Intel Quits One Laptop Per Child Program

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Intel has resigned from the One Laptop Per Child Program's board of directors, according to reports circulating through tech and business media. Intel reportedly quit after OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte said Intel should kill its Classmate PC program.

Digital Journal -- With Intel pulling out from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Program, it means the honeymoon is over and the group's XO laptop project that was supposed to use an Intel processor is not happening anymore.

Intel reportedly resigned from the board after it was asked to kill its own inexpensive laptop called the Classmate PC, a competitor to XO developed for students in poor nations as well.

Intel spokesman Nick Jacobs has confirmed the split to media, but no real comment or press release has been issued.

The OLPC is a non-profit group that developed a basic laptop called the XO to sell for $100. It’s designed to withstand harsh climates and is ideal for areas with little or no electricity or Internet access. The group's main goal is to distribute these laptops to children in poor nations.

The group has not been hugely successful in filling orders for the XO, and the price tag has climbed to about $188 (USD) per laptop rather than the original $100 plan.

OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte appeared in a May 2007 segment of 60 Minutes where he said Intel was selling its Classmate PCs below cost in an effort to keep OLPC out of the market. Intel sells its Classmate PC for about $300 (USD).

OLPC makes a laptop called the XO for people living in poor nations. The laptop costs only $200 and can survive harsh climates. image:29482:1::0

Initially, the early versions of the XO laptop were made using chips from Intel's competitor, AMD.

Intel and OLPC partnered in July 2007 in an effort to work together to develop technology. As part of the deal, Intel was given a seat on OLPC's board of directors and OLPC agreed to put Intel processors inside the XO.

Meanwhile, Intel was testing its Classmate PC in many countries, and OLPC looked at using non-Intel processors in another version of the XO.

Eventually, Negroponte reportedly urged Intel to kill its own Classmate PC project and put its power and support behind OLPC efforts. Intel was reportedly not willing to pull the plug.

Then, Intel skipped out on a OLPC board meeting in Florida, which reportedly set off a "bitter private dispute." That led to the announcement Intel was resigning from the board.

According to some reports, OLPC even went as far as asking Intel to stop working with all other companies who make inexpensive laptops.

Some critics say OLPC has no grounds on which to urge Intel to kill its own program and stop working with competitors, as OLPC says its main goal is to get inexpensive laptops to children. By urging Intel to stop all other development, it seems as though OLPC cares less about getting inexpensive laptops to the developing world, and more about brand power and market dominance.

When it comes to getting laptops to poor people, Agnes Kwan, an Intel spokeswoman, told CNET: "We have said for a long time that we don't believe there will be one single solution. There are some basic fundamental differences in our approaches."

According to IDG, OLPC President Walter Bender sent an email saying it was more than one factor that halted the relationship. Bender reportedly wrote it was "a complete lack of cooperation by Intel on software, learning, etc." and that "Intel continues to treat our mission simply as another market."