For $150, Third-World Laptop Stirs a Big Debate

[Rick Tomaschuk]

On Thu, 2006-11-30 at 16:56 -0500, Evan Leibovitch wrote:
> Rick Tomaschuk wrote:
> > North America has so many 'obsolete' computers it seems a waste to send them to China, etc. to be broken down for scrap when they could be used
> > in developing countries. $150 laptop??? How about an obsolete PIII for $25.00 running Linux and a $10.00 obsolete monitor.
> Add the cost to pack and ship that large, heavy PC and bulky, fragile
> monitor (for which the original packaging almost certainly doesn't
> exist), and the price balloons pretty quickly.
> 
Yet the PC's are still shipped overseas as we speak to be broken down
into reusable scrap.

> > many of the people in non-war torn countries are quite content not to have a McDonalds at every third street corner. They value their way of life.
> And yet ... there they are, buying Big Macs.

Some do many don't.

>  Funny about the marketplace
> that way... if people truly didn't want the stuff they (supposedly)
> complain about, they wouldn't buy it and it would go away.
> 
> So now Thais eat at KFC, and dozens of North York restaurants offer Tom
> um Soup. Get over it.

Sorry I don't get up to North York. Its a stretch to compare Japanese,
Chinese restaurants (food) to Arby's, McDonalds, Booger King... 

> > its business people who convince their politicians to buy into the North American tread mill way of life.
> >   
> You mean, like convincing them that taking the rich world's castoff PCs
> is a better idea than computers designed specifically for their needs?
> 

So what you are advocating is we build (at our expense and expertise) a
better machine for developing countries to use than what we have
available for ourselves?? That makes a lot of sense. Maybe we can send
them superior nuclear technology too.

> The OLPC draws less than five watts per hour, a small fraction of what a
> conventional laptop requires (let alone a big PC and screen). It can
> thus be self-powered (the hand crank and foot pedal were rejected in
> favour of something resembling a salad spinner). Its power and network
> systems were designed for areas without much existing electrical or
> communucations infrastructure. And it can probably tolerate drops and
> spills better than your average laptop.
> 
> - Evan
> 
As I said earlier charity is a noble undertaking but we need to look
after our countries needs. Charity begins at home.

Peace and Love ;)

RickT

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