On Tuesday 02 January 2007 21:17, Rony wrote: > jtd wrote: > > Yes. But pending delivery of such premium warez, the OLPC will > > help at least some to morph into more useful vagabonds. > > Without security for the kids, these laptops may end up as > expensive presents, getting sold to rich kids due to poverty or for > the residential drunkard's drink or money lender's installments or > bully snatching it away. They should be in the custody of a school > or an institution where the children deposit them before going > home.
These are social problems which NOTHING is going to solve. And depriving the vast majority of poor who are responsible for the foibles of a few is worse than the original problem. High risk behaviour is permitted by nature (and society) as means of testing limits. Things like OLPC will help chanellise even such behaviour (make one an olympic boxer rather than a thug). Regarding the costs, the product is not subsidised. It just gets rid of the marketing, maintanence and legal costs (and the mine is bigger than yours syndrome). However several governments are purchasing it for (free ?) distribution. That is where the subsidy is. As usual expect your regular wheeler dealer poltico to milk it. Regarding the argument of roti, kapda aur makan, the old fogies on the list will remember when TV's and phones were considered luxuries and charged 40% excise. -- Rgds JTD -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
