4 ms·

The OLPC people were not enthusiastic in the slightest about going for windows. Unfortunately, they found that in their target markets, people cared basically

The OLPC people were not enthusiastic in the slightest about going for windows. Unfortunately, they found that in their target markets, people cared basically zero about the software being open source and in principle modifiable, and they cared a lot about getting experience on a standard platform. Many governments explicitly chose more expensive laptops from commercial manufacturers only because they offered windows and OLPC didn't. Like it or not, windows is what most third-world countries WANT. No one is forced to use windows, of course, they are just now being given the option.

andreyf 18y ago
Like it or not, windows is what most third-world countries WANT. Bullshit. Most people there want Windows as much as I want to use the IDE my boss's boss's boss decides to buy for all developers. It's all about sales: steak and strippers, baby!
- netcan 18y ago
  They were selling to governments. That's a core part of their strategy. These Governments are concerned about unemployment in their countries. They are concerned about low wages. They are concerned about not getting a piece of the info economy. They want windows because it increases employability. You might call them short sighted, but no more so then every other educational body that uses MS. BTW, it's not just about MS vs OS. It's about Sugar. The OS is (I hear) very different from other mainstream OSs. Education ministers in countries where computer literacy is low here "Use a computer that is so different from every other computer that students will not be able to use any other computer."
  - andreyf 18y ago
    They were selling to governments. That's a core part of their strategy Sucks for them. Selling to large organizations is an art people perfect for decades. BTW, it's not just about MS vs OS. It's about Sugar. Sorry, I was generalizing, I stand corrected. Bah, if what the education ministers want is "computer literacy" in the sense of "how to use Windows, Word, and Excel", that's their mistake to make. What sucks most is that they sure as hell won't be affected by it. Maybe if government were run more like a company... where salaries were dependent on change-in-per-capita-GDP under one's tenure (plus a smaller piece of long-term deltas).
    - netcan 18y ago
      Maybe if government were run more like a company... where salaries were dependent on change-in-per-capita-GDP under one's tenure (plus a smaller piece of long-term deltas). On a tangent point- I am less & less confident in this sort of pay-by-incentive executive engineering. On the first point. I don't think you can blame them really. There is no push to get these machines into kids' hands in the US or Switzerland where all the kids have Windows. Why should they do it. It's not like there is a huge chunk of evidence that XOs are a better educational tool. I think it's worrying that every review you here that someone got their hands on one, thought it was neat, couldn't figure out what to do with it & gave it to a school.
- blasdel 18y ago
  No, they really do want Windows. They want to use the same desktop software that businesses in the first-world do. They see people pushing alternatives at them as paternalistic shits at best.
  - omouse 18y ago
    Really? Could you point to some government ministers saying that? Thanks.
    - lliiffee 18y ago
      Nigeria, Libya. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071031-classmate-pc-olpc-ink-deals-in-the-face-of-growing-challenges.html http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071031-classmate-pc-o... P.S. Thanks for making a reasonable request for information rather than cursing!
- lliiffee 18y ago
  I thought it was obvious that I was saying that third world governments (the ones paying for the machines) were demanding windows. It is doubtful that children who have never seen a computer have strong feelings about operating systems. Can you explain who exactly is supposed to be employing the steak and strippers upon whom?

andreyf 18y ago

Like it or not, windows is what most third-world countries WANT. Bullshit. Most people there want Windows as much as I want to use the IDE my boss's boss's boss decides to buy for all developers. It's all about sales: steak and strippers, baby!

netcan 18y ago
They were selling to governments. That's a core part of their strategy. These Governments are concerned about unemployment in their countries. They are concerned about low wages. They are concerned about not getting a piece of the info economy. They want windows because it increases employability. You might call them short sighted, but no more so then every other educational body that uses MS. BTW, it's not just about MS vs OS. It's about Sugar. The OS is (I hear) very different from other mainstream OSs. Education ministers in countries where computer literacy is low here "Use a computer that is so different from every other computer that students will not be able to use any other computer."
- andreyf 18y ago
  They were selling to governments. That's a core part of their strategy Sucks for them. Selling to large organizations is an art people perfect for decades. BTW, it's not just about MS vs OS. It's about Sugar. Sorry, I was generalizing, I stand corrected. Bah, if what the education ministers want is "computer literacy" in the sense of "how to use Windows, Word, and Excel", that's their mistake to make. What sucks most is that they sure as hell won't be affected by it. Maybe if government were run more like a company... where salaries were dependent on change-in-per-capita-GDP under one's tenure (plus a smaller piece of long-term deltas).
  - netcan 18y ago
    Maybe if government were run more like a company... where salaries were dependent on change-in-per-capita-GDP under one's tenure (plus a smaller piece of long-term deltas). On a tangent point- I am less & less confident in this sort of pay-by-incentive executive engineering. On the first point. I don't think you can blame them really. There is no push to get these machines into kids' hands in the US or Switzerland where all the kids have Windows. Why should they do it. It's not like there is a huge chunk of evidence that XOs are a better educational tool. I think it's worrying that every review you here that someone got their hands on one, thought it was neat, couldn't figure out what to do with it & gave it to a school.
blasdel 18y ago
No, they really do want Windows. They want to use the same desktop software that businesses in the first-world do. They see people pushing alternatives at them as paternalistic shits at best.
- omouse 18y ago
  Really? Could you point to some government ministers saying that? Thanks.
  - lliiffee 18y ago
    Nigeria, Libya. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071031-classmate-pc-olpc-ink-deals-in-the-face-of-growing-challenges.html http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071031-classmate-pc-o... P.S. Thanks for making a reasonable request for information rather than cursing!
lliiffee 18y ago
I thought it was obvious that I was saying that third world governments (the ones paying for the machines) were demanding windows. It is doubtful that children who have never seen a computer have strong feelings about operating systems. Can you explain who exactly is supposed to be employing the steak and strippers upon whom?