I’ve been meaning to do this since mid-November 2006, but only got to do it some days ago. I created a OLPC virtual appliance for my VMWare Workstation 5.5.3 and gave Sugar, the OLPC UI a try. Here’s a short list of what I think of it after a very quick run through its functionality. My opinions are not final as I am uncertain as to whether this is a release (or close to release) version of the software, but they reflect my impression after about one hour spent using it:
- It’s original and minimalistic. While it is a departure from the ‘start menu’-type interfaces we’ve gotten used to for the past 15 years or so, it is simple and relatively easy to use for both people with experience and those without. It is also, however, very limited.
- Its iconic interface is not particularly intuitive. Computer icons as components of User Interfaces have been studied extensively since their 1970s introduction at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. An icon does not automatically guarantee neither usability nor an aesthetically superior interface. Some Sugar interface icons are not very good choices. For example, the Abiword icon is completely abstract and potentially misleading for someone not familiar with the program.
- It is not aesthetically appealing. The UI is — arguably — bland and boring.
- It is inconsistent. There are several parts where the underlying GTK theme is exposed and where the simplicity and minmalism of the UI collapses. An example is the context menu (right-click) in many GTK text-entry controls/widgets. In the E-toys authoring system the UI is a complete departure, both aesthetically and functionally, from the general environment.
- There’s need for animation and visual cues. Despite the OLPC’s low performance it is possible to include some animation in the UI to help a new user familiarise themselves with the environment and, last but not least, to improve aesthetics. For example, the ‘UI’ frame appears and disappears suddenly without visual cues. The transitions between Neighbourhood, Friends and Home views are also sudden and provide no information as to the relation between the views.
- It does not seem to scale. The UI seems designed for the very limited applications that come with it and is not really inviting extensions. Furthermore, with the exception of the Neighbourhood/Friends/Home separation it is clumsy in the way it defines objects, people and tasks.
I tried to approach Sugar without the baggage of 20 years of computer use and a dozen platforms. I am not impressed by it in any way; actually I believe it is hastily done and while it has some good ideas behind it, it is far from complete (or appropriate) even for a child. While my review of the UI is not thorough and I am unaware as to whether this is going to be the final version or whether the system is being revised and developed, I find it restricting and unsuitable for anyone over the age of 8 considering its limited functionality and (seemingly) incomplete development.
Here is a video capture I made earlier of a recent snapshot of the OLPC software, running under VMWare Workstation.
You can find many more videos of the OLPC software running under Qemu or VMWare on YouTube.