either/or
Posted Dec 15, 2006 9:54 UTC (Fri) by
ldo (subscriber, #40946)
In reply to:
Playing with the OLPC by jeff@uclinux.org
Parent article:
Playing with the OLPC
>In the mean time, I have a bunch of old machines that can run
>Linux that I can donate, and I bet you do too, instead of sending it
>back to China for landfill.
Nice thought, but no cigar. Those "old machines" you have are built for first-world conditions: they're not going to tolerate an unreliable electricity supply, or the regular wear-and-tear of any equipment that spends much time with schoolchildren, without ready access to a well-equipped repair shop if anything should go wrong.
In short, your suggestion is exactly the typical misguided one of a first-worlder who thinks they know what's good for those poor third-world folk. I'm on the side of the OLPC project on this one: don't patronize them, but give them the tools, and let them make the choices for themselves.
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