Intel denies OLPC accusations

Intel general counsel Bruce Sewell has rebutted charges that Intel acted disingenuously in its dealings with the One Laptop Per Child programme.

Sewell said in a letter to the Wall Street Journal that the company had acted in good faith and had only withdrawn from the partnership after the OLPC board tried to stop Intel selling its Classmate PC to developing countries.

"OLPC decided that the Classmate PC was causing OLPC less success and threatened to throw us off its board unless we killed it," he wrote.

"Intel could not and would not withdraw support to the governments and small-computer manufacturers in developing countries who are buying and building the Classmate PC.

"Classmate is also part of a comprehensive approach to teaching, including customised software for teachers and students."

Sewell pointed out that Intel had donated $6m to the project and was in the process of porting its software over to the XO laptop, something Negroponte has denied, saying that Intel did nothing.

Intel had an agreement with the OLPC board that it could continue to sell the Classmate PC while working with the organisation, Sewell insisted, but after lacklustre sales the board threatened to throw Intel out if it carried on competing.