[Fwd: Re: OLPC]

[Smári McCarthy <smari ( at ) anarchism ( dot ) is>]

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Sælir, datt í hug að þið hefðuð áhuga á þessu, sbr umræðu um daginn.

Mel Chua er sumsé starfsmaður hjá OLPC.

  - Smári


- -------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: OLPC
Date: Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:51:14 -0400
From: Mel Chua <mel ( at ) melchua ( dot ) com>
To: Marcin Jakubowski <joseph ( dot ) dolittle ( at ) gmail ( dot ) com>
CC: Vinay Gupta <hexayurt ( at ) gmail ( dot ) com>,        Smári McCarthy
<smari ( at ) smari ( dot ) yaxic ( dot ) org>
References: <e26c69b10806020547w3df06bc7yc96f1f25e9501ce7 ( at ) mail ( dot ) gmail ( dot ) com>

*sigh*

It's not a particularly well-informed article, imo.

OLPC's paid developers are still working on an open-source stack. Always
have been.

Microsoft has paid its own developers to make XP work on the XO. Their
time, their money, their resources, their program. (Also noting that
hobbyists have started "Debian on the XO", "Ubuntu on the XO," etc.
projects of their own... this is MS's corporate version, "XP on the XO.")

I believe the deal is that Microsoft will purchase XO laptops in
gargantuan quantities (like countries can purchase them in gargantuan
quantities) and then do whatever the heck it likes with them for large
country-wide rollouts, if those countries want to go through MS instead
of the OSS community. XOs aren't going to appear on Wal-mart shelves
running Windows, or be available to individual US customers that want a
cheap Windows laptop. MS will do tech support for those, handle
deployment for those, OLPC isn't going to deal with that; our volunteers
aren't going to help someone troubleshoot their Windows computer anyway.

The OSS stack will continue to be available to countries, via G1G1 when
the second round of the program opens up - my impression is that the OSS
stack is going to be "OLPC" and "the default," and MS is just setting up
their own alternative programme with the stream of hardware they're
getting on the side.

"The move has led to the resignation of two key project leaders" - if
they mean Ivan and Walter, that was long before the deal with Microsoft,
and for other reasons, from what I've heard.

This is by no means the definitive word on the subject, but this is my
personal view of the situation after talking to many people and sitting
in at many meetings at the office figuring out the situation, and
handling a lot of emails from friends and fellow volunters about "what's
up with OLPC and MS?" like this one. ;)

- -Mel

Marcin Jakubowski wrote:
> Mel,
> 
> What is your opinion on the Microsoft involvement with OLPC? I just saw 
> an article on this.
> 
> http://onthecommons.org/content.php?id=1917
> 
> Marcin

- --
Smári McCarthy
smari ( at ) yaxic ( dot ) org   http://smari.yaxic.org
(+354) 662 2701   - "Technology is about people"
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