A chat with Michael Evans of Red Hat

Michael Evans of Red Hat

World's kids could get $100 laptops

The machine looks childlike.

And it could change the lives of the world's children -- if it becomes reality.

Michael Evans, Red Hat's vice president for corporate development, is overseeing the involvement of the world's largest distributor of the Linux computer operating system. He spoke with staff writer Jonathan B. Cox. An edited transcript follows.

Q: Why is Red Hat involved in a project like this?

A: It fits perfectly with the Red Hat corporate motto of trying to bring people up all around the world and make a difference. When we heard about the project it was just an immediate, "Yes, we need to do this. We need to be a part of this." ... No one could argue with it, that it was a good thing.

Also from a business perspective, if you can imagine over the next five, 10, 20, 30 years having tens of millions of students around the world who have been brought up and educated on a Linux and open-source-based system what kind of overall market impact that has. That's dramatic.

Q: So this is a way to establish roots out in the world?

A: Yeah. In fact that is consistent with our model where there's always going to be some people who want to use open-source and don't pay anything to Red Hat. Then there's a part of the world that needs accountability and needs more support and updates and services and they'll pay. We don't want that first category of people to feel like criminals, which they do if they use proprietary software and have to pirate it.

Especially as you go around the world, a lot of people don't have the money. They just want to learn, use it, experiment with it. That's perfect for us in open source. It's the best tool in the world to allow people to get comfortable with the technology, to use it, bring their skills up.

Q: What has been Red Hat's contribution?

A: We have designers and engineers involved -- designers being the people who help shape what this thing looks like and what the user experience is, as well as engineers who are writing the software and making sure it works on the system as specified. ... We have about nine people working on this, about half of them full time.

Q: Are you learning lessons that you can apply to the core business?

A: Each time we do projects that tackle a different part of client-based systems trying to connect to the Internet or connect with each other, we learn things that can be applicable to other parts of the marketplace.

Q: Anything in particular with this project?

A: There's nothing specific. We're still in the cranking stage. ... This is a project, you'll see the press and various people come out and say, "This is a great thing," or they'll say, "It's a pipe dream. It will never work." Then you'll see in between. There's all sorts of political, cultural and social barriers to having it be successful. There's also protectionist dynamics from the status quo of the computer industry.

Q: Microsoft isn't part of this project, but it has a lot of money. If it decided to take up a similar cause it seems it could overtake yours. Is that a concern?