Chip-maker Intel has joined forces with the makers of the $100 laptop project.
The agreement marks a huge turnaround for both the not-for profit One laptop per Child (OLPC) foundation and Intel.
In May this year, Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of OLPC said Intel "should be ashamed of itself" for efforts to undermine the $100 laptop initiative.
He accused Intel of selling its own cut-price laptop - the Classmate - below cost to drive him out of markets in the developing world.
"What happened in the past has happened," said Will Swope of Intel. "But going forward, this allows the two organisations to go do a better job and have better impact for what we are both very eager to do which is help kids around the world."
"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," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder of One Laptop per Child.
The new agreement means that Intel will sit alongside companies such as Google and Red Hat as partners in the OLPC scheme.
They will also join rival chip-maker AMD, which supplies the processor at the heart of the $100 laptop.
"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," read a statement from AMD
Initially there are no plans to switch the processor to one designed by Intel. However, the servers used to back up the XO laptops, as they are known, will have Intel technology at their core.
Decisions about the hardware inside the XO laptop would be made by OLPC, said Mr Swope.
"OLPC will decide about which products they choose to offer or not offer," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment