Page Two	E-mail PagePrint Version

SANTA CLARA - 05/09/06 - The head of the world's largest chip maker has unveiled a mobile personal computer designed to provide affordable collaborative learning environments for teachers and students in developing countries around the world.

Intel's Chief Executive Paul Otellini told the media that $400 machines will feature built-in wireless and will be able to run either Microsoft Corp.'s Windows or the Linux operating system.

"What we want to do is accelerate to uncompromised technology for everyone in the world," Otellini said during a demonstration at the recent World Congress on Information Technology in Austin, Texas.

"No one wants to cross the digital divide with yesterday's technology," he said.

The flip-open computer - called the "Eduwise" - features a carrying handle, light blue accents, and snaps shut like a purse. Special software allows students in a classroom to view presentations, take tests and interact individually with their teachers using a built-in wireless connection.

The cheaper PCs are part of a $1 billion investment by Intel over the next five years to promote the use of computers in schools, cafes and other public spots in lesser- developed countries, Otellini said.

The "Eduwise" machine was designed by the Silicon Valley-based company, but reportedly will be built by its computer-making contractors.

Otellini said the computers should be available next year.

Many high-tech companies, including Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) and Microsoft, have announced similar initiatives in an effort close the digital divide between developed and developing nations.

The non-profit One Laptop Pre Child Association has said it hopes to begin providing $100 laptops to millions of children in China, India, Egypt, Brazil, Thailand, Nigeria, and Argentina by early 2007.

Tentative designs call for a machine that uses one-tenth of the power of conventional laptops, a 7-inch screen and the Linux operating system.
 
The project's partners include Palo Alto-headquartered Google Inc. and Sunnyvale-based AMD.

In another development, Otellini also said Intel had reached a deal with the Mexican government to provide new, low-cost PCs to 300,000 teachers by the end of this year.

Go back, or read the latest Page Two stories:

MEXICO LIFTS CALIFORNIA LETTUCE BAN

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – 10/20/06 – The weeks-old ban on California lettuce shipments to Mexico has been lifted after US Department of Agriculture tests for the E. coli bacteria proved negative; California is the country’s leading producer of lettuce with an estimated 70-75% of the total US production of iceberg lettuce and between 80-85% of the leaf lettuce.