Computers for Uganda?

Shadowfax0 asks: "Recently, when I was attending the International Scout Jamboree in Sattahip, Thailand, I became friends with a fellow Scout from Uganda. One day we decided to both visit one of the small internet cafes that had been set up at the jamboree. I went in, and for only a few baht, was on the internet. My friend from Uganda was amazed, 'How do they do this?' he asked. I told him that in a lot of places in the world these are quite common; he was awe. "'ot in Uganda' he said to me. He told me that at the university he attends there are only three computers; and only one of them has the ability to get on the internet. In the spirit of the jamboree and of scouting, I told him that I would very gladly help him set up something similar at his university. Herein lies my question to the readers of Slashdot: How can I set up a small network for my friend in Uganda where the only fast internet connection may be a DSL line?"

" I was hoping to use thin-clients because they are very durable and create very little load for a server, however, I am not experienced enough to administer them properly using Linux (the same going for Solaris), and do not have enough money for Windows licensing (and also hope to have them be as reliable as possible). I would like to use Apple computers because that is the OS I am most well-versed in, and know that when I leave Uganda and if a problem were to arise, that there would be hope of the problem being rectified. I'm more looking to donate these computers to his school as opposed to set up an internet cafe; so I would be looking to have 6-20 computers and a server. I have never set up a network on a large scale and will need to know about what type of router/hub/network configurations would be plausible (I have a very basic knowledge of administering networks, something I hope to fix soon).

I thank all of you for your input, I hope we can make this happen!"

Comments

Given Uganda's high AIDS infection rates...

[leonbrooks]

...and that the only system which has ever been seriously effective against AIDS in Africa is Christian-sponsored abstinence campaigns (which Atheist organisations decry and actively undermine; apparently it is better in their eyes to die slowly and painfully than to hold Christian beliefs), that statement is suddenly no longer funny, and no longer a troll.

Lest you think to idly mod this into the ground, bear in mind that what we're talking about here is real people catching a real disease and really dying horribly by the millions. This is not a game, this is not a joke, this is not armchair-discussion fodder, this is real life. There are over four million new cases of AIDS every year in Africa, and that number is not going down. I live in Western Australia, a state with a population of around two million people, which makes this the equivalent of everyone in my entire state dying, twice a year.

Compared with that, how prominent a need is access to porn and spam? So yes, go right ahead and check that your buddy's not gay, and not Atheist, because they're the two greatest threats to life in Africa and you don't want to make him your exemplar - the person others turn to for advice - if he's either.

I have a number of friends in Australia who are gay, and one in particular who has extensive contacts in the USA (which has less than 1% of Africa's AIDS problem) and something like ten percent of his many gay friends there have died of AIDS already. This gives you a pretty good idea of how closely AIDS is tied to homosexuality in real life.

Yes, the Scouts have both Catholic and Masonic ties, and yes, both organisations have their own agendas which have very little to do with the welfare of their members, even less to do with the welfare of mankind in general, and in point of fact even less to do with Christianity as such, but the Scouts as they are generally have an extremely positive impact on society, and these two features which you have chosen to isolate (and yes, I do appreciate the funny side of it) are essential to that positive impact.

Now if you want a serious rant... (-: