No Mac OS X on $100 laptops
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Nov 15, 2005 at 1:05pm
The open standards of Mac OS X “have been trounced by open source software in a project to develop a $100 computer to help bridge the digital divide,” reports Macworld UK.
An organization called One Laptop Per Child is developing the machines to bridge the gap between the developed and the developing world. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Steve Jobs offered to furnish the project with free copies of Mac OS X for each machine, but the project team elected to choose open source rather than proprietary solutions.
“The proposed $100 machine will be a Linux-based, full-colour, full-screen laptop that will use innovative power (including wind-up),” Macworld UK says. “It will be WiFi-enabled, will carry USB ports and host a 1GB drive and a 500MHz processor.”
Project co-founder and MIT professor Seymour Papert said Mac OS X was declined because “it’s not open source.” Current plans call for producing five to ten million units beginning in late 2006 or early 2007. See our Oct. 7 report for more info.
Cats Says:
Hello, anyone home. Try Darwin on for size. Duh! How open do you want it? I think this is a mind game. Of course we won’t see OS X. But you’re looking in all the wrong places (as Steve Jobs once pointed out).
Think Darwin!
Posted on November 15, 2005
Jason Vieira Says:
If you would like to petition Apple to design a laptop for children in developing countries, I have set up such a petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/m1a2c/petition.html. Sign and keep the dream of giving Mac OS X to developing countries alive.
Posted on November 16, 2005
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
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Philippe Says:
Interesting ...
This is to my knowledge the very first time Apple has showed openeness to having OS X run on non-Apple hardwre.
Though being for a very good cause, it sets a very interesting precedant.
Posted on November 15, 2005