Source: http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/
There is something slightly perverse about the way that Sugar, the Open Source user interface and "cluster" of educational software developed for the OLPC laptop, has really only become visible to the outside world in the process of key people in OLPC parting company with the OLPC project itself. The recently established SugarLabs wiki has a clear explanation of the rationale behind Sugar. Excerpt:
"Sugar reinvents how computers can be used for education. It promotes sharing and collaborative learning and gives children the opportunity to use their laptops on their own terms. Children — and their teachers — have the freedom to reshape, reinvent, and reapply their software, and content. Sugar is based on GNU/Linux, a free and open-source operating system."
"Sugar Labs" is a (soon to be established) non-profit foundation which "will serve as a support base and gathering place for the community of educators and software developers who want to extend the platform and create Sugar-compatible applications". Sugar Labs will also "focus on providing a software ecosystem that enhances learning on the XO laptop as well as other laptops distributed by other companies, such as the ASUS Eee PC". Full 15 May 2008 announcement.
Until April this year Walter Bender lead OLPC's software and content activities, and his thorough and inclusive weekly emailed reports kept people like me up to date with the development of the OLPC XO laptop. Walter is now in the process of forming Sugar Labs, with continuing funding from OLPC, and will be reporting weekly about Sugar: the simplest way to keep tabs on this is to subscribe to the Sugar Community Weekly News Digest.
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