I see an item about scaled-down Linux for special purposes:
handhelds, etc. Recently, you also may have read about Microsoft
insisting that PCs For Kids, an Australian charity that donates old
computers to poor children, pay expensive new licenses. Since
charities can't afford this kind of expense, PCs for Kids may not
be able to continue this program under these conditions.
So, could not the Linux community get in touch with PCs for
Kids, get an idea of what their needs for an OS would be, and write
a Linux version that would not be too difficult for a child to use
on a standalone machine. What could be left out (networking). What
needs to be left in (X Window). Find out and keep this kind of
program going, not only in Australia but worldwide -- including the
U.S., where poverty is also not unknown.