One laptop project loses partner

Intel has pulled out of a project to put cheap laptops in the hands of children in the developing world.
Citing "philosophical" differences, Intel has withdrawn its funding and technical help from the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project.
OLPC aimed to boost learning in poorer nations via a custom-built laptop intended to cost no more than $100.
Intel's withdrawal is a blow to OLPC which has found few nations willing to buy large numbers of laptops.
Machine code
Intel joined the OLPC in July 2007 and was widely expected to work on a version of the project's laptop that used an Intel chip. Many expected this machine to be unveiled at the CES technology fair which opens in Las Vegas on 5 January.
The first versions of the OLPC or XO laptop were powered by a chip made by Intel's arch-rival AMD.
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The green and white XO machine was designed specifically for children, was made rugged to cope with conditions in developing nations and could be kept powered using a hand crank.
Intel spokesman Chuck Molly said it had taken the decision to resign from the OLPC board and end its involvement because the organisation had asked it to stop backing rival low-cost laptops.
On the OLPC board with Intel are 11 other companies including Google and Red Hat.
The chip maker has been promoting its own cheap laptop, the Classmate, in many of the same places as the OLPC.
"OLPC had asked Intel to end our support for non-OLPC platforms, including the Classmate PC, and to focus on the OLPC platform exclusively," said Mr Mulloy . "At the end of the day, we decided we couldn't accommodate that request."
He added that the use of AMD chips in the first XO laptops had not influenced its decision.