OLPC developing dual-boot Windows, Linux OS for laptops
by T. Colin Dodd
Well, it happens to be true, and it is truly happening, so I guess news like this belongs on this blog.
Microsoft has embraced the open source community over the past few years in a very different way than before, Negroponte said. “And that really helps, because it’s become a little bit less religious than it was a few years ago and that’s really good. In the end, I think, the more people that have software and hardware out there, the better.”
The OLPC laptop currently runs a Fedora-based Linux OS, and Microsoft has offered a version of Windows XP for the laptop project. There had been speculation that OLPC would simply offer two separate laptop PCs, but a dual-boot system could remove the need to offer two separate laptops. Such a device could also reduce the need to have competing low-cost laptops — running Linux or Windows — in the marketplace. Taiwan’s Asustek Computer has already launched an ultra-low cost laptop PC capable of running Windows XP, and executives at the company have touted XP compatibility as an advantage over the XO.
OLPC is also working with Microsoft and possibly the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on combining OLPC laptops with some of the educational programs run by Microsoft in developing countries.
