Microsoft slithers toward Windows XP-only OLPC laptop, scorns Linux
By Matt Jansen
The CEO of OLPC, Nicholas Negroponte, recently announced that Microsoft was working on a version of Windows XP that would dual boot on the OLPC laptop alongside Linux. Though Microsoft admits considering that option, it now plans to create a Windows XP-only version.
The XO laptop is targeted to children in impoverished environments and currently it runs the Sugar OS, which is a version of Linux.
Seeking to protect its dominant market share considered making a dual boot version of Windows XP available but just announced that “while we have investigated the possibility in the past, Microsoft is not developing dual-boot Windows XP support for OLPC’s XO laptop . . . As we announced in December, Microsoft plans to publish formal design guidelines early this year that will assist flash-based device manufacturers in designing machines that enable a high-quality Windows experience. Our current goal remains to provide a high-quality Windows experience on the XO device,” according to ZDNet.
If successful in developing this version of Windows XP, Microsoft’s reach would stretch even further and it may cause fewer people to learn Linux at an early age.
But, there are some at Microsoft who care about open source, Ivan Krstić who works at OLPC writes “Microsoft decided to do a port, and they would have done it with us or without us — but they did something remarkable: they asked us to work with them so we don’t wind up with walled gardens. They did not set out merely to make XP boot on the XO and declare victory; they actually want to partake in as much of our learning philosophy as they can. They won’t make XP open source, but they’re building mesh support, going to great lengths to support our security and theft deterrence model, and working on allowing Sugar and Windows XOs to collaborate and share seamlessly.”
Top decision makers at Microsoft would never willingly allow their foothold in the market with Windows XP and Vista to lose out to Linux.
Bruce Perens, co-founder of Open Source Initiative writes in his blog “It’s a threat Microsoft can’t let stand: the entire Third World learning Linux as children, and growing up to use it . . . And Microsoft is going to get its way . . . Microsoft’s version of choice is better stated as: We’ll give you choice and then make you choose Microsoft. I’m sure there will be pressure on national governments to select Windows-only loads for their OLPC purchases or to specify texts protected with Windows DRM for classroom use.”
Related:
Entry was posted
on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
under
Read more entries by Matt Jansen.
Stumble It!
January 12th, 2008
“Our current goal remains to provide a high-quality Windows experience on the XO device,” according to ZDNet.”
Oxymoron. Any company who somehow missed all the extend, embrace, extinguish history of this company deserves what they get.
January 13th, 2008
Of course Microsoft wants to work with the OLPC project. Have you looked at how Bitfrost (the abovementioned “security and theft deterrence model”) works? It’s like their wet dream, except that they think the thieves are their customers, and have for 30 years.
February 6th, 2008
I don’t get it… Why is MS the devil.
Yeah of cours they want MS to work on OLPC. There are millions upon millions of coders capable of writing software for MS and perhaps a tenth of that with the chops for Linux.
OLPC is not about linux or windows and I really wish people would stop going there. I hope MS does get on the XO then I won’t have to learn a freaking slow ugly scripted lang. I could write a flash card app in an afternoon now for PPC or windows. There are already tons and tons of apps that teach kids windows ready. Why would you not leverage those apps in favor of a small handfull of apps. Open source.
ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD vs Open source… I’d be happy to publish my source or include it in the install file.
Save costs. If it takes me a saturday to write a little app then free is good enough as long as I know it’s being used.
The goals are teach the kids and the more people you can get to support them the better.
October 18th, 2008
@Baash05, the reason that “MS [is] the devil” is because of the way they conduct their business. I won’t go into chapter and verse here, because their is no need – anyone who wants to do a little research can find out the ugly truths surrounding this most obnoxious of corporations.
You say that “OLPC is not about linux or windows”, but to the management at Microsoft, that is *EXACTLY* what it is about. They are charging outrageous prices based on their monopoly, and they have been doing this for a long time. They act only out of self interest, and they will do anything to maintain their position. They don’t give a fig about teaching kids or any such thing – the word altruism is simply not in their vocabulary.
Anyway, this is no great cause for concern, because what we are seeing is the desperate flailing of a doomed company, and, when Microsoft is gone, OLPC laptops can be installed with Linux – as was the original intention.