Microsoft wants One Laptop Per Child system to run Windows XP

Originally published at Lemmingworks. You can comment here or there.

Found this on Slashdot. It is not really shocking, but rather funny. MS doesn’t seem to be able to do anything right. There have been allegations of bribes and political pressure, competing products and the like. And now this. Trying to control a country through controlling the software it can and cannot use is an act of aggression, IMHO. Giving free copies of software to children as a way of getting them used to a system they’ll have to pay for forever when they grow up could be seen as tantamount to the issues of marketing of infant formula in Africa (see
Press: The milk of human kindness — Yamey 322 (7277): 57 — BMJ).

Microsoft wants One Laptop Per Child system to run Windows XP

In a move sure to provoke controversy, Microsoft wants the designers of the XO laptop, available through a non-profit initiative called One Laptop Per Child, to add a port through which the storage capacity required by Windows XP can be added to the system.

The XO currently runs on a Red Hat Linux operating system. Making the laptop compatible with XP would give students in poor countries access to “tens of thousands of existing educational applications written for Windows,” said James Utzschneider, a Microsoft general manager, in a blog post Wednesday.

Utzschneider says a shrunken version of Windows XP could potentially run on 2 Gbytes of flash memory. The XO, however, can only hold 1 Gbyte. As a result, Microsoft wants the XO’s designers to add a slot through which more memory can be added via a secure digital (SD) card, Utzschneider said.

“We asked the OLPC to add a slot for an internal SD card that will provide the 2 Gbytes of extra memory,” Utzschneider wrote. It was not immediately clear if the OLPC has responded to Microsoft’s request.

Don’t forget that Nigera went for the Intel box (which can run XP) (Nigeria shuns One Laptop Per Child), though Intel’s now joined the OLPC.

Don’t take my words as any ‘truth’. I’ve done no original research on this, and I’m biased on behalf of the OLPC because of what appears to be a more open-source perspective (among other reasons). The information I’m getting is from the media, and I’m just sharing it.

EWG’s Guide to Infant Formula & BPA

Originally published at Lemmingworks. You can comment here or there.

I have had ‘issues’ with BPA in plastics for years. I used to tease the owners of a local healthfood store who used to wrap organic foods in plastics with BPA. This month everyone’s interested in it suddenly. MEC has stopped selling plastic drinking bottles with BPA, and I noted this while poking about.
EWG’s Guide to Infant Formula | Environmental Working Group

Liquid infant formula from the top manufacturers is sold in cans lined with a toxic chemical linked to reproductive disorders and neurobehavioral problems in laboratory animals, according to an investigation by Environmental Working Group (EWG). The chemical is almost as common in the packaging of powdered formula, with 4 of the top 5 companies acknowledging its use.
The chemical is bisphenol A, or BPA, a component of the plastic epoxy resins used to line metal food cans. Dozens of laboratory studies show that BPA affects the developing brain and reproductive systems of animals exposed to low doses during pregnancy and early life. BPA has recently raised concerns from 2 separate expert panels of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with 1 group of scientists warning that human exposures to BPA are already at or above the levels that harm animals and another expressing concern about impacts of BPA on infants’ brains and behavior.

iPhone » One Dollar iPhones in Canada

Originally published at Lemmingworks. You can comment here or there.

iPhone » One Dollar iPhones in Canada

iPhone » Canada’s iPhone Delayed due to Trademark Dispute

Apple is currently in a dispute with Comwave Telecom Inc. about trademark rights to the name “iPhone”. In the meantime, Apple has filed its opposition to the CIPO, or the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
While the dispute is being settled, this could delay the iPhone from going into northern territory for an undetermined amount of time….

The main thing keeping the iPhone away from Canada is the fact that there are no carriers willing to support the iPhone due to Apple’s required contractual agreements. Rogers Wireless, the only Canadian carrier that supports GSM (the iPhone’s main method of communication), is still a no-go, atleast until Apple secures its rights to the “iPhone” in Canada.

Ya, sure. What I hear is that cellphone companies charge so much for data transfer that you would not be able to afford running it at those rates, and they don’t want to drop the rates to something real because they’re making so much money.

I’m thinking of getting rid of my cellphone, btw. And not bothering with an iPhone either. Still seems like a waste of money after having one for 2 years. Perhaps I’ll check out pay per use.

Oh, and you might like these two links:

Canada Worse than 3rd World Countries when it comes to Mobile Data Access

Bell to charge you $3,600 per hour for Wireless Internet access