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OLPC to dual boot Linux and Windows

OLPCWe've known for a while that the OLPC's XO laptop would be capable of running Windows XP and not just the stock Fedora-based Sugar OS. But we'd kind of figured that once XO laptops running Windows became available you'd have to purchase a unit with one operating system or the other. Now we're hearing that OLPC is working with Microsoft to develop a dual-boot system.

There's not a lot of information available at the moment so we can't tell you how much a dual boot XO laptop will cost or when you'll be able to get your hands on one. But OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte reportedly says the Windows is "very fast," and "very successful."

The XO laptop doesn't have a hard drive, and has a very limited amount of solid state storage, so we're guessing you won't find both operating systems preloaded in the device's main memory. Rather, it's likely that Microsoft is following through on its promise to release a version of Windows XP that will run on an SD card. Of course, you could also just buy an Asus Eee PC today and dual boot Windows and Linux.

Update: Microsoft claims that there are no plans to develop a dual boot device. We think it might just be a matter of semantics.

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Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

CiviballsI have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

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