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Reuters recently interviewed Nicholas Negroponte, who runs the One Laptop Per Child project. The MIT researcher is not a fan of the telephone, so we spent several days catching up via an e-mail exchange, during which Negroponte said he has obtained the financial commitments he needs to begin producing some 3 million low-cost XO laptop computers in October.

Here are some excerpts from their conversation, which began with a question about the role that News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch has played in the project:

“Rupert is long standing friend. We first met in the mid 1980s and had various working relationships. More recently I have come to know Wendi (Deng, Rupert’s wife) and consider Rupert to be one of OLPC’s Chief Strategists. I ask his advice all the time. He asks mine on matters related to computers and communications. I would like to think I have been an influence on his distinctly digital life these days.”

Has he helped with fundraising?
“Yes. For example, he/we hosted a dinner at the World Economic Forum at the end of January.”

Has he offered other types of assistance – in any form?
“For a short while Fox animation helped conceive a 3-D XO character, under the direction of UCLA Arts Professor Rebecca Allen. The overall idea was abandoned early on for practical reasons of not wanting to divert the laptop processing that would have been required and in favor of a fast and unencumbered boot up instead.”

Any plans for News Corp to provide programming directly to the laptops or the schools?
“We have no special agreements with News Corp companies for content. But keep in mind that the XO is a general purpose laptop. It can also be a TV set, music player, games machine and other content consuming devices.”

It could literally be hooked up to a video feed, DVD player, game machine like any other TV set?
“Yes. It has three USB ports and one SD slot, so it can be lots of things. Our people use it for wireless power point presentations, for example. The current build has Tetris and calculator, both trivial and (in this case) open source. We run Sesame Street, movies and the camera function is adored.”

Are there are other philanthropists on board who you haven’t talked about publicly?
“I have been in discussions with Carlos Slim, who is a friend dating back to 1995…
You can safely report that Carlos is backing this project. …Nothing has been signed. It would be both in Mexico and regionally.”

You told me you are working on a subsidy scheme. Can you elaborate?
“I cannot discuss the details, for obvious reasons. As you know, the current cost is $175. One way to get this to the poorest countries, and maybe even reward some of the early adopters, is to subsidize $75 each. This is my aspiration. It may become a reality in the coming days.”

Are you actively selling the XO Laptop in the United States?
“We have engaged Eleven Inc. to help us. Actually engaged them two months ago knowing this might happen. We are in discussion with many people.”
 

What do you mean by “many people”?
“Last time I counted, 19 governors had contacted OLPC. We have done very little in the USA. When I say I am talking to many people, it has been on the supply side, the Apples, Googles and Dells.”

I don’t know much about Eleven Inc. except what I learned from a quick look at their Web site. They appear to be an advertising and marketing firm in San Francisco. What are they doing to help you sell the XO in the U.S?
“They have been helping us explore aspects of the XO that we are not touching, from commercial to US school sales. Keeping in mind that two of their clients are Google and Apple, it is not surprising to have mutual interests. Just because we do not do something — like attend to the commercial aspects of the XO — does not mean the best in class should not be looking at it. So they have been helping and made a presentation to our Board last week.”

There was a lot of controversy over last month’s news that Microsoft is developing a version of Windows for the XO laptop, with your blessing.
“This is not news. Nobody paid attention before. We put an SD slot into the laptop at the end of last summer just for Microsoft to be able to run windows. It has been there for 10 months. Does having the Windows option help? It is classic: damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The good news is that having the option is universally seen as good — options are better than not having them and being locked into one. Meanwhile, some people in the Open Source community think I (NN more than OLPC) have sold out. Hard to win.”