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Larry Ellison's Next NC -- But Not Yet For You
An Anonymous Coward (and numerous others -- thanks) have written with news of
Larry Ellison's (not Oracle's) new venture. "$199 for Network PC (w/o
monitor).
Local storage in flash memory, operating system on CD only. (No HD). 64M
ram, 266Mhz Pentium-Class. Small Footprint." Added to which, cr@ckwhore added this link to
ZDNet coverage of the device and pointed out "
This thing costs $199, and has more power than the i-opener or that other websurfer thing ... get the tools back out ... this one is coming apart soon!!" The gimmick is that for now, no one can buy one for personal use (must wait till later in the year) -- but you can pay to contribute a NIC machine to a public school.
Oracle doesn't get its revenue flows from selling Network Computers with StrongARM chips; that was a loss. It makes its money off selling licenses and services for the DBMS products.
Those are good examples of "enterprise" software that integrates with ODS and (on the middleware side) are used to allow ODS to be used to build very large scalable applications.
Substitute MySQL for PostgreSQL as needed here...
By the way, Michael Stonebraker answered the question, Is there a connection between the Ingres and Postgres projects? back in 1994 with the clear answer of NO .
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
I think you didn't read what I wrote.
I didn't say "A lame email client like Lotus Notes. "
I wrote "somewhat lame mail client reminiscent of the email functions of Lotus Notes."
Why you projected into that the notion that I'm calling Lotus Notes "lame" escapes me. I said nothing about the qualities of Lotus Notes.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
The fact that Oracle licensing fees are more blatantly large makes it rather clearer that Oracle is out to Take Care Of Your Money (by putting it in their bank account!), which shows off the clear need to periodically use other vendors' DBMSes.
The other fortunate thing is that Oracle primarily is connected to selling Big Databases, which is something that only people with big chequebooks tend to get involved with.
There is not any reasonable likelihood of any of the "libre" options ( e.g. - PostgreSQL, InterBase, MySQL, ... becoming reasonable alternatives at the Big Iron / Enterprise end of things any time soon, although they may become quite reasonable choices for "small, departmental" applications.
All you need to do is to look at the licensing of Designer 2000 and see how while the fees may rise exponentially, this results in a die-off of deployment amongst anyone that doesn't have deep pockets...
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
(Yes, I saw you missed the CD-ROM, and posted in a followup..)
Here's the problem with the price differentials:
1) 31$ for 64 Megs + 12 $ shipping and handling. The way I've seen it, it's around a buck a meg no matter how you slice it. Cheaper online, but they get you on shipping. Still, I was 20$ off there..
2) MB and Processor. Price difference is a few bucks, at the cost of using a motherboard that robs several megs of your RAM. These MB's actually use system RAM for their components, so if you *WHERE* going to use this, you'd need a few extra megs, which makes up for the cost different between your solution of the inc. MB components, and mine of just buying cheapo cards.
3) v.90 modem. You know as well as I that these boxes where being compared to possibly run *NON Win32 OS's*. You cannot buy a cheapo 7$ card to do this. 50$ was even lowballing it.
Basically, I'd say your at *least* 50 bucks off. Granted, a few bucks cheaper then my estimates, but still abive the 199$ mark. Add in the fact that the Oracle box has a bit of build in flash RAM, etc, and I still don;t think you can beat the price, unless you go out and buy an older, used 266.
It should also be noted that for the price of the P2/266, you could also have simply bought a K62/500 and practically doubled the horsepower. This I could see as a valid reason for spending a few bucks more..
-- I'm the root of all that's evil, but you can call me cookie..
I was basing the comparison on what the Ellison PC has, which does not include any of those.. :-P
-- I'm the root of all that's evil, but you can call me cookie..
Half of your answer is already answered. It runs Linux. I'm guessing it also runs X, or some other derivative, as it runs Netscape 4.7. These facts I think answer at least half of your questions..
-- I'm the root of all that's evil, but you can call me cookie..
To go further on this point, it should be noted that nearly all of the school in Mexico now run Linux. Gotta make you wonder how long it will take before other countries reach the technological level of the united states, and perhaps, surpase it..
-- I'm the root of all that's evil, but you can call me cookie..
Larry has been talking about this for years. He's an outspoken advocate of networking computing. That in and of itself is an understatement. Anyway, he would love nothing more than to move computing progress towards large centralized servers with thin clients connecting to it. To paraphrase Mr. Ellison, bits are electronic and thus shouldn't be packaged into boxes and instead should travel over the network. Also, it makes good sense for the use of Oracle in many aspects of thing clients with this model.
My personal opinions of Larry Ellison aside (I think he's an ass. I've seen him speak and done some research on him. He's just the kind of guy I wouldn't invite over to a barbecue. Ever.), I wish he would get off of his thin client high horse, get into the real world and actually start innovating instead of pushing an updated mainframe/timesharing model of computing that, while it might have it's place, currently makes no sense in the current market (lack of available bandwidth both to the home and on the "backbone" (what another crock), lack of consumer acceptance, limited choice of applications, etc.).
I'm sure he is and will continue to put a great deal of capital and personal effort into this project. This is America and I'm glad every man and woman with an idea, no madder how ignorant, has the chance to try it out.
But, Larry, you've tried this before and nobody has bit.
*sigh*
Some people never learn. Maybe his Fu dogs or pond goldfish made him do it.
When I stop and think about it, I feel sorry for what has been inflicted on the non-technical computer user by the computer industry. Too much of the hardware and software is designed by programmers and engineers, for other programmers and engineers. Unless you are careful, it is easy to forget that the non-technical user is not an engineer or a programmer, and doesn't understand I/O ports, interrupts, low level disk formatting, tracks, sectors, file systems, video signal timing and hundreds of other concepts that the typical slashdot user takes for granted.
I would argue that non-technical users shouldn't be expected to learn the technical details of their computers. The operating system should not allow them to do things that will damage or disable the computer. The computer should be an appliance, with all the gears and wires carefully hidden away. The user should only see a carefully designed set of abstractions that are proven to be useful and understandable. Everything else should be invisible. A computer is a tool, not an end in itself.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
A local hard drive with a file system means that the computer has state that isn't portable, must be managed and backed up. If it breaks, you can't just ship it off for repair and seamlessly replace it with another unit. The user's files should be on a well managed server. If there is a local hard disk, it should be used for virtual memory, temporary files and cached copies of files.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Well, maybe Apple didn't push hard enough. I think it's defeatist just to give up and resign ourselves to the immutable fact that Wintel is the way things have to be. Maybe it's not so immutable after all. There are already other strategies for getting alternative OSes (specifically Linux) into the workplace. I don't know if they're going to work, but adding another prong to the attack sure can't hurt. When Johhny grows up and gets a job at Mr. Smithers' office, he'll say, "Yeah, I can learn Excel. That's a Gnumeric clone, right?" If Smithers hears that one too many times, maybe before he signs the PO for another Office 2008 license, he'll ask, "What's Gnumeric?"
Oh, and the reason Macs were considered toys wasn't because they were used in schools. Macs weren't accepted because no one could run their legacy apps on them. Give Helix and KOffice and platform-agnostic middleware (e.g. web apps, Java, etc) a little more time.
And Macs were alien. Linux is a little alien too, but not as much since it has already been accepted in other contexts. The box that runs the company web site is hardly a toy. And maybe Mr. Smithers will remember how that longhair rebel added a cheap server using something called Samba, instead of having to pay for another NT or Netware license.
Yes, that's how things are. This may be an opportunity to change that.
Back in the 10base2 days, I would have agreed with that. But now? I'm sure everyone has some horror stories, but overall, I think the days of LANs being flakey are long past.
---
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
Public availability starts on 15 June, according to this.
>These computers can be useful, providing nice
>email access and such, but are they really that
>good in the long run? Is this where computers are
>heading? If not, why are we arranging for our
>children to learn on these things, and not on
>real computers, which will undoubtedly have more
> challenging interfaces,
I don't think history is on your side here. The average PC user in 1992 knew how to move files around at a DOS prompt, was capable of formatting their own diskettes, etc etc.
This is certainly no longer the case. People are working around the clock to make interfaces as idiot-friendly as possible. (I don't think they are succeeding, but they sure are trying.)
>will be more capable, and will also be more
>complex. As a network administrator, I see
>users who cannot understand the simple (in my
>mind) concept of a directory tree structure.
>Shouldn't we be focusing on teaching our kids
>how to use actual computers? Unless, this is
>where computers are heading. I like to think not,
>however the current trend appears to be
>simplification of computers, rather than
>education of users. I think those two are both
>needed, but they should meet in the middle
>somewhere. Whatever. Random mumblings from a
>lunatic, take them as you will.
I agree with you. If you can't understand what a directory structure is, then go use a fscking typewriter or something. The industry, and the average consumer, have different ideas, I guess.
This little puppy would have an advantage for schools, in that it's impossible to screw up the software configuration. A few labs full of tamper-proof machines would be worth hundreds of man hours a year.
Well, OK maybe I was harsh on that one, but the maint point is that you're spreading FUD about this box. The web site referred so says absolutely nothing about Oracle office.
Do you have any reason to believe that this box is in any way tied to Oracle office? If you do I'll gladly apologize.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
The problem with a "NC" where no storage sits locally is that this means that your applications are 100% dependant on the reliability of the network connection betwixt you and where ever storage resides.
Sure, so this is not for the home user with a lousy ISP. In most business environments, the user is pretty muched hosed anyway if he doesn't have network access. If you walked in to an office and said you're giving them a terrific computer, but it wouldn't be networked to their other computers, they'd laugh at you. In a well designed and managed ethernet network, network access is very reliable, just as reliable as power or telephone service if not more so.
Also, network hosted data is way more reliable than workstation based data, as anyone who's managed more than a handful of computers knows. I've never had to pick around a trashed server hard disk to recover tiny file fragments for a distressed user. It's practically a daily task when you have lots of workstation based storage.
But unless there's a whole lot more to "Oracle Office Applications" than impressions suggest (the last I heard, Oracle Office was a somewhat lame mail client reminiscent of the email functions of Lotus Notes), the overall system would resultantly be LESS RELIABLE THAN MS-WINDOWS.
Can you please, please, read the article and follow the links before posting your FUD?
The venture has nothing to do with Oracle or Oracle office. You can burn custom CD-ROMs with your own applications, or use an ASP model if you wish. And, there are lots of bad things one can say about Lotus Notes e-mail, but "lame" is not one of them. Unless lame means being capable of handling e-mail for the CIA, or having had a secure scripting model for over ten years (no melissa).
The big problem with NCs has been they have not been enough cheaper given that you're paying for less. This box is getting there, but I think the magic point will come when the box gets down around $100. I'd also like to see an iMac like all in one design coming in at under $300, with options for wireless networking, or perhaps a combined power and network umbilical cord. This would be attractive because there'd be less clutter and users could move their machines around themselves.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Yes, however they haven't released it to the general public -- only to their customers. And their customers are the people who put PC/Tel chips on boards. So if you want the PC/Tel linmodem, you have to ask the people who sold you the board.
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
Source to the PC/Tel linmodem is not available. As far as I can tell, no vendor is EVER going to release the source, because they feel that the FCC would consider them in violation of the law.
And no, Linus interprets the GPL as having no standing over separate binaries designed to be linked into the kernel.
-russ
Don't piss off The Angry Economist
If you go read the web page, you will see that it
will run the Linux 2.2 Kernel. The CD probably contains the kernel, enough to get into X, and Netscape.
Remove the spam reference to email
Hey, I would love a Sol or an Altair to toggle code into - no problem here.
I don't think computers "breed" ignorant users. I think society does. Somehow, through some mechanism (many would call it the public school system, but I am sure there are other factors - consumerism comes to mind), society has allowed ignorance to be "OK" (as well as laziness, because one has to be motivated to move beyond spoon-feeding).
As far as cars are concerned - yes, I think it is a failing that many people don't really know how their car works - not even at a conceptual level. Most can't even begin to imagine how a car works, or how they could build their own "simple" vehicle, if they had to. Society has a problem when it is deemed better to push responsibility of a problem, such as fixing a flat, onto someone at the far end of a cel-phone conversation - rather than getting the jack and tire, and doing it yourself.
Certain problems I can understand - I am not saying everyone should do everything themselves (no home surgery, or major auto repairs, for instance - unless that person REALLY wants to). But certain things - taking apart and putting things back together, or learning a simple structuring and organization system, or cooking a cheese sandwich - one should either know how to do these things, or be willing to learn.
My landlord, who is a very old man, wanted me to explain computers to him in terms he could understand. As we were talking, he asked me if the reason why he wasn't getting it was because he was stupid about such things. I told him "No, I don't believe you to be stupid - I would rather have you asking me the questions, being truely interested in expanding your knowledge - rather than pretending things were too complicated, and burying your head in the sand".
That man is, by far, smarter and wiser than many of my "peers".
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
Has anyone ever wondered why these units are so hostile to HD's and other PC-like features? They add a lot and don't cost very much, and extend the flexibility of the device a LOT.
You know what all these network computing devices remind me of? The Amiga 500 and the other Commodore computers of the 80's - they're all in one units that do a pretty good job on everything, with limited (intended) expansion capabilities save what the company liscences and intends, except this time, that extends to the system software too. Ick.
It strikes me there is a hard-core demand for a simple PC compatible (well, will it run linux) machine like the iopener, with an embedded flatscreen and motherboard, a HD, and a keyboard. I could use one of these in my car, and I could use one in the living room, the bathroom.. you get the idea. Notebooks cost too much because they need to be light - a desktop machine has no such requirement.
Maybe Redhat should release a terminal (Or debian, or suse..) that runs their distro nice.. it strikes me that might make a lot more money then ad banners, eh.
Kudos!
..don't panic
And now what do I see in the high schools? Labs full of Pentia, where teachers give classes on how to use MS Word instead of how to do stuff with Applesoft BASIC and/or Pascal. There's a lesson or three here: Business needs drive what happens in schools in subtle ways. And good marketing will overcome superior products any day.
I'll just have to say "M3 T00" to the comments about local storage. LANs can be flaky, as anyone knows, and if there's no {floppy, ZIP, LS-120} drive equivalent on these little NCs, there damn well should be. What if little Johnny needs to take work home, but he lives out in the sticks at the end of a 33.6K pipe? (This will be a problem for the next 2-3 years, if not longer.) Oh well, maybe the time for thin clients has finally come... though I tend to use my P-150 laptop as a thin client these days and I'm always annoyed by how slow it is!
Give a monkey a brain and he'll swear he's the center of the universe.
Hmm... and the specs are not that bad, either.
I have a bootable BeOS r. 4.0 CD, that I got with PCPlus a year or so ago. I was flabbergasted when I could boot it on my Thinkpad, with both video and the soundcard perfectly working! I tried the famous BeOS teaser, so I started 4 quicktime movies FROM THE CD!!! and it managed perfectly!
I could actually burn the image of BeOS 5 to a CD and this should work, too. And there is some limited storage on the flash memory. Wonder if that could be mounted as a drive....
Sigged!
The question is whether the applications are well designed (and of course whether the marketing is done well.) What software support does one of these things need?
re not just selling them to schools and businesses, you're selling them to Nintendo/Sega/Sony consumers, so you need some standalone games and some networked games.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Did you even read any of this? This isn't an Oracle venture, it's Ellison and Ellison only. It has nothing to do with Oracle.
Who gives a crap that someone is releasing
a piece of shit Cyrix based computer running
Linux?
What is the big hype? There is no LCD screen,
and in fact the monitor just costs more.
From that page:
The New Internet Computer Company is offering a special price for donation to under-served schools.
So expect to pay a more reasonable price (as in higher) for it as a Joe User. But if you can buy it without a keyboard, mouse, or monitor, then you can scavenge those cheap from thrift stores, flea markets, and swap meets, and save a few bucks... then blow the money you've saved on an LCD screen to hang on the bathroom wall in front of the crapper so you can read Slashdot! Yep, now you can have your open source hot grits AND pour 'em down your pants without making a mess in the living room!
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
I don't think history is on your side here. The average PC user in 1992 knew how to move files around at a DOS prompt, was capable of formatting their own diskettes, etc etc. This is certainly no longer the case. People are working around the clock to make interfaces as idiot-friendly as possible. (I don't think they are succeeding, but they sure are trying.)
And the average PC user was also more technically inclined. They were not nearly as commonplace as they keep getting every year. You want to play that game...when the first PC's were developed the average user knew how to build a computer...why? Cause that's they way they came. Kits. That argument is quite invalid.
I agree with you. If you can't understand what a directory structure is, then go use a fscking typewriter or something. The industry, and the average consumer, have different ideas, I guess.
What an elitist attitude to have...go read my post ^ there about cars...get over it. There are some things I bet you havent mastered...so we should stop you from using the device or whatever at all? Sure thing.
Now you've done it..
By decrypting that word, you have made this offensive material availiable to minors.. You will be charged under the DMCA for reverse engineering the code, and under COPA for posting the offending term where it is accesible by minors. Please turn yourself in ASAP to avoid further charges.
-
air and light and time and space
I don't think history is on your side here. The average PC user in 1992 knew how to move files around at a DOS prompt, was capable of formatting their own diskettes, etc etc.
First of all, the number of personal computers in use in 1992 was probably a third of what it is today. The Secretary, Word Processor, and Accountant would have had one - the Middle Manager wouldn't. So, in the last decade, we've taken a whole group of people who primary job function doesn't revolve around computer programs and given them computers.
Second - I actually don't think that "most users" understood how to manipulate files from the DOS prompt. People primarily used the file manager that was built into WordPerfect, and launched applications from a 'boot menu' which used to be a standard part of Novell Netware. It was very common to find every document a user had ever written in their C:\WP\ directory.
Third - In those days, IT departments actually had the concept of Basic User training. They would actually pay money to send people to a class where they were told how to copy their files and print their documents. Even as late as 1996, I worked in a place that required a 4 hour training class before an e-mail logon was issued.
How many of you work at places where you offer any sort of end-user training at all? How many can say that there's been a proactive policy in place to tell users not to click mystery VBS files and so on?
I'd guess not many - the tendancy nowdays is to drop something on a users desk and let them figure it out. Which they sorta do, but not without a few disasters and much snickering by the IT goons.
When I hear the word 'innovation', I reach for my pistol.
Yeah, but he's cool in terms of his outside interests, i.e. he doesn't think about computing _all_ the time like Mr Gates does. He'll make us feel good about being owned.
Plus he's trying to get Linux in schools.
Let's see now, replace the CD-ROM with a cd-rewritable, make a copy of the OS onto a CD-RAM and patch the kernel so that it can use HDD. Who's got a crowbar?
Well According to the NICs website it is linux (kernel 2.2.15) with Netscape. Looks like it would make a cheap XTerm
With the limited reliability of ISP connections, that is a severely dangerous dependancy.
What if...
If Oracle provides a set of "databased applications," where documents are "saved" based on pushing DB updates out to a networked database, where updates are pushed out ASAP, that may be one thing. (One thing that assumes applications that we don't know, with any certainty, exist.)
Supposing that scenario is true, and there is some persistent local storage where updates can be queued if the network connection goes down, that's a bit better still.
But unless there's a whole lot more to "Oracle Office Applications" than impressions suggest (the last I heard, Oracle Office was a somewhat lame mail client reminiscent of the email functions of Lotus Notes), the overall system would resultantly be LESS RELIABLE THAN MS-WINDOWS.
And the only way for it to be wonderfully reliable would be if there was a set of terribly proprietary Oracle Applications that would tie your documents quite forcibly to sitting at Oracle. A situation rather scarier than the present one of documents being held hostage to What Format Will Microsoft Make You Use Today?
I just don't see this working out. The reasoning not fully agreeing with yours, but the conclusions certainly being similar...
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Cheaper to buy this beast...
10$ case
64$ 64 Megs Memory
20$ S3 4 Meg Video Card
15$ Low end sound card
24$ CD-ROM Drive
82$ Cheap Mb w/P233
50$ 56K modem
10$ 10/100 BaseT cheapo Network card
== 275$
These are the BARE BONES MINIMUM prices listed according to www.pricewatch.com today. Sorry, but you cannot buy a *new* 266 w 64 megs for less then 200.
-- I'm the root of all that's evil, but you can call me cookie..
"Brenda, where did you put that report?"
"Oh, gee - I dunno, the typewriter?"
Rather than "The report is in the file cabinet marked 1966, filed under reports, sub-filed May..." or whatever other system was in use.
One thing I wondered about the whole Y2K scenario (ya know, everything stops working), is that everyone was saying "We'll just use pencil and paper!" - except, if no one knows what a directory tree structure is or how it is used, how can they begin to figure out a file cabinet organization system (which is all directory trees really are - virtual file cabinets)?
What I find really amusing is the secretary (or other lamer) who can figure out a filing cabinet organizing system - but fails to understand a directory tree - it is like they sit in front of a computer, and go stupid!
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
Because a very small percentage of these children will ever need to know what a directory tree structure is or how to manage a large database. These computers are NETWORK computers. Think Internet.
The Internet is a useful medium for anyone, just as television, magazines, and radio. These aren't intended to make kids literate in MySQL, but to give them the opportunity to make use of the vast resources available on the web.
The day after this article was first posted, I'm surprised to see how many people were griping about it not having Ethernet or running some OS other than Linux... when it clearly states on the web page that it both has Ethernet and runs Linux?
:-)
Folks, this looks like what I've been wanting to see for a while now. These are the specs of the "C64 of the 90's" I've been wondering when someone will make, only it's a couple of years late.
Now, the specs you have to go a little deeper to read say "The NIC includes a 56K soft modem (PCTEL) onboard.". So basically it's a WinModem. Or rather, a LinModem. But the GPL virus means that they almost certainly have to release the source code to the driver along with the rest of the base operating system and utilities. They don't have to release the source to any custom applications they might have, but there don't seem to be any mentioned, just publically available software like Linux and Netscape.
But the important thing is that it has a USB port. You can add a real modem, and you can (probably) add a USB hard drive although the speed won't exactly rock. And it should work with any old cheap VGA monitor you can find at a swap meet, since it supports up to 1024x768x millions VESA modes with XFree 3.6.
For the home user who has never used a computer before, this can be a cheap way to get on the internet, do e-mail, and browse the web.
And for the power user, it does have 10/100 Ethernet, so this would make a nice home workstation so you could read Slashdot on the crapper with the addition of an LCD screen. I already have Ethernet wire strung through most of the house by running a 10B2 coax backbone on the floor around the outer walls, taping it down where there is no carpet, so I can just have it boot from one of my servers.
One more thing... this past weekend I figured out how to set up PPP dial-ins on my server (with TWO modem lines!), although the IP addresses are are on the wrong side of IP masquerading (because my fixed IP block comes in in bridged mode). But since most of the services that average users will use work fine behind IPMasq, they can leech off my DSL line in "mini-ISP" mode! Open source hot grits! Of course I have an understanding ISP (who has an "any server you want" policy), and will pre-educate the few friends I give passwords to to NOT spam anyone, because it's MY ass on the line if they do.
#naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
to an extent. Stuff as basic as file saving..and directory concepts should be known...but then again, if you can develop something that eliminates/simplifies it, that's even better. I disagree that people now a days need to learn more and more about computers. True, they need to learn basic programs like word processors and spreadsheets, etc etc...but it isn't like it once was...where computing was totally cryptic and was only avaliable for technowizzes. In the future it will prolly become even more simplified for the enduser...and rightfully so.
Lets use cars for example...A vast, vast, vast majority of Americans use/own cars. They use them frequently. Most of them have a general understanding of the functional components...ie: what the engine does, what the trans does, why you need to change your oil...etc, etc...basic stuff. Some wont even know that much. But most will....then there will always be two groups above the average...the mechanics who do it for a living, and the weekend mechanics...both have superior knowledge of the automobile...one gets paid..the other does it for a hobby...but the common user doesnt even need to know half what they do.
IMHO this will apply to computing...as it does everything else.
These computers can be useful, providing nice email access and such, but are they really that good in the long run? Is this where computers are heading? If not, why are we arranging for our children to learn on these things, and not on real computers, which will undoubtedly have more challenging interfaces, will be more capable, and will also be more complex. As a network administrator, I see users who cannot understand the simple (in my mind) concept of a directory tree structure. Shouldn't we be focusing on teaching our kids how to use actual computers? Unless, this is where computers are heading. I like to think not, however the current trend appears to be simplification of computers, rather than education of users. I think those two are both needed, but they should meet in the middle somewhere. Whatever. Random mumblings from a lunatic, take them as you will.
The more I think of this, the cooler it sounds. I hope he actually follows through on the idea of getting these into schools.
Schools don't (in theory) have the legacy needs of businesses. They can really use whatever works best, instead of having to conform to Microsoft formats. And if Johhny brings his homework back to school and it's in MS Word format and the school computers can't read it, well, that's just too bad. Sorry, Johnny. Save it in RTF or some open format next time. Make it a habit for life, Johnny.
Think about it: kids growing up using lil' Linux boxes... Most of what mainstream society considers to be "normal" is really just a matter of what they're used to either by random chance or clever maniacal plotting, rather than choice. That's why Windoze is considered "normal" these days. (How sad!) Change what people see every day, and you'll change what they are.
And look at the donation angle. This is a way for people like us to directly subvert Microsoft's strategy of using the education system to indoctrinate the next generation. Instead of having to work through the political system to convince the school board to buy a fleet of [pick your favorite non-Wintel platform], you can fight piecemeal, just a little bit at a time, by whipping out your credit card. No muss, no fuss. Hey, I'm a lazy slob and I don't know how to lobby. But I wouldn't hesitate a minute to drop $379 on the middle school a few blocks away. At least I'd know what I'm getting for my money, unlike the situation with taxes.
Of course, one terrifying possibility is that Microsoft would make a bootable Windows CD for these machines and then donate those to the schools. Hmm. Maybe Larry ought to put the OS on a ROM. Not that it would slow down a real hacker, but at least it would make bastardizing these things nontrivial.
Good job, Larry. Focus on the schools. In five to ten years, the business market will be ready too.
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