Does nobody stop and think about the repercussions this will have on the world. The people this laptop will be distributed to are poor, (dirt poor to be exact) what are they going to use these laptops for? To pay for their XBOX live subscription or maybe to pay their car payment? NO they will begin to use this as a tool to scam people, to write viruses, to maliciously attack companies to try to get something because they have nothing. Look at it this way if you were to put a loaf of bread in front of a starving child and look away for a minute you should expect to turn around and not see the bread. This is the same thing, this is only going to unleash a whole new world of chaos on the internet. How about we take the money were spending on this and buy them some food? or how about build them a school? so that maybe one day they can build their own internet?
If I gave a loaf of bread to a starving child, yes, I would expect him to eat it.
If I give a child a computer, I will expect him to use it.
Giving a child a computer is not giving him instant access to write viruses and create chaos.
I have a computer. I am not poor compared to third world countries. Yet the reason I do not write viruses and create scams is not because I don't need money. It is because (1) I don't know how and (2) My morals prevent me from doing so. By saying someone in a third-world country is guaranteed to do these things you are implying (1) somehow he will have the knowledge to do so and (2) because he is poor, he is without morals.
I agree that this whole idea is probably wrong. Food and education in working skills is more important than computer skills for many. Now, in a country where the economy is sound for the most part but still lacking expertise in computers this makes sense. But in the typical idea of a "third world country", I fail to see the purpose.
But it is stupid to say that simply providing access to computers to poor people instantly opens the gate to chaos. Forgive me if I misunderstand, but it really seems like you are accusing poorer people of being without scruples.
And I'd really like to see the coin for two-tenths of a cent.
Usually when i am tempted to reply to someone's comment i decide not to because most people only say stupid things to get people to react. But your reaction is just so completely askew that i pretty much have to, especially since you seem to really believe in what you are saying.
It makes you sound like the kind of person that hates everybody that is different just because they are afraid to be themselves. Like the gay father in American Beauty. Or a racist farmer.
Which you probably are not, so if you don't want people to think those things about you it would be a wise idea to stop claiming that all poor people are criminals and their only motivation is to take away your precious belongings. They are PEOPLE. they have FEELINGS. just like (i guess) you.
Matt, As was mentioned above, your complaints have been answered for YEARS. Try READING on the OLPC website before accusing folks of NOT considering your complaints. There are lots of places you can send your money to third-world-countries if YOU wish... use them. Some of the rest of us do that... then also want to do more than give them a fish, we want to educate them how to fish, and read, and record their history, their hopes, etc, to search the internet on how to make a solar oven, or a waterwheel, or maybe correspond with another village to find out how to cook (fill in local flora and fauna), what flora and fauna can be safely used for local medicines, how to market their local products to specialized first world markets,... and live in a world that has computers and internet, like you do. Naa, you just want to give them some handouts of food to soothe your guilty conscious because you regularly pig out at some $20 a plate meal, or use $5 in gas to go two blocks to the quick stop and buy garbage that you have to then pay more money for a fancy gym spa to sweat off your fat gut... then keep them in a tech ghetto so they don't pick up your job in outsourcing. As for Sugar vs XP... Let them load up flash-XP. Nick should have spent more time streamlining and making more logical a regular small Linux distro, then adding the neat gadgets.... and some REAL educational items like flashcards, a simple text/e-text reader, a simple spreadsheet, etc, that are already out there. BTW, I'm currently working on updating my G1G1 XO to the 703, and likely do some experiments with small flash-media friendly distros like Puppy or Feather.
The X-Fi3 keeps with the company's commitment to audio fidelity, thanks to the apt-X codec, which supposedly offers audio quality similar to a wired connection when streaming. On that front, the device also handles FLAC files.
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Does nobody stop and think about the repercussions this will have on the world. The people this laptop will be distributed to are poor, (dirt poor to be exact) what are they going to use these laptops for? To pay for their XBOX live subscription or maybe to pay their car payment? NO they will begin to use this as a tool to scam people, to write viruses, to maliciously attack companies to try to get something because they have nothing. Look at it this way if you were to put a loaf of bread in front of a starving child and look away for a minute you should expect to turn around and not see the bread. This is the same thing, this is only going to unleash a whole new world of chaos on the internet. How about we take the money were spending on this and buy them some food? or how about build them a school? so that maybe one day they can build their own internet?
Just my .02 cents.
If I gave a loaf of bread to a starving child, yes, I would expect him to eat it.
If I give a child a computer, I will expect him to use it.
Giving a child a computer is not giving him instant access to write viruses and create chaos.
I have a computer. I am not poor compared to third world countries. Yet the reason I do not write viruses and create scams is not because I don't need money. It is because (1) I don't know how and (2) My morals prevent me from doing so. By saying someone in a third-world country is guaranteed to do these things you are implying (1) somehow he will have the knowledge to do so and (2) because he is poor, he is without morals.
I agree that this whole idea is probably wrong. Food and education in working skills is more important than computer skills for many. Now, in a country where the economy is sound for the most part but still lacking expertise in computers this makes sense. But in the typical idea of a "third world country", I fail to see the purpose.
But it is stupid to say that simply providing access to computers to poor people instantly opens the gate to chaos. Forgive me if I misunderstand, but it really seems like you are accusing poorer people of being without scruples.
And I'd really like to see the coin for two-tenths of a cent.
just your $0.02, you mean...
Usually when i am tempted to reply to someone's comment i decide not to because most people only say stupid things to get people to react. But your reaction is just so completely askew that i pretty much have to, especially since you seem to really believe in what you are saying.
It makes you sound like the kind of person that hates everybody that is different just because they are afraid to be themselves. Like the gay father in American Beauty. Or a racist farmer.
Which you probably are not, so if you don't want people to think those things about you it would be a wise idea to stop claiming that all poor people are criminals and their only motivation is to take away your precious belongings. They are PEOPLE. they have FEELINGS. just like (i guess) you.
Your 2¢ are racist and ignorant.
But I repeat myself.
Matt,
As was mentioned above, your complaints have been answered for YEARS. Try READING on the OLPC website before accusing folks of NOT considering your complaints.
There are lots of places you can send your money to third-world-countries if YOU wish... use them. Some of the rest of us do that... then also want to do more than give them a fish, we want to educate them how to fish, and read, and record their history, their hopes, etc, to search the internet on how to make a solar oven, or a waterwheel, or maybe correspond with another village to find out how to cook (fill in local flora and fauna), what flora and fauna can be safely used for local medicines, how to market their local products to specialized first world markets,... and live in a world that has computers and internet, like you do.
Naa, you just want to give them some handouts of food to soothe your guilty conscious because you regularly pig out at some $20 a plate meal, or use $5 in gas to go two blocks to the quick stop and buy garbage that you have to then pay more money for a fancy gym spa to sweat off your fat gut... then keep them in a tech ghetto so they don't pick up your job in outsourcing.
As for Sugar vs XP... Let them load up flash-XP. Nick should have spent more time streamlining and making more logical a regular small Linux distro, then adding the neat gadgets.... and some REAL educational items like flashcards, a simple text/e-text reader, a simple spreadsheet, etc, that are already out there.
BTW, I'm currently working on updating my G1G1 XO to the 703, and likely do some experiments with small flash-media friendly distros like Puppy or Feather.