Computerworld’s article…

OLPC developing dual-boot Windows, Linux OS for laptops

…reports that there are plans to produce an OLPC that can dual-boot Linux or Microsoft Windows. When I first heard people suggest this, I was against it. I couldn’t imagine how to shoehorn something as huge as Windows Vista or even Windows XP into the tiny flash drive space built into the OLPC. But, the idea is starting to grow on me… especially as I find the various little limitations in the mini-Fedora environment it has now (like the inability to print out of the box — and, yes, I used yum to install CUPS but that seemed to blow up during the installation).

Here’s what I wish would happen though. Back in 2004 I wrote a slightly tongue-in-cheek blog item asking Microsoft to Open Source one of the best lightweight operating systems ever released: Windows 98 SE. It runs fine with 128MB RAM (or less) with a few gigabytes of hard disk and has excellent driver support for WiFi, printers, and a host of other peripherals. Imagine running it on a flash based storage device like the OLPC or the Asus EEE PC. This won’t happen, of course. But, it sure would make for a great little light weight, low cost, well supported ultraportable.