OLPC delivers big OS update with text-to-speech, DisplayLink and WebKit

[wraggster]

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/08/olpc-os-12-1-sugar-096.jpg (http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/02/olpc-delivers-big-os-update-with-text-to-speech-displaylink/)While most of its energy is focused on the XO-4 Touch (http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/15/one-laptop-per-childs-xo-4-touch-expected-to-be-released-in/), the One Laptop Per Child (http://www.engadget.com/tag/OneLaptopPerChild/) project is swinging into full gear for software, too. The project team has just posted an OS 12.1.0 update that sweetens the Sugar (http://www.engadget.com/tag/Sugar/)for at least present-day XO units. As of this latest revamp, text-to-speech is woven into the interface and vocalizes any selectable text -- a big help for students that are more comfortable speaking their language than reading it. USB video output has been given its own lift through support for more ubiquitousDisplayLink (http://www.engadget.com/tag/DisplayLink/) adapters. If you're looking for the majority of changes, however, they're under-the-hood tweaks to bring the OLPC architecture up to snuff. Upgrades to GTK3+ and GNOME 3.4 help, but we're primarily noticing a shift from Mozilla's web engine to WebKit (http://www.engadget.com/tag/WebKit/) for browsing: although the OLPC crew may have been forced to swap code because of Mozilla's policies on third-party apps, it's promising a much faster and more Sugar-tinged web experience as part of the switch. While they're not the same as getting an XO-3 tablet (http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/08/olpcs-xo-3-0-tablet-hands-on/), the upgrades found at the source link are big enough that classrooms (and the occasional individual) will be glad they held on to that early XO model (http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/10/olpc-reviewed-by-a-twelve-year-old/).
http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/02/olpc-delivers-big-os-update-with-text-to-speech-displaylink/