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First Photos of MIT $100 Laptop
An anonymous reader noted that MITs $100 laptop was unveiled at the Seven Countries Task Force Meeting. It runs a special version of the Fedora linux and it comes with native wireless lan support. You can see the
photo album, and you can pledge to buy one at triple price... in order to donate 2 of them to children.
MITs $100 laptop was unveiled at the Seven Countries Task Force Meeting. It runs a special version of the Fedora linux
But.... Does it run Linux???
DOH!!!
So, does Nigeria really *need* more people with computers and internet access?
I mean, seriously...
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
I know that I will be moderated into the ground for this post, but here it comes anyway. Where I can donate so that the children get a decent properly educated teacher and some new high quality schoolbooks instead of this?
Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
http://www.sigsegv.cx/
is like flusing your money down the toilet.
A laptop for every child is great and all, but they'll get to where ever you want to send them and then..
a) Gov't Officals will gladly help 'dispense them' - ie sell them.
b) They'll be stolen and end up on the black market
c) They'll end up busted and being more caustic crap in a landfill somewhere.
I'd rather give laptops to under privilidged teenagers in eastern europe. At least maybe something would come out of it (hopefully not linux viruses).
When you look at that machine, imagine a little kid in a third world country using it... to spam and scam the crap out of us! After all, with the spam/scam market so lucrative, putting a machine like this in the hands of someone desperate for money is like handing a book of matches to a pyromaniac. Sure, matches aren't dangerous by themselves, but what are the circumstances here? If I can't afford a 100 dollar computer, I probably have trouble affording much of anything... and likely would be desperate enough to scam/spam if I knew I'd get some cash for it.
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Ha, a lot of people have made the same point as me by now. We're all vigilant for posts like your original one, because it's an ego boost when we get to say things like that. I think I believe you that your point was more complex than what you presented it as, but I'm amazed that you didn't foresee these smartassed rebuttals and make your point more clear in the first place.
Because the project is based on socialist ideology. The idea that by selling these on the free market you can drive the costs down to make them more affordable is too "market oriented". When you purchase the thing for 3 times the cost, it is really more of a donation than a market transaction, and so hasn't been "tainted" with "capitalism".