Hacker groups have been modifying XP SP2 to use only 65MB of RAM for quite some time now... They have even modified windows 2003 server (which is essentially cleaned up XP code) down to ~32MB of RAM used... Surely M$ can take a page out of their book...

I think that this clearly shows a marked inefficiency or incompetency or both on the part of Microsoft's engineers (or marketing or both).

Or perhaps they just are having challenges doing it without disabling any DRM?

what you talked about is a core 65MB that does nothing much. you can't really use that on a laptop do you if you are going to run software on it.

I think it clearly shows your lack of reading skills.

“It will be mid-2008 at the earliest before we could have a production-quality release,” said Utzschneider. Much of that time will be spent adapting XP to run and boot from an SD card. He also says that engineers will have to develop a new BIOS to allow the computer to boot from flash.

For personal use, I use a slimmed down version of XP but I think there are two reasons for waiting till mid-2008:

1) Windows XP SP3 is rumoured to being released around this time.

2) The slim-down version also exclude a lot of services and MS software. MS MS would love to distribute that software to everyone. They are entering OLPC with a business mind.


One thing I don't understand is to boot from flash. That technology already exists. What's the limitation on the OLPC that prevents them from making it work?

That comes down to stripping out 98% of Windows XP. all the OLPC really needs is a bare bare bare bones XP IE

I am sure they also have to implement there own way to join and be part of the "mesh" network being formed. They will also want to optimize it for the screen resolution of the OLPC machines. They will also want to have a good power savings system. Security in such a large connected network will also be a concern....

I doubt this has anything to do with DRM....but more with running on such slow limited hardware....

Can we get this slimmed down version for other platforms such as an in car PC?

buy an OLPC and you can have it on your car... that will seal the deal

I'll take a skinny version of XP that only launches software...that's all I really want out of an OS. Shove everything else out the window please.

This is the only reason they are interested in the OLPC. If millions of people within the next few years begin using linux because, MS market share will go down quite a bit. This is especially worriesome to MS, since places like Africa are a emerging market that has not been bombarded by Windows.

Why would they want to install any form of windows on it? It already runs nicely AND boots from flash, no extras needed. On Linux.
The least important but probably most convincing argument is that any windows would increase the price of the already over-budgeted OPLC project. I wouldnt be surprised if microsoft would give it for free though - just to make millions of poor children depended on their products from the start.

Why should an OLPC user downgrade their laptop by installing this? There is absolutely nothing to gain from doing it, except for MS to be able to boast about "supporting the OLPC". Oh, and by the way -- what was wrong with running win-mobile6 on the thing? What will this OS do better than the default Linux-based one?

throw windows 3.11 on OLPC and call it a day

I miss DOS

I've tested out this stripped down version in VMWare--runs everything I throw at it fine... only a couple of small annoyances (in the form of omissions), which are easily remedied by open source/free software..

My reading skills are fine... Adapting XP to run from an SD card isn't that hard--Linux does this all the time, as another poster mentioned. Plus, there are live cd versions of Windows XP floating around, both by Winternals (a Microsoft subsidiary) and hacker groups, just as an example of the fact that XP is already able to traverse different media relatively easy.

I just completed a Linux course at my community college. Windows all the way baby! All Linux is, is an advanced DOS operating system. You have to be a nerd to want to use a command line still.

The point of OLPC is that the children can better themselves by learning how to program with the linux. whats the point if they are putting microsoft xp on, where they cant do all the things that they can with the linux on OLPC?

Microsoft has already made a slimmed down version of XP. The version is called WinFLP{Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs}. See Wiki. I have used it. It seems to be just a functional as XP Pro. The minimum system requiremets are very low. Should run on OLPC just fine. IDK why its taken them a year to build a OS for it. Thats a joke and a lie. It can also boot from a flash device with no problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W...Legacy_PCs

@Lee: you obviously don't know what you're talking about, so I'm not even bothering with an attempt of a meaningful reply.

Anyway, I thought this was kinda funny (from the blog itself):

"Much of the technology in the XO is developed using open source technology licenses that make it difficult for engineers employed by commercial software companies like Microsoft to work directly on the project."

Hahahaha, rolling on the floor laughing indeed... yeah, it's a pain to be able to access the source
And they go on:

"For this reason, we also had to follow a complicated process to figure out interfaces for many of the XO’s hardware components and to deal with some of the hardware bugs they were reporting in their design process in order to make progress on our port. All of this slows us down"

Geez, did they reverse-engineer the damn thing?! Why -- it's not like they have to work around patents and copyrighted software did they? Oh wait, they can't just use free software because that would force them to release parts of their program as well... so they just reimplement it! Who cares about the children, our "intelectual property" is way more important! Way to go!

Pathetic

You think kids in africa are going to magically learn to program when they have never seen a computer before and they dont have internet? sorry to burst your bubble... but that will never happen.

There is nothing that Linux does that can't be done on Windows. This includes running development tools.

With utilities like Cygwin and such, most Linux software can be ported or run 'directly' on Windows.

For anyone to not see the benefit of a very large commercial, open-source, and free base of software available for Windows is rather short-sighted.

What the hell are you talking about? Never heard off desktop linux distributions like Ubuntu or Fedora? Google it up and watch some screenshots.
Not even Linus Torvalds sits with the black&white console (that is by-the-way so much powerfull than windows command line). He uses one of the easy-to-use distributions to be able to concentrate on his work instead of system administration.
Wake up - its the 21st century.

The course you had wasn't just a Linux course - it was more like OS hacking or sysadmin course.

"For anyone to not see the benefit of a very large commercial, open-source, and free base of software available for Windows is rather short-sighted."

It is rather short-sighted not to realize that most of that software is proprietary thus binding to the producer, not open-source, cost money and because of copyrights you cant distribute them together with the system.
The amount of free and open source software for Linux is truly mind-boggling in comparison. Just check it out yourself before commenting.
And best thing of all: you can put it all on the system as you distribute it, giving the user a FULLY equipped desktop system (with office suite, image processing, firewall and development tools to name a few), ready do start working on right away. Customization of the installed program base - if ever needed - is just few clicks and moments away (depending on the connection speed). Windows cant do that and never will. Because of its proprietary nature - they would need to create agreements with each of the producers and include their fees in the price. How much for a windows with ms office, photoshop, advanced burning, a security suite, and those programs you just have to have - $1500? $2000?. Thats ridiculous!

When you were little you just looked at pictures, then you learned to read. Before printing and photo technology came along you didn't have pictures(only puppet shows) and had to wait until you could read to enjoy a book (If you could read). Today, some readers still enjoy a movie from time-to-time, but to really get the background and nuances of a story, you have to read.

So it is with the command line and GUI. When you are merely playing with the system, the pictures are pretty and eye-catching. But then you learn the command line and the power that comes from the typed word. Sure it's still fun to wander into the GUI and enjoy a game or two. But the real power comes from the command line. Pure and clean, the command line connects your internal energy to the flow of the system in ways no GUI ever can.

[insert gong noise and smell of incense here]

MS should be working on an SP for Vista and DX10 for XP. They are already too late for OLPC. Linux works just fine on these computers. Besides, I can just see the little laptops now. Grinding to a halt every Tuesday as all the OLPC units update Windows OLPC at the same time.

Keep M$ out of this. No matter how you slice it, if they invade, there will be a leash on any creativity that children are best at.

I'm happy to hear that the developing world will have more of the disadvantages that we do here. Go microsoft.

Is there any way we can sign McDonalds up too?

(oh nevermind, mcd is probably already there).

That old technology? Why isn't microsoft using their latest and greatest technology, Vista? That should work much more efficiently on those ultra low-end laptops, right? What? Vista can't be optimized to work on a low-end machine? Well I am shocked. Shocked and appalled. Shouldn't microsoft's latest technology work better than its older technology?

is that Microsoft is going to discontinue support for Win XP in the very near future. So even if they do get XP to run, let alone support applications, on the XO, there is the matter of the fact that XP is legacy Software.

So I suppose this is what is call legacy VapourWare.

I think Microsoft is missing the point. They are developing a slim down version of WinXP but for a fee. To keep the cost low, having a free os is better than one that cost the user. The cost has already gone up even without adding the price of the os.

I would like to see an OLPC running either ReactOS http://www.reactos.org or FreeDOS with GUI http://www.freedos.org . Both are free and the source code is available.

Instead of spending millions of dollars on "Reworking" XP to be a stripped down low cost edition.. wouldn't it be cost effective to just 'reduce' the price of XP ??? Just a Thought