Microsoft broadsides African laptop

Prepares Windows for OLPC

Microsoft has challenged an altruistic scheme to get pared-down computers into the laps of African school children by preparing its own software for sale on the machine.

One Laptop Per Child, intended to help bridge the digital divide between rich and poor parts of the world, is soon to release a trial version of a computer developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

It is expected to go into production in the first quarter of the new year and sold for a little over $100 a piece. It is to be shipped with a tailored version of Red Hat Linux, a free open source system.

Microsoft did not confirm reports that it was paring its operating system for sale on OLPC machines, but said: “We continue to speak with Mr Negroponte (OLPC chairman) about ways that Microsoft can help in the future.

Full article: The Register