BIG announcement: Intel joins OLPC

[Roy Pea]

Intel endorses One Laptop Per Child; crank calls to Barrett's house  
end: Almost from the beginning of his One Laptop Per Child project,  
Nicholas Negroponte as been sniping at Intel, not just for its lack  
of support but for its seeming desire to win with a competing  
product. "Intel ... is just being silly," he said in February. "I  
went to them first. They dismissed the idea. ... After Intel Chairman  
Craig Barrett called One Laptop Per Child a 'gadget,' Intel developed  
their own gadget and talks of 'competing with One Laptop Per Child.'  
Huh? ... For Intel to be criticizing One Laptop Per Child is a bit  
like Johnson & Johnson picking on the Red Cross because they use Ace  
bandages." Intel's Barrett just rolled his eyes. "We're not trying to  
drive him out of business. We're trying to bring capability to young  
people," he said in May after another volley from Negroponte. "And  
it's more than just Intel. It's going to take the whole industry to  
do this. There are lots of opportunities for us to work together.  
That's why when you say this is competition, we're tying to drive him  
out of business: this is crazy."

Well, apparently the craziness is over. Intel announced today that it  
would join the board of the OLPC project and kick in money and  
expertise. Happy talk ensued. "Joining OLPC is a further example of  
our commitment to education over the last 20 years and our belief in  
the role of technology in bringing the opportunities of the 21st  
century to children around the world, " said Paul Otellini, Intel  
CEO. And a now gracious Negroponte said, "Intel joins the OLPC board  
as a world leader in technology, helping reach the world's children.  
Collaboration with Intel means that the maximum number of laptops  
will reach children."

What this likely means is that OLPC's crank-powered XO laptop and  
Intel's plugged-in Classmate PC could be made available to  
governments in the developing world in package deals, perhaps with  
the XO serving rural areas and the Classmate going to urban  
districts. "There are an awful lot of educational scenarios between K  
and 12," said William Swope, Intel's director of corporate affairs.  
"We don't think all those are going to be served by any one form  
factor, by any one technology, by any one product." Meanwhile, AMD,  
which until now was the exclusive special friend of the OLPC, bit its  
lip and hoped it was not on the way to getting pushed aside, saying,  
"Intel's apparent change of heart is welcome, and we're sure they can  
make a positive contribution to this very worthy project for the  
benefit of children all over the world."
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