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Gettys, set, go, for One Laptop Per Child

05.01.2007
Jim Gettys has been a software pioneer on open source systems for over 20 years. From his role as a primary developer of the X Window System at MIT in 1984 (which forms the basis of Linux and Unix graphical interfaces), through to editing the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) HTTP/1.1 protocol and founding the handhelds.org project (from which all Linux handheld and mobile phone development stems from), the only thing Gettys hasn't tried his hand at is solving world hunger. But he decided to start with the developing world's education crisis first, and now finds himself as Vice President of Software for the One Laptop per Child project.

Before he arrives in Australia for linux.conf.au in January, Gettys took some time out to share some thoughts on the OLPC project with Mitchell Bingemann.

How and why did you get involved with the One Laptop per Child project?

It was a cross of circumstance and being in a particular place at a particular time. I had heard about the project before its serious public launch from Alan Kay, and was intrigued enough by it to go see Nicholas Negroponte to talk to him about it. And I knew the software was eminently do-able, having been one of the people who worked on bringing Linux to handheld devices.

But the nail in the coffin was when some months later, HP decided to close the lab I was part of, which made my personal circumstances much clearer.

Could you briefly describe your role with the OLPC project?