Microsoft, OLPC officially team up

So, I guess this makes it Two Operating Systems Per Child.

The One Laptop Per Child project and Microsoft announced Thursday that indeed the XO laptop will be available in both Linux and Windows varieties. The companies plan to sell a Windows-powered XO in five or six countries starting next month, with a broader release in August or September.

"We view it as a major opportunity for OLPC to expand and expand in a couple of ways," OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte told CNET News.com in an interview Thursday. "One is to have a broader acceptance in the community and the other is to have more software and software developers available."

"When I talk to people and tell them we can run Windows, they are very impressed. You pass a sort of virility test."

--Nicholas Negroponte, OLPC founder

Microsoft announced in December that it was working to see if it could get Windows XP up and running on the OLPC devices. To make it work, it needed to get the operating system to boot from an SD card and to create drivers to work with OLPC's unique features, such as its touchpad and e-book reader mode.

Negroponte said the ability to run Windows is a must-have in some countries. For example, he said, Uruguay made it a requirement in its recent solicitation. Even in other countries where Windows is not required, Negroponte said compatibility with the Microsoft operating system still helps give the laptop credibility.

"When I talk to people and tell them we can run Windows, they are very impressed," he said. "You pass a sort of virility test."

Microsoft and OLPC aren't saying which countries they will start selling the Windows-based XO model in first, although a press release quotes an official in Colombia, so I'd bet that will be one of the first.

Meanwhile, Negroponte stressed that he is not giving up on Linux and ultimately aims to deliver machines that can boot into either operating system.

"There's no premeditated plan that one is going to dominate over the other," he said. "Having both is a very powerful option."

Microsoft, meanwhile, said the first XO laptops with Windows that start rolling out in June will not be dual-boot machines. Microsoft executive James Utzschneider said the XO will help broaden the range of educational machines with Windows. Plus, he said, "There are just a lot of people that have fallen in love with that cute little laptop and they've said we want to see Windows on it."

For his part, Negroponte said starting out with Linux was essential. "For us to launch the laptop, we had no choice but to use open source," Negroponte said. "We needed the community. We needed to get (in) there at the OS level to build devices and drivers...to make our point, to make the laptop."

Negroponte is hoping the move to Windows won't cost OLPC the things that made its product unique. The company is aiming to port the XO's "Sugar" interface over to Windows.

"We are in discussion with several third parties," Negroponte said. "I suspect we will have some conclusion next week or the week after."

He added that the 50-person OLPC Foundation itself lacks the resources to tackle the software project. "Plus, we don't have the skill set," he said.

Microsoft and OLPC have both talked about the importance of getting laptops in the hands of children in developing countries, although they have not always talked in the fondest terms about one another's efforts.

"OLPC hasn't done that well," Chairman Bill Gates said in a January interview.

Meanwhile, speaking at a Linux conference in 2006, Negroponte said of working with Linux and AMD rather than Intel and Microsoft: "AMD is our partner, which means Intel is pissing on me. Bill Gates is not pleased either, but if I am annoying Microsoft and Intel then I figure I am doing something right."

[BigDawgDoug]

Ohh great. Another attempt to create a mindless Zombie of Windoze users by shamelessly shoving an inferior OS in front of them. They will never know any better. Doesn't this consitute child abuse?

[BigDawgDoug]

Ohh great. Another attempt to create a mindless Zombie of Windoze users by shamelessly shoving an inferior OS in front of them. They will never know any better. Doesn't this consitute child abuse?

[JFDMit]

Just what the developing world needs, dependence on a proprietary operating system. Let's bring the kids up on stripped-down Microsoft products, so we can sell them the real stuff when they grow up.

Negroponte is showing his proprietary-software-living stripes if the quotes in this interview are to be believed: "For us to launch the laptop, we had no choice but to use open source," he whines. What he left out was, "because Microsoft didn't want to play with us."

"We needed the community. We needed to get (in) there at the OS level to build devices and drivers...to make our point, to make the laptop." Of course, now that you've got BillG's attention, you don't need the "community" anymore, so it can just bugger off, right? Exactly how much is Microsoft paying you, Nick, or are you just buying your brother's kool-ade about "Linux=terra!"?

Let's continue: "There are just a lot of people that have fallen in love with that cute little laptop and they've said we want to see Windows on it." Who are these people, Nicky? Are they the small children in developing countries, for whom the OLPC project was intended? Or are they the geeks and consumers of the developed world, who want the cache of owning a "charity" machine, without having to deal with the "inconvenience" of using a proper operating system. I'm betting on a $2,000 "Dolce & Gabanna Windows Prick Edition" OLPC by Christmas. Of couse, a few malfunctioning models will get sent to "starving Africans," but the real focus will be "the brand, baby."

What Negropone doesn't realize is that the OS was 75% of what made the OLPC special. Replace the finely-tuned Linux-based OS with some stripped-down version of XP, and you've got a piece of crap that's no use to anyone.

I see the OLPC project is looking for a new CEO. They're making all kinds of noises about how they want someone who understands the needs of developing economies and their peoples, rather than just another beady-eyed salesman, but this move shows that OLPC is far more about extending global corporate hegemony, than it is about doing good.

It's a shame. This program had such potential.

[igl00lgi]

Shouldn't they fix Vista equiped laptops first? Windows doesn't run on my Vista capable laptop, I was conned into buying, how is it going to run on a computer with lower capabilities? Ohh that's right MS is a socialy concious monopolist, err, I mean company.

[Commander_Spock]

"Microsoft, meanwhile, said the first XO laptops with Windows that start rolling out in June will not be dual-boot machines. Microsoft executive James Utzschneider said the XO will help broaden the range of educational machines with Windows. Plus, he said, "There are just a lot of people that have fallen in love with that cute little laptop and they've said we want to see Windows on it..." So, how about a Triple-Boot Machines - "OS/2", "Windows XP" and "Linux"! Now, this would be more encompassing!

[Norseman]

So the poor kids are going to get machines with Windows. Poor kids!

[The_Decider]

The OLPC project has lost its way, it is simply a vanity project for this guy.

[sanenazok]

It's all about giving customers what they want, really. The foreign governments were not biting on this proprietary platform. Originally OLPC demanded that laptops be bought in lots of 1 MILLION. With their current offering they got all of 400,000 sales. So yes, they better re-evaluate their product since certainly something is horribly wrong with it.

Sorry, as nice as open source software is, the users of this laptop need to learn marketable skills, and being skilled with a proprietary "sugar" platform is not that useful outside of school. These kids don't need to learn computing (that's easy), they need to learn practical skills. That means learning the OS used by 90%+ of the world (probably 100% pirated in their areas, but that doesn't matter). What's interesting is that per the BBC the cost of the laptops with the Windows addon flash drive is only $10 more. Who wouldn't want that!

[Tronman161]

I thought OLPC rejected OS X when Apple offered it to them because they wanted an OS (i.e. open source) that they could "tinker" with? Something tells me as much as they could have tinkered with OS X, they'll be able to tinker with Windows a lot less!

[Papa Chango]

What good is giving poor kids computers when they dont get all the attached goodness from running Windows like spyware, trojans, virii, malware and such?

I love the drone who speaks of 'marketable skills'.
I guess you could say the same thing about using a Mac as well then because we all know if it aint Windows, it aint real.

Nothing says progress like using an OS that is 8 years old and wont be supported very soon.

[fronbi]

Me.
Marketable computer skills do not require a windows os nor should they. Open source offers the chance for people from all over the world to participate and contribute. Proprietary shops will never keep pace with the free exchange of ideas and information with the internet reaching every corner on earth.

[sanenazok]

How can open source be "proprietary?"

Easy: proprietary software can refer to any program created under the impression that it will be used for only one specific purpose, with specific equipment. Generally used to refer to software and hardware made by a given company that does not conform to established industry standards.

The OLPC laptop is proprietary - learning how to use it doesn't teach anything beyond using the device. Kids don't need to learn how to use computers - that's easy for any literate child and it takes hours to days. Kids need to learn software that is useful down the line once they're outgrown the proprietary OLPC PC and OS.

Tweaking the source code as a means to learn computing - ROFL - that's from the assembly computing era! How many normal computers do you know that want to tweak the source code of their computer's OS? Hint: 1% of the computing public, if that. People, including needy children, want to learn something that's directly useful (i.e. Windows).

Regarding the "millions of viruses" - well that's part of computing in the modern world. Now a days, malware is spread over the web, and these laptops connect to proprietary mesh networks, not the web at large. Using something like firefox eliminates vast majority of problems.

[sanenazok]

One other thing: who cares about what we think comprises "marketable computer skills."

It's the buyers of the laptops that decide - and they have decided they want Windows (or Windoze for the so inclined).

"Windows support on the XO device means that our students and educators will now have access to more than computer-assisted learning experiences," said Andres Gonzalez Diaz, governor of Cundinamarca, Colombia. from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7402365.stm

[AppleSuxLeo]

I`m for anything that puts Mac further in the dust...bwahahahaha !!!!!

[solitare_pax]

I hope there's plenty of PC repair shops out in the undeveloped world to fix the Windows OS when the machine stops working - oh, wait, there aren't. I think I'll save my money and send it to the poor oil well owners & clam bake club - seems like a worthier cause than this OLPC & Microsoft team-up.

[cmwalden]

[rapier1]

So one of the biggest problems with OLPC is that NO ONE WAS BUYING THEM. A number of institutional buyers had rejected them out of hand because they didn't see the value of the Sugar interface. Maybe this is a failure on the part of the buyers or a failure on the part of OLPC to understand the needs of the market. However you decide to look at it though the *customers* have said, clearly and loudly, that they want XP on the laptops. Personally, I'd rather have seen linux but you can't force this sort of thing on people. If they want XP then give them XP.

[edroid]

As a long-time Linux advocate, I was alarmed when it was announced that the OLPC project was being held-up to give Microsoft time to retro-fit XP to dual-boot on it. I really don't believe Negroponte could be that stupid - I think he just sold out.

But now I'm glad to hear that the OLPC will not be a dual-boot machine. Because of this complete reversal from Linux to Windows makes two things clear to all the right people:

1. Microsoft can't stand ANY competition.

2. Those who believe Microsoft is sincere when it claims to embrace Open
Source are fools.