[Way OT] Re: Letter to OLPC
Hey Siju, If the real concern is for *disadvantaged children* in third world countries then giving them a laptop is the most ridiculous idea ever orginated! I guess nobody thought of the idea to ask the 'third world' what *they* would like to have. Indeed, what a silly notion! For the 'first world' to really put an end to hunger, war and deprivation of (proper) education, it simply has to make different choices. It is always all about choice. Giving the 'third world' more of what the 'first world' already has, will only serve to magnify the problems the 'first world' has created in the first place. At the expense of the 'third world', no less. Our global problems will not be solved by thinking in the same thought patterns over and over again. I sincerely hope Theo's well written letter will bring a solid, decent discussion and get rid of any big fat liars out there. Interesting times straight ahead! Be well... Nico
[OT] Re: Letter to OLPC
On Fri, Oct 06, 2006 at 04:06:35PM +0530, Siju George wrote: If the real concern is for *disadvantaged children* in third world countries then giving them a laptop is the most ridiculous idea ever orginated! Some time back I saw a cartoon. One of the 3rd world countries blasted their nuclear bomb and was proud of it. Proud that they were in par with the others in the West. While their people were still begging and starving in the streets and villages. The cartoon showed a poor beggar sitting on the street with torn clothes with the beggars basin to reveive a missile sent to it. In the third world the basic necissities are food, water, clothing, shelter, medical care etc. Disadvantaged children could care less about a stupid laptop when they have had no meal for a week and are tired of the sun while watching their siblings dying of cholera. Getting a laptop to a child for low cost seems to be a noble idea on the outside. add a *3rd-world country* phase and you get a more polished *charity painted/noble* image. I don't think OLPC it that great!. It is another form of business. They have seen a market. They want to reach it. thats all! Mostly people who applaude such endeavours *do not have any idea* of the issues of the third world countries. I am not angry Jack. But When I find people *over nobleizing* at the expense of the 3rd world countries I think I need to say this. Bravo Siju Bravo! I see with my own eyes everyday ppl who have no money to eat a morsel of rice a day. And I am often amazed by their intellect, wisdom and happy attitude. I am not kidding. Once I was flabbergasted when a young chap came all the way to my home just to give me two rupees(1$ = 45 rupees). And ppl in the railway station asking me, Please give me ten rupees. I will carry your suitcase. Do you guys get the picture? My heart bleeds when I see this. But most of my fellow men are so used to this that their hearts have turned into stone seeing these things... I really wonder how one can own a car and a bungalow in my country when my own ppl are starving for food? I think the West can never understand our problems until they visit us and see our conditions. No, my point is not that anybody is inferior or superior. I sincerely believe the West has to learn a great deal of wisdom from the east. After all like many Americans want to believe America is not the only country on earth! :-) Now, coming to this particular issue of laptops I wholeheartedly agree with Siju. In fact this is nothing different from that idiot Bill Gates who came to India saying that he wanted to help India tackle the AIDS disease. I think the only solution to tackle this disparity lies in a mutual understanding and firm conviction that every race, every nation is important. Just like there are oranges and grapes and apples and kiwis, each with a different taste that makes our meal wholesome, every single race and nation goes towards making this world complete and livable. May I ask how many of my countrymen are serving in top notch research institutions like IBM and NASA? Dont you benefit by them? Well, several thousand years ago India was the richest nation on earth. India was also the most knowledgeable and ethical and moral nation, but that was once upon a time. Today, after several generations, we still have a strong culture, values and importance attached to education. Too bad, our companies like Infosys and Wipro have given us an image of doing low end junk work! Actually it is not the loss of wealth that has hurt us. What really hurt us is the lack of confidence! Well, sorry for talking about India. It is the only third world country I know. regards, Girish
Re: [OT] Re: Letter to OLPC
On 10/6/06, Girish Venkatachalam [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Now, coming to this particular issue of laptops I wholeheartedly agree with Siju. In fact this is nothing different from that idiot Bill Gates who came to India saying that he wanted to help India tackle the AIDS disease. Little do I know about Bill Gates and the Aids Issue. But I know this was the outcome of Indian President's meet with Bill some time back. In a speech during dedication ceremonies Wednesday for the country's new International Institute of Information Technology in the university city of Pune, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam recounted a conversation earlier this year with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. We were discussing the future challenges in information technology, including the issues related to software security, Kalam said, according to a transcript of the speech. I made a point that we look for open-source codes so that we can easily introduce the users built security algorithms. Our discussions became difficult, since our views were different. === http://news.com.com/India+leader+advocates+open+source/2100-1016_3-1011255.html?tag=nl http://news.com.com/Indian+president+calls+for+open+source+in+defense/2100-7344_3-5259836.html Indian Govt, Defence, Universities and a lot of other companies are shifting towards Open Source Software and Operating Systems or something based on it. I know some details but do not want to disclose it here. I know about teams setup to investigate about replacing Proprietary Software with Open Source. The investigations are over in many places and the migration has started in massive amounts. All this points to the fact that the future Indian market is slowly closing for all hardware that does not support Open Source well. And this includes Intel, Adaptec ( Please some one fill in the list there are a few!). Already AMD is eating up Intel's market here! And soon people here are going to find out the truth about all the *fraud* Open Source support talk some hardware companies claim either through all these public discussions on the internet, or through people like girish and myself ( I am already asking people not to hurt themselves buying Intel's hardware ) or the hard way i.e buying the hardware and finding it does not work, then approaching the vendor and finding they don't care even if there are people who want to provide free and quality support for their products to others. And it does not take much or cost them a dime to change their fate. They will have to Open up their documentation if they need to survive. The faster they learn the better for them. Thankyou so much Kind Regards Siju
Re: [OT] Re: Letter to OLPC
On Oct 6, 2006, at 6:57 AM, Girish Venkatachalam wrote: Mostly people who applaude such endeavours *do not have any idea* of the issues of the third world countries. I am not angry Jack. But When I find people *over nobleizing* at the expense of the 3rd world countries I think I need to say this. We are, I think, in violent agreement on this subject. What you say is the point I was trying to make. I was concerned that the subject being discussed was being treated with reference only to *our* community's (the Open Source community's) needs and not with reference to the needs of the nominal beneficiaries, the children of the Third World. It appears to me now that these two frames of reference are aligned more closely than I had realized. As an aside, isn't it interesting how communication on the Internet about our day-to-day work and technical concerns grants us greater understanding of critical world issues than possibly our leaders possess!? -- Jack J. Woehr Director of Development Absolute Performance, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] 303-443-7000 ext. 527
