Tester for education.
I got a couple of Elonex ONE t+ delivered today.
Would have been good except WiFi doesn't work on either unit, even after doing a standard software update from Elonex. The problem is all software though, and i managed to find a fix on Maplin's web site intended for their own branded version. WiFi is working now but DHCP does not retrieve IPs, so for now i'm using fixed IPs. WiFi performance is very poor causing web browsing to be slow, whereas if you connect over ethernet it is very quick.
So sticking with the ethernet connection, i quickly loaded up the video download helper add-on in the Firefox browser and was able to retrieve a video from Youtube and play it in the media player. A bit shaky but ok, actually not bad considering the machine spec.
The machine has full email and IM capability and it is likely you could hold a lot of personal information. Which could be a problem because...
...the system has no password. Ouch!
So i'll be sticking with web-mail etc., and discouraging personal use - a real shame that.
The system is aimed at children and even comes with an optional "fluffy bunny" display theme (i kid you not, all the icons feature bunnies). There is a Flash player so could run much existing (mainly primary school level) educational software. I'll be trying out a few in the next few days. I'll also be loading up some existing school work in the re-branded Abiword and Gnumeric reckoned to be Word and Excel compatible.
There are rumours about a new OS release. Still, Elonex better sort out the lack of security, otherwise they can forget about their whole education pitch. I'll be on the phone to them tomorrow to see if the problems deserve getting my money back, or whether they intend to fix the software any time soon.
That said, this machine has real potential. I had no problems with memory sticks, although there is no hot-swap it doesn't take long to reboot, so ok. The connectivity software is saying i can connect to GPRS, so tomorrow i'll have a go with a Nokia N95 and a Blackberry. If that works (and Elonex fix security, nag, nag, nag) then i can see phone shops giving these away with phone upgrades in the very near future.
Finally lets not forget its Linux and very hackable - so yes the "community" could well end fixing the software 'cos lets face it, brand new at £130, its a bargain. I love the way everything is solid-state just like a pocket calculator (and actually not much bigger).
9/10 but needs 10/10 to make it happen.