September 4 - 12:45pm EDT   With Microsoft having finished a version of its Windows XP operating system for the One Laptop Per Child notebook in July, the computer should be nearing its launch date, and a Thursday report seems to confirm this. Citing an OLPC official, the report alleges both Linux-based Sugar and Windows XP operating systems will be available on the low-cost XO laptop, which was designed to help educate kids in developing countries. While the laptop is estimated to launch in about a month, another story from the same source has Amazon selling the laptop in November. [full story]

July 25 - 12:40pm EDT   Microsoft has finally completed the OLPC version of Windows XP, the company has announced. The scaled-down operating system has been released to manufacturing, and is being installed on select versions of the OLPC group's XO notebook, intended mainly for schools in poor countries. The computer uses bare-bones components to reduce cost to approximately $200, such as a smaller screen and flash-based program storage. [full story]

May 27 - 2:35pm EDT   The One Laptop Per Child project's XO2 notebook will use an improved form of multi-touch display when it ships, says Mary Lou Jepsen of the display's creator company, Pixel Qi, in a new interview with Laptop. Instead of using an iPhone-like technique that sandwiches the touch-sensitive layer in between the glass and an LCD, the XO2 will use an in-cell touchscreen where the receptors are woven into the display itself. The process both saves money by reducing the production to a single part and also produces a brighter screen without the need for a surface layer. [full story]

May 23 - 9:40am EDT   Early talks are underway to bring the Sugar interface from the One Laptop Per Child project's XO notebook to different PC builders, according to news from former OLPC executive and now Sugar Labs Foundation head Walter Bender. The spin-off company is now said to be discussing the use of Sugar with four "ultra low-cost" notebook makers who would use the front-end on top of the underlying operating system for computers targeted at children. [full story]

May 20 - 1:45pm EDT   The One Laptop Per Child project plans a radical revision of its notebook that will make it at least as advanced as other PCs, organization head Nicholas Negroponte has revealed today at the OLPC Global Country Workshop. Superficially resembling Nintendo's DS Lite, version 2.0 of the XO will use two touchscreens that adapt to a given context; the design will change keyboard sizes to accommodated older children and adults, and both screens can combine to form a single display used for games and other activities that involve two users at the same time. [full story]

May 16 - 12:50am EDT   Microsoft tonight revealed that the highly talked-about OLPC XO – a laptop initially designed for students in developing countries – will ship with Windows XP as an option in August or September, with some countries to get the low-cost ultraportable sooner. Engadget expects that in the future, the operating system will most likely replace the current Sugar front-end offered in the XO, but OLPC has not explicitly said anything to support the theory. The build is allegedly the same as that of the Eee PC, with custom drivers for the XO hardware. [full story]

April 3 - 4:35pm EDT   One version of Windows XP will continue to be available years after other editions have ceased to exist, Microsoft has announced. XP Home, the most basic version of the operating system, will still be available for OEMs through at least June 2010, in order to support low-cost computers such as Intel's Classmate PC, and ASUS' popular Eee PC. This is because the systems have less RAM, smaller hard drives and inferior processors, making it difficult to run any version of Windows Vista. [full story]

March 21 - 1:10pm EDT   The One Laptop Per Child project is undergoing serious internal problems, InfoWorld reports. The non-profit group is said to be in the middle of a massive restructuring effort, prompted by an organization described by chairman Nicholas Negroponte as "almost like a terrorist group, doing almost impossible things." OLPC is now hunting for a new CEO, and its director of Security Architecture, Ivan Krstić, has announced his resignation. [full story]

March 20 - 8:50am EDT   Intel will sell its Classmate PC notebook in its home territory of the US as well as in Europe, the company said Thursday. While the PC was designed for developing-world countries where cost and a toughened design are necessary, a refreshed version of the Classmate will be available in the more developed areas within weeks from today. Other companies are expected to follow with designs of their own, though whether this includes known "netbook" designs such as the ECS G10IL or the Eee PC 900 is unknown. [full story]

January 17 - 6:40pm EST   The One Laptop Per Child project set out to create a system that could be used by children, even those who have never seen a computer before or may not even know how to read. With the system coming to North America through the recently-ended Give 1 Get 1 program, however, it also serves as a benchmark for low-cost computing and for the progress of Linux as a mainstream operating system. In our XO notebook review, we find out not just whether the $400 spent is worthwhile for the donation but also whether it can stand in as an ultra-budget alternative to a Mac or Windows portable. [full story]

January 14 - 12:40pm EST   The One Laptop Per Child project will soon turn its attention toward poor American children, officials have announced. The group's XO notebook was originally built to be a $100 system for schools in Third World countries, granting computer access which might otherwise be too expensive; the final system is selling to foreign governments for $188, while Americans can get their own by buying one for themselves as well as another country. The Give 1 Get 1 bundle costs $400, however, which may still be more than some American families can afford to budget. [full story]

January 11 - 4:45pm EST   Microsoft is not working with the One Laptop Per Child project to develop a dual-boot version of the XO notebook, the former company has said through a spokesperson. The software developer says it has "investigated the possibility" of taking the Linux and Windows hybrid approach but reiterated previous claims that it was conducting tests this month with a Windows-only version of the developing-world system. This contradicts claims by OLPC head Nicholas Negroponte that Windows would co-exist alongside the system, according to reports. [full story]

January 10 - 4:55pm EST   A side project of the One Laptop Per Child team plans an even less expensive portable than the XO, according to news from the CES floor. Calling the firm Pixel Qi, Mary Lou Jepsen says her business intends to produce a $75 portable that will borrow key aspects of the XO's design while reducing costs. The system is still in the very early stages but will rely heavily on the unique technology of the XO's LCD (created by Jepsen) that allows it to be read even in broad daylight. Other parts of the system that can be drawn from the OLPC group will be purchased at cost and while others will be sold in the opposite direction, Pixel Qi says. [full story]

January 10 - 12:20pm EST   Electronista has received its own XO notebook from the One Laptop Per Child project and is about to put the notebook for the developing world through tests to see whether it works well for its stated goal of bringing computers to those who may never have used (or seen) a computer before -- as well as whether the small Linux-based system can co-exist with a world of more complex Mac and Windows PCs. So far, the device is promising and even shows a relatively Apple-like simplicity, but may almost prove too simple for some purposes. [full story]

January 9 - 1:55pm EST   The One Laptop Per Child project is developing an update to its XO notebook that will let users run two operating systems on one of the computers, group chair Nicholas Negroponte says in an interview. Though multi-boot setups are not unique to the Mac, the OLPC head says the portable for developing-world schools will soon have a multi-OS system "like on an Apple" that lets users quickly flip between the OLPC's custom Sugar Linux-based interface and Windows XP. Although concerns have been raised about the Microsoft software's performance on the $200 system, the OLPC group notes that the XO's version is not the same as on most computers. [full story]