A bunch of do-gooders have put their heads together to create a useless computer for 100 dollars. What would you do with such a piece of junk? Why give it to the poorest kids in the world, or course! Somehow, pens, papers, crayons and a school environment that is disease and violence-free is not a higher priority for this cabal of crusading technophiles- they believe that they can provide a piece of shit laptop that barely works and it will somehow improve the impovershed children of developing countries.

Big Waste of Money

Bill Gates thinks its a dumb idea too. From CNET:

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Wednesday mocked a $100 laptop computer for developing countries being developed with the backing of rival Google at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The $100 laptop project seeks to provide inexpensive computers to people in developing countries. The computers lack many features found on a typical personal computer, such as a hard disk and software.

“The last thing you want to do for a shared use computer is have it be something without a disk…and with a tiny little screen,” Gates said at the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum in suburban Washington, D.C.

“If you are going to go have people share the computer, get a broadband connection and have somebody there who can help support the user, geez, get a decent computer where you can actually read the text and you’re not sitting there cranking the thing while you’re trying to type,” Gates said.

Gates described the computers as being for shared use, but the project goes under the name “One Laptop per Child.”

Earlier this year, Google founder Larry Page said his company is backing MIT’s project. He showed a model of the machine that does use a crank as one source of power.

This article is clearly intended to make Bill Gates look greedy, but face it, this is a very stupid idea. The project site is located here: Lets take a look at the FAQ page to identify some of the stupidest bits of this hair-brained scheme.

  • The laptops will use innovative power (including wind-up) and will be able to do most everything except store huge amounts of data. So, I suppose if you need to wind up your laptop, how fast do you need to crank it to power your wireless connection?
  • In one Cambodian village where we have been working, there is no electricity, thus the laptop is, among other things, the brightest light source in the home. So instead of a laptop, wouldnt a wind-up flashlight be better? That would cost about a dollar I think.
  • To keep costs low, we will get the fat out of the systems. Today’s laptops have become obese. Two-thirds of their software is used to manage the other third, which mostly does the same functions nine different ways. What??!! Fat laptops? Im not sure which is worse, the bad comparison to system overhead or the over-simplistic understanding of how a computer works.
  • The laptops will be sold to governments and issued to children by schools on a basis of one laptop per child. Initial discussions have been held with China, India, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, and Thailand. I am fairly certain that the above mentioned countries, with the exception of Nigeria, should have plenty of national wealth to be able to provide computers to their own citizens.
  • The biggest hurdle will be manufacturing 100 million of anything. Okay, so obviously, the goal is to make 100 million devices at a cost of about 100 dollars be unit. Check my math. Isn’t that a BILLION dollars?

Let’s think for a minute about the goals of this project- OLPC wants to give away 100 dollar devices to children that apparantly do not have school supplies or lights in their homes? This is supposed to improve their education over traditional reading books and writing materials? I doubt this seriously.

A billion dollars would be much better suited for sanitation engineering for the impoverished communities.

Hell, a billion dollars could buy enough moving vans to get the poorest families relocated to urban centers where they can find work and security.

A billion dollars would go a long way toward the cure for HIV which continues to wipe out the continent of Africa.

A billion dollars could buy traditional school supplies for every child in the program, along with flashlights, cooking equipment, medical supplies and other needed items for impoverished families.

The stupid crank laptop looks like a freaking Speak ‘N Spell. A billion dollars could even provide one of those for each child.

But of course, from a liberal, leftist, redistribution of wealth perspective, the whole project is actually designed to make the project’s supporters feel better about themselves in that they are doing something noble. Forget whether or not the devices will work, or whether or not they will be confiscated or sold for food by village elders. Its the thought that counts.

This program will be a spectacular failure and a huge waste of a Billion Dollars.


Like This Post? Rate it and tell your friends! Click the Share button below.