One Laptop Per Child (and one for my inner child)

[TalkingDog]

Today, I bought a laptop for a child in a developing nation. And they are sending me one in the mail.

http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php

Now, I've always wanted a laptop. I like emailing and websurfing on those "downtimes" when I don't want to drive home, only to have to go back to town later in the day.

I didn't need much, certainly not 8-9 hundred bucks for a cheap laptop. So, this computer is PERFECT. And, hey, the $200 price tag was right in line with my budget.

One really cool feature is that when there are other OLPC people nearby, you know they are there and can IM them if they are your "friends". All the computers can interface with each other. This is to allow classrooms to work on one project together.

If you can spare the cost of buying 2 really inexpensive, but fast, sturdy laptop computers, consider this gift for a child in need and perhaps another for someone you know. (or like me...be greedy and keep it for yourself)

And if you do the long form for taxes, your donation is tax deductible.


My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[Ezana]

1. One Laptop Per Child - Is this for developing countries ? What a joke !

Eementary school attendance in developing countries is far from sufficient. In some countries attendance is less than 20%. You know why ? Simple, children have to eat before going to school. Instead of exploiting developing countries dry and sing the joke of the century (one-laptop-per child for developing countries), it would be human to genuinely help developing countries get out of poverty through equitable business deals, retracting onself from fueling instability with milliards of pretexts (war againest... stuffs) etc.

A laptop for a the large majority of children in developing countries is a an intelligent TOY.

[supernova]

2. Wow are you short-sighted

Computers can help kids:

1) meet other kids around the world and not feel like they suffer alone.

2) Do their homework and play on the net like other kids do

3) Improve language skills and self image not only by corresponding, but keeping a journal, perhaps making a webpage with their own pics and their own images of their family, friends, and town.

4) Find other people and opportunities in other places if they want to. Have access to people with expertise they or their village might need they might not know about otherwise.

5) Continue the great movement that the net is uniquely suited for, breaking down barriers and creating understanding among individuals.


And yes, we in the developing world have enough resources to do both, feed people and give out laptops.

Oh, and actually I think the #1 reason that keeps students out of school in Africa isn't a lack of breakfast, though that is a definitely a huge issue, it's not being able to pay their school fees, buying supplies and uniforms.

[Ezana]

3. Have you been in a developing country ?

Your comments are of a cityboy type. Far from the reality.

I have been in different developing countries for over twenty years. Please be among the people and see what is feasible before trying to...

[supernova]

8. Actually no, I'm a rural person

I know first hand the advantages of having current technology, even if it does leapfrog the current lifestyle in a given area. My grandmother's house didn't have indoor plumbing, nor running water. She had a well and and outhouse. Her clapboard house was barely wired for electricity. She used a kerosene stove for heat in the winter. I remember once her complaining, loudly, that her electricity bill was all of $18. I have helped plant and tend gardens big enough to feed a family on, as well as freezing and canning, then sell produce on the side too. So your whole "cityboy" argument doesn't wash with me.

You know what it did to me? It taught me that the world was a much wider place than my community, that other people in other parts of the world laugh, play, go to school, go to work, worship, and sometimes go to war just like we did. *Gasp* Even that there were people in Africa who did that. You might not always be able to feed your belly, but you always need to feed your soul and your mind.

I suppose the Masai should all just give back their cell phones in your POV. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6242305.stm

You seem to be exhibiting a POV about working in disadvantaged areas which I've never understood the logic. This idea that grown people in a community need to arrive at certain stages of development that you need to approve of before you decide it's OK for them to have certain things. What's the point of that? It's condescending in the extreme. People may be poor, may not have much in the way of material goods (not necessary actually) , but they do think and and they know very well what they want and need,

Oh, here's one more advantage of these low cost laptops, community political organizing. They're going to have the tools and resources to fight these oppresive regimes that sadly we sometimes prop up for our own gain.

My point is, I think we should just get the laptops out there and see what happens. I don't think you should condemn an idea before you try it. Some of them, well a lot probably, will be trashed, lost, stolen, whatever. These are kids afterall. But some won't. Some will be taken care of and used. And some day, 30 years from now, some newly elected official might say... "I used to have one of those laptops..."

[pitohui]

32. in rural areas of the developing countries i've visited there is no electricity

i'm not clear on what good a laptop will be in that circumstance, and i would tend to believe no laptop would even be sent, so i can't helping thinking "where is the scam in this?"

i guess it depends on their definition of "developing," if by "developing" they really mean an advanced place like say panama city, panama, okay, the laptop could be a great boon (but is that really "developing?" these days?) if by "developing" they mean large areas of rural africa, then the laptop might be of little use to the child -- once the battery has run down, it's game over

one thing i have seen, that i wonder about, is i've seen a hut (yes, a mud hut!) in an i guess relatively well to do villages as mud hut villages go, where the monitor is somehow hooked up and they can show movies and the monitor becomes like the teevee or movie house for the village, and the whole village was crowded around the open door of the hut watching the show, because there wasn't you know actual additional money for chairs, anyway i don't understand for sure how it was powered tho since there was no electricity, some kind of set-up with a car battery i'm told (obviously i don't understand the technology behind this)

anyway, i think the point the guy is making is that where the poverty is greatest, the laptop is of no use to children, it's one of those schemes where usa people pat themselves on the back thinking they're giving to the poor, the army or some corrupt politician diverts the goodies to his own, poor people hear usa boasting about how generous they are, and poor people decide the usa is fuckwitted

it's stunning to travel for miles and for hours through areas where there is no clean drinking water, no electricity, and people are still living in, well, mud huts for lack of a nicer word for it

we have a long way to go before a laptop will do anything for a kid in that situation, the laptop is actually more useful for a kid in this nation who is disadvantaged but at least (usually) has electricity in the home and always has electricity in school, such as a child in many of our inner city slums


i'm not saying it's a bad idea, i'm saying, hmmm, i'm not sure i would be confident sending the laptop to a distant nation, as opposed to sending it to a kid in this nation where i'm more assured of a good outcome

it's like that stupid-ass program where usa bragged about all the powdered milk we donated to africa, turns out many of the rural african peoples couldn't digest it, so the useless crap became whitewash

a lot of things sound good from a distance that don't actually work in practice and assuming we all have limited funds to donate, it is not wrong to be careful and skeptical

as far as the masai with cell phones, yeah, have you been to kenya? because i assure you that in the vast overwhelming majority of the places the rural underprivileged masai live, there is no cell phone coverage -- and i don't need to buy a cell phone for some middle class guy in nairobi any more than he needs to buy me one

[supernova]

41. We will have to agree to disagree

The company distributing these laptops is working with agencies in these countries to get them where they will be most useful, at least to start.

As for power suppy, they are solar and handcrank capable.

I agree with you about the milk because I am also lactose intolerant.

I'm saying let the program go ahead and see what happens. You don't know until you try.

[AndyTiedye]

49. That is why Solar Panels and Hand Crank Generators are Offered With These

They offer solar panels and hand/foot-powered generators as accessories.

Others may cobble up their own power sources.
The supply voltage for the OLPC is 12 volts. It will run on anywhere from 11 to 18 volts.
Salvaged automotive batteries, generators, etc., can supply that easily.
That is also the most common voltage output by windmills, etc.

[AndyTiedye]

50. If They Have Networked Laptops But No Drinking Water

They will be able to tell everyone that they have no drinking water, and they will have a better chance of getting help than if nobody knows about the problem.

[madrchsod]

4. you have no idea what you are talking about

[NickB79]

7. A theoretical example of getting out of poverty using OLPC

The kids can take these laptops home with them. Dad comes in and says his crops have a disease he's not familiar with, and they're dying. Using the Internet on his child's computer, he can identify what's killing his crops, and find the appropriate countermeasures.

I'm sure there are all sorts of possible uses for computers that could help lift a family out of poverty that one could think of.

[sailor65]

15. Using dad's

Comcast High Speed Internet, no doubt? Or maybe his Sprint WAN card?

It does make a very nice boat anchor, though.

How about feeding them first?

[supernova]

18. Actually several computers in an area

make their own Wi Fi network.

[sailor65]

20. I'm not talking about a little peer to peer network.

The example was Dad using the Internet to save his crop. I don't care how many boxes you ad hoc together, it does not an Internet connection make.

[supernova]

24. I think the plan is to install wireless towers

where ever it's doable.


It's something that will take years to build up.

[TalkingDog]

29. They may not be blanket with cell towers like the US, but there is service.

They aren't savages you know.

(Do I have to use the sarcasm smilie? I really don't smilie, it's not my thing)

My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[pitohui]

35. that is absolutely hilarious

the rich farmer dad with electricity probably has a better education in agriculture than the internet

the rural subsistence farmer not only doesn't have internet access, he doesn't have electricity, he doesn't even have clean water, there is one pipe bringing water to an entire village or in some cases there is no water pipe at all and the women have to go out and carry water from some damn creek every day

this is the rural africa i've seen anyway, which is the only area of the world where i've visited "fourth world" conditions

but seriously do we assume that because they're poor, farmers are stupid and don't recognize the diseases of crops and livestock they've been raising for literally hundreds if not thousands of years??? we just automatically know better than they do...because exactly why again?

i'll be honest with you, a lot of the world doesn't need laptops, they need good old-fashioned money, roads, medical care, clean water, they need the lights to stay on

maybe for medical care, next time the kid has malaria, the dad can use the laptop to find out it's spread by mosquitoes?

i'm sorry, i shouldn't laugh, but you laugh or you cry, and the conditions that people are living under in some parts of the world are shocking beyond belief

a laptop is truly the proverbial band-aid on cancer unless you are certain it's going to where it is needed and will be used -- you hsve to target this kind of gift

[sailor65]

17. You're exactly right

Let's pat ourselves on the back for passing out these cool laptops when a lot of these people are starving.

[TalkingDog]

27. And polite discussion for the majority of anonymous internet posters

is a rare and precious jewel. But you don't see me bitching about something I have absolutely no control over, do you?



Ezana, Welcome to DU, Where informed opinions are always welcome and rude ones are tolerated.



My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[graywarrior]

5. I saw this on either Dateline or 60 Minutes.

Those laptops can withstand dirt, dropping them--alll kinds of abuse. I was thinking of getting a few myself.

[supernova]

9. They also are hand cranked

no worries about batteries or being near a power source.

[Fierce]

6. I hate the idea that computers can solve all the problems

in developing nations -- and the inner city, for that matter.

[supernova]

10. Not all problems

but a lot of logistical ones about finding people who could help you or whom you could help.

[Ezana]

11. And what language are they going to use in the computer.

Do you know that, in a large number of developing countries, elementary education is given in their mother tongue ? And children can only speak and write (if they could) in a language different from English or any other language used in Europe or Asia. They use a local languages very inconvenient for Educational purpose.

[supernova]

12. You might want to read the FAQ

You sound like you don't know anything about this computer.


Are the keyboards and software of the xo laptop always in English?

The keyboard and software for all XO laptops that are sent to donors participating in Give One Get One will be in English. All XO laptops sent to developing nations have the appropriate keyboard and software to suit the primary language of those nations.

http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/faq.php

[Ezana]

14. What is the Primary languages of all most all African countries ?

The Primary languages of Almost all African countries are French, English, Portuguese etc (the languages of their ex-colonial masters). Quite different from the mother tounge or Elemantary school languages.

[supernova]

19. Tool in progress

If no one is doing it now, somebody has the capacity to develop indigenous languages.

[Ezana]

21. Saying ''I am clueless'' is not a sin

The indigineous languages are not developed enough to be used above elementary education, let alone for computer Interface-language (it is above elementary education that your Primary-language stuff starts to be used).

[supernova]

23. I'm saying it's a tool

that means, you can make it do whatever you need it to do. There's no law that says you have to leave it exactly as it was given to you. Half the fun of having a PC is tinkering with it to get it to do what you want it to.

The Cherokee didn't have a written language either, but http://www.manataka.org/page81.html">this man figured out how to invent one.

And if you think these kids aren't smart enough to figure that out, open your eyes.

[Ezana]

25. Let us give them a laptop that works in a language they do not know, then......

So, what you are saying is that we should give the Kids laptops that operate in a language that the kids do not understand; and it is upto the kids to use the computer (or they might write an operating system in their indigenous language).

[supernova]

28. So you're saying

Let's leave them further behind in the digital divide with the West even more so than they are now? Because, well, gee they aren't smart enough and gosh dad's oxen are more important. Today perhaps, but tomorrow, 10 years from now, 20 years. You gotta keep moving forward no matter where you start out. There is no earthly or ethical reason these kids shouldn't have access to the same technology that we do. *Gasp* how democratic.

You do realize that we in the west are moving toward having all of our information in digital form. There will be no extra books printed on paper to give out even if we wanted to.

[Ezana]

37. Hey man you do not get it, do you ?

It is not about the kids not being smart, it is about doing the assistance in a way that brings result.

This one laptop per child idea is ill-conceived. There is a better way to help the kids. Let us first bring elementary education to the kids and, instead of making a plan for the whole GLOBE from Washington or Paris, let us do the assitance local: for each according to his need. Let us see what each locality needs to better the life of its people (and how the so called digital-gap can be closed. There is a way to close the gap but not through the laptop and not in a short period of time.

My suggestion: leu us make elementary education universal, let us help introduce computer related courses to the school curriucula, let us help train school teachers in the field of Information technology so that they can pass their knowledge to the kids, let us help introduce radio stations in local languages that can teach kids about computers, internet etc. Then....

[supernova]

40. My suggestion

leu us make elementary education universal

There is no earthly reason why we can't do both. I am not saying, give out a laptop in lieu of school. I'm not saying give out a laptop in lieu of a clinic. I'm not saying give out a laptop in lieu of new farming techniques or anything else. In addition to.

But here's your problem:
let us help introduce computer related courses to the school curriucula, let us help train school teachers in the field of Information technology so that they can pass their knowledge to the kids

If you go this route kids won't learn anything useful about computers for a generation. The teachers are too slow. The teachers will treat these machines as like you say, expensive toys, and not teach the kids what they are for. Teaching is a separate skill from using a computer. They can learn of course, but that needs to be a separate activity. I'll give you an analogy. When I was in school, calculators were a hot new tool. But the teacher still made us use a slide rule because that's what she was comfortable with. I learned to use a calculator on my own, like I've learned every other piece of technology I've ever come into contact with I finally started getting decent math grades in high school because finally, by 12 grade we could use them in class.

While I don't doubt your experience or your intent, your discourse tells me that you are selling these kids short.

[tomreedtoon]

13. It uses Linux: meaning it's worthless.

It means that it can't use readily-available software. The kid can't use it for schoolwork or real-world applications. It means that every week when the Linux kernel is upgraded, everything the kid has done on the computer will become worthless.

The bottom line: the computer is basically a toy, and that the kid will go crazy trying to make it do something that will matter in the real world. You might as well have a two-for-one "The Farmer Says" with a pull string.

[supernova]

16. Wow I guess all those Linux mainframes are useless too

[tomreedtoon]

47. Those Linux mainframes are maintained hourly.

That way, when the kernel upgrades come down, they can make the complete overhaul of the system quickly. It's not that easy for an individual computer owner to wipe everything from the hard drive and start from scratch, but it's commonplace for servers.

[WittyUsername]

54. hehhehe

:evilgrin:

[BurningDog]

39. You're absolutely wrong on every single account.

I hope that you were just trolling.

[tomreedtoon]

48. I hope you're using a REAL operating system.

Linux isn't an operating system, and it isn't even a hobby like model trains, as I once thought. It's a religion. When you have to essentially degut your computer weekly, because the kernel upgrade invalidated all your software, you require the devotion of a cultist to keep it up, instead of getting a nice stable non-cultist OS.

[WittyUsername]

53. Yeah, non-cultist OS like MS-Dos 6.2

amiright? Ok fine....

[WittyUsername]

52. lol...I thinks you jest....

Clearly... :P

[LWolf]

22. The jury is out

on how helpful a laptop is for a child. I certainly think that it is one more good tool for children to have.

Do all the children in the U.S. have a laptop? If not, what is the reasoning that laptops for children in developing nations will achieve more than laptops for children in "developed" nations, or our own nation?

[TalkingDog]

26. I've only been in a couple of areas in the US

where I could say kids had absolutely no access.

All those other kids, however limited their exposure, have public libraries; which their parents hard paid taxes helped to build. They can use a computer in public schools, in libraries at friends houses.

All arguments about feeding vs. education are moot because the following incident explains why I think this is an okay idea....

In some African villages women have pooled their money for cell phones. (this may be the story referenced above) Before this, when they took their produce to a middle man to sell in the city, they had to take whatever he offered them. Now they can check selling prices in real time and force the middle man to give them a better price. Their income and standard of living have improved substantially.

Education and information can (and often do) lead to a more stable economic situation.

As for "wireless" technology. If there are cell phones, there is internet access.

If an American child can learn to understand and write code well enough to hack various high security sites, I think even a poor village child might develop enough computer and coding skills to create something the less "enthusiastic" on this thread might come to deem "not totally worthless".

And while I have not worked in foreign countries, I have two sets of in-laws who have worked in Africa and Vietnam doing mission work and Peace Corp service. They have worked on alternative energy, communications (yes, including computers) and other focii.

The in-laws who worked in Vietnam are now in the Cezch Republic working with the commerce department to improve trade in that country. So, no first hand experience (other than growing up poverty stricken and sometimes hungry in a country where that should be unheard of), but remembering my childhood, I can't see how I made a bad choice in this decision.


edited for an attempt at clarity


My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[supernova]

31. Intriguing that

the two of us in this thread who actually logged time in less than affluent circumstances are the ones see the value of this program.

[pitohui]

36. i think i'm the only one here who has actually been to a developing country from the sound of it

for instance talkingdog seems to believe uncritically that there is widespread cell phone service in rural kenya, um, sorry pal, i've been there and it simply isn't true

i strongly urge you to visit kenya and other african nations for yourself, it would open your eyes to the reality of what life is like in rural poverty

it isn't just a matter of handing out a laptop and a cell phone

we are talking about places, a lot of places, where there is no WATER service, much less electricity


okay, on edit, obviously ezana has too, i don't always give cred to the new poster where i should, shoot me, i'm suspicious

[LWolf]

33. Clarifying:

I don't think you've made a bad choice. I don't know what the rest of the responses said, because I haven't read them.

I see that a laptop can be a great tool, if used properly. Like all the other resources, too, of course.

As a public school teacher, I teach in a school that has a lab with 20 computers (and class size average of 30), and I have a teacher's computer plus 3 thin clients in my room.

We'd make better use of the technology we have if more kids had access. 3 at a time, out of 30, doesn't get much done. Last week I got, provided by a grant, a projector and document camera set up, so that I can teach from my computer. That will change the way we do some things!

Meanwhile, our lab is usually pre-empted by classes testing, as all of our required standardized testing is done on computers. When I can get my kids down there, we have a little problem. When all of my kids (who can access a computer) log on at the same time, it slows every computer in the school to a crawl, and half of the computers in the lab freeze up and have to be rebooted. Repeatedly. So...3 kids at a time in my room, or shut the whole school down so that we can fight with getting kids online in the lab...that's where my question comes in. Here at home, kids don't have reliable access at school, and many don't have access at home. The same kids whose parents don't have access at home may or may not take them to a public library on a regular basis.

That's why, when I first heard about the laptop program, I wondered why we didn't look at our own kids, too.

That doesn't, though, mean that a laptop for a child is not a good thing to have done, and it really doesn't matter where the child comes from. A child is a child.

[Ezana]

34. You know why Africa is poor inspite of the pernial development assistance given to it by....

developed nations ? I have worked in a number of NGOs and have an idea why the development assistances are ineffective.

Most of the developments assistances are given in a way that will not bring change, in a way that are not sustainable. Is it a miscalculation in the part of the donors or is it a deliberate act I do not know.



Let me explain:

E.g in the field of health

NGO-1 comes from Germany and builds a clinic, equips the clinic with hospital equipment from Germany and then deliver the clinic to the Ministy of health.

NGO-2 comes from England and builds a clinic, equips the clinic with hospital equipment from England and then deliver the clinic to the Ministy of health.

Every NGO equips the clinics with equipment from its respective country.

How is the Ministry of health going to manage those clinics ? How is the spare parts for the equipment managed ? Where are the technical stuff in the clinics going to be sent for training ?

I have seen a number of clinics become lame due to logistic problems.

When the NGOs are asked to give the money to the Ministry of Health so that the Ministry can build standard clinics and then equip them with equipment, possibly, from a single manufacturer (WITH THE SUPERVISION OF THE RESPECTIVE NGOs), the NGOs usually prefer to leave the country than give the money to the Ministry. If these NGOs have really come to help the people , why is it not possible for them to give the money in a way that can bring, by far, a better result.

Why are almost all NGOs hell bent on importing the hospital equipment, for example, from their own countries only ? What difference does the source of the equipment make to the poor people ? Definitely, the sources of the equipment does not make any difference to the poor people but it makes a difference to the owners of the NGOs, they brought their interest before the poor people they claim to help. It seems that all this assistance stuff is just a PR: it is all about giving money with one hand and taking it with the other hand.



This happens many many times.

I have come to realise that those NGOs are not really what they try to look like.

[pitohui]

38. because the hand-out is really welfare for the manufacturer not for africans

i don't mean to be cynical but don't you think this is the case? the manufacturer of the hospital equipment in germany or england is, ultimately, the winner of the game you've described

likewise, i feel uncomfortable that it's possible the real gift is being given to the manufacturer of these laptops, rather than being given to actual poor people

i'm sure supernova, talkingdog, etc. honestly believe that africa is just PEPPERED with cell phone towers and wirelesses that rural people could use, whereas it's ludicrous to anyone who has actually been there

i don't want to discourage helping people, what i want to discourage is more fuck-ups of the "powdered milk" variety

since our resources are limited, we must give effectively, and probably (usually) this means the bulk of our giving has to be done locally where we can see with our own eyes where the help is going or if it is going

[supernova]

42. Don't put words in my hands

:P

I don't for a minute believe that africa is just PEPPERED with cell phone towers and wirelesses that rural people could use...

What I do believe is that you have to start somewhere.

And you know what, since none of us is involved in this program directly, let's just see what happens.

As regards to your suggestion that some companies care more about corporate charity write offs than they do giving something useful, that's true. And if this came from IBM, or HP or some org like that I'd be more suspicious. But this came from a professor at MIT who wanted to develop a PC that could be used in rough conditions.

[TalkingDog]

45. "It makes a difference to THAT one."

I won't bore you with the story about the young boy trying to put thousands of stranded starfish back into the water even though a cynical adult tells him the job is impossible and he can't possibly make a difference.

Instead, I'll give you some FACTS about cell coverage and technology in Africa and let you consider, reconsider or ignore me, I don't really care.

Snip:
"At present, Africa has the largest growth rate of cellular subscribers in the world,<12> its markets expanding nearly twice as fast as Asian markets.<13> The availability of prepaid or 'pay-as-you-go' services, where the subscriber is not committed to a long term contract, has helped fuel this growth to a monumental scale in Africa as well as in other continents."
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone

Snip:
Up to 90 percent of the world's six billion people will have mobile telephone coverage by 2010 an industry study has said, reports the AFP.

"... Mobile networks now cover 80 percent of the world's population, double the level in 2000," said the study
Sorry, no link: Archived....

Snip:
Geekcorps Mali launched a project in mid-September of 2004 to investigate the technical and business feasibility of building small, low-cost antennas for the Malian wireless Internet market. The “do-it-yourself” antenna design uses materials that are easily available in Mali, such as plastic water bottles, used valve stems from motorcycles, window screen mesh, low cost coaxial cables for television reception, and cell phone chargers. This approach minimizes the technical skills needed to build the antennas and significantly reduces costs. The first tests of this antenna were performed using prototypes assembled in October from materials costing about $1 per antenna.
http://africastories.usaid.gov/search_details.cfm?storyID=334&countryID=14§orID=0&yearID=5

Snip:
Motorola plans to expand its business in rural areas of Africa. How? Using wind and solar powered base stations. Afrigadget previously wrote about this technology being implemented in Kenya, below is a short video showing that it is also in use in Namibia.
http://www.afrigadget.com/2007/12/05/more-wind-powered-cell-phone-base-stations-in-africa/

Snip:
Fitted with a solar panel that charges a 12 volt battery under the driver’s seat, the “HAPPY” becomes an independent, sustainable source of energy that powers cell phone connectivity, front and rear emergency lights and a small neon tube at night. Add a water filtration system, and the “HAPPY” doubles as a multi functional mobile business unit, that can empower an entrepreneurial owner, to generate income from it as a fresh water outlet, a mobile phone kiosk or a spaza shop – even after dark.
http://www.afrigadget.com/2007/10/08/hapv-human-and-animal-powered-vehicle-in-south-africa/

So, gosh, given how primitive their technology is, why give them access to internal combustion engines? I mean, we are invoking the Prime Directive here, right?


My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[TalkingDog]

46. Feelin' Froggy?

http://www.onelasvegas.com/wireless/Sub-Saharan_Africa_wireless_ISPs.html


You and Ezana jump on in. Here's a link to Sub-Saharan providers of all sorts, broken down by country. Do some actual research. Let me know what you find.

Of course when I don't hear back from you.....

I'm off, I've got to get back to my PieAnny. I haven't gotten my practice in today.


My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[Romulox]

30. Nope. This "charity" still doesn't make sense.

1 vaccination - 1 child. Makes sense.

3 meals a day - 1 child. Makes sense.

1 school desk - 1 child. Makes sense.

1 laptop - 1 child... :wtf:

[dansolo]

43. They probably make a great ebook reader as well (nt)

[WittyUsername]

55. I always thought that was one of the primary reasons for these...

It's far cheaper to give students new paperless books than it is to print real ones. I think that alone makes it well worth the effort. I wish we would do that here in the US...

[uppityperson]

44. It's not perfect for everyone everywhere, but seems good for some

Reading through the replies I am amazed at people who complain that these are not perfect for everyone everywhere in every situation and will not solve all of everyone everywheres problems.

Of course food, jobs, health care, housing are needed many places but JCOATH, quit pissing in something positive because it isn't universally wonderful and perfect and a cure-all for everyone.

[uppityperson]

51. Update! Experiment a hit in the hills of Peru

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004090224_weblaptops24.html

ARAHUAY, Peru — Doubts about whether poor, rural children really can benefit from quirky little computers evaporate as quickly as the morning dew in this hilltop Andean village, where 50 primary school children got machines from the One Laptop Per Child project six months ago.

These offspring of peasant families whose monthly earnings rarely exceed the cost of one of the $188 laptops — people who can ill afford pencil and paper much less books — can't get enough of their "XO" laptops.

At breakfast, they're already powering up the combination library/videocam/audio recorder/music maker/drawing kits. At night, they're dozing off in front of them — if they've managed to keep older siblings from waylaying the coveted machines.

"It's really the kind of conditions that we designed for," Walter Bender, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology spinoff, said of this agrarian backwater up a precarious dirt road....(more@link)

[WittyUsername]

56. I'm sure someone will find a way to spin this negativly...

I don't understand the resistance to this... Just using them as ebook readers would seem to be worth the initial investment....

[uppityperson]

58. I got to play with one yesterday and noticed that also

Even for an ebook, it is worthwhile.

[OzarkDem]

57. John Negroponte's brother is head of this group

I would hope Nicholas Negroponte has good intentions; his brother didn't do much good in Latin America.

On edit: I think its a good idea, just not sure I trust these folks.