Open OLPC?

[Updated: See link at the bottom.]

LMNO open OLPC!

from OStatic blogs by samdean

As we reported last month, Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) effort has had rocky times recently. The company has just announced a partnership with Microsoft to put Windows on OLPC laptops, although Linux-based open source versions of the sub-$200 laptops will stay in production. The laptops are targeted at children in developing nations. Recently, several key executives have left the project, including former president Walter Bender. Questions swirled about Bender's reasons for leaving OLPC, but now, in a surprise twist, he has resurfaced. Bender has announced Sugar Labs, a new foundation focused on taking the Sugar user interface in the OLPC laptops to other hardware platforms.

Negroponte has had nothing but trouble and push-back throughout the entire process of bringing OLPC into fruition. I have to wonder just how deep the tendrils of monied interests extend into the slippery innards of those troubles and push-backs.

Here's my guess: BigBusiness paid lip service to the merits of OLPC but fostered the roadblocks that have plagued the project from the beginning. In their incredible shortsightedness BB couldn't recognize 10's, perhaps 100's of millions of new computer users but instead lamented the possible loss of immediate sales revenues.

Negroponte will now find that the BigBusiness of 2nd and 3rd world governments will probably fall all over themselves to get into bed with the BigBusiness of corporate computing interests.

Sadly, while BigBusiness have once again figured out how to line their respective pockets, the little children will have to continue to suffer with inferior products and services.

ABCD BSOD?

[Additional: 5/18/08 -

Microsoft’s plan to block Linux on laptops

]

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