It's good to see that humanity continues to make progress. Microsoft and One Laptop per Child (OLPC) announced an agreement that will make the Microsoft Windows operating system available on OLPC's low-cost XO laptops for the world's poorest children. Through this agreement, trials of the XO running Windows are planned to begin as soon as June in key emerging markets. Recognizing that the challenge of providing high-quality education for children in the developing world is too large to be solved by any single organization, Microsoft and OLPC are committed to working with governments and nongovernmental organizations to ensure the success of these pilot programs.



Windows is the most widely used operating system and essentially form the backbone of today's communication network. The availability of Windows, in addition to Linux, on the XO laptop will allow customers to have an expanded choice of operating environments that best fit their requirements. The intention is to create a version of the XO laptop that provides the ability to host both Windows and Linux operating systems, giving users the ability to run either on the XO laptop.

Children in the developing countries who would otherwise never have access to computers are afforded the some of the same opportunities as the developed world. Transforming education is a fundamental goal of Microsoft Unlimited Potential, the ambitious effort to bring sustained social and economic opportunity to people who currently don't enjoy the benefits of technology. By supporting a wide variety of affordable computing solutions for education that includes OLPC's XO laptop, they aim to make technology more relevant, accessible and affordable for students everywhere.

From the beginning, the goal of OLPC has been to use technology to transform education by bringing connectivity and constructionist learning to the poorest children throughout the world. With future plans for a dual boot version of the XO laptop, OLPC will work with third parties to port its user interface, called ‘Sugar,' to Windows.

Customers and partners worldwide have requested Windows support for the XO laptop, because it opens the door for students and educators to access the benefits of existing Windows-based educational software and tools, as well as a broad ecosystem that provides extensive relevant and local educational content.

Technology's positive impact can lead to the accelerated development of competencies and life skills for students everywhere. The benefits of Microsoft's proven technology platforms for all program areas offered in conjunction with OLPC's XO laptop create enormous potential for children and teachers to learn, grow and contribute to their communities.

Microsoft has spent more than a year working with a variety of partners to develop customized drivers that enable Windows to run on the XO laptop. Windows now supports the laptop's e-book reading mode, standard Wi-Fi networking, camera, writing pad and custom keys, as well as the power-saving and other features of the XO hardware. The adaptation of standard Windows for the XO laptop means that hundreds of thousands of third-party applications and devices available for Windows will now be compatible with the XO laptop, extending the power and advantages of the full Windows ecosystem to XO laptop users.