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Intel Unveils PC for Developing Nations

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the foot-in-the-third-world dept.

Poppler writes "Intel has announced it will produce a PC aimed at developing nations, the 'Community PC.' Instead of giving out minimal PCs to as many individuals as possible, Intel wants to sell these machines to 'kiosk owners' who will rent out use to their village. Price TBA. How does this stack up against the $100 laptop, in terms of helping the developing world?"

3 of 194 comments (clear)

  1. Why? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm a medical student and a technophile. I studied part of my third year clinicals in a third world nation with Doctors without Borders. Quite frankly, people who keep pushing for computers to be put into 3rd world nations don't seem to actually visit the poorest (and hence the most populous parts) of those places. The fact is that even a $100 put towards a computer can be better put towards generic versions of prescription drugs. Clean water, food, medical care and education are more important than any internet connection, laptop, or cellular phone. Unfortunately, Slashdot folks don't get it. A computer is nothing more than a tool that only matters when an educated and healthy population can utilize them.

  2. Help the developing world by Gothmolly · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Lets see, high on a rational priority list would be (just off the top of my head here):

    1) Convince the Muslim clerics in Nigeria that the polio vaccine is not a Western conspiracy to kill off Muslims.
    1a) Fix polio.
    2) Stop the hysteria over genetically modified food, so that people can grow 'golden rice', rice modified to produce beta carotene, so that people who live only on rice, at least get some nutrition from it.
    3) Provide real birth control options for developing nations.
    4) Stop pouring money into China.
    5) Get the French out of the Sudan, so that the UN can actually fix the problems there. ...
    1001) Get them all laptops, so that the power of the Internet can Change Their Lives.

    Seriously folks, stop the laptops-for-everyone circlejerk, and fix the real problems.

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    1. Re:Help the developing world by Vellmont · · Score: 5, Insightful


      Lets see, high on a rational priority list would be (just off the top of my head here):

      Contrary to popular belief, "the developing world" isn't a single place, but a vastly different collection of places and people at differing levels of development.

      Help is also not a zero sum game. It's not as if Intel not doing this kind of development opens up greater possibilities for priorities 1-5 in your numbering scheme.

      Is this something that can help some people in developing countries? I really don't know. But attacking the idea on the premise that there's other people with other problems is really missunderstanding the entire situation.

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