OLPC UK/Lending Library and Repair Centre/Status 20090925

OLPC UK Library Update 20090925

The OLPC UK Local Laptop Lending Library (LLLL) has 100% of its laptops loaned out.

Here is an updated status and the next steps; but first, please recall that the purpose of the combined Library / Repair Centre is to:

• support the OLPC mission and community via lending out laptops to UK volunteers / contributors; and

• facilitate with space, materiel, and expertise XO repairs by volunteers; and

• encourage, enable, and support Contributor Program applicants from the UK.

Update

• Repair Centre's latest (and earliest) unsolicited XO-1 repair was done in a day and a complete success. A generous & cute thank-you from the beneficiary was received:
  

  Thank you note

• Repair Centre hardware has been triaged and 3 laptops have been fully repaired. Many others have hardware that can be consolidated: e.g., three laptops have mangled keyboards and two laptops have bad screens and one has a bad touchpad, so swapping motherboards and keyboards around should get at least three more working laptops for the library.

• Two laptops were lent to the OLPC UK pilot and now have been replaced by two from the UK laptop allocation - so the pilot was able to move forward before its laptops arrived from the US and now the Library is back to its original allocation.

• UK XO-1 survey is over and results have to be collated (won't take long).

Status

• 10 functional laptops and working batteries are in the UK.

• All laptops have:
  • developer keys
  • security disabled
  • markings with a OLPCUK-NN (NN from 1 to 10) code, my mobile phone number, and the olpc-uk@lists.laptop.org mailing list address
  • been flashed to latest firmware (Q2E41)
  • have the latest Sugar-on-a-Stick build (Rawhide/Fedora 11 + OLPC kernel) installed.

• 0 pairs of laptops are available for borrowing

• More help is always needed with outreach, hardware wrangling, mentoring, etc. Please get in touch directly or via olpc-uk@lists.laptop.org. Better yet, Just Do It - whatever you you're trying to help with - and I/people will try to keep up (Forgiveness vs. Permission).

Next steps

• Review plans at OLPC UK meeting: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_UK/Lending_Library_and_Repair_Centre#Month_2

• Flesh out "How do I get a laptop" instructions: http://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_UK/Lending_Library_and_Repair_Centre#How_do_I_get_a_Laptop.3F

• Update Library inventory system with (gcstar, probably)

• Write up lessons learned so far; share with appropriate audiences