Release notes/11.3.0
EXTREMELY EARLY DRAFT
Purpose
This new OLPC software release adds support for the new XO-1.75 laptop, and includes some new features and bug fixes.
New features
Sugar-0.94
Sugar-0.94 is included in the release. This updated version includes various improvements such as more powerful View Source functionality, and easier file exchange between the Journal and the regular filesystem.
One notable change is that the Keep button has been removed from activities. Many users mistook this with Save, but actually Sugar saves all your work for you - you do not have to tell it do so. The now-removed Keep button's functionality could be better described as duplicate; those who used it with the intention of saving would actually end up with two copies of their work.
More information is available in the Sugar 0.94 release notes.
Activities
- All the activities were reviewed by the Design Team to do his user interface more consistent.
There are pending changes but we improved a lot in this cycle.
- The Portfolio activity has been added to the default set of activities shipped by OLPC. This activity automatically creates a slide show from Journal entries that have been 'starred'.
- GetBooks activity improved his interface to do easier the use of catalogs, and show hundred of available classic books.
- Distance activity can be used with different units and can be used with custom units too.
XO-1.75 support
A great deal of engineering effort has gone into the production of the hardware and software of OLPC's new XO-1.75 laptop. This new laptop model may look and feel the same as previous XOs, but represents a radical change internally: an ARM processor is now used (similar to those found in common mobile phones and tablets). The processor is now included on the same chip as the rest of the core system functionality, taking the definition of System-on-Chip to a new level.
The XO-1.75 also adds accelerometer hardware, presenting many new opportunities for user interaction with the laptop. For example, see Bert Freudenberg's example of how tilting of the laptop can be used to control a ball's motion in Etoys.
Many thanks to all Sugar and Fedora community members who have helped with development and testing of this new laptop and its software.
known issues:
- 11306