Once again, competition breeds innovation

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And, without OLPC, we never would have had the Classmate. If Intel wants to: try to put OLPC out of business, I guess it is their prerogative in a free world. But, even if they succeed, OLPC will have been a huge success by forcing the world to build low cost computers for the developing world.

But, you really go out of your way to disparage OLPC, while ignoring all the problems with the Classmate. And, your statement about technical support is really ridiculous. It will not be any easier to support the Classmate than the OLPC, and it will likely be done in the same manner, with each individual country providing their own support, but backed by Intel and/or OLPC.

But, your three bullet points are also pretty ridiculous:

1) To start, the OLPC has three USB ports, and an SD slot. But, why do the computers need to be expandable? The important thing is that they are durable, have the needed features, and at the right price. XO beats the Classmate here.

2) Sure, OLPC could have put more RAM and Flash on the XO, but that would drive up costs, and make them too expensive. The XO probably will have more memory in a future and probably be able to run XP if MS is willing. But, should we insist that developing countries follow us and run bloated operating systems that do not have useful features for children?

3) Sure, Intel talks about a price point a few dollars higher, but, with a lot fewer features, and they have yet to deliver any volume at those price points. The only volume is the Asus computer at $400.

And, the innovative XO features ARE proven. They have been in development for some time now and extensively tested. If there is something that is unproven, it is the Classmate, which was rushed to market to combat the XO.

But, having said that, the Classmate just might be a very good PC for some circumstances. If it can be had for not too much more than the XO, it will be a great computer for adults that want a small computer for the road, and for locations where there is plenty of electricity, ruggedness is not important, mesh networking is not needed, etc.

And, the competition WILL be good. Without it, the OLPC group might get lazy.

But, Intel has only shamed themselves with what they did regarding OLPC.; Posted by: DonnieBoy Posted on: 01/04/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use