Nick Negroponte, founder and leader of the One Laptop Per Child project, believes Intel is jeopardising the success of the mission.
Negroponte told American news program 60 Minutes on Sunday night that Intel's "shameless" business practices had cost the project. He claims that he would have three million orders for the US$100 laptop if not for the American-based chip maker.
"Intel has hurt the mission enormously," he said. Intel, according to Negroponte has been distributing marketing materials questioning the features of the One Laptop and by giving away an Intel-designed laptop.
Intel Chairman Craig Barrett has made no apologies for his company's behaviour. He has spent much of his time since ceding the CEO post to Paul Otellini travelling the world evangelising the cause of bringing PCs to the world's poor.
"There are lots of opportunities for us to work together," Barrett said on the long-running television program. "That's why when you say this is competition, we're trying to drive him out of business: this is crazy."
Negroponte believes the real problem is that the One Laptop uses a chip from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and that Intel wants to lock in the next generation of PC customers.
AMD tried its own Personal Internet Communicator, and while that product failed to take off, it did stimulate the conversation about bringing Web capabilities to poorer nations. Another group called Project Inkwell is investigating ways to hook up classrooms around the world.
