<<> Underpinning the telecenter (or 40 foot van) is this idea...that the > assets that are heavily used - as much as 24/7 - and supervised, > maintained, updated, end up providing more value than "cheaper" > machines, used by less trained persons, for short periods.>> >
The master idea informing the "telecenter" movement is that of public rather private computing, the computer as a shared and social tool rather than a private one. The box housing such a public computer may be a van, or a church, or a library, or a school. The computers in the box may be available "24/7" or a few hours a day. The sponsor of the center may be a for-profit firm or a government agency or a religious congregation. There will be no standardization of the telecenter movement because communities are not standardized in their needs and ability to provide and support. We often call the technology in question a "pc." The term "personal" has been attached to the instrument, and it is this idea of the computer as a personal and private instrument that has generated the understandable interest in such development as the $100 computer. It seems plausible to maintain that the "digital divide" movement has to put pressure on this idea of the technology as private and personal, and find ways of underscoring the benefits of social and public computing. Steve Eskow [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Hibbs" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Steve Eskow" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "The Digital Divide Network discussiongroup" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, March 04, 2005 4:42 PM Subject: Re: [DDN] The digital divide and the idea of "public computing" > >At 4:58 PM -0800 2/28/05, Steve Eskow wrote: > >Perhaps we need a $500 dollar public computer more than we need a $100 > >private computer. > > > > I think a case can be made that can be made that a $500. - or $2,500 > computer may be (cheaper?) (more profitable?) (of more use?) > Underpinning the telecenter (or 40 foot van) is this idea...that the > assets that are heavily used - as much as 24/7 - and supervised, > maintained, updated, end up providing more value than "cheaper" > machines, used by less trained persons, for short periods. > > In the rag trade, where I grew up, there was a saying...the expensive > suit will be worn long, long after the cheap one has been thrown > away. There was a related saying - something about "value is > remembered long after the price is forgotten." > > But we don't live in a black and white, either or world. We live in a > world where in the best case situations, options are available from > which wise decisions can flow. > > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. > _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
