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Christopher Dawson
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Does ARM Chip for OLPC 3.0 mean no Windows?

By | December 23, 2009, 7:11am PST

Summary: Does the new OLPC roadmap preclude the use of Windows? It sure looks that way, but I’m inclined to think that some big compromises will be necessary to get any new OLPC hardware out of the gates (no pun intended).

A few days ago, I called the original OLPC XO both the best and worst Ed Tech of the decade. Now, OLPC has announced it’s roadmap through 2012 culminating in what CNET calls a $75 fantasy tablet. While I’m not exactly holding my breath for the device that ZDNet Editor, Larry Dignan, featured this morning (the pretty pictures are certainly worth a look), one thing about the road map stuck out: the ARM chip from Marvell precludes the use of Windows in the device.

The OLPC organization experienced huge rifts over the use of Windows in its devices and Nicholas Negroponte caused Microsoft a fair amount of grief over premature announcements of Windows ports for its Sugar OS and the OLPC XO 1.0. Microsoft, however, has been fairly clear (with a little bit of waffle-room) that they won’t be porting Windows to ARM processors, meaning that XO 3.0, if it ever materializes, will need to be exclusively Linux-based.

In typical Negroponte style, CNET points out that

“We don’t necessarily need to build it,” Negroponte told Forbes on Tuesday. “We just need to threaten to build it.”

Now ideally, instead of threatening to build something unrealistic, Negroponte and OLPC would be working with OEMs and ODMs to create reference designs and prototypes and build an ecosystem of open source educational software that will run on these devices. However, OLPC has never taken an ideal approach, has never met its pricing goals, and has struggled to avoid the call of Windows. 2012 is, in many ways, just around the corner. We won’t have long to wait and see how this materializes.

However, I have trouble believing that a group that became so eager to hook up with Microsoft as tides turned against OLPC is willing to re-embrace the open source community. What do you think? Will the “fantasy tablet” really come to life? And will it be running Linux exclusively?

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ARM, Microsoft Windows, One Laptop Per Child Project, Chip, Christopher Dawson

Chris Dawson is a freelance writer and consultant with years of experience in educational technology and web-based systems. In 2011, he became the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network SaaS provider.

Disclosure

Christopher Dawson

Christopher Dawson is the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., by day and a freelance writer and educational technology consultant by night. Well, most of his colleagues at WizIQ are based in India, so really he's working with them whenever he can stay awake. He has worked for his local school district as a teacher and technology director, for the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, and for Biogen, Inc. (now Biogen-IDEC, Inc.). He has also consulted with STATNet and Cytyc Corporation and retains close ties with X2 Development Corporation (now owned by Follett Software, the supplier of the student information system he administered for several years). Follett is paying him a monthly honorarium to act as a presenter for their "SIS Voices for Student Achievement" community (he produces occasional blog posts and hosts a monthly webinar on the use of student information systems to inform data-driven instruction and school-wide change. He regularly purchases and/or recommends Dell hardware. This is because Dell makes good hardware and has truly committed itself to education in innovative ways, particularly with their "Connected Classroom" initiative. It isn't because he has dealings with the company through his role at WizIQ (which he does) or because they have provided him with long-term loans of a variety of equipment for in-depth testing (which they have). Intel (reference designer for the Classmate PCs he has implemented in his local schools) has provided him with long-term loans of Classmate PCs for testing, as have Dell and Lenovo with their educational offerings. He may report on any of these companies as his experiences with them have direct bearing on educational technology; positive reports are not necessarily an endorsement and he receives no direct financial compensation from these companies or any others. Intel paid all expenses for his attendance at the 2009 Intel Classmate PC Ecosystem Summit which he attended as the sole representative of the technology press. He was invited to attend in 2010 but his wife would have killed him if he spent 3 days in Vegas geeking out and left her home alone with a new baby. Acer provided him with a 50% discount on an Aspire One netbook in early 2009 after he tested it for 30 days through their educational seed program. He liked the netbook at the time but it has since broken and sits unused in his office. Canonical sent him Ubuntu lanyards, t-shirts, and mousepads for his kids. He stole one of the lanyards and proudly hangs his keys from it and occasionally features his 8-year old wearing an oversized Ubuntu t-shirt on his Facebook profile. Gunnar Optiks sent him a pair of computer glasses to evaluate for a holiday gift guide. He is wearing them now as he types this because they never asked for them back and they rock out loud. Seriously - they work brilliantly and make it much easier to spend 20 hours a day staring at an LCD. If they ever asked for them back, he would fork over the $99 and buy a pair. Microsoft gave him 2 free copies of Office 2010 professional, a desktop clock, and a useless book on Office 2010 when he attended the launch of Office/Sharepoint 2010. He occasionally uses the SharePoint lanyard they gave him instead of the Ubuntu lanyard for his keys, but feels dirty afterwards. Adobe provided him with a pre-release version of the CS5 Master Collection for evaluation and ultimately provided a full, licensed copy for ongoing testing of educational applications of this admittedly expensive software. Like the Gunnars, if the license expires or they come out with CS6, he'd actually go out and buy it himself. Which is saying something, because he's actually pretty cheap. Any other companies wishing to send him cool things to evaluate, wear, or otherwise adorn his kids are more than welcome to; he promises to disclose it here if he keeps any of the stuff. Finally, because WizIQ is a virtual classroom and learning network provider, Chris, as VP of Marketing, frequently interacts with, seeks out deals with, and directly or indirectly competes with a whole lot of LMS, SIS, and other Education 2.0 companies. In general, he'll limit his reporting about these companies to news that does not impact his relationship with them or with WizIQ. If he reports on them, it's because what they are doing is newsworthy or worth the attention of his readers and not because he's trying to broker some deal, damage competition, or otherwise advance his position in his day job. LMS and SIS companies, along with other online learning communities, are a pretty important part of Ed Tech. If he stops reporting on them completely, there won't be a whole lot left. He'll be sure to call out any overt conflicts of interest if they are unavoidable. Finally, Follett Software Company pays him a little tiny honorarium every month to present on their SIS Voices webinars and to write the occasional blog or discussion thread for them. Since Follett recently bought X2 (maker of an awesome web-based SIS that Chris just happened to have used, served in advisory groups for, and frequently reported on), this is probably also worth disclosing.

Biography

Christopher Dawson

Christopher Dawson grew up in Seattle, back in the days of pre-antitrust Microsoft, coffeeshops owned by something other than Starbucks, and really loud, inarticulate music. He escaped to the right coast in the early 90's and received a degree in Information Systems from Johns Hopkins University. While there, he began a career in health and educational information systems, with a focus on clinical trials and related statistical programming and database modeling. This focus led him to several positions at Johns Hopkins, a couple-year stint in private industry, teaching high school math and technology, and 2 years as the technology director for his local school district. Most recently, he started his own consulting business and is now the Vice President of Marketing for WizIQ, Inc., a virtual classroom and learning network provider. He lives with his wife, five kids (yes, 5), 2 dogs, and a hateful cat in a small town in north-central Massachusetts. Although he is no longer teaching, his roles with WizIQ and ZDNet allow him to continue helping students and teachers add value to education with technology rather than merely adding to the bottom line.
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RE: Does ARM Chip for OLPC 3.0 mean no Windows?
Agnostic_OS 28th Dec 2009
But has a few other partners -

http://www.arm.com/products/os/index.html

Note MS is there!
View in thread
0 Votes
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That may be the only way ...
n0neXn0ne Updated - 23rd Dec 2009
... to thwart Microsoft and Intel's mercenaries.

But then again, maybe not. sad

Nicholas Negroponte can't recognize a snake oil salesman even if the snake bit him.

^o^

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RE: Does ARM Chip for OLPC 3.0 mean no Windows?
Loverock Davidson 23rd Dec 2009
If there is no Microsoft Windows on OLPC 3.0 then you may as well call the project dead right now. People tried to go for linux and it has failed them. People have said they do not want linux, and with it being abandoned by some of the bigger names like Linus Torvalds and Mark Shuttleworth, it would be crazy to invest any time or money into it. Let us not forget linux also has a return rate that is three times higher than that of Microsoft Windows.

Lets face the facts, any hardware manufacturer will look to Microsoft as the savior of their design. Using ARM means no Microsoft. Soon as the OLPC realizes this they will change chips from ARM to something x86 based.
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And may Santa ...
linux4u 23rd Dec 2009
Bring you some common sense. Mike Cox u ain't !
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Time to take out the garbage Donovan Colbert? Yes?
D T Schmitz 23rd Dec 2009
Because it is overflowing here.
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One month down
Loverock Davidson 23rd Dec 2009
2 more months to go until you start calling me a new name.

1. Ken the gamer on channel B.
2. Donovan Colbert
3. ??
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Just insert a "c" in there somewhere for #3... nt
T1Oracle 23rd Dec 2009
nt
0 Votes
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You go by many names, remember?
The Mentalist 23rd Dec 2009
At least that's what you said while posting on techrepublic under your dcolbert alias.
0 Votes
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Bore, Waffle, bore
Alan Smithie 24th Dec 2009
ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.............
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Hey Donovan. Why do you post with the alias Loverock Davidson?
n0neXn0ne Updated - 23rd Dec 2009
You've devloped this Donovan Colbert real ' persona ' over at Tech Republic.

Which is fine. I wish you all the best there.

But, why do you post with the alias of Loverock Davidson?

Waiting your reply

PS. Please feel free to contact me. I am all over the Internet and you can find me there.


^o^

0 Votes
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Excelent choice
Linux Geek 23rd Dec 2009
Giving the $haft to M$ and Inhell is the way to go!
People are finally seeing the light: no more windoze or monopolistic chips.
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yep!
gnesterenko 23rd Dec 2009
and thus, no more performance. Oh well, good enough is good enough for some, and then there's the rest of us. Cheers for market segmentation!

The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."
0 Votes
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Linux Fanboy Cliches
Tom12Tom 23rd Dec 2009
"M$" "windoze", etc.

Gawd, Linux Fanboys are a constant stream of tired, old, cliches.
0 Votes
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m$, windoze and inhell?
joepranay 24th Dec 2009
It's not hard to see why so many people think Linux is for snob-nosed douchy tech-types.

Thanks for bad-mouthing the non-Windows (not anti-windows) community!

and "giving the shaft"? Damn, I'm booting into 7 right now; I'm so disgusted that I might actually be using the same software as you! lol.
0 Votes
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Why does it matter to not have Windows?
iquaid 23rd Dec 2009
If you recall the focus on the OLPC project, you'll understand the problems with aligning with closed software.

It directly and negatively impacts the education experience. The point of the OLPC isn't to give people a 20th century cubicle office worker experience.

With an XO running Linux (Fedora is what it ships) and the Sugar desktop, you have an environment that encourages taking everything apart and learning about it. It is extremely hands on. Take it apart, swap things around. Share software between XOs without being pirates. View source, just like a webpage, and understand what makes things work.

An XO running Windows is more than hobbled, it's broken.

A better question for you is, does it matter if the next gen OLPC doesn't support Windows?

Why would it matter?
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So Rather than helping poor school children
jdbukis@... 23rd Dec 2009
This is more of a social engineering experiment to get third world children to use linux?

Call me paranoid but thats what it seems like.
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So Rather than helping poor school children
Ole Man 26th Dec 2009
You'd rather have third world schools give their available funds to a Gluttonous avaricious greedy goblin Corporation?

So you're paranoid that poor little Microsoft might be harmed by these previously submissive folk? What goes around comes around. ?VENGEANCE IS MINE?, sayeth the Lord
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OLPC a functional, or needed, organization?
Tom12Tom 23rd Dec 2009
I'm surprised that the OLPC organization still exists. I thought they collapsed a long time ago.

Anyway, with many low-cost PCs already on the market, is there any need for OLPC?
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So far it means nothing, unless MS has an undisclosed ARM Project
D T Schmitz 23rd Dec 2009
So,

At least for the immediate future, there will be no ARM-based Windows netbooks (excluding Windows Mobile 5 on snapdragon).

For all I know, MS may be working on a 'MinWin' kernel to accommodate such devices.
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re:So far it means nothing, unless MS has an undisclosed ARM Project
n0neXn0ne Updated - 23rd Dec 2009
"...there will be no ARM-based Windows netbooks..."

But there will be an ARM to twist. see above

^o^

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Windows is on ARM
heath4207 23rd Dec 2009
Windows CE has run on ARM for years, and i believe a company just released a netbook with an ARM processor running WinCE 6.0
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Yes. CE not 7
D T Schmitz 23rd Dec 2009
I've believe I covered that:

"(excluding Windows Mobile 5 on snapdragon)."

I don't know the extent to which Windows Mobile is being used on ARM, but my point was concerning Windows 7.
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Thing is...
wolf_z 24th Dec 2009
...MS has experience with the ARM chip. If they see a need it would be well within thier capability to port Windows to ARM in a hurry.

Of course we're talking about a *phone* chip here... happy
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Midori a more likely fit
LiquidLearner 23rd Dec 2009
A micro-kernel OS would be perfect for a device like this.
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It needs Windows
monkeyman1140@... 23rd Dec 2009
It will give 3rd world children valuable troubleshooting skills
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but wouldn't that just...
gnesterenko 23rd Dec 2009
..squeeze our own Tech support market, what with it being flooded by a bunch of Windows troubleshooting gurus from the 3rd world?

The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."
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Yep...
storm14k 28th Dec 2009
...there'd be no trouble to shoot otherwise.
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RE: Does ARM Chip for OLPC 3.0 mean no Windows?
wizard57m@... 23rd Dec 2009
Eh hem...since Windows Mobile already runs on
ARM chips, like my old Samsung Blackjack with Windows Mobile 5 and ARM 200mHz CPU, where do you base the argument that an ARM chip means no Windows? Why wouldn't Windows Mobile be an excellent choice for such a low power device?
I mean, I'm all for choice and such, but sheesh, having such tunnel vision amounts to nothing more than just adding bait for those that are looking for a podium to jump behind and post anti-whatever.
Oh, FTR (for the record, in case your challenged in this regard as well), I know for a fact that Windows Mobile 6 will also run on my 1st generation Blackjack. I'll not go into the details and specifications, you can look them up for yourself at www.scroogle.org, that way nobody will know you were searching something about Windows.
Wiz {;-)
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RE: Does ARM Chip for OLPC 3.0 mean no Windows?
dheady@... 23rd Dec 2009
With most major computer manufacturer's drifting away
from Windows to Linux for small devices and the Mac
market share climbing, what is the driving reason for these
'netbooks' to have any MS product, must less the OS, on
it? I'm pretty sure connectivity compatibility isn't a driving
argument and if you're using open source software I come
back to scratching my head over the passion with which so
many in these forums argue for including MS in any
market segment. Why invite the proverbial 600lb gorilla to
sit at your table when there's no compelling reason? That
Apple rip off logo (remember rainbow colored Apples?)
that Windows uses just isn't pretty enough.
0 Votes
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RE: Does ARM Chip for OLPC 3.0 mean no Windows?
famulla 23rd Dec 2009
Microsoft is losing the IT grounds and giving way to the forced buying out of small firms like Intute and Many, to Red hat that has now captured many a phase of IT with better OS and promises kept
I thank you
Firozali A Mulla DBA
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If ARM takes off
LiquidLearner 23rd Dec 2009
Windows will be ported. It's as simple as that. Windows has run on many other architectures in the past and it could do so again. They follow, and to some extent push, the market. Atom is coming along nicely as will Bobcat from AMD, so it's hard to say there won't be competive x86 CPUs out there than can do more than what the OLPC can for a similar price. If that's the case then why would MS chase it?
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I don't care what the OS is.. but this is about purposely removing choice
croberts 23rd Dec 2009
To purposely architect a device to preclude a specific program or operating system smacks of the worst kind of technological manipulation possible.

It removes choice, and fosters the same kind of lock-in that dominated early computing when hardware from vendors only worked with other products from the same vendor.

If ARM is being chosen because of a specific performance objective, so be it - pick the right tool for a job.

But I think many of us can be forgiven for suspecting Negroponte is using technology to impose a political agenda, and that has no place in the classroom where the goal is supposed to be to teach children and not to stick it to Intel or Microsoft (or AMD and VIA for that matter).
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Wow, I did not know they could make OLPC even more irrelevant...
Qbt 24th Dec 2009
If you want to completely kill a project like this one, just tie it in with one of the myriad of loser OSes out there, and you will easily attain your goal. I guess this is what they are aiming for now.

So long and thanks for all the fish...
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Re: Wow, I did not know they could make OLPC even more irrelevant
Mah Updated - 27th Dec 2009
Windows XP on OLPC1 was completely irrelevant.
Lots of education authorities looked at it, and
Microsoft pushed it very hard and with a lot of
money. However in the end there were no takers
for OLPC with
Windows
http://www.olpcnews.com/software/windows/nobody_
buying_windows_xo_laptops.html

(sorry the URL gets cut in two, so you'll have
to copy and paste it.

There was simply no customer demand for it,
although Microsoft made sure all potential
buyers evaluated it thoroughly, probably due to
the poor performance compared with the
Linux/Sugar version.

As for the "teaching Windows" idea, in order to
better equip children to be able to adapt to a
rapidly changing world, most educators prefer a
"teach generic cookery" rather than the "teach
MacDonalds hamburger flipping" philosophy that
Microsoft eschews.
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The ARM is used on Windows Mobile PDAs...
HypnoToad72 25th Dec 2009
assuming the youtube videos have any say, people have managed to get Windows 95 to install on these PDAs...

As Windows Mobile is an altered form of Windows 95...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD82ekH-fFA
(one of many of people with too much time on their hands, getting Windows 95 to run unmodified on an ARM-based PDA)
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RE: Does ARM Chip for OLPC 3.0 mean no Windows?
Agnostic_OS 28th Dec 2009
But has a few other partners -

http://www.arm.com/products/os/index.html

Note MS is there!

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