<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">Actually the free reference design is not what this is about. As Quanta is the ODM and will probably contribute heir own "intellectual property" in figuring out how to build this device. They'll pass that information back to the designer but usually they won't share that info more widely.<DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><<A href="http://wiki.laptop.org/wiki/Hardware_specification">http://wiki.laptop.org/wiki/Hardware_specification</A>></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">Detailed schematics and board layouts of these high-volume designs are often considered proprietary to the ODM's, or jointly owned by both parties involved. They represent the competitive advantage one ODM may have with its rivals (who may have access to the same components as they do). Those design schematics are sometimes available to programmers after production starts under NDA agreements; for example, schematics of many of the iPAQ handhelds were made available to programmers in the open-source community under NDA, when insufficient written programming information was available. OLPC will try to document our designs sufficiently to avoid NDAs; we expect this will be less effort than the logistics of requiring NDAs in such a large and diverse community.</SPAN></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>So this won't be a fully open design that anyone can make in the sense that you can get the PCB layouts and the CAD files for the case. You might get the full schematic (or you might not) under NDA. But I doubt anyone will be building these other than Quanta.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>So the question is still what did Negroponte say/mean?</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><<FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><A href="http://wiki.laptop.org/wiki/OLPC_software_task_list#OLPC_Software_Task_List">http://wiki.laptop.org/wiki/OLPC_software_task_list#OLPC_Software_Task_List</A>></SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></SPAN></FONT></DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">At its most basic, we need: an operating system; a web browser; an eBook reader; and some other base-level utilties, such as audio recording and playback, video playback, word processing, tools for drawing, etc.</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><BR></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">With 500 MB of flash memory, and 128 MB of RAM, the $100 laptop will not be tied to a specific set of software or content. It will have the flexibility to change with the requirements of the student. Individuals will inevitably find individualized uses; certainly local, regional, and national requirements will drive much of the base configuration.</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"></SPAN></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>So that could be any OS? Yet later in the task list Linux is explicitly mentioned.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>And how does it relate to Mako's manifesto? That's a great call for tinkerable software.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><<FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><A href="http://wiki.laptop.org/wiki/OLPC_on_open_source_software">http://wiki.laptop.org/wiki/OLPC_on_open_source_software</A>></SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV>Obviously I'm not sure if this is OLPC policy (though he is an employee) but I also vaguely remeber Negroponte saying something similar at the Tech Review conference. Ah, the perils of a wiki :-)<FONT class="Apple-style-span" size="3"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"></SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>All the same either press have got it wrong or something needs to be clarified.</DIV><DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>On Apr 5, 2006, at 6:00 PM, Tom M wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV>Kevin,</DIV><DIV><BR></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV>A second OS for the $100 laptop? WTF?</DIV><DIV><BR></DIV><DIV>Given a goal of the OLPC is open source I wonder what's going on</DIV><DIV>here. If they changed their mind now and switched to Win CE you'd see</DIV><DIV>the external software effort support drop to epsilon (though Squeak</DIV><DIV>would still be there with no porting effort :-).</DIV><DIV><BR></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE><DIV><BR></DIV><DIV>I've no insider knowledge, but from what I've read - OLPC will be a</DIV><DIV>free reference hardware design, anyone will be allowed to manufacture</DIV><DIV>it, and any software will be allowed to be ported to it (at least if</DIV><DIV>i've understood what I've read :) ). However my understanding is</DIV><DIV>OLPC project will only manufacture and distributed the linux reference</DIV><DIV>version.</DIV><DIV><BR></DIV><DIV>Tom M.</DIV><DIV>LetterRip</DIV><DIV><BR></DIV> </BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV> <DIV>--</DIV><DIV>Kevin Purcell</DIV><DIV><A href="mailto:kevinpurcell@pobox.com">kevinpurcell@pobox.com</A></DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </DIV><BR></DIV></BODY></HTML>