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- brstilson, on 01/05/2008, -2/+68Since the OLPC uses an AMD chip, what involvement did Intel have in the first place?
- stklaw, on 01/05/2008, -4/+47I thought the point of a business was to earn money.
Am I wrong - roguedragon, on 01/05/2008, -24/+54Despite all the claims about how Intel is Open Source friendly and a friend to this group or that, they're not. They're a greedy, money grubbing corporate behemoth. The only thing that they care about is their profits. If they didn't see a future high value profit source in Open Source, they wouldn't even be bothering themselves with it. The OLPC debacles are just further proof of this.
- inactive, on 01/05/2008, -8/+29intel as any company has as a fundamental means of existence the generation of profit. no humanitarian needs are before it.
- slimnickyy, on 01/05/2008, -1/+21What a misleading lead section. There is no "blow" struck to the program as they will use processors from AMD, which I what they planned to do in the first place I believe.
- ogsy, on 01/05/2008, -5/+21OLPC demanded that Intel drop all competing projects. Doesn't sound very open to me. Surely competition with other products would have ultimately improved the offering available to the consumers, and provided them with more choice. In fact that's one of the principles of the Open Source movement.
Additionally, I don't see why you're being so dramatic about "Intel only cares about their profits" - that's a legal obligation they have as a publicly traded company. - Spideristic, on 01/05/2008, -1/+15Intel spokesman Chuck Molly said it had taken the decision to resign from the OLPC board and end its involvement because the organisation had asked it to stop backing rival low-cost laptops.
"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."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7171201.stm - inactive, on 01/05/2008, -5/+16How many times are you planning to post the same crap?
http://digg.com/tech_news/Intel_to_quit_OLPC_initi ... - brstilson, on 01/05/2008, -1/+10OLPC isn't meant for starving children, it's meant to give schoolchildren in third-world countries a leg-up in current technology so they have a way out of their situation. It's pretty much the "teach a man to fish" principle.
- milliamp, on 01/05/2008, -0/+8Here is a summary of the article (because it looks like few read it):
"It also comes only a few days before the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where a prototype of an OLPC-designed laptop using an Intel chip was slated to debut."
"but OLPC had asked Intel to end our support for non-OLPC platforms, including the Classmate PC, and to focus on the OLPC platform exclusively,"
"At the end of the day, we decided we couldn't accommodate that request."
"Negroponte told The Associated Press last fall that until OLPC had a machine using an Intel chip, he could understand why Intel wouldn't want to push an AMD machine to customers." - flatfish, on 01/05/2008, -3/+11Till the day when you look up the term 'Google' in a Wiki and it says "See Schestowitz"
- brstilson, on 01/05/2008, -3/+11I did some research. Intel joined with the OLPC program back in July. So basically, the whole situation with the Classmate is the same dirty trick Microsoft played on IBM over OS/2 Warp.
- slimnickyy, on 01/05/2008, -10/+17Yes, but when you're making billions there should be a sense of a need to give back when dealing with CHARITIES. It's called conscience, humanity and if you're a believer, Christian.
- andy3109, on 01/05/2008, -2/+8Liberal, yes. Art? Mostly not. Alot of computer science, IT and engineering majors.
- rolf, on 01/05/2008, -1/+7I think they are a great design -- from a screen superior to a $3000 laptops in many ways to the superior wireless (again, better than commercial laptops) to the rugged build. Also they are extremely low power usage. They are definitely not a waste of resources or money.
Maybe they are ugly to some. The majority of people getting these will not be in a position to pick and choose, they'll be happy to just have a laptop. (Although I personally think they look fine.) - brstilson, on 01/05/2008, -1/+7Taken right from the Microsoft playbook. Remember OS/2 Warp?
- diggduggjoe, on 01/05/2008, -4/+10Corporations are not Christians. Their goal is profit and Intel is in direct competition with the OLPC. It is not surprising they withdrew from it. Even, with Intel inside, they would profit more selling the Classmate.
- benjpw, on 01/05/2008, -3/+9Carl Sagan was a liberal arts major along with his physics - he said having one without the other would be incredibly foolish as both make you a well rounded human.
I don't think anyone will really care about your opinion though, your name is GalacticXenu after all. And I doubt Diggers wear Che shirts - they are smarter then that. - TheMachine1, on 01/05/2008, -0/+5Thats right buying a person food is only going to trigger a population boom and even more
poor people in the future. Knowledge or a tool to get it can break the pattern. - MacParrot, on 01/05/2008, -0/+5You mean like Microsoft did with Apple as well? Or like Apple did with the Karelia's Watson? Or like IBM did to God knows how many companies? Corporations form alliances with the express intent to screw their partners over as soon as they can before they do the same to them. I'm not saying that OLPC would have eventually screwed over Intel (the people that are behind OLPC don't seem the type), but I doubt they are surprised by what happened. Disappointed maybe, but not surprised.
- rudlavibizon, on 01/05/2008, -0/+5The price of XO-1 can only go down if they are ordered in high quantitys (in 1.000.000's of units). If some governments buy Classmate PC's they significantly jeopardize the whole OLPC project and the idea of a cheap and durable laptop.
- kreneskyp, on 01/05/2008, -0/+5intel was supposedly working on a version of the olpc using intel chips. I'm confused by it myself because they supposedly didn't have a low power cpu. or at least they didnt when the olpc was originally designed.
- CitizenNorth, on 01/05/2008, -3/+7I have a feeling they only joined in the first place so they could gather inside information as to the strategy of the OLPC. Now since they have done that they are probably going to use that info against the OLPC.
- Netrilix, on 01/05/2008, -0/+4Well, if I remember correctly, one of the main selling points of the XO was that it could easily interact with other nearby XOs, and even form a chain. If half the people in the area have Classmates instead, it pretty effectively hampers that idea.
- ArchangelZLT, on 01/05/2008, -1/+4There was a proof called "Wintel".
- brufleth, on 01/05/2008, -2/+5Most of the contractors involved with OLPC are interested in making money. That's how businesses work.
The whole program is a lot of BS anyway since a good chunk of the people getting one of the OLPC computers would be turning around and selling them on the black market as soon as they could. The few preventative measures taken would have been overcome in short order.
In some cases it makes sense and maybe in the grand scheme of things it seems like a nice idea but you're selling sneakers to fish here. Either people want other resources (libraries are much more cost effective than OLPC computers) or they want a more significant platform to work on. By the time the OLPC product was readily available you'd have nicer consumer level products that are almost as cheap.
The OLPC program was an interesting brain storm. The time it has taken to bring it to market and the fact that the computers cost 2-4 times what they were initially going to has completely shot to hell the validity of the whole project though. I'm not trying to make the statement that "oh they'd probably prefer food." There are many areas where there's enough food but still poor education (which is the real target OLPC) but as costs go a library can server more people and has a much longer time to before it is obsolete. Hell even schools are more cost effective ways to spend money than OLPC computers in these areas. - TheMachine1, on 01/05/2008, -0/+3The whole deal is the OLPC organization needs 3 million firm orders to begin manufacturing. If Intel can block enough orders it can kill the OLPC from ever being available at low cost.
- GalacticXenu, on 01/05/2008, -2/+5Profit, such a dirty word, my sociology professors tell me that all businesses should strive to operate at a loss For The Greater Good.
- dhughes, on 01/05/2008, -1/+4 I'm still a bit miffed at IBM after reading recently about IBM's involvement in Nazi death camps by leasing and servicing punch card machines the Nazi's used to track the prisoners.
All I can say is, go AMD! - chaosium, on 01/05/2008, -0/+3"Most of these kids dont even have shoes. They will probably try to eat the laptops or use them as shelter."
The OLPC program was designed for poorer children, but not so poor they can't afford food. - chaosium, on 01/05/2008, -0/+3"Many of these countries have areas where people would kill over a lot less than a cheap laptop."
This is not designed for use in such areas! - brstilson, on 01/05/2008, -0/+3These PCs are typically purchased en masse by governments. In most cases, every kid in the area will either have an OLPC or a Classmate. The trick is to convince those governments that the OLPC is the better option, and that buying Classmates will require them to run power lines to every school they want to use them. Educating them about the hidden costs of the Classmate is what needs to be done.
- bluepass, on 01/05/2008, -1/+4It's Intel's effort of telling third world countries to stop making so many children.
- rxbudian, on 01/05/2008, -0/+3What would most likely happen is that the laptop that was given to the third world country would be sold by the owner for other needs. Whomever thought that a product that was given for free or low cost would be valued more than the basic needs of everyday life does not see the issues on the ground. Even when they're given to schools instead, if there's no check for accountability, the school administrators can be corrupt and still sell those laptops. So OLPC should have that periodic check to individual laptop to make sure they don't get sold off.
- brstilson, on 01/05/2008, -1/+4You prefer having limited charging options, shorter battery life, shorter wireless range, and no webcam for more money?
- invinciblechunk, on 01/06/2008, -0/+3As damn well they should have. African countries need clean water, and infrastructure, and freedom from tinpot dictators. Not computers. Maslow, people, Maslow.
- krutadal, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2Well...
http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/04/technology/kirkpat ...
According to that interview, they didn't as much "quit" as they were "thrown out". For one, I'd trust the words of a non-profit over Intel any day. - chaosium, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2What on earth are you talking about.
- hpfreak26, on 01/05/2008, -1/+3Wow. Great job for completely ignoring his point just because he brought up religion...
- Braddeharder, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2I agree, Intel has the right to make any consumer products on its own.
- ogsy, on 01/05/2008, -4/+6I don't think it's as clear cut as that. OLPC's actions in this case seem to promote the interests of OLPC rather than the interests of children in the 3rd world.
- Phlosten, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2You know those laptops are not aimed at starving children right? They are aimed at children who do have food but live in a country where education doesn't involve computers because they cannot afford it. Those countries also have starving people but if you can empower those nearby with the OLPC the countries can have a leg up and start doing things for themselves.
- andy3109, on 01/05/2008, -2/+4waste of money for the businesses producing them...but certainly not for the children.
- jaxcs, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2In spite of Intel's claims to the contrary, are you really convinced that their own low cost pc, the classmate, didn't enter into the equation? Do you really buy the claim that multiple alternatives need to be offered to children? Before OLPC, intel wasn't even interested in a low cost pc for children.
- Braddeharder, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2How about instead of corrupt governments, developed and developing, stop taxing the people for things that, if they did not tax them in the first place, Could buy on there own. Then the people would have less government, more money, and could spent it it how THEY want. Not, how some government wants to.
I think that what little these people have should not be taxed away or worse yet, Mortgaged away through the World Bank. - HanSolo69, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2charity? what charity? OLPC is still making a profit.
- tim04, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2Buying these countries food creates more of the very problem that it's meant to solve. If you buy food in the country in question to give to the poor, prices for food there will skyrocket such that even those who used to be able to afford it now can't. If you send food, it competes directly with their "homegrown" food, driving the farmers out of business. The only way to actually help these countries is to help their economy grow by giving them knowledge or equipment. A laptop falls under both categories.
- Phocion55, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2Mine's been going strong since I received it on Dec. 19th (ish). No problems whatsoever.
- directrix13, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2I'm typing this on mine. Didn't the give one get one program end Jan 1st?
- mtekk, on 01/05/2008, -0/+2So you're in law school?
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