Loews Is Slightly More Honest About Movie Start Times

The Infatuation With Super Cheap Computers

from the let-it-go dept

Thu, May 5th 2005 10:07am — Mike Masnick

It seems like a noble idea: provide insanely cheap computers for the world's poor. It's a very "bottom of the pyramid" concept. There are a lot more poor people, and catering to their needs at a much cheaper price isn't just good for them, but could, in theory, be a lucrative business. Of course, the problem is often that such people have a long list of other things they're much more interested in obtaining before a computer -- no matter how cheap. Yet, the well-wishers keep coming. The most famous, of course, was the Simputer, which received a tremendous amount of attention for not actually doing well. That failure hasn't hurt well-meaning academics from jumping in and trying as well. And, of course, you can't go six months without some article about Nicholas Negroponte's plans for a $100 computer that seems unlikely to ever really exist. Perhaps the most interesting, however, is AMD's attempt to get into the space. At first glance, it seems much more credible. Rather than just some dreamer, AMD clearly can (and does) make such cheap computers, and is carefully targeting a notch above the world's poorest people, where they may be a bit more ready for a computer. However, after that point, the logic breaks down. You might expect any such computer to be limited in terms of power and hardware, but the nice thing about a computer is the flexibility it offers in software. Not with AMD, apparently. The article suggests that the software on the machine is pretty much locked down, and there's very little you can add. While AMD spins this by pointing out that it's less likely to be attacked by worms and viruses, it also means that the device itself is much less useful to people -- and they'll have fewer options for figuring out what to do with it. It's the flexible and extensible nature of computers that make them valuable. People figure out the best way they can make use of it. However, this plan seems to go back to the "we know best" method of thinking -- rather than letting the user take the computer and create the applications and services that matter to them.

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CF, 6 May 2005 @ 11:27am

No Subject Given
It depends on where the value is. If the majority of the value of having a computer connected to the Internet is the content that exists on the Internet, then very little flexibility is needed inside the computer itself. If, however, the reason for having a computer in a poor area of the world is to do a variety of specialized things, then more flexibility is needed. My hunch, however, is that there's a lot more value to be had from getting basic net access than general computing capacity, but I could be wrong.
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Soliel Mitchell, 16 Feb 2007 @ 9:23am

Buying clone computers
To Whom It May Concern

We are a computer company in Jamaica. We are urgently seeking a steady supply of computers p3 and p4 in large quantities, preferably 10,000 computers per week. However if this is not attainable we will gladly accept any quantity you can supply immediately.

For further information please contact me by: 1-876-410-8818 or 1-876-877-2803.

Thank You...

Yours Truly,

Manager
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Soliel Mitchell, 26 Feb 2007 @ 12:26pm

Buying Computers
To Whom It May Concern

We are a computer company in Jamaica. We are urgently seeking a steady supply of computers p3 and p4 in large quantities, preferably 4,000 computers per week. However if this is not attainable we will gladly accept any quantity you can supply immediately.

For further information please contact me by: 1-876-410-8818 or 1-876-877-2803.

Thank You...

Yours Truly,

Manager
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Poor, 7 Feb 2008 @ 6:49pm

I don't think that most of the poor people in the world are as dumb as this article gives them "credit" for being. In fact, there's an awful lot of poor even in the "super countries" ... and while food is definitely a priority, that doesn't make them any less human. Living life with only one thought in one's head ("where my next necessities are coming from") is not a quality of life anybody enjoys. Computer companies not only have the ability to release super-cheap machines to consumers for cheap education tools, but also you'd be surprised just how much ANYONE who is poor appreciates anything that is NOT a necessity.

Living life meal to meal is surviving, not living. Sometimes a little luxury like Everex's $199 model (actually functional as a very low-end computer), can take the edge off of that feeling that one "has nothing, and probably never will."

As someone who is unemployed and poor, I'll testify to that fact. Right now $10 seems like a small fortune. The laptop I have from "better times" is on it's way out... I'm not likely to see another computer as long as I live if the price tag is going to be $400-$500 even (which is dirt cheap by the current market). The only talent I have is writing. And guess what? I kind of need something to do that on, because I can't afford an endless supply of paper and pens, nor could my hand and wrist handle that much handwriting.

A computer CAN be just a toy, just a classroom tool like a calculator or dictionary, a mere luxury... OR... it can open up careers to people who haven't got a prayer otherwise.

As things stand, my hope at a career dies with this laptop. Sadly, for now Everex's $199 model runs with Linux, not Windows... which I need for two programs I need for my writing. And right now even $199 seems impossible. The Asus Eee is cute as a button, but again, $400 might as well be $4 million. An e-machine without a monitor won't do anybody much good. The companies can do something. The question is, will they?
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Sherry L. Boyd, 11 Jul 2008 @ 1:39pm

Cheap Computer
I also need an affordable computer. I am a senior citizen, TRYING to live on social security. If I had a computer, maybe I could find some kind of work.
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