Part of what I find interesting to watch during this experiment is the distribution method. Recouping costs is a normal part of doing business. With this experiment, the intent is to have governments buy the laptops (with the money originally coming from the people) and then to distribute them (for free -- $0 -- according to Negroponte) to the poor people. This way technology can be somewhat of an equalizer.
Someone mentioned that Rwanda made a large order. Given that the Rwandan GNI (gross national income) is ~$230, the really poor people would again be shut out if they had to spend ~$100 or more. So back to my original curiosity, I'm wondering if 'free' will actually translate into zero cost for the people. As I watch events, it looks like it may actually happen. Now, for another curiosity... Rural areas of 3rd world countries are a bit away from WiFi and the Internet. That will make them somewhat of a separate community. It will be interesting to see how groups of people will have used the laptops after a year or so... Steve -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of pat eyler Sent: Friday, January 05, 2007 12:49 PM To: LDS Open Source Software Subject: Re: [Ldsoss] One Laptop Per Child On 1/5/07, Thomas Haws <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Keep in mind that these will not be gifts "from the people of the US". They > will be sold to the governments for use as textbooks in schools. That > changes the dynamic considerably. > Hmm, instead of the receiving governments getting them for free from the US, they're paying for them. Other than the need to charge a higher price to get their money back, I'm not sure I see how the dynamic is changed. _______________________________________________ Ldsoss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ldsoss.org/mailman/listinfo/ldsoss
