$100 Laptop

[Hudson]

Random but cool. Don't know how many of you know about this. The idea is to create a $100 laptop that can be distributed throughout even the poorest nations to provide computers and internet to everyone.

The laptops can be powered by a crank type mechanism in the event of no electricity, and though small, they have usb ports and all, and automatically take part in a mesh network that will allow them all to share internet access off of any that do have a connection.

Part of the cheap price comes from the fact that they are running Linux, have small screens that do some 'cheating' to provide color. But a lot of the $100 price is in numbers. They need huge orders for the $100 price to become a reality, and they are hoping that that will come from some of the poor nations.

I really hope they pull it off. Obviously food is a bigger necessity for some places, but educating people, and empowering them to educate themselves is never a bad thing either. The project has been around for quite some time, but they are having some good success it looks like.

http://www.eweek.com/slideshow/0,1206,l ... 353,00.asp

[KODIAK]

Problem is a lot of them need educating that feeding themselves should be their priority. And then they need educated in how to do that. So, if a funny sort of way, education is a greater priority than feeding themselves. It's all well and good, us more fortunate ones, throwing our money at these people for charity. But a lot of that money ends up in corrupt hands, or pays towards the people who are actually doing the work to get these people the aid they need. Our governments want us, the taxpayer, to dig in to our pockets while they throw our money down the drain on other stuff. Not to mention the food mountain as we refer to it in Europe - thousands of tons of food is thrown away every week, into the sea. Just so subsidies (better read as bribes in some cases!) can be paid out to a variety of people for the sake of politics. That food could be getting used to help these people survive, while we educate them. And we wouldn't be constantly putting our hands in our own pockets twice for the same thing! Now that I DO mind! :shock:

[Hammer]

"Problem is a lot of them need educating that feeding themselves should be their priority. And then they need educated in how to do that."

actually i am not so sure about that. i just came from a 3rd world country (Mexico is still considered 3rd world, right?) - deep in Mexico - and the folks there know full well how to feed themselves. matter of fact, they eat a LOT healthier than most Americans that are educated and "know"... from what i know and have seen, most "uneducated", indigenous folks are well aware of how to feed themselves... it is when "civilization" steps in that problems start...

yes, there is a huge amount of waste in the western world - no doubt.

[PanzerMeyer]

[quote="Steel and the folks there know full well how to feed themselves. matter of fact, they eat a LOT healthier than most Americans that are educated and "know"... from what i know and have seen, most "uneducated", indigenous folks are well aware of how to feed themselves... it is when "civilization" steps in that problems start...

.[/quote]

Interesting. Then why do so many hundreds of thousands of them cross over the border illegally if they can feed themselves just fine? It seems to me that they are more than happy to run to where the "civilization" is.

[Hammer]

they can make more money, even being illegal. a lot send money back home, some try to stay, some try to have children here so they eventually (21 years or more down the road) can become legal. it IS a better life here than there. food is not the issue for most, it is living conditions, political persecution (the gov't of Mexico actively persecutes native Indians in many areas, outright warfare), gov't corruption. some places it is appalling...relative to our standards - although some small towns remind me of the poor living conditions i have seen in very rural areas in the US, mostly in the South. i would not want to live in a large city in Mexico, but rural - yes. some things would be missed though (i.e. internet!).

also note that not all of them are from Mexico. there are just as many that come from central and south america via Mexico. and no one says anything about the boat people from across the Pacific.

[KODIAK]

Yes, that is also very true of many places - corrupt governments certainly can be a major cause of 'poverty' in that respect, by systematically bleeding the country's wealth dry for their personal gain.
I certainly understand your point with regard to their diet being much healthier than most 'Western' countries. By educating them how to feed themselves I intended to imply the feeding the mind which will in turn allow them to develope their towns/villages into larger cities/towns. Develope their land and make it profitable to all who live and subsequently live there. Teach them self-pride in who they are and where they come from ,as individuals and a people. And finally, to use that as their motivation to see their country develope into a self-generating economy.