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Tech Giants Squash Negroponte's Plans For Cheap PC

Nicholas Negroponte's ambitious plan to get a laptop computer into the hands of up to 150 million of the world's poorest children has been derailed, in part, by the power of his idea. For-profit companies threatened by the projected $100 price tag set plunged Negroponte into unexpected competition against brands such as Intel and Microsoft's Windows operating system.

World leaders and corporate benefactors quickly jumped in to support Negroponte's nonprofit project, called One Laptop Per Child. But after three years, only about 2,000 students in pilot programs have received computers. An order from Uruguay for 100,000 machines appears to be the only solid deal with a country.

Last year Intel introduced a small laptop for developing countries called the Classmate, which currently goes for between $230 and $300. This year, Bill Gates announced that Microsoft would offer developing countries a $3 software package that includes Windows, a student version of Microsoft Office and educational programs. "I'm not good at selling laptops," Negroponte, a professor on leave from MIT, has told colleagues. "I'm good at selling ideas."

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