Another day, another low-cost PC from Intel

Can someone please tell Intel that enough is enough, already? Sure, it's important to respond to local needs. But it's really not necessary to roll out a new platform for every single country in the developing world. However, it might be too late, since it looks like Intel is intent to do exactly that. For the third time this week, the chip giant is touting a new PC platform, this time moving the action from India and Brazil to Mexico (where the new platform was introduced by CEO Paul Otellini, shown at the right in Argentina). The company's latest salvo in its challenge to the OLPC project is a small, low-powered box to be powered by Windows XP Starter Edition, Microsoft's "lite" version of Windows. The PC, to be built in partnership with the Mexican telecom company Telmex, will include a hard drive, USB and PS/2 ports, VGA and S-video output. (Intel and Telmex also announced an initiative to donate 5,000 PCs to Mexican schools.) The PC is being developed under yet another Intel initiative (after India's "Community PC" program and Brazil's "Edu-wise") called the "Discover the PC" program, which will be devoted to affordable PCs for countries such as Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, and Nigeria. Let's really hope Intel doesn't come up with a brand new design for each of those countries.