Microsoft Looking to Run Windows on OLPC

pete314 writes "Microsoft has been provided with a number of test models of Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop per Child computers and is trying to get Windows installed on them. The current design runs a custom version of Red Hat's Fedora Linux. Running Windows will take quite a bit of additional memory: the OLPC has 512Mb of Flash, where XP requires a minimum of 1.5Gb storage."

Re:XP on OLPC?!?

[Phil246]

Were that the case, they would be trying to put vista on it.
In such an event, I dont exactly fancy their chances ;)

Has to be said...

[ZDRuX]

Won't someone PLEASE think of the children? Ohhh, looks like Microsoft is.

Prediction

[iamdrscience]

I bet Microsoft gets together a version of Windows for OLPC and then offers it to OLPC users for free or next to nothing. That's how it works, they give you the first copy free and then you get hooked -- pretty soon you're turning tricks in the alley just to get the security updates. I've seen it a thousand times.

Why not Vista?

[BlackPignouf]

512Mb graphics memory is exactly what Vista needs to run properly!
Oh, wait a minute...

Re:XP on OLPC?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why don't they run Windows 2000 on them?!?

Because even naked heathen savages in bongo-bongo land know it's shit.

Memo to Microsoft

[Anonymous Coward]

Memo to Microsoft

Why should children get second-class operating systems like XP when Microsoft should be getting Vista to run on this baby. The children deserve the best and you say that Vista is your "best operating system ever". Please Keep in mind that children are very visually oriented when it comes to learning especially in the early years so it needs to run Aero in full mode of operation.

How amusing.

[ahfoo]

Gates has fallen in love with his born-again persona as a human rights campaigner that he hopes everyone will forget was financed by years as a blood thirsty take-no-prisoners capitalist hun pushing zillions of dollars in license agreements on public school districts, threatening open source projects, patenting protocols, bullying and buying out competitors etc.
          And so now he's so far into his own navel gazing delusion that he thinks XP is a good fit with the OLPC project. Oh wow man, he's just like up there with Ghandi and Jeebuz, aint he? What a joke of a man. It just goes to show you that money is indeed quite like a drug. The dude is HIGH.
          Oh sure, he's the principle funder of the BSA by day but . . but, but by night he's the Poverty Fairy. Whoo.

Re:please think of the children!

[porkThreeWays]

You'd think it would be locked down. But tell that to my windows mobile based phone that got a virus and started randomly calling people in my contacts list!

Re:Open Spurce?

[j35ter]

*Balmer dreams:* Imagine a world where every single child in the 3rd. world has a windows machine with visual studio preinstalled and is learning .NET programming!
Imagine a *billion* developers working for 20 Cents per hour!
Imagine us (M$) developing Vista(tm)2 for under 2000 Bucks....
*Balmer wakes up*...
Oh no! They will have Linux on their OLPC's
*dials Microsoft R&D*...Hello, Steve here...no, forget Vista stability, get a few OLPC's and load up windows on them...512MB??!?
well, throw out some of the garbage, they wont pay for it anyway.

Re:Troll?

[arifirefox]

you mean like Internet Explorer?

Re:Open Spurce?

[Hognoxious]

You, sir, are laughable and highly underpowered.

Bill Gates' "Charity" Exposed...

[Anonymous Coward]

here's the deal, bill gates doesn't care about the children unless it is in "self interest" to do so. people are very adept at lying - and bill is a good liar.

the olpc initiative will help children. does bill gates want to join in and help children?

NO WAY! imagine what TREMENDOUS educational vehicle olpc could be for the parents! specific educational information could be included in a "parents only" folder - and it can be customized by region. how to make water safe, how to avoid aids, how to get help for emergencies, etc...

this would be an excellent place for bill to dump a $1 million or so.

instead, he sends msn to attack the project - the same project he's trying to exploit for the benefit of his company.

now, don't get me wrong. i'm glad the selfish sob is giving (and getting others to give) to help the needy. i hope his promises aren't more lies, though, and only actions will convince me.

but don't say this dude is a humanitarian out of the kindness of his heart.

his *actions* indicate he views his charity as a vehicle to push his company's agenda and as a great advertising campaign (other people give him money and he gets his name and his company's name trumpeted in a good light) to further his business agenda.

now, if he actually did charity against his financial self interest, like help out the olpc initiative, because it was plain and simply the right thing to do, I'D BE IMPRESSED.

i don't think it happens. i think he defines "right thing to do" as pushing his company's agenda and making himself look good. helping others seems to come in third place.

as i said, i'm glad he does it, for whatever reason. lots of less fortunate people need help.

Re:Open Spurce?

[stunt_penguin]

I hear a text version is in development... "you find yourself in a metal metal corridor with a healthpack at one end, and an Eight Ball at the other. Thre are bloodstains on the floor under your feet; you hear the sound of footsteps approaching"

[take EightBall]

"You grab the EightBall"

[take healthpack] --== el33t [sniper rifle] player_1 ==- "You get halfway across the corridor but are shot in the back of the head with the sniper rifle by el33t" [respawn] "You respawn in the same room, only to be instantly clubbed to death by el33t, the spawn camping shit"