After spending a day with the XO machine, one question remains: Why aren't our laptops back in the office half as cool? The decidedly Fisher Price look aside, mainstream laptop users should get to share in some of the innovative technology and fun. Notebook manufacturers, listen up: Here's our current wish list of technologies we want to see in our next laptops.
 
Green Power
We might travel with extra battery packs and work in offices with electric outlets as numerous as the days of the year, but green is in. The battery rundown tests we perform on all the laptops that come through our offices wouldn't be necessary if we could so easily charge our laptop battery with a solar-panel charger near a window. According to OLPC's CTO, Mary Lou Jepsen, the XO laptop is the greenest laptop in the world. You'd think the Dells and HPs of the world would want to get in on the competition.

 

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar
We're done nitpicking Microsoft Vista and complaining about Mac's delayed Leopard OS; instead, we have our minds set on the Linux-based Sugar operating system. Not only is the learning curve simple, but the interface is intuitive. The home screen is succinct, and the shortcuts that run along the bottom of the screen are easy to remember. The journal application, which logs all of the activity on the laptop, is a perfect productivity tool.

 

Keeping the Hard in the Hardware
The XO's waterproof keyboard may be intended for rain, but it could also withstand the hottest coffee spills. The tablet mode admittedly isn't as sophisticated as the latest tablets out there, but the game mode with some built-in controls would surely make the business trip more entertaining.

 

Chameleon Screen
A screen that can be read in the brightest sunlight is appealing to more than just kids who like to play outside. Checking your favorite Web sites from a park shouldn't be a squinting struggle.

 

Mesh Networking for Collaborating
Google Docs and Zoho Writer provide good third-party applications for collaborating on documents or spreadsheets, but XO's collaborating software, combined with its mesh-networking capabilities, makes editing happen in real time, without an Internet connection. Assembling PowerPoint presentations would run a lot smoother with the Write program, as multiple users can add images and text. Mesh-networking capabilities built into systems would also enable software developers to improve enterprise communication, including internal VoIP and chat programs.