While the news that Microsoft is developing a version of Windows for the so-called "$100 laptop" has caused some consternation, the head of the One Laptop per Child project has said the scheme could not promote openness if it blocked Windows.

I used one of the new OLPC machines last week while attending the K12 Open Minds Conference for 2007 (k12openminds07) that was held last week in Indianapolis, Indiana.

In November, you’ll be able to buy a new laptop that’s spillproof, rainproof, dustproof and drop-proof. It’s fanless, it’s silent and it weighs 3.2 pounds. One battery charge will power six hours of heavy activity, or 24 hours of reading.

Nicholas Negroponte, the visionary behind the One Laptop Per Child initiative (OLPC), has publicly expressed his disappointment at the lack of orders for his low-cost computer for poor children. The situation has become so dire that Negroponte will announce a "Give one, get one" promotion in the US and Canada.

Negropontes' people's PC is solely aimed at schoolchildren and if they give it thumbs down the large-scale project won't succeed -- no matter what kind of conclusions experts and theoretical thinkers can come up with.

With Microsoft trying to horn in on this one laptop per child program I can see two things happening. One I already mentioned and that is the price will rise. Not just because of the operating system that Microsoft seems intent on forcing on everyone but the cost of the hardware will rise too as windows will not run on hardware that Linux can happily run on.

The nonprofit organization One Laptop Per Child is working to develop computers that could be built for just $100 each and distributed to children in developing countries.Still, some of the program's critics, which have included Dell Inc.

Yesterday, the Linux based One Laptop Per Child was presented an INDEX: AWARD for winning the Community category. The INDEX: AWARD is presented every other year, and in addition to the glory, each award comes with a €100 000 prize. INDEX: AWARD operates with five categories, which refer to the context for which the designs are intended: body, home, work, play and community.