That the OLPC/XO was unencumbered with decades of interface-kludge was easily half of the breakthrough part of its conception, the other half being the hardened hardware. When Negroponte acceded to porting Windows was the beginning of the end, if it doesn’t survive. (Though I hope not, as I’d love to own one myself without having to mug some kid in Ecuador.)

I jest, but Microsoft uses its muscle in strange ways sometimes even when they do so much good in the world.

I’ve always respected Gates as a person; he’s a really intelligent guy — but I’ve never been a fan of the way Microsoft bullied, shoved around and basically screwed over so many companies in the 1990s. Allowing that to happen is Gates’ greatest failure, despite all of the other success.

Gates & co have done a better job of increasing First-World suffering and leveraging it into humanitarian support for the less-developed countries than anyone, even those Marxists who professed things would have to get worse (more suffering in the populace) to get better (in their case a revolution).

As a coder and user I may revile Microsoft as a Great Satan, but I have to admit I respect the Gates Foundation’s goals and non-technofix orientation.