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SAN JOSE — Citing disagreements with the organization, Intel Corp. said Thursday it has abandoned the One Laptop Per Child program, dealing a big blow to the ambitious project seeking to bring millions of low-cost laptops to children in developing countries.
The fallout ends a long-simmering spat that began even before the Santa Clara-based chipmaker joined the OLPC board in July, agreeing to contribute money and technical expertise. It also comes only a few days before the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where a prototype of an OLPC-designed laptop using an Intel chip was slated to debut.
Intel decided to quit the nonprofit project and the OLPC board because the two reached a "philosophical impasse," Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said. Meanwhile, Intel will continue with its own inexpensive laptop design called the Classmate, which it is marketing in some of the same emerging markets OLPC has targeted.
Both sides shared the objective of providing children around the world with the use of new technology, "but OLPC had asked Intel to end our support for non-OLPC platforms, including the Classmate PC, and to focus on the OLPC platform exclusively," Mulloy said. "At the end of the day, we decided we couldn't accommodate that request."
A spokesman for OLPC did not immediately return a request for comment.
The One Laptop program was founded in 2005 by Nicholas Negroponte, former Media Lab director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The original concept was to offer a "$100 laptop," but the green-and-white low-power "XO" computer now costs $188. It runs on a Linux operating system and a chip made by Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Negroponte told The Associated Press last fall that until OLPC had a machine using an Intel chip, he could understand why Intel wouldn't want to push an AMD machine to customers.
Mulloy said the use of AMD chips in the OLPC machines had nothing to do with Intel's decision to withdraw.
Intel believed all along that there is a need for multiple alternatives to meet the needs of children in poor countries, he said.
"It's unfortunate this happened, but at some point, you have to make a tough decision," he said.
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AP Technology Writer Brian Bergstein in Boston contributed to this report.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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{"commentId":1327612,"authorDomain":"nigeriawhatisnew"}
First, the Edge question 2008: What have you changed your mind about? Why? My answer was happy new year, now, let the madness commence! Africa has a lot of bad news which translates into incredible oppourtunities. Where are the poor forbes billionaires? What daft ideas are they pusing with their money? Why contribute to the shoddy democracy and political corruption on the dark continent?
The OLPC-Intel breakup may have been helped by the poor dollar but a project such as this needed collaborations and partnerships that have never been thought of before. It is ironic that I should be commenting about how easy it would be for OLPC to eat Intel's lunch in Africa and the 3rd world, after all, I have been a vocal critique.
In trying to help educate the world's poorest using this cool educational tool whose marketing is a poor effort compared to the talents on the production team. I think education and technology are the only ways to change our planet plus a little of bit of Isabel Allende.
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#1 - Fri Jan 4, 2008 7:53 AM EST{"canLink":false,"threadId":"197714","isPrivate":false}
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