Re: OLPC `DISAPPOINTED' WITH INTEL'S WITHDRAWAL FROM LAPT -- nasty nasty

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: CONNIE GUGLIELMO, BLOOMBERG/ NEWSROOM: [cguglielmo1 () bloomberg net]
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 4:15 PM
To: David Farber
Subject: (CRL ) OLPC `DISAPPOINTED' WITH INTEL'S WITHDRAWAL FROM LAPT

OLPC `DISAPPOINTED' WITH INTEL'S WITHDRAWAL FROM LAPTOP GROUP
2008-01-04 14:10 (New York)


     (The following is a reformatted version of a statement from Nicholas
Negroponte, founder and chairman of One Laptop per Child, received via
electronic mail. The statement was confirmed by the sender.)

"We at OLPC have been disappointed that Intel did not deliver on any of
the promises they made when they joined OLPC; while we were hopeful for
a positive, collaborative relationship, it never materialized.

Intel came in late to the OLPC association: they joined an already
strong and thriving OLPC Board of Directors made up of premier
technology partners; these partners have been crucial in helping us
fulfill our mission of getting laptops into the hands of children in the
developing world. We have always embraced and welcomed other low-cost
laptop providers to join us in this mission. But since joining the OLPC
Board of Directors in July, Intel has violated its written agreement
with OLPC on numerous occasions. Intel continued to disparage the XO
laptop in developing nations that had already decided to partner with
OLPC (Uruguay and Peru), with countries that were in the midst of
choosing a laptop solution (Brazil and Nigeria), and even small and
remote places (Mongolia).

Intel was unwilling to work cooperatively with OLPC on software
development. Over the entire six months it was a member of the
association, Intel contributed nothing of value to OLPC: Intel never
contributed in any way to our engineering efforts and failed to provide
even a single line of code to the XO software efforts - even though
Intel marketed its products as being able to run the XO software. The
best Intel could offer in regards to an "Intel inside" XO laptop was one
that would be more expensive and consume more power - exactly the
opposite direction of OLPC's stated mandate and vision.

Despite OLPC's best efforts to work things out with Intel and several
warnings that their behavior was untenable, it is clear that Intel's
heart has never been in working collaboratively as a part of OLPC.

This is well illustrated by the way in which our separation was
announced single-handedly by Intel; Intel issued a statement to the
press behind our backs while simultaneously asking us to work on a joint
statement with them. Actions do speak louder than words in this case. As
we said in the past, we view the children as a mission; Intel views them
as a market.

The benefit to the departure of Intel from the OLPC board is a renewed
clarity in purpose and the marketplace; we will continue to focus on our
mission of providing every child with an opportunity for learning."




Jackie Lustig
Tel: 781-487-4664



(sgp)NY
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