Intel, OLPC Come to an Accord

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Intel, OLPC Come to an Accord
According to the Associated Press article, "Intel will join One Laptop Per Child's board and contribute money and technical expertise to the project." Intel's press release. Andy Carvin responds, "Hallelujah." Well maybe. But, "without a doubt, Intel would love to oust AMD as the processor supplier. After all, that is Intel's core business - not selling little computers." It's good to see companies like Intel and Microsoft and others finally get interested in the other two thirds of the world. But it's also hard not to see them as being a little crass. Like, what is this? "Intel and One Laptop Per Child might seek ways to package their computers together. For example, Intel's Classmate, which has to be plugged in, might be an option for governments to deploy in urban schools, while the XO laptops, which use very little power and can be mechanically recharged by hand, could go into rural districts." What about the wireless? The student centered design? The open source? Does Intel buy off all this, for a board seat and some cash? E-Commerce Times calls it a merger. More...