Re: New life for old PCs

[Frederick Noronha <fred@bytesforall.org>]

On Sat, 30 Nov 2002, Irfan Khan wrote:


> November 16, 2002
> 
> New life for old PCs
> 
> Nonprofit group collects donated computers to aid students in 
> developing nations 
> 
> 
> Henry Norr, Chronicle Staff Writer 
> 
> "One man's junk is another man's treasure."
> 
> That old adage hasn't lost its relevance in the Information Age. On 
> the contrary: PCs that Americans are ready to toss on the scrap heap 
> can serve as a bridge to the Internet and the world of modern 
> technology for young people in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

This is a reply I had sent some days back to the GKD mailing list. FN

>From fred@bytesforall.org Sat Nov 30 11:12:16 2002

In this issue:

	[GKD] World Computer Exchange Article
	[GKD] World Computer Exchange Article
	[GKD] World Computer Exchange Article
	[GKD] World Computer Exchange Article
	[GKD] World Computer Exchange Article
	[GKD] World Computer Exchange Article

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Timothy Anderson" <TAnderson@WorldComputerExchange.org>
Subject: [GKD] World Computer Exchange Article

Dear GKD members,

I just wanted to share this article that was in the largest newspaper in
San Francisco.

Best regards,

Timothy

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

	Well, I received half a dozen copies of Tim Anderson's
	posting on the World Computer Exchange. I have nothing
	against Timothy in person, and have in the past written
	positively about this project.

	But maybe it's time for some critical questions to be asked.

	This approach kind of encourages us to think along
	business-as-usual lines. The West can go on 'consuming'
	computers in an irresponsible manner, at unsustainable
	levels, and "one man's junk is going to become another
	man's treasure". A nice thought....

	What is really needed is a radical review not just of
	how we compute, but how we consume the world's resources,
	and what solutions are offered to whom.

	Some questions:

	1. Has any study been done as to the impact of how long
	such computers actually serve in Third World locations?
    	Are these being used effectively? Given the way hardware is
	made incompatible with that produced just two to three
	years back, aren't we fighting an uphill battle? How do we
	ensure computers are kept in a state of fair maintenance?

	2. What is the impact of software going the bloatware
	way, which makes perfectly usable computers turn to junk
	due to the market-driven planned-obsolence model? This
	is surely true of  Windows, and this is also getting to be
	increasingly true of the major distros of GNU/Linux
	(Red Hat/Mandrake), where we are getting big and bigger
	packages, in the name of keeping up in the race. Is
	someone thinking about this? Apart from the RULE project
	in Italy, one has not heard of building, say a KDE-Lite,
  	for us poor cousins out here. (For that matter, it would
	serve everyone, and make fewer computers turn to 'junk' in
	the first place.)

	3. What is the impact on recipeints in the Third World?
	Is there no better and more sustainable way of getting
	access to PCs? Are such gift-horses appreciated well, or
	simply abused and misused by recipients, who feel they've
	got the PCs in an easy way anyway?

	4. Is this only a question of hardware, or are other
	issues like software and syllabi equally important? 
	In India, quite some schools have Microsoft-only syllabi.
	What are the long-term implications of this? 

	5. Finally, are we willing to ask inconvenient questions,
	or just take the easy way out and swim with the tide?

No offence meant... Just that we could go ahead if we asked the tough
questions. FN