Microsoft released its version of Windows XP for the XO laptop, a low-cost device aimed primarily at children. Available in September from non-profit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), the hardware/software combo will cost about $200, providing an e-book mode, networking, camera, and custom keys, says Microsoft.
James Utzschneider, GM of marketing and communications for Microsoft's Unlimited Potential group, blogged Friday that the company has "RTM'ed (released to manufacturing) the Windows XP version we are building for the OLPC XO computer." But, he added, it will only be available as part of large scale educational deals. "We still have no plans to make Windows available for individuals who bought an XO in the Give 1 Get 1 program," he wrote.
Microsoft announced earlier this year that it was porting Windows XO to the OLPC. However, the company was unable to make the OS fit on the XO's original 1GB of flash storage. Therefore, it worked with OLPC and hardware manufacturer Quanta to add a new SD slot to the device. Now, thanks to a BIOS newly developed in conjunction with Insyde Software, the laptop boots Windows from a preinstalled, 2GB SD card, according to the company.
Windows XP supports the XO's power-saving, monochrome e-book mode
Utzschneider blogged in May that the Windows port to the XO "is a snappy release that doesn't cut features or functionality in order to work in the constrained memory and storage environment of the XO." The build is said to support all the laptop's features, including networking, speakers, microphone, and webcam. It also allows the display to pivot into its "e-book" configuration, and change into a power-saving, sunlight-readable monochrome mode (shown above), according to Microsoft.
Demonstrating the new software on video (see below), Unlimited Potential's Bohdan Raciborski said the XO can boot Windows XP in about 50 seconds, four times faster than its previously standard Linux environment. By tapping into the device's power-saving capabilities, it can also offer up to 20 hours of battery life, he added.
Windows XP running on the XO Source: Microsoft (click to play)
Background
The XO laptop, famously championed by MIT's Nicholas Negroponte, and produced for OLPC by Quanta of Taiwan, began to ship at the end of last year. In addition to the green-and-white case shown above, initial units featured an AMD Geode LX700 processor clocked at 433MHz, an integrated graphics controller driving a 7.5-inch, 1200 x 900 screen, 256MB of RAM, and 1GB of flash storage.
The OLPC laptop has been strongly associated with Linux, and shipped with a customized version that offers a special GUI (graphical user interface) called Sugar. Disappointing the open-source community, however, Negroponte publicly mulled installing Windows on the device as long ago as 2006, and in May decided to add XP as an option. At the time, he said, "From the beginning, the goal of OLPC has been to use technology to transform education. Today's announcement, coupled with future plans for a dual-boot version of the XO laptop, enhances our ability to deliver on this vision."
Negroponte added, "In addition, OLPC will work with third parties to port Sugar to Windows."
According to Utzschneider, the Windows XP-based XO that ships in September will feature neither dual-boot nor Sugar. Instead, it will be Windows-only. However, "Longer-term, the OLPC plans to write a new BIOS and increase the amount of flash storage to provide a dual boot option," he added.
Ironically, Microsoft had once planned for Windows XP to be off the market by the end of June, but gave it a stay of execution until at least June 2010, thanks to burgeoning sales of mini-laptops and "netbooks" -- not just the XO, but also devices such as Asus' Eee, HP's Mini-Note, and Intel's Classmate. For more details, see our earlier coverage, here.
Further information
The cost of Windows XP and the added SD storage necessary to run it is rumored to bring the XO's cost to just over $200. As noted, however, the device will only be available to governments or educational organizations -- initially, at least.
For more background, visit James Utzschneider's blog, here. For more information on OLPC, see the organization's website, here.
For a critical analysis of Windows XP running on the XO, with interesting rebuttals, see Jon Camfield's posting on the One Laptop Per Child News blog, here.
