OLPC and Microsoft [LWN.net]

OLPC and Microsoft

Posted May 16, 2008 5:03 UTC (Fri) by bronson (subscriber, #4806)
In reply to: OLPC and Microsoft by pr1268
Parent article: OLPC and Microsoft

I find it hard to disagree.  :(  The G1G1 laptops have awesome hardware and awful software.
The software ruins the whole package.  It's cranky, slow, buggy, hard to use, and did I mention
slooooow?  I predict that XP will feel 2X faster and should have no trouble eating Linux's
lunch here.  Talk about a PR disaster.

Here's the thing: I think Linux is way better than Windows both technically and socially.  But
the XO has terrible power management, buggy drivers, and really cryptic software that requires
a lot of hand holding.  It's frustrating...  all things that Linux is notorious for.  If
XP-on-XO allows me to easily copy files to and from the SD card, launches apps fast, is fairly
bug free, and doesn't require continuous updating, I'll put XP on it in a heartbeat.  I'm a
pragmatist but I'll be crying inside.

BTW, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the XP port has had more man hours put into it than the
Linux port...  It's a lot easier for MS to affort coders than it is for OLPC.

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OLPC and Microsoft

Posted May 16, 2008 7:36 UTC (Fri) by luya (subscriber, #50741) [Link]

Which build do you currently for the G1G1 XO. I am running the latest joyride build that
appears to be faster than the default 656. I think the lack of staff is significant even
though volunteers can get the XO image running via emulator like QEMU.
The real issue for the OLPC as a non-profit organization IMHO is the lack of focus and a good
leader who can further push the development of Sugar interface. 
Windows XP as operating system is fundamentally flawed by design. The fact Microsoft already
set the EOL made it useless. Users can always remove it and install another OS. Microsoft just
want its big part.

Eee and Microsoft

Posted May 16, 2008 22:01 UTC (Fri) by man_ls (subscriber, #15091) [Link]

Just get an Eee. It's cheaper (than $400), has good enough hardware, and the software is great: fast, excellent power management, a minimalistic and very easy to use interface, and hardly any upgrades. You can replace the default Xandros desktop with any other Linux; under Debian power management still works perfectly.

It doesn't have mesh networking, but let's face it: who needs that? As for the outdoors-readable screen, Linus himself said it best:

So stop worrying about those dangerous ultraviolet rays, and instead get your Vitamin D in the form God (and the pharmaceutical industry) intended: small easily swallowed pills. Beaches are overrated anyway, the sand gets into the laptop fan and soon it won't work.

To ease your conscience you may just buy the cheapest $300 model, and donate the extra $100 to a charity. It will probably help the poor kids more this way.

As an aside: does anyone know if the default Debian-based Xandros is generating faulty crypto keys? Since the system hardly sees any upgrades, it might be dangerous.