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The One Laptop Per Child project (OPLC) has confirmed the availability of Windows operating system on XO laptop. Both OLPC and Microsoft officially announced the deal.

Linux is already available on XO.
The Windows based XO will be initially available in five or six countries starting next month. Later it will be released in more countries in August or September this year. Columbia will be the first one to get it.

In December last year Microsoft announced that it was working on a scaled down version of Windows XP for XO laptop. To make it work, it needed to get the operating system to boot from an SD card and to create drivers to work with OLPC’s unique features, such as its touchpad and e-book reader mode.

While giving interview to CNET News.com OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte said:

We view it as a major opportunity for OLPC to expand and expand in a couple of ways. One is to have a broader acceptance in the community and the other is to have more software and software developers available.

Uruguay made it a requirement in its recent solicitation to use Windows therefore the ability to run it is a must-have in some countries according to Negroponte.

Compatibility with the Microsoft operating system still helps give the laptop credibility.

When I talk to people and tell them we can run Windows, they are very impressed. You pass a sort of virility test.

he said.
Microsoft, meanwhile, said the first XO laptops with Windows that start rolling out in June will not be dual-boot machines. According to Microsoft executive James Utzschneider:

The XO will help broaden the range of educational machines with Windows. Plus there are just a lot of people that have fallen in love with that cute little laptop and they’ve said we want to see Windows on it.

Although OPLC and Microsoft have teamed up they are not very fond of each other. Bill Gates once said:

OLPC hasn’t done that well.

And Negroponte at a Linux conference in 2006 said:

AMD is our partner, which means Intel is pissing on me. Bill Gates is not pleased either, but if I am annoying Microsoft and Intel then I figure I am doing something right.