This post was written by Maureen Jones

Intel Corporation has signed its biggest low-cost laptop deal with the Portuguese government to provide elementary school students with 500,000 computers. The designs of these computers will be based on the company’s Classmate PC design. The deal strengthens Intel’s competition with the One Laptop Per Child nonprofit organization in the race to market low-cost laptops for schoolchildren, mostly in the developing countries. Intel’s Classmate PC and OLPC’s XO are among a growing field of small, cheap computers aimed at ensuring that students have access to technology and the Internet.
Read the full article here

This post was written by Melissa Chang

The One Laptop Per Child initiative - the program to build laptops that cost $100 for children in developing countries - has had its share of fits and starts. OLPC has also sparked a number of spin-off companies, including Sugar Laboratories, a nonprofit that was started by Walter Bender.

According to CNET, Bender is reportedly in discussions to get its Linux operating system on low-cost laptops made by four manufacturers. Bender is having discussions with Pixel Qi and is interesting in pursuing a relationship with Intel or Asus.

Read the full story here.