Walter leaving and shift to XP.

[John Gilmore]

> 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 ... (b) there is efficiency in freedom ... .

Not to mention that there's freedom in freedom.   :-}

One aspect of freedom that has gone unmentioned by both Walter Bender
and Michael Stone is that free software users have a culture of
volunteering to support each other.  Providing free support for free
tools feels more like an act of charity to one's community, and less
like being exploited by a commercial company that ought to provide its
own support.

OLPC support-gang volunteers (in conversations that devel readers may
not have seen) recently pointed out that it's much easier to attract,
motivate, and retain unpaid volunteers when they're helping with free
and open projects.

It looks to me like OLPC's 2-staff and 60-volunteer end-user support
team would shrink significantly under a Windows OS model.  As Kurt
Maier said,

  I will stick with the support-gang to the bitter end, but I don't
  know if I have it in me to answer support questions about Windows,
  and I somehow doubt MS will be including free tech support ...

	John