Intel decides to leave OLPC project

Citing "philosophical differences," the chipmaker has abruptly announced its departure from the One Laptop Per Child organization.

Intel failed to appear at a board meeting in Florida recently, which apparently set off a dispute between the company and those in charge of the program. It is this argument which led to Intel's announcement on Thursday.

The company attempted to present to OLPC its own vision of putting laptops into the hands of children. However, organization founder Nicholas Negroponte demanded that Intel support OLPC exclusively.

Obviously, this was not going to happen. Intel is pushing its own Classmate PC as the system of choice for laptops for students in developing countries. Additionally, OLPC's XO laptops run on AMD's chips.

Intel joined the OLPC initiative in July and took a seat on the organization's board of directors. It also pledged at the time to help fund the group's efforts.

During its participation, it developed an XO laptop that included an Intel chip. However, OLPC executives claim that the company failed to deliver on its agreement when it joined and was attempting to undermine the program.