I begged and begged. The purity of Linux wasn’t enough by itself for the One Laptop Per Child’s XO-1 laptop. As a literacy-promoter, it also needed apps such as a simplified version of FBReader. OLPC’s current PDFish approach is a disaster. Now guess what? Although Linux will still be an option, OLPC’s leadership is rushing to embrace Win XP, with September set as the date for general availability of Microsoft-tamed XOs. Win and the e-reading mode “Windows now supports the laptop’s e-book reading mode, standard Wi-Fi networking, camera, writing pad and custom keys, as well as the power-saving and other features of the XO hardware,” says the OLPC-Microsft announcement. Just what does this mean? Screen drivers? Also DRMed Microsoft Reader books on the XO? Or other Micosoft e-reading software? Almost surely, Bil-blessed readware will be running on the XP. If so, what about e-book standards such as ePub? Having backed off on Linux, OLPC could well do the same on readware and image DRM. DRM and related tech could potentially be rather dictator friendly. Toe the line or we’ll cut access to your books. Oh, and as long as things are closed, we’d like to do an Amazon Kindle act and be able snoop on what you’re reading and how you’re using the machine. We’re the government. We care. Open source community partly to blame Yes, I’m disappointed mainly at the OLPC leadership. But the free and open source community didn’t help, either. In e-book terms, an XO-ized FBReader could have made a world of difference in the ease of use and flexibility of the XO-1 as a reading tool—and thus have helped to make the open approach more appealing. Weren’t e-books to be among the XO-1’s main apps? Question: Anyone know if/when existing XO-1 owners in the Give One Get One program will get access to Windows? I’m tempted to go that route myself on my G1G1 box. Right now—maybe things will change—I really don’t see that much of a future for my XO as an evolving Linux machine, given the OLPC community’s less than full support of e-reading needs. On the XO-1’s small screen, as I see it, PDF and other nonreflowable formats won’t cut it even for adults, much less K-12 students. While XO-adapted PDF will be available, users won’t enjoy the full range of font choices they would with FBReader, which, by the way, can read not just ePub but also HTML, nonDRMed Mobipocket and a bunch of other formats. The positive: Granted, the OLPC hasn’t reached the $100 price goal, and the use of Microsoftware on future machines could stretch out the time needed. But OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte deserves praise galore for popularizing low-cost hardware, despite his major bungles (such as refusal to push the machine aggressively in the U.S. and other wealthy countries—which could have meant greater economies of scale). Asus owners should bow down three times a day in his direction. Even though I’m POed, mightily, over the XO decision, I remain convinced that the world is a better place as a result of OLPC’s existence. If nothing else, remember the amazing high-res display that the OLPC developed. Suggestion to Negroponte: At least try to get Microsoft to do ePub-compatible software. Related: Techmeme and Google roundups and OLPC News and CNET. Also see Groklaw articles from earlier this month and before and a December post in a Microsoft blog.