One future possibility is a "dual-boot" version of the OLPC machine, in which either Windows or Linux can be launched at start-up. Activating the Windows option, however, would likely require OLPC's customers to pay Microsoft a licensing fee of a few dollars per machine. If such a scheme were to materialize, Negroponte says, "I expect we will do a massive rollout in Egypt." Negroponte says that within OLPC, the open-source scrap had become a distraction. "I think that means and ends, as often happens, got confused," he says. "The mission is learning and children. The means of achieving that were, amongst others, open source and constructionism. In the process of doing that, open source in particular became an end in itself, and we made decisions along the way to remain very pure in open source that were not in the long-term interest of the project." Other computer makers, including Intel, are now developing ultralow-cost laptops. Bender says that OLPC's unique status as a nonprofit means that it should focus on developing educational tools that others can emulate. "I think what OLPC should be doing is demonstrating to the world that there is a scalable model of learning," he says. "The fact that Intel and other companies are all trying to build hardware is great. That actually means, what OLPC could do, going forward, is focus on the learning and how you scale the learning models." "We aren't working on the things I think we are uniquely positioned to work on, and not taking advantage of our position as a nonprofit to do so," Bender adds. Now an outsider, Bender says that he wants to continue his efforts to hone his educational-software model; he is actively trying to create a consortium of university researchers and students who will carry that research forward. "What comes part and parcel with open source is a culture, and it's the culture that I'm interested in," he says. "It's a culture of expression and critique, sharing, collaboration, appropriation." And this culture can and should spill into classrooms, he says. Both Bender and Kane say that a near-term priority will be making sure that existing deployments of the laptop go smoothly, so that they can serve as a model for other nations. Bender says that he will remain in touch with Peruvian officials with whom he worked closely on what is the largest OLPC deployment yet attempted. |
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Una Laptop por Niño
04/22/2008
Comments
johnalphonse on 05/02/2008 at 11:27 AM
31
Does seeking alternate funding automatically mean MS gets involved? Where's the logic here, and why didn't Negroponte tell these officials that OpenOffice reads and writes to MS without the cost? What was his response to their question about Windows? And do these people asking the question actually know enough that you will take their unawareness and accommodate it? I thought this was all about alternatives and breaking the stronghold of any one company on the world situation of unevenly distributed wealth and opportunity? Whatever it takes, you say? So, therefore the ends justify the means? But what kind of solution is this in the end after all? You have sold out the world's poor to a corporation, all over again.
BobbyB2 on 05/02/2008 at 6:22 PM
1
markhahn on 05/03/2008 at 1:54 PM
2
if you don't realize that there is more to education than training to use windows, well, that's really very sad.
and it _is_ important to use open source tools for this, precisely because there is inevitably an evangelical aspect to the project. the question is whether kids should be encouraged to experience a world that they can actually grow with, modify, contribute to (not to mention afford), or whether OLPC is just a missionary program for the MSFT monoculture.
Researcher on 05/06/2008 at 4:26 PM
1
lmkory on 05/02/2008 at 12:14 PM
1
At points the flavor of the OLPC supporters' statements have been more about defeating WinTel than advancing education. I applaud the OLPC Project for getting back on the track of researching superior technology-based educational tools and enabling greater access to them.
wanderson on 05/02/2008 at 1:47 PM
1
First the uptake will be slow because of the ballooning cost of supporting Windows, and all the nightmares of poor reliability and malware that will be part of the package.
Second, when Microsoft demands "a mandatory upgrade" of hardware to support the "new" OLPC Windows, every participating country will have to ante up tens of millions of more dollars/Euros/whatever to keep pace.
There are parts of India - bigger in population that all of Egypt that reject any dependence on Microsoft Windows, knowing the "lock and expense that will follow.
"Open Standards" Mr. Kane, "Open Standards" - get the point, unless you also are a Microsoft dupe.
Mr. Negroponte deserves much credit for his vision, but he, Kane and other lack common sense or understanding of the ruthless business practices of Microsoft and company. They are naive and simple minded to the ultimate.
W. Anderson
wanderson@nac.net
pcrepairguy on 05/03/2008 at 12:45 AM
1
And has ANYONE tried running XP on on a PC with OLPC specs? I have and it hurts,bad. Even if they have a custom version of XP embedded,which I have exp with through WinFLP,when you figure in the drivers for the camera and the mesh network,on top of the AV and firewall you have to have for XP unless these things are never allowed near the net,you will have a horrible experience for these kids.
And let us be honest here,while I am all for getting them to the kids and I use both Windows and Xandros Linux daily,if the use of these things is painful to deal with(picture Vista on a Win98 PC) then even if it is free they just are not going to use it. After all,what kid is going to want to draw or write with it if it takes 5 minutes of drive thrashing to load the program you want to use? IMHO this is the start of the slow death march of the OLPC. Microsoft will keep it afloat for a short time,then once they are of no further use they will simply cut funding and remove the XP license.Do they really think they'll support this in the long term over long time friends Intel and the Classmate?
nekote on 05/03/2008 at 2:47 PM
98
Hmmm.
What is the world marketplace looking for?
Cheap(est) Windows platforms?
Hmmm.
Sly on 05/04/2008 at 2:59 AM
9
And getting a market as it emerge is important for them, to propagate their monopoly.
DaemonischEngel on 05/07/2008 at 3:57 PM
1
Unfortunately, I personally do not believe Windows will live as long anymore, Coca-Cola and McDonalds probably will.
Personally, I would go to those government officials and ask them what can Windows do that the OLPC machines cannot? Demonstrate them by example that be it a Windows desktop, a cellphone or a Linux laptop, they all can serve the same purposes in the end... and they will be the textbooks, paper, pencil and blackboard of the 21st century.
Yes, you don't want to replicate 20th century schools or computers, or even the 20th century-minded government officials! You also don't want to make it a goal to bring these kids up to 20th century Western standards. They have much more potential than that! Maybe there will be no desktop computers (or laptops), no oil-powered cars, no cable-based electricity grids (but distributed solar-powered generators), and many other things we were raised to depend on will not exist in 50 years!
I think Negroponte should be given credit for having a vision of the future, and not of the past or the present! I can see why Walter Bender resigned, and I hope the new president will not be just a Windows minion, but someone who will possess the necessary diplomacy and communication skills to show that you don't necessarily need Windows to have a good computer, same way you don't need an ethernet cable to have internet and you don't need McDonalds in order to feed the poor!
Sly on 05/08/2008 at 2:50 AM
9
It is not obvious for them, and it is not obvious for ourselves since we stile use windows.
So there is something else than pure reasoning, in the equation. This thing is commercial power.
And commercial society aim is not the welfare of population, it is to harvest profit.
So what do we do to fight back?
We make Linux... That's good, but not enough.
We need international law that control multinational enterprise.
spycxamaican on 05/08/2008 at 9:12 AM
1
Between January 1 and June 30, 1995 Microsoft spent $100 billion advertising Windows 95. Between 12:01 a. m. July 1 and 12:00 a. m. July 2, 1995 $100 billion of Windows 95 were sold world wide. This is a good example of the brain washing power Microsoft advertising has on the technology consumer.
If OLPC is to provide it's technology to the needy children of this planet while protecting them from child sex predators, malware and other online scourges then obviously it MUST have Linux.
Governments like Egypt, have sold their souls to Microsoft. If they insist that they must have Windows, sell them an Intel Classmate with all the necessary software to protect the laptop at market prices. Also let the Egypts of the world know they are responsible for buying the annual license for the security software necessary for protecting the Windows o/s. Also let them know that technical support will come from Microsoft and the third party software providers and not OLPC since they insist on being part of the Microsoft food chain.