-== Fri, Mar 12 - Interview with "los scratcheros" ==
+== Fri, Mar 12 - Interview with //Los Scratcheros// ==
-|| {{ pictures/sugar/deployment/paraguay/caacupe/scratcheros/00008.jpg | maxwidth=480 | The "Scratcheros": Nadia, Benedicto and Alberto}} || {{ pictures/sugar/deployment/paraguay/caacupe/scratcheros/00003.jpg | maxwidth=480 | A sugar "hack" (zoom in to see the ASCII art detail) }} ||
+|| {{ pictures/sugar/deployment/paraguay/caacupe/scratcheros/00008.jpg | maxwidth=480 | The "Scratcheros": Nadia, Benedicto and Alberto}} || {{ pictures/sugar/deployment/paraguay/caacupe/scratcheros/1.00011.jpg | maxwidth=480 | Albertito, our youngest volunteer, helping one of our trainers }} ||
Today I spent some time with three siblings of Caacupe who has impressed me and the educators very
much with their original creations in Scratch. Scratch is not a school subject, these kids are
|| {{ pictures/sugar/deployment/paraguay/caacupe/cyber_nick/00001.jpg | maxwidth=480 | Cyber Nick, Fernando's XO repair lab in Caacupe }} || {{ pictures/sugar/deployment/paraguay/caacupe/cyber_nick/00029.jpg | maxwidth=480 | Kids asking to install Sugar 0.84 in front of Cyber Nick's lab }} ||
-A few days ago, Fernando the owner of the Caacupe XO support center, wrote to us:
-
-{{{
-El 8 de marzo de 2010 14:51, Raúl Gutiérrez Segalés escribió:
-> Como va la migración a Fedora 11 hasta ahora?
-> Número aproximado de máquinas actualizadas?
-
-Raúl, la verdad que todo bien hasta ahora, los chicos están muy entusiasmados con la
-nueva versión, y hacen correr la voz, creo que unos 120 equipos ya lo hicimos hasta
-ahora más o menos.
-}}}
-
-Google translation with my corrctions:
+A few days ago, Fernando the owner of the Caacupe XO support center, wrote (Google translation with some corrctions):
{{{
On March 8 2010 14:51, Raúl Gutiérrez Segalés wrote:
> of machines to date?
Raul, the truth that it's going smooth so far, the boys are very excited
-about the new version, and the rumor is spreading fast. I think so far
-my team updated 120 laptops, more or less.
+about the new version, and the rumor is spreading fast.
+I think so far my team updated 120 laptops, more or less.
}}}
I witnessed it with my own eyes: every day, children are lining up in front of Cyber Nick's
Quick! Let's add all this crap to Sugar! :-)
Of course not, but could we do anything to appeal more to kids? By now, I think I've observed
-our young users closely enough to be able to predict what they're really after:
+our young users closely enough to be able to guess what they're really missing in Sugar:
-More configurabiity.
-
-{{pictures/sugar/deployment/paraguay/caacupe/escuela_691_profesora_gudelia_cabrera/00048.jpg | maxwidth=480 | Shy girls hiding behind their Barbie-fashioned laptops }}
+<div style="font-size: large; color: red; text-align: center">
+more configurability.
+</div>
Yeah, dozen of scientific studies showed how users almost never customize the desktops beyond
setting a background image. Kids, however, are a lot more passionate about their precious
-laptop than the average office clerk using Windows. They //do// customize the exterior of
-their laptops with stickers.
-
-Believe it or not, many of these kids set the random icon layout (aka "the Negroponte layout"),
-because it lets them drag icons around and arrange them in clever ways. I could take screenshot
-to prove it.
-
-And what was the gray color scale in our UI supposed to mean? I was explained it once, and it
-seemed to make sense, but I forgot. And, whatver the reason was, kids are unlikely to agree
-with us.
-
-Let's give them a control panel icon to customize colors as they wish, or they'll switch
-to Gnome //en masse//. I can't blame them, either. What would you have done when you were 8?
+laptop than the average office clerk using Windows. They //do// cover the exterior of
+their laptops with colorful stickers.
+
+|| {{pictures/sugar/deployment/paraguay/caacupe/escuela_691_profesora_gudelia_cabrera/00048.jpg | maxwidth=480 | Shy girls hide behind their Barbie-fashioned laptops }} || {{ pictures/sugar/deployment/paraguay/caacupe/scratcheros/00003.jpg | maxwidth=480 | A sugar "hack" (zoom in to see the ASCII art detail) }} ||
+
+Believe it or not, many of these kids also set their Home View with the random icon layout
+(aka "the Negroponte layout"), because it lets them drag icons around and arrange them in
+clever ways. I could take many screenshot to prove it, but I particulatily like this one
+abusing Sugar's user name field to create a drawing on three lines. These kids do not live
+in the middle of Silicon Valley; it is very likely that they rediscovered the technique
+of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII_art | ASCII art]] completely on their own.
+The original idea was passed along and successively refined by several anonymous artists.
+
+Finally, what was the gray-scale palette supposed to mean in our UI? I was explained it once,
+and it seemed to make some sense, but now I forgot. And, whatver the reason was, kids are
+unlikely to agree with us.
+
+Let's give our users a control panel applet for customizing colors as they wish, or they'll
+switch to Gnome //en masse//. I can't blame them, either. What would you have done when
+you were 8?
== Tue, Mar 02 - Charla @ Facultad Politecnica ==
projects / wiki.git / blobdiff