Intel and OLPC have finally reached divorce court. The two tried to reconcile their educational computing differences, but it seems that Intel would just not leave the other woman – its Classmate PC – for OLPC’s XO. Of course, Intel is saying there is more to it, citing “philosophical differences.” We have been aware of those differences for a long time, so it’s doubtful that that’s what finally cracked the egg.

It really comes down to OLPC Founder Nicholas Negroponte asking Intel to be in an exclusive relationship with its XO laptop. According to the New York Times, “Intel was unwilling to walk away from support agreements that the company had made for that machine and other systems.” Intel wasn’t willing to take thee OLPC XO to “have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health, to love and to cherish ’till death do us part.”

And I understand why. Because the other woman just feels too good to let go. I have been having an affair with the Classmate PC for a few days. As a huge fan of the XO’s hardware and mission, I’ve felt a bit rebellious and could feel an invisible scarlet letter impounding on my chest. But to clue you in on how much I like it, I plan to bring the Classmate to CES and actually blog from the machine on the showfloor. Why?

The Classmate PC isn’t just someone to see on the side; she is the real thing. Her hardware is firm and the curves on the bezel are soft to the touch. Though she could use a bit more color on the inside, the keyboard (albeit tight) is comfortable and feels nice on the fingers. The circular touch pad is, as expected, very responsive to sensation.

But what has me really ooh and ahhing is how she smoothly runs Microsoft Windows XP Embedded Version 2002, with Service Pack 2. There’s very little installed other than drivers for the hardware and the basic Windows Accessories applications and Microsoft Office Student edition. Connecting to the Internet has not been a problem and surfing has been like a walk on the beach.

Last but not least, this woman comes with lots of protection. The Classmate PC is encased in blue leather, with a magnetic clasp to keep it shut and a carry handle at the back.

We hope to score a few minutes with Negroponte at CES to ask him about the recent Intel/OLPC break up. In the meantime, we will just say that there isn’t all that much to hate about the other woman  (but of course we haven’t figured out if she can run Doom).