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There are no [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Application software applications] in the traditional sense on the laptop. The laptop focuses children around "[[DesignTeam/Human Interface Guidelines/Activities|activities]]." This is more than a new naming convention; it represents an intrinsic quality of the learning experience we hope the children will have when using the laptop. Activities are distinct from applications in their foci—collaboration and expression—and their implementation—journaling and iteration.

There are no [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_Application software applications] in the traditional sense on the laptop. The laptop focuses children around "[[Design Team/Human Interface Guidelines/Activities|activities]]." This is more than a new naming convention; it represents an intrinsic quality of the learning experience we hope the children will have when using the laptop. Activities are distinct from applications in their foci—collaboration and expression—and their implementation—journaling and iteration.

===Presence is Always Present===

===Presence is Always Present===

===Journaling===

===Journaling===

The concept of the [[DesignTeam/Human Interface Guidelines/The Laptop Experience#The Journal|Journal]], a written documentation of everyday events, is generally understood, albeit in various forms across cultures. A journal typically chronicles the activities one has done throughout the day. We have chosen to adopt a journal metaphor for the filesystem as our basic approach to file organization. While the underlying implementation of such a filesystem does not differ significantly from some of those in contemporary operating systems, it also holds less importance than the journal abstraction itself.

The concept of the [[Design Team/Human Interface Guidelines/The Laptop Experience#The Journal|Journal]], a written documentation of everyday events, is generally understood, albeit in various forms across cultures. A journal typically chronicles the activities one has done throughout the day. We have chosen to adopt a journal metaphor for the filesystem as our basic approach to file organization. While the underlying implementation of such a filesystem does not differ significantly from some of those in contemporary operating systems, it also holds less importance than the journal abstraction itself.

At its core, our journal concept embodies the idea that the filesystem records a history of the things a child has done, or, more specifically, the activities a child has participated in.  Its function as the store of the objects created while performing those activities is secondary, although also important. The Journal naturally lends itself to a chronological organization (although it can be tagged, searched, and sorted by a variety of means).  As a record of things a child has ''done''—not just the things a child has ''saved''—the Journal will read much like a portfolio or scrapbook history of the child's interactions with the machine and also with peers. The Journal combines entries explicitly created by the children with those which are implicitly created through participation in activities; developers must think carefully about how an activity integrates with the Journal more so than with a traditional filesystem that functions independently of an application. The activities, the objects, and the means of recording all tightly integrate to create a different kind of computer experience.

At its core, our journal concept embodies the idea that the filesystem records a history of the things a child has done, or, more specifically, the activities a child has participated in.  Its function as the store of the objects created while performing those activities is secondary, although also important. The Journal naturally lends itself to a chronological organization (although it can be tagged, searched, and sorted by a variety of means).  As a record of things a child has ''done''—not just the things a child has ''saved''—the Journal will read much like a portfolio or scrapbook history of the child's interactions with the machine and also with peers. The Journal combines entries explicitly created by the children with those which are implicitly created through participation in activities; developers must think carefully about how an activity integrates with the Journal more so than with a traditional filesystem that functions independently of an application. The activities, the objects, and the means of recording all tightly integrate to create a different kind of computer experience.