Microsoft Attempting to Get XP on One Laptop Per Child Program
Microsoft is attempting to get a simplified version of its XP OS so that it will be compatible with the One Laptop Per Child Foundation's basic XO model laptop. According to MS's Corporate VP, "we're spending a nontrivial amount of money on it."
The laptops are planned to go into production next month, in China. The laptops are also available for $400 in the US and Canada through a fund-raising program.
The laptop's designer thinks the price of the laptop, $188, will drop during the first quarter of next year, since memory prices usually fall during that time. MS Corp.'s VP says there is still some tweaking to do, to see if XP will be compatible.
microsuck doesnt get its grubby bloated mitts on this laptop. ...
*from source* The laptops were designed specifically to run Linux programs. If the machines run only Linux, Microsoft will lose an opportunity to expose tens of millions of children worldwide to its Windows system.
... is provide the children with an educational tool that will prepare them for jobs in the future in a global environment. The world uses microsoft and thats why its a good idea, and yes they are protecting their interests at the same time in the international economy.
since when is a company who is constantly involved in anti-trust lawsuits, patent infringement (lots of open-source infringement), deception in updating software, and bloated, half arsed software?
take a clue- the WORLD doesnt use microsuck. EU is phasing it out, so are most third world countries (as is evidenced by the fact that these laptops for developing countries were made to run on a open source program)
since when is that good?
the only people who use M$ are people who only know how to point and click anyway.
I really don't understand the anti-microsoft attitude that some web-bunnies such as yourself have.
Im a programmer by trade. I have used OS tools, and MS tools. I choose to use a mixture of the two to produce my software. Does that make me wrong?
Also, how technical do you think the users of the XO will be? I would assume that they would need some training to get to the "point and click" standard, let alone want to go further. Therefore, your argument seems to suggest that XP is EXACTLY the appropriate OS.
You have no idea how right you are. I am a tech support person and one of my jobs it to reset passwords. I cannot begin to explain how many people cannot make a password. Flat out cannot get (@#$%^&*) any of these symbols. And im talking about people from ALL levles of a huge company. from the higher ups to the wharehouse guys. You would be better off giving the kids of the world color crayons, and let the kids who want computers seek them out.
M$ is bloated, buggy, and virus ridden. Most of M$'s coding is based on legacy support.
also, ... why would you limit someone's ability to learn, and manipulate a OS?
granted, i dont code, but i cut my teeth on sunspark and unix. besides, dont assume that because someone lives in a 3rd world country, they are ignorant.
my arguement is exactly the opposite. the learning curve may be more advanced at first, but why would you limit them, by not allowing them to tinker with an OS (read- source code). thats the equivalent of giving someone a car, but welding the engine compartment shut so that they cant peek inside and tinker. thats what challenges a mind to grow and progress, is it not?
I think that you both over estimate your own intelligence to think that you are so superb to the average person. The fact that you have chosen to understand these concepts and you only deal with people that have not. Does that means you feel that everyone is incapable of doing the same if not more that your selves, simply because you have not encountered those people. You will not encounter them because they don't require your petty knowledge and they do it them selves. Your ignorance to others potential doesn't mean its not there. Get a grip your not all that and a bag of chips because you can reset a password or write some trivial code using another program to do it for you. You both sound like some Microsoft junkies to me that truly don't understand people or computers. Where I work we use windows and Linux. Both have point and click capabilities both are multitasking but only one is able to be completely tailored to our needs. I run a training program and teach people to use both of these systems. The employee are your average high school grad and they can be people with no experience with computers ,average novice, or a grannie that has only used a typewriter. I give them password rules for making strong passwords and they get it right the first time around and never have a problem. Maybe you two just lack the basic social skills required to share the knowledge, or you simply keep it to your selves so that you feel important in your meaningless life reseting passwords, and writing a program with a program. Because you don't have the knowledge to do more than that.
Unless Microsoft offers this software for free this work is for naught.
Though I do agree with Linux being a much more customizable O.S., people prefer to back the bug ridden p.o.s. that is windows, so in the end people really don't want ease of use, rather what's most popular.
Maybe in your own mind. What science has proven that you are superb was it the pissing contest down at the bayou?
People aren't stupid they just lack knowledge. Intelligence isn't knowing everything its ones ability to use what they know to its fullest that makes one intelligent.
If by "world" you mean "first world" then yes, the "world" does use it.
OLPC is specifically targeting third world countries with children that wouldn't normally have access to a computer/internet connection. I doubt the target 'markets' could afford all the MS licensing fees. Learning and growing Linux will only drive the cost of doing business DOWN not UP.
The XO operating system and interface has been designed from the ground up to be more intuitive and a distinct guide and aid in education and learning, as well as social interaction.
It would stall out on the highway several timers per day, for no apparent reason, the hood would be locked so I would have to pay extra to get the oil changed and when I desperately needed it to run it would refuse to start.
Some of these posts are more like personal descriptions than opinions.
Im running on XP right now and havent had a problem in 2 years (since I picked up my new machine). What kind of garbage are you guys running on?
If you know how to configure your OS for your own needs you shouldnt have any issues (as far as stability goes). It is a pain that you have to deal with the bloated packages though, ill give you that.
If you can get Linux set up and running securely and easily, why are you guys having so much trouble with XP?
The simple fact about this program is that XP probably would not run well on the laptops to begin with. XO's OS is being custom built and programmed to deal with these issues; XP is not!
As Jeff Han stated (something like) there's nothing scarier than the idea of a child in Africa trying to assimilate to a Window's operating environment.
I mentioned nothing about passwords. Your whole argument was not with me there.
Also, I never called 3rd world people ignorant. I just know that these machines are going to children. Children without the knowledge of how to drive a computer.
I also forgot to mention in my first post that I have used Ubuntu for various things in the past too. I tried to install Gutsy Gibbon on my laptop last night... found a right nice bug. There is progress timer which goes 30secs... 20secs... 10... 3.. 2.. 1.. 0.. -1..
Linux distributions have bugs too. Get off your high horses and stop passing judgement of me.
I have barely had a problem with XP in all the years I have used it, and moving to Vista at home has been a good move too. If you can't set up windows to work right, maybe you are in the wrong job.
I am not claiming that Windows is better than Linux. They are both excellent for different levels of user, and different applications.
I am simply stating that this Microsoft-phobia is ridiculous. They produce good operating systems, and good software. If you don't like it, don't buy it.
"am simply stating that this Microsoft-phobia is ridiculous. They produce good operating systems, and good software. If you don't like it, don't buy it."
with pleasure. microsoft phobia is ridiuculous, huh? ... please reference my earlier comment about not being able to see past the end of their noses. you fit that quite well. good operating systems, and good software? ... sigh
why would you state that the windows phobia is ridiculous? dell computers is using a release of linux (ubuntu), most countries in europe, and quite a few asian countries are getting rid of windows based service. police cars use linux based distributions for their laptops, etc. major univerisites use some deviant of -ux. hell. apple OS is based on a linux kernel. ...
the windows-phobia that you call it, is alive and well. windows is going the way of DOS.
I said I didn't understand it, not that it isn't existent.
I am trying to put forward an argument which contradicts yours. We both have our opinions, yet I am the one who is being short sighted. Perhaps it is you? Or more likely, perhaps it is both of us.
I do not have the almost religious dedication to MS software that you *seem* to have to Linux. I merely choose to use their software for my day to day tasks. When it comes to building new firmware images for my router etc, linux is a better choice FOR ME.
Yet again I find myself arguing against people who find my attraction to MS software to be immoral and evil. I also dislike some MS software. I think carefully about which OS to install on each of my machines for the task that they will perform. Sometimes, the best option FOR ME is MS, sometimes it is Linux. I find that to be a more informative choice than it is short sighted.
Is not just about giving a child a laptop and letting them loose.
The OLPC project is about enabling social networking, shared learning, research and interactivity.
I laugh when I read people saying "well, if you know how to configure your XP installation..." - we are talking about the third world here, and people who don't even have steady electricity if they have electricity at all. People who cannot afford the textbooks they need to educate themselves, nor the pens and paper necessary. This is what the OLPC project is about.
The OLPC project is about helping children who live miles apart, to connect and communicate, to share the learning process, and to provide a focal point that enables those activities to be performed sustainably.
For this reason, the laptop (highly durable, impact resistant, crank-generator), its connectivity (dual wi-fi, auto-meshing, internet connection sharing and bridging), and it's software (candy OS - designed to make every task as intuitive and smooth as possible, open office, and other custom applications for social networking), have been designed and engineer from the ground up.
You are absolutly correct. Win XP still contains a lot of code from windows 3.1. What fools we where when Billy Gates bought out win 95.Every man an his dog bought a copy. I will never ever buy Vista because I was a beta tester for them. I had a pre release of vista on one of my computers and it was so goddam buggy. I had to ring microsoft for the code sequence to turn on networking. I removed it after an hour and installed Linux with no problems.
Oh my god. There weren't bugs in a pre-release!? That is completely unacceptable. How dare they not ship a stable version before they release the stable version!
With Linux reaching the development stage it has - where it's graphics and hardware compatibility, security, and stability surpass windows in pretty much every respect, the only reason remaining anyone actually needs to use a lesser OS like Vista is for games.
I think, you both are right and wrong at the same time :) To say that M$ makes buggy software is kind of silly because all complex enough software is buggy. That's a fact. Windows can be stable & secure if configured properly and not abused. And linux can be insecure and more confusing than it needs to be. I think that's the point spearhead was trying to defend. It's not the software that I resent, it's their policies and goals. M$ has a long history of stealing ideas and as elijah mentioned being in anti-trust lawsuits, they have always treated users as idiots - something that made their products so popular, first among idiots, then everyone else conformed. What I'm trying to say is that while they might be able to pull it off technically, I fully agree that M$ should keep its grubby little hands out of any project with an altruistic foundation, because the only reason they would be interested in participating is to 'get em hooked while they're young' :)
Okay... So no one has thought of the fact that if you teach these kids Linux while they're young it could possibly be huge for the open source world. Think of all the software that could one day emerge to CRUSH Bill Gate's Empire. Teach em while they're young. Some people are saying that XP is good for those that are too stupid to learn anything but point and click. But that is only the case for the old birds who can't conceive anything else because thats all they have used. The DOS days were magnificent, lets relive them, please? ( I am expecting several flames, BRING EM ON!!!! )
You lead me right into my point. If a child learns Linux before they learn Windows... Which do you think they will find easier. The target market is children.
