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"Open Source and Linux Has No Place in OLPC"

Posted by SFN on · 53 comments
OSWeekly.com; By Brandon Watts 		Mail this story
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While reading the "Rent Your Operating System" story a second time, I came across this little gem. I have no idea how I missed it the first time.

"Open source has its time and place, and its time and place isn’t on the $100 laptop for students. Students need to learn about technology with the primary tools that are actually used by other people. They may "learn" about computers and technology on this laptop, but if you sat them down in front of a real OS, they wouldn’t know what to do."

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Comments (53)

So, let me get this straight...

19 earlier comments in the full thread.

SFN Story submitter ·
Quoting:Bye the way, I left a comment correcting the author on his description of LXer.
Typical fanboy behavior. ;-)
DarrenR114 ·
I'd rather be a Linux Fanboy than an MS FUDge packer. ;-)
SFN Story submitter ·
I just spit Pepsi out my nose.
bigg ·
Personally, I don't see any value to posting this type of story. There's no news. There's no informative commentary. It's the equivalent of a drunk in a bar rambling on to anyone who will listen.

If you want to blacklist authors like Brandon Watts and Matt Hartley, or post their columns in a section titled "Drunken Ramblings", that's fine with me.
dcparris ·
Aha! At least I was smart enough to put my drink down. I've learned from doing similiar too many times.
jimf ·
/me passes box of Kleenex to SFN :)
Sander_Marechal ·
> My FUD-o-Meter is always open to updates and in this case it needed one.

Perhaps you guys should add a tag named "FUD" to LXer?

Also, I didn't want to suggest not posting any OS Weekly stories but just that we don't post *all* of them.
Scott_Ruecker ·
Quoting:Also, I didn't want to suggest not posting any OS Weekly stories but just that we don't post *all* of them.


I didn't take it that way but I am going to take more time in determining if they are relevant much more than I have been. That will likely weed out most, but not all I hope. Brandon Watts and Matt Hartley have written good stuff before, it just seems they are mixing FUD, leaps of logic and a little sensationalism for good measure.

For there sake I hope they are making money doing it, I cannot imagine any other reason for purposely lampooning ones credibility as a writer. I mean, if everyone is going to hate my writing it at least better make me some money right?
jimf ·
> Perhaps you guys should add a tag named "FUD" to LXer?

How about a FUD vote counter checkbox. The article with the most votes would get 'FUD of the week'.
Sander_Marechal ·
I remember a couple of months ago there used to be weekly roundups of LXer. Perhaps they can be brought back in different form? But instead of listing all articles, just pick out the most interesting, newsworthy and most discussed ones. And FUD of the week ofcourse. It could make for a nice weekly LXer feature.
Scott_Ruecker ·
sander: You are a genius!

So what does everyone else think?

How would you like it if I did a "LXer Weekly Roundup" or some such named thing? If you have suggestions for a different/better name for it please say so.

It would cover the most popular, talked about and infamous(FUD) articles of the previous week with some editorial banter/rant/thoughts provided by yours truly. I would have the opportunity to summarize and comment on the threads concerning the articles as well.

I think it will be cool as all get out. It will be a good way to get caught up if you've been out of touch or need help in wrapping your head around a whole week's worth of Linux News.

Its genius I tell ya genius!
ABCC ·
You mean we can have two rounds of Matt Hartley bashing?!?!
Scott_Ruecker ·
It would be an editorial on the week's big stories with links to them and I would also talk about what was said in the threads concerning them up to that point.

If one of them happens to be considered FUD it would be a recap the bashing happening in the threads related to it.
ABCC ·
Perhaps you incorporate the "Top 3 cheap shots", a bit like browsing slashdot for +5 funny comments.

A deeper look into FUD could be very interesting though. I often come across articles that appear to rehash the same PR release over a period of weeks, or are a rehash of 'talking points about linux'. This always raises the question

"Where is the FUD-Fountain, and can we put a plug in it?"

As for the editorial it gets my vote, the original reporting and commentry here has always been of a high standard, I'm sure giving more prominence to the input of the LXer team would not go unappreciated.
Scott_Ruecker ·
Quoting:A deeper look into FUD could be very interesting though.


You said what I was thinking, I would like the opportunity to try and see the forest for the trees, to reverse a saying, and explore why it was written and for what purpose.

Having the collective thoughts (comments in the threads) of all the regular LXer's at my disposal can't hurt either. :-)

Sander_Marechal ·
Quoting:A deeper look into FUD could be very interesting though.


Yes, that would be very interesting. Far better even than just pointing and laughing at a FUD piece.

Also, for added bonus the weekly roundup could be sent out as a newsletter as well. That would probably drive some extra traffic to LXer and help people catch up that do not have the time to visit regularly.
hkwint ·
IMHO: Please don't ban OSweekly. Just don't post the harsh trash. After all, it is about open source, it is entertaining, it is worthwile discussing, it makes us focus on the benefits of open source, and I'd say it's news too (though the last one is debatable). A FUD- tag / warning / category could be a good idea, so people who don't understand why this is posted can skip it.

About the 'Week in Review' feautere: That worked very well in the past, and sometimes was our top story (with the most readers) that week (even though it used to be posted at Sundays!). Very good for the busy people. I wish I had more time (after May I will), than I would do it myself probably (but that doesn't help anyone in April, does it?).

I saw you posted the 1st April roundup with 10 links and personal summaries (adding something personal is important in my opinion), which looks very neat (thanks!) Personally, I'd say go for 15 links, but 10 is ok too; well done!
Scott_Ruecker ·
hkwint: at first I only had like 7 or 8 and I realized, "Wait a second, I need more than that."

Thanks for the compliments.
Sander_Marechal ·
Great work Scott :-) That personal touch makes it much better than the old roundup, which was really a list of links.
Scott_Ruecker ·
sander: Thank You, I try to capture what the overall opinion on LXer is, and LXer's take on it in the description paragraph.

Real OS?

CMatters ·
Brandon states: 'They may "learn" about computers and technology on this laptop, but if you sat them down in front of a real OS, they wouldn’t know what to do.'

Someone forgot to tell me that Linux was not a real OS. My bad. I guess I have to follow the lemmings back to Windows. Wait, what exactly makes a real OS?
jimf ·
I'd say that Brandon got that one backwards :D
Scott_Ruecker ·
A real OS is one that the author or the person paying him to write thinks you should use.

Someone should explain to him that Linux is not just a figment of his imagination, it is real. ;-)
tuxchick ·
Lordamercy, I smell another astroturf campaign. Why would anyone oppose OLPC? Except those who have a vested interest in cruddy overpriced obsolete techology, and who have absolutely no vision beyond the current financial quarter. Whoever is funding these shills has forgotten that any and all entry points to technology are good. Today's OLPC user stands a better chance of becoming tomorrow's Ridiculous Commercial Crap customer than someone who has no exposure to computers.

The same predictable shill speech patterns are rampant:

"I’m all about children having open and easy access to technology..." though I have to give him credit for his very creative way of saying "but" without actually using the word.

"Just to clarify" "Don't get me wrong"

Don't worry, your message is crystal clear. I just hope you held out for a reasonable price.
Scott_Ruecker ·
I wish I could go back in time and never allowed this article to be posted. He is so full of it, it hurts my head.

I will be paying extra special attention anything written by him from now on.
tuxchick ·
Scott, as you said in the other thread it's good to be aware of what the FUDsters and dimwits are saying. I rather liked the suggestions for "FUD of the week", though it would get predictable as it would be dominated by OSWeakly and MadPenguin.
dcparris ·
Scott, you were right to post it. That's o.k. Consider it was submitted by someone whose 2nd initial begins with an "F".

[Sarcastic moment] Moo! [/Sarcastic moment]

It's actually good you posted it. It's frustrating as I don't know what to read, but good that you posted it. We do have to remember that we cannot do the thinking for our readers.
ABCC ·
Im quite happy that this one was posted, most of the articles on OSweekly leave me bitterly disappointed that they couldn't think up more creative FUD. This one though, is a corker.

I like seeing these guys makes asses of themselves, it's the articles that are full of platitudes and fawning praise that i don't like seeing (like the annual WSJ linux piece). To me the FUD pieces highlight how far linux has come, the 'objective' articles are the ones that show that the bright future is still a long ways away.
hiohoaus ·
"Real" OS?

That means it's using bulk quantities of floating-point numbers, yes?

Do Microsoft's bank accounts earn bonus points for Windows? If so, it probably qualifies as a DOUBLE PRECISION OS.

/ME waves to those here who were infected by ForTran while it was popular. (-:
hkwint ·
Scott: Good you posted it. To fight FUD you must be familiar with it.
Scott_Ruecker ·
I Love it!!

I want the chair, fem-bot and the goats!!

Why Linux and Open source do belong on OLPC

theboomboomcars ·
Quoting:Open Source and Linux Has No Place in OLPC
This cannot be further from the truth for a couple simple reasons. One is that OLPC is an educational foundation focusing on bringing the advantages of technology to developing countries. Using open source software will allow the children to learn how to use a computer, just like using closed source software would but it also allows the students to learn how the computer works, and what happens if you make a change. Since OLPC is geared towards getting children in developing countries to be able to benefit from technology, understanding how it works will achieve that goal.

Another is that since both Windows and OSX are closed and under complete control of Microsoft and Apple respectively, they can decide that if the poor students want updates, fixes, or even to continue using their computers they will have to pay for the opportunity. Whereas with using a Linux distribution that cannot happen. If Red Hat tried to put a kill switch in the software that required someone to pay to continue use, the whole world would know, and someone could fix it. My guess would be that the heads of OLPC would choose another vendor for their OS.

Quoting:Our interest here is on the operating system, so in a laptop that is supposed to open up mainstream technology to kids for the first time, what kind of OS would you expect to be in use?
I would expect Linux or FreeBSD to be the OS on such a device, or perhaps even ReactOS. For the simple reason that these will actually open up the world of technology to the users rather than being a buffer to it.

Quoting:The interface basically involves a number of big icons that allow students to do various things, and while there is some nice Internet functionality, it doesn’t resemble anything that we’re used to with desktop computing.
There are two main flaws with this argument. One is that MacOS and Windows are extremely different in their User Interface that using one will not really help you in using the other, other than knowing how to use a mousing device. How is putting a simple interface that is easier to use any different that saying putting OSX on it would help them use windows if they desired to? I can't think of any reason.

Quoting:Simple can be good, but this looks more like one of those interfaces from a LeapFrog product that you can buy at Toys "R" Us.
The OPLC is aimed at children, hence the acronym stands for One Laptop Per Child. Putting a simple interface that is easy to use and a child can relate to seems like a good thing to me. And since they decided on an open source operating system they were able to create a GUI specifically for the intended application with no extra bells and whistles. Which helps keep the hardware requirements down and the system cheaper to meet the $100 required price tag.

Quoting:Students need to learn about technology with the primary tools that are actually used by other people. They may "learn" about computers and technology on this laptop, but if you sat them down in front of a real OS, they wouldn’t know what to do.
If you teach a child how to use a specific application they then know how to use that specific version of that application. If you teach a child how a computer works and how to negotiate their way through different styles of applications,then they will be able to figure out how to use what ever computer you put in front of them. Applications change, systems change. The software that is out today is very different from the software that I learned in High School 10 years ago., which was very different from the software I used on our first computer 10 years before that. But using different types of OS's and different applications taught me how to use a computer without regard to OS or application.

Quoting:Shouldn’t we teach them computer skills that are actually going to help them in the future?
Yes we should which is why we shouldn't force proprietary closed software on them, we should teach them how a computer works, and how to configure and change that computer. because you never know, one of these kids maybe the one to develop the ultimate operating system. Because we all know that isn't here yet.
Read the whole comment
hiohoaus ·
Ah, those Developing Countries will get you. (-:

How on earth can a country develop unless it has incentive? The vast majority of Australia's software deficit is related to a certain piece of foreign operating system software. This amounts to an enormous tax on our economy, meaning that we have to be a developing country or else a gone-bankrupt country.

This PITA exists despite an amazing proportion of Australian FOSS developers. Where was SaMBa invented? Where did the penguin first bite? Which FOSS OS became so popular that we had to hold last year's conference in a different country? Who got Avahi started from Western Australia? And so on.

It simply proves, I think, that in every crowd of politicians there will be a few who are, um, hell-bent on dragging defeat from the very jaws of victory.

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