Reactions to story from http://cnn.com

Reactions / posts that link to this article

  • Author unknown

    OLPC's Open Source Sugar Platform Aims for New Hardware

    http://ostatic.com/162220-blog/olpcs-open-source-sugar-platf...
    51 days ago in Open Source Software - Find, Evaluate, Collaborate - OStatic · Authority: 236

    As we reported last month, Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) effort has had rocky times recently. The company has just announced a partnership with Microsoft to put Windows on OLPC laptops, although Linux-based open source versions of

  • Photo of papa

    Open OLPC?

    http://pa-2.blogspot.com/2008/05/open-olpc.html
    49 days ago in Pa^2 Patois · Authority: 12

    [Updated: See link at the bottom.] LMNO open OLPC! from OStatic blogs by samdean As we reported last month, Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) effort has had rocky times recently. The company has just announced a partnership with Microsoft to put Windows on OLPC laptops, although Linux-based open source versions of the sub-$200 laptops will stay in production. The laptops are targeted at children in developing nations. Recently, several key executives have left the project, including former president Walter Bender. Questions swirled about Bender's reasons for leaving OLPC, but now, in a surprise twist, he has resurfaced. Bender has announced Sugar Labs, a new foundation focused on taking the Sugar user interface in the OLPC laptops to other hardware platforms. Negroponte has had nothing but trouble and push-back throughout the entire process of bringing OLPC into fruition. I have to wonder just how deep the tendrils of monied interests extend into the slippery innards of those troubles and push-backs. Here's my guess: BigBusiness paid lip service to the merits of OLPC but fostered the roadblocks that have plagued the project from the beginning. In their incredible shortsightedness BB couldn't recognize 10's, perhaps 100's of millions of new computer users but instead lamented the possible loss of immediate sales revenues. Negroponte will now find that the BigBusiness of 2nd and 3rd world governments will probably fall all over themselves to get into bed with the BigBusiness of corporate computing interests. Sadly, while BigBusiness have once again figured out how to line their respective pockets, the little children will have to continue to suffer with inferior products and services. ABCD BSOD? [Additional: 5/18/08 - Microsoft’s plan to block Linux on laptops ] I am going to vote for Barack Obama. I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

  • Photo of RPGroup

    One Laptop per Child and Microsoft

    http://racetalkblog.com/2008/05/17/one-laptop-per-child-and-...
    50 days ago in racetalkblog.com · Authority: 18

    One Laptop per Child and Microsoft By Kyle Over the last two years in working with the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project I’ve had the opportunity to strategize, choreograph and execute on several major announcements. This week however, was a bit different from the rest. We’ve worked with major corporations as part of this project. AMD, Google, eBay and Nortel are all represented on the One Laptop per Child board of directors. This week though we had the pleasure of working with Microsoft and the folks from Waggener Edstrom in officially announcing the availability of Windows on OLPC’s XO laptop. A major announcement in the eyes of Microsoft and the folks we work with at One Laptop per Child. It was an announcement that took an amazing amount of collaboration and professionalism on both sides of the table to make it “real.” Given where One Laptop per Child has been and how its roots grew from the open source community, it also took a bit of juggling to clearly explain the intentions of creating a dual-boot XO laptop that will still offer a Linux operating systems in addition to the $3 Windows Student Innovation Suite. But don’t be fooled by all the technical speak. In the end of the day, this agreement really comes down to both organizations realizing that they can work together to reach and help educate the children of the world. It has been a long strange trip over the last three years. Nicholas (Negroponte) has known Bill (Gates) his entire adult life and a little over three years ago they first talked about collaborating in getting laptops in the hands of children across the world. Of course it was Gates who later would publicly tell Negroponte to “Get a decent Computer.” At that time Microsoft was not interested in pursuing any collaboration that promoted or even seemed to promote open source software. Of course, at the time, One Laptop per Child was also little more then Nicholas’ vision and didn’t have a working machine. Three years later, it was a chance encounter between Nicholas and Bill that got the sides working towards a collaboration again as the astute David Kirkpatrick describes in his story on the announcement for Fortune: “It was a chance meeting Negroponte had with Bill Gates at last year’s Clinton Global Initiative that enabled today’s news to happen. Negroponte suggested the two organizations restart talks that had fizzled earlier, and Gates was receptive.” I was with Nicholas at CES in January when the discussions really took off and Nicholas met with Microsoft’s Craig Mundie to discuss how One Laptop per Child could incorporate windows into a machine that would still offer the sugar interface that the open source community had created. I’m not going to get into the debate over open source or windows. But it’s obviously where a lot of the attention and dialogue has been since reports started surfacing after CES that One Laptop per Child was close to an agreement with the folks from Redmond. The intention of a making available a dual-boot laptop should officially end that debate all together in my mind. Let’s let the governments (ministers of education) decide what works best for the children of their country and work jointly with them in making sure this technology is correctly deployed and implemented into their school systems. As James Utzschneider of Microsoft echoed several times in interviews on Thursday, what they have been asking for is the XO Laptop with windows on it. “A lot of Ministries of Education would like to see Windows running on that cute little green-and-white laptop.” Steve Lohr from the New York Times quipped this to me in a side conversation after being pre-briefed on our announcement Thursday: “The one truly global language is Windows and more people speak it than English.” If One Laptop per Child has to speak Windows to truly reach the children of the world, then so be it. As Kirkpatrick sums up nicely, OLPC has made the industry titans take notice of the need and demand for laptops in developing world and with Microsoft supporting its efforts it has a better chance to reach children across the globe. “There’s no question OLPC has had a catalytic effect on the industry so far. With its partnership with Microsoft, it could finally start having the effect Negroponte has always wanted it to have - on kids.” David should have specified that “it could finally start having an effect in masses,” because as you can tell by the video I imbedded above (Courtesy of OLPC President Chuck Kane), the project is already having an effect on hundreds of thousands of children across the world (especially in Peru and Uruguay). Microsoft and Windows will make it possible to potentially affect hundreds of millions. Disclaimer: Although I represent One Laptop per Child, the views reflected in this blog post reflect my personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the views of One Laptop per Child or Microsoft.

  • Photo of osrin

    Windows XP comes to the XO

    http://osrin.net/2008/05/windows-xp-comes-to-the-xo/
    50 days ago in Oliver Bell’s weblog · Authority: 41

    Several news organizations are reporting that the One Laptop Per Child project and Microsoft have reached an agreement to offer Windows XP as an option for countries choosing the OLPC platform for the classroom. Fortune Magazine’s online site for example; Making Windows available on the XO could make it far more palatable for developing-world governments to make the huge investment necessary to purchase large numbers of XOs for their children. “It’s a very big deal,” said OLPC chairman Nicholas Negroponte in an interview. He has for three years unsuccessfully attempted to get governments to buy the laptop in lots of a million or more. Governments have so far put in firm orders for a total of 600,000 machines, and several hundred thousand are now in use. The greatest number is in Peru, followed by Uruguay, Mexico, with fewer in Rwanda, Cambodia, Mongolia and Haiti, among other countries. Stephen McGibbon has linked a video demonstrating XP running on the XO, using a number of the unique features of the device, and performing well. Here Bohdan Raciborski from Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Group demos Windows and Office running on the XO, and mentions that performance seems reasonable - starting in a quarter of the time the original OS did. Bohdan also shows the electronic book mode. And James Utzschnider has more details on his blog; Following the Gates meeting and a series of conversations with Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie, Microsoft made a key concession. It will enable what’s called a “dual boot,” which means Windows will work alongside the XO’s original Linux operating system. Users will be able to choose which one to use. That required a big change in Microsoft’s approach, given its longstanding aversion of open source. From my own conversations with government folks around the region here in Asia, I think that overall this will be a welcome addition to the project, offering more choice to users of the device as they learn about the technology and use the device for education in the classroom. Listen to this post

  • Photo of papa

    Open OLPC?

    http://pa-2.blogspot.com/2008/05/open-olpc.html
    50 days ago in Pa^2 Patois · Authority: 12

    LMNO open OLPC! from OStatic blogs by samdean As we reported last month, Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) effort has had rocky times recently. The company has just announced a partnership with Microsoft to put Windows on OLPC laptops, although Linux-based open source versions of the sub-$200 laptops will stay in production. The laptops are targeted at children in developing nations. Recently, several key executives have left the project, including former president Walter Bender. Questions swirled about Bender's reasons for leaving OLPC, but now, in a surprise twist, he has resurfaced. Bender has announced Sugar Labs, a new foundation focused on taking the Sugar user interface in the OLPC laptops to other hardware platforms. Negroponte has had nothing but trouble and push-back throughout the entire process of bringing OLPC into fruition. I have to wonder just how deep the tendrils of monied interests extend into the slippery innards of those troubles and push-backs. Here's my guess: BigBusiness paid lip service to the merits of OLPC but fostered the roadblocks that have plagued the project from the beginning. In their incredible shortsightedness BB couldn't recognize 10's, perhaps 100's of millions of new computer users but instead lamented the possible loss of immediate sales revenues. Negroponte will now find that the BigBusiness of 2nd and 3rd world governments will probably fall all over themselves to get into bed with the BigBusiness of corporate computing interests. Sadly, while BigBusiness have once again figured out how to line their respective pockets, the little children will have to continue to suffer with inferior products and services. ABCD BSOD? I am going to vote for Barack Obama. I am William "Papa" Meloney and I endorse this message.

  • Author unknown

    OLPC goes XP

    http://pethybridge.blogspot.com/2008/05/olpc-goes-xp.html
    51 days ago in Mind's Eye View · No authority yet

    OLPC goes XP One of my favorite projects to follow has been the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) by founder Nicholas Negroponte. Announced now is a joint partnership with Microsoft, promoting Windows XP on the OLPC. There are two sides to this... the anti-Microsoft-conglomerate will say Linux was perfectly suited to this little machine, and far more kid friendly. (Note the super-imposed "Blue Screen of Death" on the image.) The other side would suggest that joint efforts can only help this project. There is no bigger name in computers than Microsoft. What we have seen now that OLPC is here, along side the Asus EeePC and others coming out is a change in hardware that's been a long time coming. Read more about this from Wired. Read a different perspective from CNN. Thoughts of Chris P

  • Photo of aperezny

    OLPC Windows

    http://blogico.net/2008/05/olpc-windows/
    51 days ago in Blogico.net · Authority: 14

    OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) usará Windows después de todo. Ya me imagino algunas caras arrugadas.

  • Author unknown

    Microsoft Putting Windows On $100 Laptops

    http://educationinnovation.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/mic...
    52 days ago in Education Innovation · Authority: 6

    From Fortune Magazine... (Fortune) -- Microsoft and the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative announced Thursday that the Windows operating system would soon be available on the so-called XO, also known as the "$100 laptop." In interviews, executives made it clear that this could be a catalytic shift in perception and market success for the innovative but up-to-now aberrant laptop intended for the poor children of the world. The Windows version of the XO will go on sale by September. Like the regular, Linux-based version, it will at first actually cost closer to $200, because the project has not yet achieved the volumes that could drive costs down. Making Windows available on the XO could make it far more palatable for developing-world governments to make the huge investment necessary to purchase large numbers of XOs for their children. "It's a very big deal," said OLPC chairman Nicholas Negroponte in an interview. Read the rest of the article..