[Squeakland] Update from Viewpoints Research - Etoys 2.1

[Kim Rose]

Dear Squeaklanders,

We're looking fowrard to seeing many of you in Chicago at SqueakFest next week.

For those of you unable to join us, I thought I'd send a few general 
updates as summer is in full swing, and for many of you, the new 
academic year may be quickly approaching.

I think most of you are aware of the involvement Viewpoints Research 
has with the One Laptop Per Child (olpc) initiative 
(http://www.laptop.org).  We are developers for the platform, and 
have been working closely with the olpc team as we integrate Etoys as 
an activity on the laptop and develop Etoys specifically for this 
platform (known as either "the $100 laptop" or the "xo").

We are very happy with the progress we've made and to know that soon, 
literally millions of adults and children will have an opportunity to 
make etoys of their own.   We believe the olpc has motivated the 
generation of a better Etoys for all, and a more suitable Etoys for 
older learners (although we still have much work to do in this area).

That said, it is our plan to offer this new, improved Etoys to you, 
the Squeakland community, via the Squeakland.org website.  In the 
next weeks we'll be announcing a new download for your use.   This 
version will be demonstrated and used at SqueakFest and shortly 
thereafter, it will be available to all via the Squeakland website. 
It runs as before on Mac, Windows and Unix/Linux platforms and really 
looks much the same as the Etoys you've been using.

So, please keep reading these announcements and check the Squeakland 
wesbite for "Etoys 2.1".  You should know that Etoy projects created 
in other versions of Squeak/Etoys can be loaded/brought forward into 
this version; however, the reverse will not be possible.

We continue to encourage you to share the projects you create, the 
lessons you learn, the experiences you have with your students, etc. 
through this mailing list and other fora.

Please pass this email to anyone you know that might be interested in 
this news, but not a subscriber to this mailing list.

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your summer!
Kim