one laptop per child and open source
by Christopher Blizzard
I’ve been quietly waiting for someone from OLPC to say something officially and it sounds like a quote has finally made it into an ars technica article:
According to Walter Bender, president of Software and Content at OLPC, there is no agreement in place between OLPC and Microsoft to offer XO laptops with any version of Windows. Bender also indicated that Microsoft has not contacted OLPC regarding its $3 software bundling program, nor have any governments requested that the XO be outfitted with Windows. In short, there is no existing collaboration between Microsoft and OLPC aimed at outfitting the XO laptop with Windows.
The relationship can be explained thusly: Microsoft has some XO machines. They are trying to get Windows working on it. Sometimes they show up and ask random hardware questions. The OLPC guys say “look at the code.” They go away again. Sometimes they brick machines (because they have to replace the awesome firmware we have with a poopy PC BIOS) and send them back to the office to get them unbricked. Sometimes they complain that the machine has hardware problems and we reply that it works fine here.
For once Microsoft is getting the reverse Linux laptop experience: little support and little documentation for the hardware. The result will be a platform that doesn’t include any of the really novel features that we’re building in, bad power management, no systems management via the firmware and apps that will randomly crash because they can’t fix the virtual memory problem in the same way we’re approaching it. A second class citizen, to be sure.
The commitment to open source and free software is still one of the main principals of the project. Learning requires the transparency that free and open source software provides.
Finally someone from OLPC cleared out FUD and conspiracy theories that we saw in the last weeks. Thank Mr. Bender and you, Chris. I was waiting for an official word, but definitively not a very unexpected description from an insider about the difficulties MS has… Great reading!
How about the rumours that extra hardware was added, at extra cost, just for Microsoft? Truth or not?
Please read Jim Getty’s post on http://planet.laptop.org regaurding why the extra hardware was added:
http://www.gettysfamily.org/wordpress/?p=34
“For once Microsoft is getting the reverse Linux laptop experience” – that’s funny. I wonder how many developers have ventured to Redmond and asked them “hey, how can I get this working in Linux?” They’d only get a response like “read the… uh… exit sign”.
I’m glad to see the MS/OLPC news get cleared up. I didn’t like seeing how the fact that OLPC wouldn’t prevent Windows from being installed got spun into it being a partnership/install option/you name it, and then nobody said “oh sorry, we didn’t mean it like that”. Maybe hype like that just generates more traffic for them, who knows.
Keep up the good work everyone, I love what you’re doing.
So, when they read the source, do they have to publish their own code under the GPL (assuming the OLPC code is GPL) ?
“So, when they read the source, do they have to publish their own code under the GPL (assuming the OLPC code is GPL) ?”
Yeah. Afterall, we have to go to great lenghts to make sure our reverse engineering is clean-room. Why don’t they? They just assume OLPC won’t sue them?
Great post. Made me smile.
You guys and OLPC rock!
Jim Gettys has some good points about this issue too. “Microsoft gets what we do with others in this situation, no more, no less: access to the information we have.”
+1 For “poopy PC BIOS”. I’m a big fan of the OF stuff you guys have going. If I ever get time to poke at an XO, I’ll probably play with that first.
Great stuff!
I really love the OLPC project, and not just because they do a great thing, I just love the process itself. The final product will benefit all open source communities, especially those, that create applications for it.
I also had written an opinion peace on the subject of comparison of OLPC with other laptops (and it was published on LinuxToday and Groklaw, so its genuine ;-), it can be found on my blog (I don’t write the url here, but if someone wants to read it look for “OLPC reviewers review” on LinuxToday).
Windows of Clarity on OLPC + XP Clarification
Happy with Sugar on OLPC
I love the media judo that One Laptop Per Child program garners around Microsoft Windows on the OLPC XO. There is so much spin and dodge you might get confused about who is working with whom on what. Let me take the opportuni…
“So, when they read the source, do they have to publish their own code under the GPL (assuming the OLPC code is GPL) ?”
No, that’s true when dealing with patents, but not with copyrights. You can’t copyright facts and you can’t copyright functional aspects, only expression. Clean-room engineering in this kind of situation is generally [IANAL] a manifestation of corporate lawyers’ aversion to risk. So long as they don’t copy the code, or ape the non-functional aspects of its organization, it’s not infringement.
Now, it’s quite possibly that Microsoft’s own risk-averse lawyers might insist on them figuring it out from scratch..
[...] No caso da Microsoft, como fogem à GNU GPL o mais que podem, a falta de informação é auto-imposta, e isso resulta nas desventuras descritas por Christopher Blizzard no seu blog. [...]
“So, when they read the source, do they have to publish their own code
under the GPL (assuming the OLPC code is GPL) ?”
No, that’s true when dealing with patents, but not with copyrights
Incorrect. Clean-room development does not have any affect on a patent, use of the idea is still infringement no matter if you came up with the idea all by yourself. The advantage of clean-room development in regards to copyright is greater accountability against claims of copying. Microsoft should not be reading the GPL sources unless they will release the resulting software under a GPL compatible license.
Greg is right about patents. With patents the end-point is more-or-less all that matters. What I should have contrasted copyright to was use of non-public (unpublished) documents, such as documents obtained under an NDA, where the information in the document is protected by contractual requirements.
With copyrights (published material), access to the original material is one of the things that would be considered in an infringement suit. However, such a suit would only occur if the code resulting from the reading was very close to the original. As noted, you are allowed to learn from the material and use the facts embodied in the material, you just can’t copy it (with certain exceptions).
Clean-room engineering is a strong defence against a claim of infringement. However, so is just writing clearly different code.
Greg’s “should not” may be stating his ethical position rather than a legal position. Learning from published code doesn’t violate the law [again, IANAL] and doesn’t offend my ethics, but YMMV.
[...] Christopher Blizzard » Blog Archive » one laptop per child and open source i really need to write up some of the recent OLPC news (tags: OLPC ChristopherBlizzard opensource NicholasNegroponte) [...]
[...] Christopher Blizzard dienoraštis [...]
[...] I might have overreacted just a bit 08May07 An update on the whole Windows – OLPC business courtesy of planet OLPC [...]
[...]Now, it’s quite possibly that Microsoft’s own risk-averse lawyers might insist on them figuring it out from scratch.. [...]
Whoa, when has risk ever stopped them from stealing ideas and blatant patent infringement? As long as the returns are greater than the pitiful sums they are eventually fined they’ll always take the “risk”.
That’s a great article. It’s interesting what you say about the politics, spin and obfuscation surrounding OLPC. Your article is very welcome as it attempts to get at the truth. What is becoming clear is that the OLPC is a not the solution but a starting point for development. This project needs to be handled in a sensitive way. Different needs and cultures must be addressed properly. Only then will the One Laptop Per Child project be a success. Right now is an exciting time for technology, particularly mobile technology covering laptops, mobile phones and PDAs. Also the web and they way they all work with the web. I get my laptops and peripherals from Portable Universe and I can thoroughly recommend them. The best thing for people to do is to talk to them, let them know what your needs are (both current and future) and they will come up with the best laptop for you. I also get blank DVDs there for my backup.
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[...] From Christopher Blizzard: Learning requires the transparency that free and open source software provides. [...]
[...] Adrian Kingsley-Hughes reckons the OLPC mix-up is a case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing. Adrian also argues that Microsoft will get involved at some point. Christopher Blizzard also serves up a plausible scenario leading to the mix up. [...]
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On 10 May, public school students from Cardal, department of Florida, each received one laptop. This is the first experience of the government’s “Plan Ceibal” that has many objectives, including reducing illiteracy in every department of Uruguay…
http://www.uruguaydailynews.com/2007/05/14/one-laptop-for-each-student/
[...] Dopo l’annuncio del poco chiaro piano di Microsoft di diffondere delle versioni del suo sistema operativo per 3$ nei paesi in via di sviluppo, si era diffusa la strana idea (o FUD) che il One Laptop per Child sarebbe stato disponibile anche in ‘versione Windows’. Un altro computer con Windows pre-installato vi chiederete? No, no! non vi preoccupate. Walter Bender, presidente del Software e Content per l’OLPC, ha ufficialmente smentito qualsiasi tipo di accordo con Microsoft e sottolineato che nessun governo ha mai fatto richiesta di una così improbabile accoppiata. Christopher Blizzard uno dei principali sviluppatori di Sugar, sistema operativo dell’OLPC, ha aggiunto che Microsoft in quanto azienda software possiede alcuni prototipi del laptop, ma a parte qualche richiesta di aiuto agli sviluppatori di Sugar, che hanno gentilmente risposto loro di guardare il codice, Redmond non ha mai dato l’impressione di essere in grado di far girare qualche cosa di proprio sull’OLPC. Posted in Occhio sul mondo | [...]
[...] http://www.0xdeadbeef.com/weblog/?p=285 [...]