The One Laptop Per Child project's XO computer, designed for children in developing countries, has been criticized, sued, mocked and otherwise derided ever since it was first announced three years ago. But if you want proof that idea is a powerful one, look no further than the fact that Microsoft is rushing to release an XO-compatible version of Windows XP.
As we mentioned in December, Microsoft is actively developing an XO-friendly version of Windows XP. Now, EWeek is reporting that Microsoft has already reached the "field trials" stage for Windows XP, and that the company is pushing hard to move forward with the project as soon as it can.
Clearly, Microsoft recognizes that having children in developing countries grow up using open source software, like the SugarOS that ships with the XO, does not for future customers make
That Microsoft takes this threat seriously enough to devote their own resources to creating a modified version of XP should be at least some vindication for Nicholas Negroponte and the OLPC group.
However, this raises some questions. Does anyone want XP on their XO? Do children need robust spreadsheet and word processing capabilities? And what's more, do they need them saved in Office's proprietary formats so that they can easily send them to all the Microsoft-only shops that they interact with?
And for those that think children might like the games available for XP, take a closer look at the specs - no one is going to run graphics intensive games on the XO.
The EWeek article quotes Orlando Ayala, senior vice president of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential Group, as saying that one of the problems with XP on the XO is that the XO has no hard drive and only 1GB of built-in memory, but at least 2GB of memory is required for Windows and Office.
It would seem that Microsoft ostensibly really does think children love Office. But perhaps even more interesting is that Microsoft's own reference documents claim that 512MB of RAW is all you need to run Windows XP Home and Office 2007 will run with just 256MB. Of course anyone who's ever run Office on XP with only 512MB of RAM will likely understand what Ayala is saying.
Either way, while there's no real harm in having a version of Windows available for the XO, we find it hard to see what the appeal will be for the children using these machines. The more obvious takeaway is that Microsoft is genuinely worried about cheap, readily-available, Linux-powered PCs in the hands of the world's children because in the long term it may well threaten its bottom line.
Photo: OLPC News
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