Intel Drops Support for OLPC

Friction between Intel's ClassmatePC and the OLPC's XO Laptop seems to have killed off Intel's fledgling investment in the project.

Who would have guessed it: Non-profit companies and for-profit companies don’t get along too well when they’re both peddling the same product. It shouldn’t come as any huge surprise then, that Intel has recently cut off its involvement in the One Laptop Per Child program, which it only been participating in since July.

One Laptop Per Child is the non-profit program behind the XO Laptop, a low-cost device designed to be distributed to children in developing nations, and powered by a processor from AMD. Intel infamously stirred up trouble with the folks at OLPC when they developed the competing ClassmatePC, which OLPC developers saw as a threat to their own effort. These tensions seemed to clear up in July when Intel agreed to join the OLPC board of directors, but this most recent development has illustrated that things aren’t quite so rosy between both sides.

The story behind the fallout is somewhat foggy and depends on who you listen to. Intel claims it dropped out because OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte demanded a resignation if Intel wouldn’t pledge exclusive support to the project and stop supporting others (AKA the ClassmatePC). OLPC claims Intel was never devoted to cooperation from the start, and was more interested in using its position on the board for public relations.

No matter which side you believe in this breakup, there’s no dispute over one fact – it’s over. And according to some at OLPC it doesn’t matter. “We never really got much going with Intel to have an impact,” OLPC President Bender told InfoWorld. Ouch, that’s cold.