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Microsoft and OLPC Agree To Put XP On the XO Laptop
Apro+im points out a NYTimes report which states that Microsoft and the OLPC project have officially agreed to put Windows XP on the XO laptop. While Microsoft has been working toward this for some time, analysts began to think a deal was more likely after Walter Bender resigned from the project and was replaced by Charles Kane. Former OLPC security developer Ivan Krstic had a lot to say about Windows on the XO as well. From the Times:
"Windows will add a bit to the price of the machines, about $3, the licensing fee Microsoft charges to some developing nations under a program called Unlimited Potential. For those nations that want dual-boot models, running both Windows and Linux, the extra hardware required will add another $7 or so to the cost of the machines, Mr. Negroponte said. The project's agreement with Microsoft involves no payment by the software giant, and Microsoft will not join One Laptop Per Child's board. 'We've stayed very pure,' Mr. Negroponte said.
Honestly, most laptops are lucky to last 2-3 years with daily use. Though the XO might be more durable then most, MS probably doesn't have to support it for 10 years as by 5 years most laptops will have already broken (either the battery dies, power cord dies, HD fails, RAM gets corrupted, or the motherboard fries). And also, knowing MS, they will release Windows 7 Lite edition that will just barely run on them and stop supporting XP in 3 years and charge them around $25 for each upgrade as is the way of MS.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
Look, even if the Gates Foundation did donate money, there is no need to train kids to use MS products. Throughout your life when has ever a MS product really helped you? Sure DOS was Ok, but wait, you have to learn Windows now, thats not too hard, then Windows 95 comes out and changes everything, you go out and buy a faster computer and relearn Windows, then Windows 98 comes out, you figure its time for another computer and go buy one and spend a bit more time relearning Windows. Then ME comes out, and if you are lucky you skip it and then buy a new computer relearn everything and get XP. Notice a pattern here? The same could be said about Office, and all those skills you learned using all the Office programs prior to 2007 are now useless as Office 2007 totally changed the UI without an option to use the old one. All the while paying for the "privilege" of using MS's software.
MS's software may be a quick way to get things done, but in the long run, you are just a number, and that number is how much money you are willing to spend on MS's products.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
Plain old regular Linux runs fast too. Sugar is another matter entirely. It's a fucking overgrown script, and it even uses D-BUS (an RPC mechanism, also known as "D-COM for Linux") for that extra special slowness.
.net of the Linux world.
Sugar and Python are the Vista and
Do you guys really think this whole thing is some goofy conspiracy? Come on. Let's put this into context:
I am a third world leader. A company is trying to sell me educational laptops for about half the price of regular laptops. I ask about why we are using laptops instead of getting old text books. They say that they will provide a technology education for students as well, so they can compete in the world market. But wait. Computers in the US don't run like this. If this isn't good enough for the American students, why are you selling it to me? Are you implying that our students can't use the same tools as Americans? Why are you selling me a product built completely out of free software. Since I am a third world leader, I likely find the idea of free software to mean it's of lesser or commodity value. I think it is an issue of pride. Why, American computers run Windows. If we want to compete with them, our children need to know how to use Windows, as well.
I think it makes sense if you assume that the people in third world countries might want their populace to be computer literate to attract jobs, not just so that their students master the art of using some goofy inapplicable children's interface that has no relation to regular computers built on the high minded ideals of Richard Stallman.
If I were a third world leader, I would likely respect Bill Gates a lot more than Richard Stallman. Think about it. The poor dream of being rich, successful, equal- not alternative, counterculture. The counterculture is a luxury of the wealthy. These people likely don't see the same infinite potential in open source so much as they see themselves receiving something which is valueless as it comes at no cost. Realize for a second that people in the third world will not share the same sense of blind religious idealism about this as American and European IT professionals and college students.
For this reason, Negroponte is able to push more OLPC's in more nations which might otherwise go for a competing solution that runs Windows, or something very similar. For this reason, both Microsoft and Negroponte's goals are reached- and the OLPC still ships with a linux system that the students can use if preferred.
It makes a lot more sense when you imagine that there are people out there who don't quite *get* the whole free software religion. There are quite a few, believe it or not.
If you think that the whole point of this project was to shove free software down the throats of every single child in the world, then you probably don't really care about the educational value of this: children's curriculum will revolve around much more than software, anyway. Most will never look at nor care about the source code but rather the math and science and language tools. Perhaps what you really care about is pushing your beliefs on those who can not afford to accept otherwise. This is not question of good vs. evil or of conspiracies; it's just about choice and practicality and whether or not a laptop is really a viable alternative to a child than a book.