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After much negotiations, and countless rumors, it is now official: OLPC's XO Laptop, will now be offered with Windows XP.

Sales of the laptop will be offered to some countries in June, and a larger scale release shortly after. Running Windows on the OLPC however, will not have the same "ease" of use. On Linux, the XO has an interface named "Sugar", which is a custom GUI to give children a friendly computer environment. Plans have been made to port the interface over to Windows, however due to complications, it could take some time.

An important question to ask ourselves is: For a laptop aimed for children in developing countries, is XP the better choice?

"When I talk to people and tell them we can run Windows, they are very impressed. You pass a sort of virility test."
said OLPC's founder, Nicholas Negroponte.

Negroponte said the ability to run Windows is a must-have in some countries. For example, he said, Uruguay made it a requirement in its recent solicitation. Even in other countries where Windows is not required, Negroponte said compatibility with the Microsoft operating system still helps give the laptop credibility.



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