[nylug-talk] OLPH Project

[JH Earthlink]

Message: 6



>>On Wed, Apr 02, 2008 at 12:01:43AM -0400, JH Earthlink wrote:
>> Hi all,
>> To whet your appetite, here's the pitch from the site:
>> 
>> You may have heard of the OLPC - One Laptop Per Child Project.
>> http://laptop.org/ They're building great, kidproof computers from
>> scratch, with an innovative Linux operating system. They're awesome -
>> but they sell for $200. I'm a pro computer tech who's also a
>> eco-head/hardcore Green. I want to re-cycle old laptops as wireless Web
>> browsers - and I've found a way to do it! Better a (working) laptop in
>> your lap, than in landfill because it can't run the latest Window$
>> bloatcode... 
>
>
>From: Kevin Mark <kevin.mark at verizon.net>
>On Wed, 2 Apr 2008 00:24:00 -0400, Kevin Mark replied:
>
>Have you heard of the Eee PC from Asus? wifi, flash memory, linux, 7",
>camera for about $400. And a few other cheap linux web browser-laptops
>are on the way this yaer.

I've heard of it, hope they sell a bunch, but that's still a middle class computer.
My machines should sell for $70 - 1/5 as much.  Buy one and you can websurf.
do email, write letters (Abiword), do spreadsheets (Gnumeric), and a surprising
amount of other stuff.

The Eee PC is the kind of unit you can buy when you have a job.  My BAC's
(Born Again Computers) are the kind of computer you buy when you DON'T 
have a job, can't afford $400, but still need to get online.  To find a job, to
get on with your life in the 21st Century...  A computer for your kid.  A 2nd
or third computer to avoid the arguments about who goes first.

>The hard part is selling the wifi laptop model where folks expectations
>are hard to tame to accept a low-spec device. Just like the OLPC
>machine, folks will want a 'real' computer. Can Linux power such
>machines? Sure. Is reusing them Green? more or less. Battery life and
>replacement would be an issue.
>-K

I'll match my $70 Puppy-ized retreads against any low end ($500 or so)
Vista laptop with 512 MB of RAM.  At 1/7 the cost...  You're right though.
Sell a guy a bicycle, and he'll ask you why he has to pedal it.  Hopefully,
there will be at least SOME poor-but-smart folks who know value when 
they see it working in front of them.  If you want a super-fast ultra-modern
computer, then shell out the bux for it!

Regarding batteries, you're also right, but a laptop doesn't have to run on
batteries.  Go to your local wifi public library, plug in your AC adaptor, log
on to the library's wifi, and you can spend many hours working the web and
not inconvenience anyone else.  The normal time limit on a library computer 
is about an hour - how useful is that?  Just because your Internet connection 
is wireless, doesn't mean your power has to be.  AC power is pretty easy to
come by - at least here in NYC.

Thanks,

John Hechtman
www.zenarrow.com
"Computer help in NYC"
service 212-459-4323