On Fri, May 18, 2007 at 09:19:07AM +1200, Jonathan Bell wrote: > ----- Original Message Follows ----- > > Hi, > > Sorry Don, but I tend to agree with Nick. > > > I also agree, for slightly different reasons.
I might just cut through all the moral judgments and the Labour-like parenting tips you're currently getting and state two very important points. - Buying a laptop from TradeMe is fraught with *significant* trouble. That is, you have to make sure it's not stolen before you shell out the money, which is extraodinarily common on that website. There are ways to lessen the odds of buying a half-inched 14 inch, but they're not a sure thing. If the cops come and take your laptop away, they don't give you your money back with a nice "Sorry for the trouble" greeting card. - You also have a quite high chance of buying a lemon on TradeMe. Not one of those great zesty lemons that make you pucker a bit, either. There are better ways to buy second hand laptops. See if you can get in touch with places that sell ex-lease laptops. They won't be as old and usually come with a 3 month guarantee. However, you ou will pay more and so I normally advise people to buy new. Michael. > > 1. It's morally reprehensible to introduce children to the > horror of debt at a young age. At least leave them the > innocence of youth for a little while longer. And profiting > off children isn't for me. Leave that to the big nasty > American Corporations. > > 2. Kids should be outside running into trees and keeping fit > so they can fight off the various illnesses they'll get. Not > turning into couch potatoes. > > 3. Laptops are limited in what fun stuff a kid can do with > it. If I had to get a kid something to play with, I'd sooner > get them an electronics kitset, a chemistry set or Lego. Let > them be more constructive with their brains. > > 4. There is no fourth thing. > > 5. If all these kids start buying laptops off Trademe, it'll > push the prices up so the kids just end up getting even > deeper in debt. > > 6. Laptops-for-kids schemes in the US are failing the > children and proving to be ineffective learning tools. It > just seems to be a winner for hardware vendors. > > Jonathan
