Sugar (GUI)

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For other uses, see Sugar.

Sugar

A screenshot of the Sugar desktop
Developer:	The OLPC Team
OS:	Linux
Use:	Desktop environment
License:	GNU General Public License
Website:	laptop.org/sugar

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Sugar is the graphical user interface being developed for One Laptop per Child's Children's machine project. Unlike more traditional desktop environments, it does not use a "desktop" metaphor and only focuses on one task at a time. It is written in the interpreted Python programming language. (Most other environments are written in compiled languages such as C++, by way of contrast.) Main contributors to the project include Christopher Blizzard and Diana Fong.

1 Design principles
- 1.1 Performance
- 1.2 Simplicity
2 Current status
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Design principles

[edit] Performance

The Children's Machine (XO) will have a 1 GB NAND flash drive and 256 MB of memory. Since there is no swap space and storage space on the laptop, only a limited number of activities can be run concurrently.

[edit] Simplicity

The laptop's hardware limitations have lead to much more compact program design harking back to the early days of the PC. The project's stated goal is to "avoid bloated interfaces", and "limit the controls to those immediately relevant to the task at hand". ^[1]

[edit] Current status

Sugar is still in development. In May 2006, its creators described it as primarily a “tool for expression,” thus plans are in place to include multimedia and social networking features. ^[2]

As of early 2007, Sugar can be installed (with some difficulty) on a variety of operating systems, including several Linux distributions, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Instructions are available on the project's wiki.^[3]