Olpc: Negroponte Halves OLPC Staff, Phases Out Sugar Linux to Focus on Dual-Screen XO

The gradual slump of OLPC makes me sad. I think seeing them bullied into swapping the innovative Sugar UI for Windows XP is a crushing blow to progress. The whining about ‘but people need to learn Windows to work in offices’ is bollocks. It’s a far better thing for humanity to see people diversify, to see them open their minds to different UI flows, different interaction models. Anyone can learn Windows if they need to, and any IT experience will help. The XO and Sugar was a beautiful idea, and I hope that if the XO2 ever sees light of day, they’ll have the guts to build a UI that’s best suited to the task, not the one that’s ‘normal’.

Also, the XO2 (XOXO?) mockup is thoroughly fapworthy and I wants it for myself… so long as it’s not running Windows.