2nd

why it has to boot the computer? cant kids just use it as an application on other OS like linux/xp/vista?

The guy seems to be very happy about this. He also appears to be very hip into the lingo of the kids.

Sugar on a stick has been around for a while. This is not news.

On the other hand, the sugar UI has gotten a bum rap from people who don't understand that it's an educational learning environment, not direct competition with Windows XP / Vista / 7. Separating the UI experience from the XO hardware may permit more schools--in 1st world countries as well as 3rd world countries--to use sugar in all kinds of elementary school environments. Quite frankly, I haven't seen an alternative UI better than sugar for that kind of deployment.

"LiveUSB distro that boots most any PC"

Just when i was thought that the editing was back on track...

There are wireless versions of what you speak of. Specifically there are at least 3 different ways to upload your numbers from an insulin pump. The site has bunches of ways of displaying the data too. I will admit that without a pump it is a bit more annoying to keep track of the data without a nicer meter. The one touch ultrasmart was what I used before the pump and it had a nice screen so you didn't need to upload it to the pc for seeing graphs / etc.

I like the idea of this, and I can see it being useful in certain situations; however, I just carry a laptop around which seems to invalidate any need that this fulfilled. Besides any technician use, what use do other people find themselves using this kind of thing for?

LOL!!! when I read the headline, I thought the same thing!!

That would be so cool. I have hypo and I have to carry my One Touch everywhere... it would be cool to have a cellphone with glucose meter capabilities, or a small factor USB thing with upload to PC... what the future may bring!! A cure for diabetes!

Nice video, for Kids :-)

Me too...

This reply is for Whitetooth:
As of a month or so ago I used to work in a Diabetes clinic where we were doing stage 3 testing on a possible cure for diabetes. The study is called "Macrogenics" and out of the 6 or so patients we've enrolled in the trial, 4 of them or completly off insulin. I worked in Omaha, NE but there are sites all around the world. Search for Macrogenics and find a place close to you, and see if you can't enroll in the trial. Best of luck with your diabetes
-JMS (Avg BS 11am: 87)

wow, that guy was obnoxious to listen to. anyway, this seems pointless on a competent piece of hardware. the first computer that i used ran dos/windows 3.1 when i was 10 years old, not some 'made for kids' OS that will do little to prepare kids for using a proper computer when they're older and need to for school, work, etc... Projects like SugarOS are fine for projects where you have very limited hardware and even more limited knowledge of computers available (like in third world countries). But I don't see the value of this in the first world where fully functional computers and internet are pretty much ubiquitous and knowledge of these systems are necessary to function in the world.

I'm curious how Paul Miller thinks this is more of a boon to education than the OLPC itself. "Sugar on a Stick" still requires hardware. Most hardware costs more money and needs more power and network infrastructure than can be found in educational institutions in the developing world, which is where the OLPC hardware comes in. Educational institutions in developed countries can afford hardware and the mainstream operating systems that run on that hardware.

Dude you had too much sugar making this video

I downloaded and created the bootable stick. Aside from the relatively short boot time, I see little use for this. Beside being slow to run (after the initial quick boot) the interface is nearly unintuitive. While hovering over the silly monochromatic icons (yeah, I know this is for OLPC) you do get little popups telling you what the icon does, the icons themselves are not very indicative of what they do. A few are, like the globe and the notebook. The rest are not.

The browser is slow and does not correctly render pages and is not much better than the browser on my Kindle (it is about the same speed as well.)
For most people, this is nothing more than a novelty. However, for its intended audience, it probably is right on the money. Since 'Sugar' is intended for very low power computers-like OLPC-and its audience is children, many of whom have never seen contemporary technology, let alone a computer, I think this is a good introduction. These children will not know any better and the icons and overall effectiveness of 'Sugar' will be spot on. I don't think I or most Engadget readers could come up with anything better.

Sorry, but that video is pathetic. Maybe Sugar on a stick is better than this video - I hope so.

I find the idea of a simple operation system to boot on a netbook and turn the buddy into a kid friendly thing great, but Sugar on a Stick is just not it.
I dunno. Looking at that thing I start doubting that the OLPC is good for anything...
M

how gay can this guy be? anyone who gets that excited over a os that is associated with the words "sugar on a stick" has to be

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