for general use, and many things will not work. It is "just to get a taste" of what the laptop is like (and to help software developers). With time and people constraints, we are focused on the real XO.

• The camera and video will not work.
• Things are slower than on the actual machine. If you are unable to install qemu's kqemu accelerator, very much slower.
• You will see a snapshot of the past. The instructions will have you download the "latest stable build", which is sometimes quite a few weeks old. Development is very rapid. Things will be missing or different compared with the present.
• While rapidly maturing, this is still "alpha" software.
• TamTam, the popular music program, will likely not work (no sound).

Getting QEMU

Choose Your Operating System:

• Windows (All-In-One Installer + In-depth Tutorial)
• Mac
• Linux
• FreeBSD
• Yellow Dog Linux on PlayStation3