OLPC: Windows vs Linux

NEWS

On the outside, the Windows version of the XO laptop looks just like the Linux model. But simply booting up the device shows that the Windows version bears little resemblance to the original One Laptop Per Child device.

With the Microsoft version, you get Windows XP Professional and can run basically any software that can adjust itself to the mini-laptop's diminutive screen and modest processor.

Microsoft has managed to slim down the OS enough to boot up from a 2GB flash memory card and has written drivers for a number of the XO laptop's unique features, such as its scratch pad, game controller and built-in camera.

But what's missing in the Windows version is the personality that oozes out of the Linux incarnation. The Linux model comes with an integrated suite of educational games, programming tools and other software, all built around a kid-friendly OS shell known as Sugar.

The Windows version of the XO doesn't have much of that built-in sweetness, although a child-oriented programming tool known as Scratch did survive the Linux-to-Windows switch.

At the same time, having Windows allows students to take advantage not only of Microsoft's dominant Office suite, but of all the educational software that has already been written for Windows.

But does the software really matter? It matters a great deal. But it's all about how a school chooses to use the laptops. Used properly, as part of a well-thought-out curriculum, both models offer tremendous opportunities for students to learn about technology and how to use technology to learn about many other areas.

At the same time, I don't think either model simply dropped in the hands of children will do the trick. That meshes with the experience I had touring through the Bradesco Foundation school in Campinas, Brazil. What made the experience so dramatic was how well the teachers incorporated the laptops into their teaching. It was the fact that the art teacher used the PCs for research but had the students put them away and use their hands to make wax sculptures.

Some countries have demanded their students work on Linux, arguing open-source computers offer a chance for an independent software economy not tied to Microsoft. Many others, such as Peru, have demanded Windows, arguing that that's what their students need to get good jobs. Ultimately, OLPC hopes to offer a dual-boot option, though that is still being developed.