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Re:Richard Stallman on the Failure of One Laptop Per Child &... by Tichy on Tuesday November 04, 2008 @07:44AM (#353346)
With all sympathy, it seems to me that a PC that is capable of running Linux AND Windows is more free than a PC that is only capable of running Linux.

I understand the concern of making Windows available to children, but in the end, it is better than no PC at all.

At least if you have a OLPC with Windows installed, hopefully you can find a Website that tells you how to install Linux on it. If you have no OLPC, you can not even install Linux on it.

Re:Richard Stallman on the Failure of One Laptop Per Child &... by cabalamat on Tuesday November 04, 2008 @04:28PM (#353912)
it seems to me that a PC that is capable of running Linux AND Windows is more free than a PC that is only capable of running Linux

That's like saying a society where some people are free and some people are slaves is more free than a society where everyone is free.

I understand the concern of making Windows available to children, but in the end, it is better than no PC at all.

If it was a choice between a PC running Windows or no PC at all, ever for the rest of someone's life, then I'd agree. But as Stallman says "Teaching children to use Windows is like teaching them to smoke tobacco—in a world where only one company sells tobacco."

Re:Richard Stallman on the Failure of One Laptop Per Child &... by Tichy on Tuesday November 04, 2008 @04:55PM (#353937)
Running Windows is not the same as being a slave.

In fact, why not dig deeper. Is the CPU Open Source? Why is it not a problem to use proprietary hardware?

Actually, Windows does not even have that much of a lock-in, or does it? The lock in used to stem from MS Office, and even that is not so severe anymore these days.

And I think for those children it was a question between no PC or a Windows PC. If for whatever reason the government or whoever pays for the PCs says so, what do you want to do against it?

Re:Richard Stallman on the Failure of One Laptop Per Child &... by cabalamat on Wednesday November 05, 2008 @09:52PM (#355299)
Running Windows is not the same as being a slave.

Of course not. I didn't say it was.

Is the CPU Open Source? Why is it not a problem to use proprietary hardware?

Open Source processor designs exist. It wouldn't surprise me if in future FLOSS operating systems run on them.

I don't consider proprietary CPUs to be a big problem -- though they would be if they were running some sort of Treacherous Computing system or DRM which meant they wouldn't do what the user wanted.

Windows does not even have that much of a lock-in, or does it?

The lock-in is vastly less than what it used to be. I can develop web applications using a GNU/Linux system with no problems.

If for whatever reason the government or whoever pays for the PCs says so, what do you want to do against it?

It's not for me to tell foreigners how to run their countries (it's not my country). Though IMO if they make themselves dependent on Microsoft, they are not acting in their own best interests.

Re:Richard Stallman on the Failure of One Laptop Per Child &... by Tichy on Thursday November 06, 2008 @03:21PM (#356074)
I certainly wouldn't advise those countries to use Microsoft products.
Re:Richard Stallman on the Failure of One Laptop Per Child &... by Tichy on Tuesday November 04, 2008 @09:26AM (#353430)
I am beginning to think that I have a special friend on HN. Hello, whoever you are.