RSSWindows XP lives: Testing begins on new version for OLPC
by Ed Oswald
Copies of Microsoft's former flagship operating system will be placed on XO laptops as part of a limited field trial. As a result, for the first time in a long while, it finds itself in the role of PC hardware tester.
Microsoft says it's testing Windows XP one more time, for deployment in a new environment: the OLPC system for emerging markets.
Yesterday, the company said the goal of its trials is to ensure a "high-quality Windows experience" on OLPC's devices. If it goes well, as early as the second half of next year XP could be available for the device.
If governments are interesting in possibly putting Windows on its laptops, Microsoft recommended that they keep in touch with the company. However, those buying the PCs at retail in the US and Canada have been left out in the cold: the company will not make it available here.
Even with the tests, XP on XO is not a sure thing according to Microsoft engineers. One wrote in a blog post that the decision would not be made until after the field tests. Essentially, the future of Microsoft on the OLPC rests in the hands of those who provide feedback.
A Microsoft announcement stated that the company was attempting to back away from statements made by OLPC chair Nicholas Negroponte, which said XP was a go on its devices. But apparently it's not: One of the main problems is actually getting the operating system as well as Microsoft Office on the device: it only has 1 GB of memory, Microsoft claims it needs at least 2 GB to make it work.
The announcement also poses another interesting conundrum: another extension of the lifecycle for XP. Perhaps due primarily to its larger size, Vista appears to be unable to be ported to the OLPC form factor, which uses flash drives.
The Redmond company plans to publish design guidelines for XP on flash-based devices, which essentially means the company will still develop for the operating system it once said it was transitioning away from.
16 Comments
lol Ok this will teach Micro$oft.
Micro$oft keeps bloating their O.S. with unneeded stuff and now look were their at. Micro$oft needs to learn that its a O.S. not a application. There should be no reason why Vista and future O.S.es shouldn't work on sub-one Ghz processors and 256Meg's of ram. Micro$oft keeps adding things to their O.S. that they think people want. Most people use their systems for getting on the net, writing a letter, maybe do some photo editing and playing a game. My mom she had her last computer for almost 12 years before it just died and so I gave her one of my older systems. All she does and lots of her friends as well do, is play card games, and board games. She will also get on to the net and do emails. I would say that 80% of people I know personaly and profesonaly this is the limit of their computer use.
I have a feeling with Vista and Direct X10 Micro$oft are trying to turn the PC into another gameing system. And because of this desision Micro$oft is going to lose. They are seeing now how people are rejecting Vista and I think people will continue. If Micro$oft had been makeing a O.S. and not a application they wouldn't be finding them selfs trying to get their O.S. on to low end systems like this.
Not everyone needs or wants a 3Ghz Quad core processor with 4Gb of ram and a Nvidia 8800 ultra grapics card in SLI mode with 512Mb's of ram. Again people like my mom could get by with much less then that. This might be the first step that will bring down Micro$oft and their monopoly. If Apple would release O.S. X to everyone to buy, I think Apple could take market share from Micro$oft and really give Bill Gates and Micro$oft a run for their money.
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It will take 2GB to run XP on XO. How much more memory to install and run Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware, etc? XP will have mesh networks zombied in 3rd world countries in no time if they get XP working on it.
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Linux gives me the brilliant performance I always wanted when I used Windows and I can customize my OS anyway I want.
Vista runs like a turtle, the proof is when users are always putting their pc on standby because Vista takes so long to boot up. XD
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They should run XP through nLite first. I bet they could do it then.
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Ah yes, another chance for Microsoft to embarrass itself. I'm thinking this has zune, MS-OOXML, onecare, Live, WGA, DRM, and Vista written all over it. People are dying to run a 7-year old OS on a new computer!
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I know a few places still using Win2000Pro, granted in a server 2003 environment, so its the best Microsoft has to offer on this limited platform. Im sure once its stripped to the metal it could belt along quite nicely.
To be honest, with the choice of Linux I would rather have windows any day. Thats one thing I don't want to compromise on.
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Maybe, but it is still better than their "latest" release.
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Unless you're gaming, Linux is the best operating system ever created.
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Absolutely right. After all, the learning curve only take years. I am sure average Joe can spare that much time.
Wait, the Linux "movement" is a decade old, and they still have a single digit market shares? The survey must be lying ;)
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You're right. It does take years for some people to learn how to put a CD or DVD in their optical drive, boot up Linux and click a button in a GUI to install it to your hard disk if you choose to. It's a wonder how these people managed to get their computer (and components) plugged in and turned on.
In fact, I'll bet most people absolutely love the fact that Windows constantly requires reboots from installing security updates and the fact that Windows crashes a lot (Especially Windows XP with or without Service Pack 2) and has slow performance compared to Linux.
Linux only requires a reboot if the kernel itself is updated. Otherwise, individual services can be stopped and restarted without the need for a complete system reboot.
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The only problem with Linux use to be how hard it was but with new destros like Ubuntu, make it easier for the average person to use a Linux destro. Whats stopping Linux now from taking over is there are to many diffrent kernels i.e. Red Hat, Mandriva, Debian and Fedora just to name a few. Because of this programs written in one distribution doesn't work on another. If there was a unified kernel I could see Linux giving Windows more of a run.
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unlikely Server 2008 is great
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LOL, a tiny Geode processor will need to run a real-time AV. Also, imagine distributing daily updates over the mesh network.
ROFL.
Pretending to run Windows in whatever form in the OLPC is absurd at best.
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On a more serious note, most "normal" business are not able to pull their old products from the market to force people to buy a new one.
In most "normal marketplaces" the old products are dropped in price and are used by non-prime users.
It just shows Microsoft's monopoly power that it could drop XP in the first place.
XP Media Center edition would be handy to make set-top boxes, just pull out everything except the media bits. Would be great, and cheap. One under every TV...
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OLPC+XP is going to see computer virus spreading quicker than AIDS in Africa?
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Is there something in the story that states OLPC's will not have virus protection? I seem to remember an announcement from AVG was making a contribution to the effort.
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