Slashdot Mirror
New Operating System For Developing Countries?
Rohan Amin asks: "What are people's thoughts on new operating systems such as NewDeal that claim to run on older machines such as 286's? Is this a powerful solution to help bring technology to those who can't afford it, especially in developing countries? NewDeal, for example, claims to have developed an operating system and office suite that will allow organizations to resurrect a large supply of unused 286/386 machines and to deploy them in international locations. Is this a sound approach? Many complain about the complexities of Linux and are turning to solutions such as this."
There are more problems with older computers than just their speed. Hardware upgrades are next to impossible to find. Did you know that SIMMs are more expensive than brand spanking new PC133 DIMMs? Or that a 486DX100 CPU is more expensive than a Duron? Try finding ethernet cards for those 286s. Or larger hard drives. Swaping files between computers that don't support the same floppy format is a pain. Insuring that all the same software runs the same on all computers is next to impossible. I suppose this New Deal thing would try to fix that, but then you can't run any outside Windows or Mac programs.
Really, an old computer is just as expensive as a new one, so you might as well get new ones. And despite what the politicians say about the Internet gap, a computer is a ultimately luxury device. There is no reason to believe that 'developing countries' need computers so much that they should settle for half-assed solutions. Wait a while for the technology to develop; and in the meantime, keep doing what has worked for years.
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