Stallman: Can we rescue OLPC from Windows?

I see.  Shall we enable the freedom for people to enter into slavery?  Let's invoke Godwin's
law and get it over with -- shall we enable people to voluntary enter Auschwitz?

There are two problems with Microsoft getting involved with OLPC.  The moral side is that
Microsoft has a well earned reputation which is directly at odds with the OLPC mission.  If MS
had only transgressed once or twice and immediately apologized and reversed course, they might
be trustworthy enough for an apprenticeship with OLPC, but they have a continuous, repeated,
unflappable record of embrace, extend, extinguish, even when it is not in their best long term
interest.  They are not to be trusted.  If they become part of OLPC, they will destroy it.  I
personally believe that to be their goal; they have repeatedly reliably shown their interest
in destroying the competition.  OLPC ignores that reputation at its peril.

The other side of this is the practical problem of keeping the XO small, cheap, and easy to
use.  Adding capability to the XO merely to enable Windows to run on it for no benefit adds to
the cost, power requirement, and fragility of it.  That also is at odds with the OLPC mission.
Furthermore, Microsoft has repeatedly (see the moral side above) shown more interest in
feature lockin than making their products easy to use.  The free source software movement
makes that kind of lockin almost impossible.

Microsoft's corporate history is all at odds with OLPC.  You may as well invite the foxes to a
chicken barbeque; no point wasting time and effort pretending they are being hired to guard
the coop.