Where is that $100 laptop thing for? [ Re: Yet another reason to get angry with Bill... ]

[Eric Feliksik]

Colin Watson wrote:
> Clichéd though it is:
> 
>   "Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish,
>   and he will eat for the rest of his life."
> 
> Not everyone in third-world countries is starving and without clean
> water; many are better off than that, but need good education in order
> to get further. Yes, basic aid is obviously very important, but
> neglecting education that might allow third-world countries to become
> economically competitive means that they have to *stay* reliant on basic
> aid.
> 
> I'm no economist, but it seems to me that giving people more than a
> hand-to-mouth existence is a good thing.
> 


I agree with what you say, but still don't understand how the laptop 
will be used exactly. I have been discussing this with some people for 
several weeks, and it left me some awkward feeling. Often the case was 
about children receiving such laptops;

- Will they use their laptop to learn math, do other education? With 
what software? And although I acknowledge it could be more fun or a bit 
more efficient than pen&paper, it's a lot more expensive as well. Why 
not give the teacher a laptop, and the children some decent books?

- Will higher-educated people use the laptop to find non-trivial 
information, like how to build an irrigation system? Then they need an 
internet connection.

- Will they use it for communication purposes? Then they need an 
internet connection

- Do they need to use a Word processor? What for?


I don't say the project is useless, but while people keep discussing 
what software it should run, I have no idea what the thing will be used 
for.