Intel explains withdrawl from OLPC board
Tim Finin, 7:29pm 5 January 2008Here’s Intel’s explanation for its resignation from the OLPC board as described in an email message from Chuck Mulloy to Dave Farber (link)
“Intel and OLPC are in agreement on the need to provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore experiment and express themselves through the use of technology. However, Intel and OLPC have reached a philosophical impasse and Intel is no longer a member of OLPC.
OLPC, through its chairman Nicholas Negroponte, had asked Intel to end its support for the non-OLPC platforms including the Intel designed classmate PC and to focus its support exclusively on the OLPC system the XO.
Intel concluded that it cannot accommodate the OLPC request for two reasons: First Intel has long believed that there is no single solution to the needs of children in emerging and underdeveloped markets. We have always said there will be many solutions but the most important priority is to serve the need. Secondly, if Intel were to exclusively support the XO over other platforms it would force us to abandon our relationships with many local OEMs, suppliers and in some cases governments. Enabling a localized solution in developing countries is a core value in Intel’s efforts because it reaches beyond just the benefits for children to create home grown businesses and entrepreneurship. We believe that the more solution providers there are in this area the more quickly and efficiently the benefits will spread.
It is unfortunate that after more than six months of discussion on this key point we have been unable to reach any agreement and have mutually elected to go our separate ways.” (link)
Ebiquity Blog
January 6th, 2008 at 1:31 am
The OLPC plan has been a controversy lately, and many computer companies have been posing objections to its philosophies. I would be curious to hear more from computer companies regarding their objections (more specifically) and also more from others running the OLPC program to hear exactly what the long-term plans are. The program definitely poses some interesting opportunities in the computer world and also could potentially give technology professionals some interesting new ways to get involved.