Filed under: Business, Windows, Linux, Microsoft, Open Source
Intel's philosophical impasse - it's deep
by Dolores Parker Jan 7th 2008
Intel has decided to finally call it quits with the One Laptop Per Child non-profit project, due to (in their own words), a "philosophical impasse." It sounds deep and profound, doesn't it? Seems all along Intel was deeply committed to providing children low cost laptops in developing countries even though when OLPC was first launched it mocked the program and forecast its demise.
Since those remarks put a few dings in its public relations image, Intel came to the party (albeit late) with its own low cost laptop version, called Classmate, for children in developing countries. Of course, the Classmate laptop has Intel chips in it, not AMD chips, like the OLPC model. That's one version of a philosophical difference.
In another philosophical reversal, Intel decided to join the OLPC Board of Directors last July, and collaborate with OLPC's mission to provide technology to children in developing countries. However, their new relationship was short lived when OLPC demanded Intel stop undercutting OLPC. Apparently, in its zeal to provide technology to children, Intel's sales force asked Peruvian officials to drop their quarter million unit order of OLPC laptops, and buy Intel's Classmate instead.
And now, its come to this. A philosophical impasse from which there is no return, all in the name of, well the children, of course. ``We have long believed there is no single solution to the needs of children in emerging and underdeveloped markets,'' Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said.
So, what's your take on Intel's reversal? Philanthropic or profit driven?
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
