spinynorman Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project and Microsoft are working together to develop a dual-boot system to put both Linux and Windows on laptops aimed at kids in developing countries, the head of OLPC said in an interview Tuesday. It's a brand new development for the XO laptops, as the low-cost notebooks are known, and came about because of Microsoft's friendlier attitude toward open-source software. More at ComputerWorld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulSe Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Intel have also halted their plans for a rival product, opening up the market for the OLPC... which is doomed to fail because of its creator's complete lack of understanding of developing countries... but that is a discussion for another time / thread :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiver_Fluffi Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Intel have also halted their plans for a rival product, opening up the market for the OLPC... Have they? I know that they have pulled out of the OLPC, but as far as I was aware that was because Intel was trying to compete and collaborate at the same time, I thought that the development of the classmate was still going ahead. which is doomed to fail because of its creator's complete lack of understanding of developing countries Yeah, I did read an article on the BBC about how the laptop fitted into those neads, kinda knocked down what optimism I had for the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulSe Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Have they? I know that they have pulled out of the OLPC, but as far as I was aware that was because Intel was trying to compete and collaborate at the same time, I thought that the development of the classmate was still going ahead. Sorry - my bad, I was wrong. They have pulled out of OLPC, but are still doing the XO. The guy who told me the story got it all wrong. Yeah, I did read an article on the BBC about how the laptop fitted into those neads, kinda knocked down what optimism I had for the project. In Africa, underprivileged children often live in squalor without running water or electricity. I can promise you they'd rather be able to eat than have an email address. If you gave them any kind of laptop they would try and sell it to buy food for their families. They are also frequently the victims of crime. Anything they have with them will be stolen by older children or other thugs. If they have a few cent in their pocket it will be stolen - now OLPC wants to give them a neon-coloured laptop that can be seen from a mile away?!? I'm not saying technology does not have a role to play for kids in a developing country - the digital divide is a huge problem. But there are more serious concerns. Kids should have access to technology, but it should be in a controlled environment where they can learn and explore without having to worry about their situation at home and the crime around them. Once again, the children of Africa are the victims of western capitalism. Their governments will be convinced by sweet-talking businessman to spend millions on yet another piece of crap they don't need and can't use. They are already at the mercy of tyrants put in charge of their countries by western powers securing resource rights and now they're being attacked from another angle too. OLPC seems to have good intentions, but I seriously doubt that Intel has the best interests of the children on their minds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 the laptop is not for the poorest kids, but rather the second poorest. For example, in my home country, the philippines, there is no mass starvation or civil war (although we do have guerrilla problems from time to time), but poverty is rife and the educational system is abysmal. Kids especially in faraway provinces are very poor, but NOT starving (well there are very few cases), so you vastly increase their opportunities with a better education. This laptop will provide both connectivity and education - I once participated in a project to deliver schoolbooks to a remote mountain community there, but I think an OLPC is the equivalent of hundreds of books. In that mountain village, there was no electricity, running water was from the streams - so the OLPC would fit there perfectly. I know in Africa the situation is much worse, but saying that the OLPC has no place in this world just angers me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyme Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Once again, the children of Africa are the victims of western capitalism. Their governments will be convinced by sweet-talking businessman to spend millions on yet another piece of crap they don't need and can't use. They are already at the mercy of tyrants put in charge of their countries by western powers securing resource rights and now they're being attacked from another angle too. OLPC seems to have good intentions, but I seriously doubt that Intel has the best interests of the children on their minds...Please tread carefully. You are crossing the line into politics, which - as you know - doesn't belong in Everything Linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulSe Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 the laptop is not for the poorest kids, but rather the second poorest. For example, in my home country, the philippines, there is no mass starvation or civil war (although we do have guerrilla problems from time to time), but poverty is rife and the educational system is abysmal. Kids especially in faraway provinces are very poor, but NOT starving (well there are very few cases), so you vastly increase their opportunities with a better education. This laptop will provide both connectivity and education - I once participated in a project to deliver schoolbooks to a remote mountain community there, but I think an OLPC is the equivalent of hundreds of books. In that mountain village, there was no electricity, running water was from the streams - so the OLPC would fit there perfectly. I know in Africa the situation is much worse, but saying that the OLPC has no place in this world just angers me. I didn't say the OLPC has no place in the world. I said it was miss-directed from an African perspective. No doubt it has a positive role to play in your country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthur Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Sorry about going into politics there - I won't go into that further. CES had a demo of the OLPC running Amiga OS, so I'd guess it's pretty capable of dual- or triple- booting any OS that can fit on the flash and use the AMD Geode. linky: http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/olpc-ha...o-run-amiga-os/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexter11 Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 According to this article MS is working on a Windows-only OLPC machine so no dual-boot computer for the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYinYeti Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 I thought so... Bye bye Linux for OLPC. Microsoft: first the OS, then offerings for education (how kind of them) centered on MS applications, then kids used to MS environment, then future adult MS users... Yves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ixthusdan Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 I agree with Yves. Unfortunately, MS once again proves that if they are onboard with something, it can't be good for computing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reiver_Fluffi Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 I thought so... Bye bye Linux for OLPC.Microsoft: first the OS, then offerings for education (how kind of them) centered on MS applications, then kids used to MS environment, then future adult MS users... Yves. Yup, educate them to use Microsoft software and the ignorance that dominates the western world hits the developing nations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted January 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 The Observer claims to know why Intel and OLPC fell out: The first big contract signed by OLPC was with the government of Peru, which bought 300,000 XOs. Its vice-minister for education was then visited by an Intel salesperson, who is said to have comprehensively disparaged the little green machine. The politician apparently took notes of the exchange, which he then shared with Nicholas Negroponte, co-founder of the OLPC project, who shared them with Fortune magazine. 'It was unbelievable,' according to Negroponte. '"The XO doesn't work, and you have no idea the mistake you've made. You'll get into big trouble", that kind of stuff. We kept the sale, but when one of your partners does that, what do you do?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Countable Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 Two points: firstly i agree with SoulSe ($400 or so worth of laptop will be either sold or thieved), but i also dont understand how, if there's no electricity, for these kids to power them in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw1974 Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 Two points: firstly i agree with SoulSe ($400 or so worth of laptop will be either sold or thieved), but i also dont understand how, if there's no electricity, for these kids to power them in the first place? The OLPC laptop is hand-cranked to provide the power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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