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OLPC: Microsoft trumps Linux 30 Apr 2007
By now, you've probably heard that Nicholas Negroponte has increased the price of the OLPC "$100 laptop" to $175. But perhaps you missed the second part of the announcement: the OLPC laptop will now be able to run Windows in addition to its home-grown, open-source interface. This could have major repercussions for Linux and the open-source movement. Especially since Microsoft has annouced its intention to make Windows available for $3 in emerging markets. Larry Dignan at ZDNet writes:
"Microsoft's $3 software package looks more brilliant by the minute in terms of heading off Linux encroachment. The One Laptop Per Child project represented Linux's big chance. Teach the fastest growing areas to grow up with Linux and Microsoft would be hurting in a generation or two. By offering a $3 package of software, Microsoft makes itself competitive with desktop Linux."
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2 comments so far
gecko 30 Apr 2007 08:50 PM
now instead of 1 laptop per child, it has become 1 laptop per 1.75 child. i simply don't get the idea of providing laptops to children of the third world when they still lack the basic needs - medicine, food, lodging... the money would be better used for something else, anyway, what use is a computer without internet? who is going to pay for their internet access?
Tel 30 Apr 2007 10:16 PM
The OLPC creates its own local mesh network when a group of them are within range (from memory you get several hundred meters range without obstructions).
The price increase is a bit sad but still good value compared with typical $1000 plus laptops. Probably 95% of laptop owners use a CPU that is vastly overpowered for their common tasks (reading email, writing docs, checking calendar, etc) and then they run software so incredibly bloated that they need the huge CPU just to move at walking pace. The computer industry has done an excellent job of overselling gear to consumers... if OLPC just proves that better efficiency is possible then that in itself is valuable.
I wouldn't worry about people running MS-Windows on the OLPC -- some will want to but Windows is the worst bloatware on the planet so it will run so slow and do so little that the users will get a clue pretty darn fast. I've seen so many people with WINCE phones that actually crash in the middle of trying to look at the address book or some other trivial task, I don't know how they put up with that.