Rumor has it that everyone’s favorite OS is making its way to the OLPC XO this year. According to reports, testing is to begin in June to determine if Windows XP is a viable solution for XO laptops. If all goes well, you could be picking up an XO laptop by September.

The existing OS, Sugar Linux, will not be wiped out of the picture anytime soon, much to Microsoft’s dismay. A dual-boot solution will be created and buyers will be able to choose which operating system they’d prefer. I feel that putting XP on these laptops is a great idea. Plus, if you don’t want to use Vista yet, this is about the only computer you’ll get with XP still installed on it.

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Microsoft has announced they will be testing out the One Laptop Per Child device with Windows XP, sexing up the current Linux based system. Microsoft hasn’t announced how likely an official Windows version of the OLPC XO device will appear, though if tests are successful we can expect a better idea by the second half of 2008.

Adding XP to the XO device would no doubt pump the price of the OLPC project over the sub-$200 price range already selected for the campaign. How much over is the question. If Microsoft can add XP at a moderate price it might be worth the compatibility, though if the price is even raised by $100, the whole process would be meaningless, as the price would be higher than many families could afford. Especially with even cheaper devices in the works. — Andrew Dobrow

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