[amsat-bb] Re: OLPC Troubles

[Alan]

I don't think that those who purchased a XO on the B1G1 initiative or who
are developing in the XO environment on hardware or on a virtual machine
should be concerned.


On the link below, after getting thru the writer's comments about Intel, his
comments on the Intel Classmate are interesting but I do not know first hand
if his hardware comments are accurate.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/04/intel-quits-olpc-huff



An article about OLPC's response to the Intel resignation.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2243814,00.asp


The OLPC CTO also resigned as it appears the XO hardware development is now
etched in stone and as we already know RTP.

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/02/olpc-cto-flies-coop

And, as we also know, Linux, once stable, is all about drivers and open
source apps, so the sky's the limit. 

Just a couple of untimely hits to OLPC that I think will have no more effect
than the Nigerian 419 cons trying to sue OLPC for patent infringement before
the XO was released... duh?

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/01/02/nigerian-court-stops-
olpc


More likely future news, IMHO, will be some philanthropic type stepping up
to the plate and funding a few hundred thousand units.


Move along now; nothing more to see here; get back to your code whacking.


73, Alan VE4YZ




-----Original Message-----
From: amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org] On
Behalf Of Keith N4ZQ
Sent: January 4, 2008 5:28 PM
To: amsat-bb at amsat.org
Cc: amsat-florida at amsat.org
Subject: [amsat-bb] OLPC Troubles

AMSAT OLPC owners might find this interesting...


>From BBC News .

One laptop project dealt big blow

Intel has pulled out of a project to put cheap laptops in the hands of
children in the developing world.

Citing "philosophical" differences, Intel has withdrawn its funding and
technical help from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project.

OLPC aimed to boost learning in poorer nations via a custom-built laptop
intended to cost no more than $100.

Intel's withdrawal is a blow to OLPC which has found few nations willing to
buy large numbers of laptops.

Intel joined the OLPC in July 2007 and was widely expected to work on a
version of the projects laptop that used an Intel chip. Many expected this
machine to be unveiled at the CES technology fair which opens in Las Vegas
on 5 January.

The first versions of the OLPC or XO laptop were powered by a chip made by
Intel's arch-rival AMD.



The green and white XO machine was designed specifically for children, was
ruggedised to cope with conditions in developing nations and could be kept
powered using a hand crank.

Intel spokesman Chuck Molly said it had taken the decision to resign from
the OLPC board and end its involvement because the organization had asked it
to stop backing rival low-cost laptops.

The chip maker has been promoting its own cheap laptop, the Classmate, in
many of the same places as the OLPC.

"OLPC had asked Intel to end our support for non-OLPC platforms, including
the Classmate PC, and to focus on the OLPC platform exclusively, " said Mr
Mulloy . "At the end of the day, we decided we couldn't accommodate that
request."

He added that the use of AMD chips in the first XO laptops had not
influenced its decision.

Cost breakdown of OLPC laptop
So far the OLPC has yet to comment on the split.

Prior to Intel's involvement, OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte criticized
the chip firm for what he called its attempts to undermine the project's
work.

He said Intel was selling its Classmate at a loss to make the XO laptop less
attractive.

While Dr Negroponte's initial aim was for a laptop costing only $100 the
final versions that have been trialled in Nigeria and Uruguay cost
$188 (#95).

Costs were supposed to be kept low by governments ordering the XO laptop in
shipments of one million but large orders for the XO laptop have, so far,
not materialized.

In a bid to boost the numbers of laptops available OLPC ran a "Give One, Get
One" program in the US from 12 November to 31 December.

This allowed members of the public to buy two XO machines - one for
themselves and one for a OLPC project elsewhere.

OLPC said the success of this had helped it to launch programmes in Haiti,
Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Afghanistan.
 
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