Windows XP Professional on the OLPC
What's going on with Microsoft and the OLPC these days?
Total honesty? I really don't know. Seriously. My work on the project ended back in November of 2008 and I've been busy with other companies and work since then.
The nature of my job is that once a go live is achieved... my end is completed, and I move on. OLPC was a bit of an exception to the rule as I did a bit of work post-completion to assist with Pilots and so on - but, for me, OLPC work officially ended in November of 2008.
I do know that the trials in Peru and other locations were successful and that work continues in those areas. But for the most part my knowledge of the project is limited to the same sorts of things you might know from just reading the internet.
I do read - like everyone else - that the recent announcements with OLPC going to other processors is something Microsoft is aware of - but that's between Mircosoft and OLPC. I'm sure that it's well in hand on both sides of things. Microsoft was very dedicated to the project when I worked on it and I can't see that changing. But that's my opinion, not fact so whatever is out there now - you probably know more about it than I do.
Making the OLPC work with Windows.
As a Program Manager on the Windows OLPC project, I directed efforts from between Milestone 2 (M2) through Release to Market (RTM). And even had input on some of the pilot work around the globe. Because my work on the Windows XP release for the OLPC XO-1 is under an NDA, there is a lot I can't discuss because... that's why you sign an NDA. :-)
What I can say is this was easily one of the more intense and enjoyable jobs I've ever had. It is undoubtedly one of the biggest success stories Windows has had to date, and that our work went far beyond just the OLPC. In fact, it's safe to say that if you have an ASUS eee, Acer Aspire One, or ANY of the Netbooks that run Windows XP.
See the work we did didn't end at the OLPC. But a lot of the work that went into Microsofts efforts for the Netbooks that millions enjoy - started with the little green box. To say I'm incredibly honored to have been a part of that is an understatement.
As has been widely published, we created a version of Windows XP Professional that could boot from an SD Card. A lot of people have pointed out that it boots in somewhere between 40 and 80 seconds. There's a lot of erroneous reporting on this and anyone testing it should be aware that depending on the additional software that the OEM may require, if you compare it to the native OLPC XO-1 with a Linux/Sugar interface from the G1G1 loads - about 3 times as fast. (Some say faster - potatoe, potato - it's faster.)
I know this is a touchy subject, but the demo shown by Bohdan is quite real. No photoshoping or funny business is involved. If you do some searching for interviews with OLPC members you'll find quotes by among others, Walter Bender, Ivan Krstić, and even Nick Negroponte they've verified the booting and other capabilities claimed with their own eyes. So you don't have to believe me or Microsoft - get the info from the guys at MIT.
I should, btw, give props to the OLPC people here - without them our work would have been meaningless and the experience of working with them was great. They were great to work with which isn't easy as we each had walled gardens we had to work with. Anyone who's had to work on projects like that knows it can easily become a nightmare if everyone isn't focused on the goals of the project.
The goal, btw, is, was and has always been - about the kids. Getting the best experiences for kids around the world on some incredible hardware and technology you won't see anywhere else. It's about giving them the ability to learn, to discover and to explore the world in ways they won't be able to any other way. We accomplished our goals in June when we hit RTM - "Release To Market" - and the drivers and software I worked on, became a real live product.
For my part , if I accomplished anything it was because I had one of the greatest teams you can imagine to work with. From Developers to Test to Management - you could not have asked for a better job, or greater challenges.
Here's a few highlights that I can share...
That's one of our bosses on the project, Bohdan Raciborski who is a real kick in the pants to work for - incredibly supportive. Made working on the project a sheer joy. You can read more about the work we did on this here:
http://blogs.technet.com/jamesu/archive/2008/05/15/look-windows-on-the-olpc-xo.aspx
and here...
http://blogs.technet.com/jamesu/archive/2007/12/05/olpc-in-the-news-part-2.aspx
and ... within a few days probably ALLLL over the Internet.
Okay... so that's cool an all... but what did I do?
Well, as it says on my resume... I was a Program Manager contracted to Microsoft handling design, development for drivers.
Here's a clue or two from James Utzschneider's blogs about what our team worked on...
"Cool New Features
Secondly, as we all know there are many innovative features in the XO computer that set it apart from other designs, and we are working with partners to write the driver software so that Windows can support all of them. This includes drivers for the XO’s wireless networking, camera, graphics processor, audio system, and the various user input devices (game pad, writing pad, touch pad, directional pad, and mouse pad.) There are ten custom drivers in all that we are writing. We also hope to support the XO’s mesh network design, its power-saving “e-book” mode, and its capability for excellent screen visibility in full daylight."
In the weeks to follow, I'm sure there will be a lot about the drivers, the bios and the other cool work that went into this but something that probably hasn't been mentioned - but should be was the dedication of everyone.
What drove us? What kept us focused? One thing... kids. We knew who we were doing this for and why they needed it. It's easy to push yourself to do incredible, in some cases, what everyone says is "impossible" things. You get up every morning and you remember that what you're doing will change the lives of children all over the world. Children of all walks of life, in the poorest conditions. Children that will grow up... and change the world.
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