John Hibbs wrote: > At 11:01 AM -0800 3/5/05, Steve Eskow wrote: > >> There will be no standardization of the telecenter movement because >> communities are not standardized in their needs and ability to >> provide and support. > > > At first bite, this might well be true. However, "standardization" > should be one of the metrics for consideration when setting up the > "public" (computer) space. Why? Because one goal, I say, is to > replicate success -- and maybe that's by having much the same ovens > and fridges, leaving what is delivered from the kitchen up to the > local chefs.
Exactly. > > But when the oven breaks, or replacements are needed, help comes > easier, quicker and almost always, cheaper if lots of other people are > using the same equipment. If it's a physical problem, having local support is a problem at times - and more importantly, parts. This is one of my main problems with the 'send your old computers somewhere else' paradigm... I wrote something about this here: http://www.knowprose.com/node/69 (but in a Free Software/Open Source context). What makes this worse at many different levels is that by sending old hardware, parts that are rare in the donor country (and thus the reason for donation) are practically non-existant in the receiving country. Software is also an issue, but the software is only an issue if people choose... > > (And let's hope it's not Microsoft!) > Microsoft and other companies sell software, and drive the hardware market (though I believe this trend may be decreasing due to China). That's business, and there's nothing 'evil' about it in and of itself. However, as I mentioned in the link above, it creates a serious problem. I am reminded of the conversation I had at the FLOS Caribbean conference with someone... I think Ross was there... and we were told that Guyana had sent away a container full of computers because they couldn't run the latest Microsoft software. Hardware is a problem, software is a problem. Training on hardware and software in telecenters is better than nothing, I know. When systems fail, it might even inspire some creative solutions. But when we talk about a public computer on the internet, there is a shift away from hardware to more software - since given bandwidth and the know how (and the source code without breaking a TRIPs agreement), most problems can be resolved.independant of geography. This means that people throughout the world can work together to resolve problems, which probably gives a better transfer of knowledge than otherwise. -- Taran Rampersad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.linuxgazette.com http://www.a42.com http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo _______________________________________________ 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.
