The organization "One Laptop per Child" has officially teamed with Microsoft in its laptop development. At this point, laptops with Windows installed will cost $18 to $20 extra, but the long term vision is a dual-boot system with boith Linux and Windows.

As I am exploring doing work with OLPC, my feelings about this are somewhat mixed. I'm encouraged that Microsoft's involvement will bring about the kind of high profile partnerships that will make this project work, but somewhat disappointed that the project couldn't remain open source. After all, the aims of the open source software movement and OLPC are rather similar; OLPC just encompasses a larger vision.

The big picture, however, is what's important, and if Microsoft's involvement is what it takes to use these laptops to bring educational opportunities to children around the world, then the end result is a good thing. Microsoft has already invested billions domestically; extending its reach to an international community is only a natural extension of these projects.

So here's a somewhat reluctant toast to a partnership that should benefit everyone involved.