I got my XO from the One Laptop Per Child project yesterday. It is incredibly cute, but the keyboard is going to drive me crazy fairly soon. It’s too small to touch-type on for me, so I am using two fingers, a technique I thought I’d abandoned years ago.

I’m really impressed with its WiFi – it sees (and connects to) networks that my other computers don’t show at all. I need to upgrade the OS so it will automatically connect to my home network – I’ve been using an open network with a cryptic name, probably not the smartest idea for the long run.

The only real problem I’ve had with it is using Twitter; when i type into the posting box, the display lags many seconds behind. I guess it’s due to the keystroke-deriven Javascript, but that’s just a guess. I’m certainly not seeing any delay typing this posting into WordPress’s browser interface.

I can see how a box like this can make a difference in a child’s life. I’m glad I signed up; I’m not quite sure what I’m gonna do with this one in the long run, though.

I ordered an XO laptop through the Give One Get One offer (still open through the end of 2007, for those of you looking for that perfect last-minute deduction). Mine hasn’t arrived yet, but Ed Yourdon’s has, and he’s posted a “first reaction” on his blog.

I’m not at all sure what I’m going to do with the machine once I’ve played with it a bit — I knew it was, by design, slow and memory-limited, so I didn’t plan to displace any of my normal computers, but I did have some hopes that it would be a good machine to give to an older relative who “doesn’t want a computer”. But the description of the keyboard in Ed’s review makes that seem unlikely, though I’m reserving judgment until I can touch it myself.