Intel's Low-Cost Laptop Myopia
I've been following the One Laptop Per Child initiative for several months, and I remain amazed by what Nicholas Negroponte and others have been able to do in such a short time. With the XO they've revolutionized the laptop in two fundamental ways: first by making the normally fragile devices sturdy and secondly by making them inexpensive. And in addition, they've added mesh networking with some of the best wifi range seen on any device, a battery that has about four times the recharge rate of the one in every other laptop, by far the lowest power consumption of any laptop on the planet, and finally an amazing display that can be viewed in direct sunlight and whose resolution doubles in grayscale mode. Amazing.
The XO Laptop is a tiny technical marvel, and one that uses all open source software to lower costs because it's focused on a mission; not to make money, but to bring a rich educational platform to the children of developing nations.
That humanitarian goal, however, is not Intel's mission. Intel's Classmate PC is a clunky late comer that's nevertheless on track to eclipse the XO, not because it's a better or even cheaper product, but because Intel and Microsoft are using their collective market muscle to push the XO out.
Leslie Stahl has reported on these issues, and notice how she mentions that this market space was ignored by Intel and others until Negroponte showed how large it was. Intel began disparaging the XO, even calling it a "$100 gadget," (Bill Gates also criticized its "tiny screen" ... I guess 7.5 inches isn't enough for a child who has never seen a computer before) but after facing criticism for bullying a non-profit Intel eventually joined OLPC's board.
But even that changed yesterday, when Intel resigned from OLPC's board, citing "philosophical differences" over the fact that the rest of the board, which includes other corporate heavyweights like Google, wanted Intel to stop pushing its Classmate PC and focus on the XO.
Intel suffers from myopic vision. By only seeing the short term, it will not only hurt the children of the developing world but also its own long term growth. By dividing the market Intel has assured that less laptops will make it into the hands of the children who could benefit from them, and how does that hurt Intel's long term? Because as those children grow up, they're going to want more capable machines, machines that will say "Intel Inside."
I participated in OLPC's "Give 1 Get 1" program and I anxiously await the arrival of my XO, but I'm now more anxious about OLPC's future. They've created a fantastic machine for the right reasons, and I hope that even in the face of corporate bullies they can still succeed.
The XO Laptop is a tiny technical marvel, and one that uses all open source software to lower costs because it's focused on a mission; not to make money, but to bring a rich educational platform to the children of developing nations.
That humanitarian goal, however, is not Intel's mission. Intel's Classmate PC is a clunky late comer that's nevertheless on track to eclipse the XO, not because it's a better or even cheaper product, but because Intel and Microsoft are using their collective market muscle to push the XO out.
Leslie Stahl has reported on these issues, and notice how she mentions that this market space was ignored by Intel and others until Negroponte showed how large it was. Intel began disparaging the XO, even calling it a "$100 gadget," (Bill Gates also criticized its "tiny screen" ... I guess 7.5 inches isn't enough for a child who has never seen a computer before) but after facing criticism for bullying a non-profit Intel eventually joined OLPC's board.
But even that changed yesterday, when Intel resigned from OLPC's board, citing "philosophical differences" over the fact that the rest of the board, which includes other corporate heavyweights like Google, wanted Intel to stop pushing its Classmate PC and focus on the XO.
Intel suffers from myopic vision. By only seeing the short term, it will not only hurt the children of the developing world but also its own long term growth. By dividing the market Intel has assured that less laptops will make it into the hands of the children who could benefit from them, and how does that hurt Intel's long term? Because as those children grow up, they're going to want more capable machines, machines that will say "Intel Inside."
I participated in OLPC's "Give 1 Get 1" program and I anxiously await the arrival of my XO, but I'm now more anxious about OLPC's future. They've created a fantastic machine for the right reasons, and I hope that even in the face of corporate bullies they can still succeed.
posted by Christopher A. Dellario at 6:52 AM
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