ACM TechNews

OLPC Tries to Bridge Gap With Developer Community

IDG News Service (05/07/08) Shah, Agam

Developers have begun raising doubts about One Laptop Per Child's (OLPC) commitment to open-source software in the wake of Chairman Nicholas Negroponte's criticism of Sugar, a user interface that currently works with Linux-based XO laptops. Negroponte has said that he would like to see Sugar's development extended to Windows in order to make XO laptops more appealing to consumers, and has asked developers to help make that a reality. Developers are upset because they see the XO laptop as being a watershed open-source project. OLPC, meanwhile, wants to extend Sugar to Windows because it wants to sell more cheap PCs, said OLPC observer Wayan Vota. The controversy among developers about Negroponte's remarks has forced Kim Quirk, the director of the technical team at OLPC, to reassure developers that her organization is not abandoning open source. "I'd like to reiterate that we at OLPC are committed to create Sugar as an open-source project, as it provides a great opportunity for both learners and for contributors," she wrote in a recent email. Quirk added that the community needs to address its communication problem so the project can get back on track.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/145553/
olpc_tries_to_bridge_gap_with_developer_community.html

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