Opinion: One Windows PC per child

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The indispensable consumer-electronics blog Engadget reported today that, according to a Chinese newspaper, the lead manufacturer in the One Laptop Per Child initiative has pushed the debut shipment back from July until late this year. It’s hard to fault Quanta, the manufacturer, for the latest delays, given the ambition of its effort to build an efficient, WiFi enabled laptop for $150 or less. But the success of the project has always depended on the uniqueness of the value proposition, and that uniqueness took a blow this week when Microsoft announced plans to make basic versions of its operating system and productivity software available to students in developing nations for $3 per computer. To qualify, governments would have to pick up at least half the tab for the PC on which the software was installed, and it wouldn’t have to be a new PC. As ZDNet columnist Adrian Kingsley-Hughes points out, this is what makes the move by Microsoft so intriguing. A refurbished unit could be had for $50. Throw in a CRT monitor for $50 and you’ve got a very affordable computer. Of course, the operating costs may be significantly higher than the OLPC model, given the higher power consumption and the need for an assortment of anti-malware products. But at least it improves the odds for Microsoft, which can’t afford to see the developing world move en masse to the Linux-based OLPC and its open source applications. Of course, the bountiful supply of pirated Windows and Office software helps to keep the developing world in the Microsoft camp, too, albeit as non-paying members.