Microsoft is conducting field trials to ensure that a modified version of Windows XP SP2 will be able to run well on the One Laptop Per Child’s XO machine and that it will be able to support customers with a good experience on that hardware. “We are encouraged by what we have seen of Windows on the XO machine so far, and field trials started at the end of January involving about 200 XO machines running a customized version of Windows XP SP2 with a reduced footprint image,” Orlando Ayala, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Group, told eWEEK.
I am sorry, but how am I supposed to take someone seriously when he is the VP of “Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential Group”.
Whatever. Why is it that Microsoft must feel the need to compete in every space and get its software into every freaking device?
Will its software offer the mesh networking, the sugar interface, or will they provide the source code for all applications through an edit button so that kids can learn to program? They can enter their changes and if they mess up, just clicking on a button returns the application to the state they were.
Truly sad, that Microsoft’s VP of the “unlimited potential group” works to squash the real life-changing potential of this machine by weighing it down with an OS that does not fit the use model of the machine.
Microsoft simply does not understand that OLPC is supposed to be an eduational project, not the next trojan horse for their crappy software.
Ah, so I take it you also hate it how Linux and the BSDs want to run on every device too?
Do Linux and BSD *want* to run on every device?
No, it just happens that people add support for that.
Who controls “Linux”‘s direction anyhow, hmm?
(aside, you really need Adam to fix unicode support)
Edited 2008-02-08 10:53 UTC
Linux or BSD tried to run on every available device that its users “want” it to run on.
Ubuntu or Mandriva do not spend millions and threaten companies with court action if they do not let them install Linux on a new phone/mp3 player etc
Thom,
Read my words in context. Right tool for the right job and Windows XP simply isn’t the right OS for the OLPC.
Must I repeat the educational strengths of the provided applications and environment? Besides the already achieved efficiencies in fit and form between hardware and software, the fact that some kids, obviously not all, will be able to look under the hood of the applications they run and do so in a non-destructive manner is extremely useful and beneficial.
That is the crux of my argument.
Edited 2008-02-07 23:54 UTC
To quote countless posts … [Windows|Linux|OS X] is “just a kernel”…
what’s the purpose of putting windows on that ?
the hardware already can’t meet the target price, if you add the XP licence it’ll certainly not be accessible to anyone it’s intended to. Unless Microsoft changes its mind on piracy
What is worse, after you have doubled the memory of the XO machine (adding significantly to the cost), and then crammed Windows on to it … you are left with none of the applications:
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Software_components
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Activities
All that expense and effort to install XP just to go miles backwards, and to whose benefit?
MS will no doubt be giving away free XP licenses with these things and writing it off as an advertising expense or something like that.
On the whole piracy issue, I imagine MS has the same stance as companies like Adobe and Autodesk. Given the option between someone learning on pirated Photoshop/3D Max and some competitors software, they’ll prefere the pirated software every time.
If Microsoft will spend the time and money creating a “reduced footprint” version of Windows for XO, they that should show that it is totally bloated and maybe it would be worth the time and effort to give us a “reduced footprint” for consumers.
I don’t need my OS taking up 15GB for just itself. I also don’t needs all the bullshit services running and consuming my resources.
Where is my stripped down OS that is ready for the desktop? Windows is ready, but totally bloated beyond belief. Linux is not ready, but does have very minimalistic versions. I have written software for Apple’s OS’s for the last 10 years, but even they are starting to become bloated with Leopard…..
*sigh*
Asked about Negroponte’s comments, all Ayala would say is, “I presume the reason Negroponte was excited about Windows at CES was that I don’t think they expected to see an implementation of Windows running so well on that machine by the time our team met them in Boston a few weeks ago.”
Hahah, bet that guy has trouble meeting woman, what an arrogant twat
Arrogant, perhaps, but given his bankroll, I doubt he has any problem meeting women. You realize that’s how it works, right?
So, Microsoft is in fact capable of making an OS that runs on modest equipment when it feels the need. It just chooses to foist on us 15GB of OS making it necessary to upgrade our equipment so we can run the rest of our software (if is runs) at the same (or less) speed we were used to under XP. I can’t wait until this lite version of Windows leaks out. If the reviews are decent I might even try to get a licensed copy. Bet I would have to buy it overseas though. Microsoft would never sell something like that in the US.
Is Microsoft going to forbid to uninstall Windows from the OLPC to install other OS? Currently Microsoft (with Intel) is forbidding to uninstall Windows from the donated PCs to third-world countries.
Is MS going to pull this trick again with the OLPC?
How does this plan line up with MS’s plan to end of life XP? If things go according to plan then these should hit the market right around the time MS was hoping to drop support for XP. They obviously can’t get a stripped down Vista running on these things (or they would have used it instead of XP) and they really can’t wait with shipping until the next version of windows comes out if they hope to compete.
Will they keep support for this special version stripped down version of XP for the next, say, 3 years or will people be left with an unsupported OS? Can we possibly see this as an admission that MS will be keeping XP around?
What customers is he talking about?! These are supposed to be kids that get their computers for free! Ridiculous.
What’s equally disgusting is that Microsoft has to inject poison into good projects instead of just doing that on their own. With their resources they could’ve sponsored a much better solution being shipped at a loss (a la Xbox) with a better laptop configuration and whatever edition of Vista they want. Instead they feel a need to mess with other’s project.
What’s next, they’d want to help improve a FreeBSD network stack?
It’s hard to see any redeeming quality to that behavior. Not wanting to let any children escape its grip is chilling.
That’s truly orwellien : “no child should grow up not knowing OUR software because they could learn to like it and not use the OS we decided…”
.
Edited 2008-02-08 16:20 UTC