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After a little over a month, my XO Laptop arrived in the mail today. I'll have some more complete analysis to offer later after I've used it for a while. For now, a few pictures and a few observations. (Hi-Res Pictures here.)
— It's small and feels sturdy. I feel like I could drop it and it wouldn't shatter or break. I am not testing the hypothesis, though. It's got a composite plastic outer shell
— It's silent. No hard drive = no sound. At all. Very nice. It also does not get hot like other laptops. This may be "duh!" observation, but I've never used a computer without a mechanical hard drive.
— Typing is next to impossible. The keyboard is small and doesn't offer any kind of positive feedback (like a click) when a key is pressed. It's designed to be airtight and water resistant, and it does appear completely sealed. Also, keep in mind, this computer is designed for children's hands.
— The operating system is challenging conceptually for someone familiar with modern GUI design, but it's logical and largely icon-based.
— The trackpad, like the keyboard, is unusually small. Controlling the cursor takes a bit of getting used to. I plugged in a Logitech optical mouse and it worked immediately.
— Had some trouble connecting to my secured wireless network. Took down the security, rebooted, and connected right away without any problems.
— The version of Firefox that runs on this laptop filters out Flash items on Web pages. Instead, it places a button over any Flash object that says "Flash: Click to Play." This is a good idea, as the memory on this machine is sparse, and a Flash-heavy page could conceivably hog the system's limited resources.
— The operating system contains "hot corners," similar to the functionality of OS X. Moving the mouse into any corner while in any application will produce an overlay that allows the user to switch applications, go back to the home screen, etc.
— The Keyboard, aside from its size, is quite functional. Aside from normal functions, you can also access the various Screen Modes. Volume and Brightness are also controlled via the keyboard.
