Is there a history of recycled PCs being obtainable and maintainable in this setting? Is the real initial cost significantly below the alternative: The $50 smartphone? How about the lifecycle cost? How long with those PCs last compared to a new smartphone?
Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
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Re: Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
#32Great idea and mission - kudos to the founders to try to make it a reality. However, there are some challenges : a) Illiteracy and training the users. Although here the unexpected results of the "hole-in-the-wall" experiment of Sugata Mitra - where kids in slums basically taught themselves computers with no supervision [1] may be the model that needs to be followed.
b) Access to electricity to run these computers in the poorest regions of the world c) Not every old PC has a USB 2.0 port - so if there was a way to bridge the gap, it would increase the available supply of old PCs.
[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_t... Edit: spelling and links
Re: Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
#33It's a $7 boot stick, not a PC Better idea just give people $3 microsd cards with $1 usb adapters.
That's part of the idea, yes. But I think the big reason they need money is to source the old computers, probably do a bunch of testing to make sure they work well enough, and distribute them to their audience. EDIT: I'm not saying this is a bulletproof plan, by any means. I just wanted to point out that there's probably a lot more to their cost structure than "flash a bunch of USB keys."
I imagine getting there is already a big part of the cost (plane ticket) and getting the equipment there (shipment). It's not like you can FedEx 500 used computers to Kenya for $10. Logistics is a horribly underestimated cost in these kind of discussions. Remember, they can't download a computer!
Re: Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
#34I'm seeing a $7 bootable USB stick with the potential for religious NGO/NPOs to install religious bloatware and try to indoctrinate entire communities.
Maybe I'm just too cynical...
Re: Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
#35Many small linux OSes have had this idea in mind for creating a portable Linux OS.
The problem with this idea is not that they can't access all those old (sometimes broken) PCs that are exported from the first world. The problem is electricity.
Even though it is easy to complain, kudos to you guys for at least trying to do something instead of seeing the rest of us complain about the flaws in your idea.
If I could help, I would suggest a Raspberry Pi alternative pocket PC. Super low electricity consumption and some non-grid way to charge it.
Re: Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
#36Also wondering how they plan to address the problem of users losing their USB sticks or mistakenly swapping them with others, and the security of the personal data. Assuming the sticks will use encryption to store personal data. In which case, how do you handle restoring an encrypted partition when users forget their password, etc.
Re: Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
#37I'd consider contributing if this was a registered charity. It doesn't make sense to 'donate' to a limited company whose owners will see my money returned in the dividends. Crowdfunding in this way makes me sick to my stomach. They will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Re: Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you add marketing, shipping, employees etc - the cost is actually extremely low.
If you're spreading the marketing, shipping and staffing costs over n billion devices, it doesn't need to be very high.
...
Seriously, think about what you've just written. They're raising $38 thousand, not $38 billion.
Re: Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
#39Also wondering how they plan to address the problem of users losing their USB sticks or mistakenly swapping them with others, and the security of the personal data. Assuming the sticks will use encryption to store personal data. In which case, how do you handle restoring an encrypted partition when users forget their password, etc.
Why would you assume that? These are people who might be using their own computer for the first time ever. Do you really think they are going to jump straight to the point where they are storing valuable, sensitive information on there? Moreover, they appear to be extremely poor, and therefore poor targets for digital thieves.
No encryption and the problem is solved.
Re: Keepod Unite: $7 PC to bridge the digital divide
#40Call me speculative of everything I see on the net, but I see many things in this high production ad that would hold me back from contributing (and I have donated money before).
1. Wouldn't it be more cost effective to run livecd's or even cloud host an os?
2. Refurbished computers are still needed for this campaign, seems expensive.
3. $7 does NOT equal a computer, it's a usb stick which end users will still need to utilize only the refurbished computers, because I can't name one "non-tech-savvy," person that knows how to change boot orders in the bios (let alone get to the bios at startup).