thelinuxlink.net

There are several articles floating around the tubes that mention the change . Linux and other free software will be still on it but M$ who originally were not allowed to help are now involved as an alternative to linux on these small laptops.

I feel that its cheeky moves like m$ offering $3 for windows and office a stark reminder that there afraid linux and free software will prevail in the developing world and that they have got to act. I take some cynicalism to this approach and perhaps even wonder if the governments of the developing countries get secret incentives to buy m$ products cheap.

Yeah - I think this is more or less the death knell for the once noble project. Now it's just going to be a target for theft so people can put pirated versions of windows on it, IMO. And no, I don't think Colombian drug lords give a shit if "they aren't supposed to be using them." The price is now also almost double the initial goal. Ah, well, I guess it's just an example of how fickle idealism can be, and how realism will generally kick idealism in the ass, especially where money is concerned.

Sad news indeed. I once thought it was a great idea. Now I'm not so sure.

It would be nice to have some actual documentation on this. What I had heard was that Microsoft was developing their own version, or that the company that developed a lot of the technology was developing their own laptop with Windows on it.

Either way, the OLPC laptops are not being sold at a profit, so cloning it will not make Microsoft a lot of money. Doesn't seem like much of a threat to me.

Apparently not:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20 ... pport.html