Walter leaving and shift to XP.

[Michael Stone]

On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 05:37:08PM -0400, Walter Bender wrote:
> I certainly don't know enough about Windows to be able to answer your
> question from the technical perspective. 

As a former Windows developer (using both proprietary APIs and Free
APIs), I'm very confident that the collaborative user experience named
the "Sugar UI" can be provided on Windows at what constitutes acceptable
expense in the Windows world by any of several wholly different means
(each with different degrees of freeness and with different technical
folks carrying out the work).

> I do know that to launch an effort to port to Windows will require
> resources above and beyond what are currently available. 

True, but there are many skilled Windows developers around (including
F/OSS developers) who might assist with the work.

> Is that the best use of resources? 

Educating others about how our system works and writing better
documentation are, in my opinion, good uses of time because they make it
easier to work with us. I don't worry very much whether the people
asking questions and writing documentation are doing so because they
want to write software for Linux or Windows.

> Not the least in my mind is one of culture: I fought long and hard to
> get the principle of free and open added to the core principles of
> OLPC because I believe that (a) there is power in freedom--it really
> does make a difference to teachers and learners to know that they can
> be first-class citizens in the world of ideas [it is a contradiction
> to advocate expression and collaboration but put up barriers at the
> same time]; (b) there is efficiency in freedom--despite all of the
> deficiencies and all the mistakes, we've accomplished a tremendous
> amount in just two years and the potential to accomplish much much
> more.

Agreed in full, though I caution there may be some important obligations
of openness and freedom (contained in their intersection with justice,
love, and wisdom among others) which we could be meeting more fully.

Michael