p2pnet news | Freedom:- When the One Laptop Per Child project first started, “I think a more realistic title should be ‘the $100 gadget’,” stated Intel boss Craig Barrett. “The problem is that gadgets have not been successful.”

Helping under-privileged kids to communicate with each other and the world via cheap, hard-wearing laptops, unpolluted with corporate product, wasn’t Intel’s idea of a good business plan.

But the world loved the idea, and still loves it, so Intel tried to cynically jump the bandwagon with a corporate version, also joining the OLPC board.

But, “Intel said Thursday that it had chosen to withdraw from the One Laptop Per Child educational computer organization, which it joined in July after years of public squabbling between Intel’s chairman, Craig R. Barrett, and the group’s founder, Nicholas P. Negroponte.” says the New York Times, going on an Intel spokesman said the company, “shared with O.L.P.C. the vision of putting computers into the hands of children, but the two were not able to work out what he described as ‘philosophical’ differences”.

Negroponte, “had accused the company of trying to put his program out of business by developing a similar laptop called the Classmate PC,” says Bloomberg News.

But, “Intel doesn’t do the exclusive thing,” the story has analyst Rob Enderle saying, going on:

“Their view, and it’s a smart view, is they have to be free to go where the market is. The OLPC folks should know Intel couldn’t accept the deal.”

Adds the story:

“Negroponte called Intel ‘shameless’ on the ’60 Minutes’ news program last May, saying the chipmaker was selling its Classmate PCs below cost in order to undercut the XO device.”

Slashdot it!

Also see:
cynically jump the bandwagon – Intel: horning in on OLPC project?, May 21, 2007
New York Times – Intel Leaves Group Backing Education PCs, January 4, 2008
Bloomberg News – Intel Drops Support for One Laptop Per Child Program, January 3, 2008

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 7:43 am and is filed under Freedom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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