Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on May 25, 2007 07:58 PM
I live in South Africa.
Just a thanks to the writer of this review. The laptop may not have been tested to the environmental standards it will experience, but at least we now know what it basically is. It was written in a genuinely honest fashion and is appreciated. That being said, I'm not sure who this laptop is aimed at, but it isn't going to do so well in our rural areas if it can't get a power source. I used to do GPS surveying for rural projects and the biggest problems they experience is water, shelter, food and sanitation (not always in that order). Most of the kids do walk to school and 99% don't have a readily available power source at home. The schools and halls I was inspecting did (I can’t say what non South Africans have). I also agree with the fact that in most places that these things are going to be used, they won’t have available tech support. Let alone Linux inclined tech support. They should truly be “on and go”. If these laptops are used as teaching aids and left almost permanently at the school, they may last a year or two. That being said, I would think that a benefit would be gained by any school that had these machines, and were able to run and maintain them. Off all the rural projects I’ve seen personally (500+) maintenance has been the final make or break. Giving a bunch of laptops to a school with a smile is going to be useless. Also some pre-education to school staff would greatly improve the usability of the laptop. In the end it doesn’t cost x, but x + training + maintenance, but will benefit the community if executed correctly.
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A South Africans view
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on May 25, 2007 07:58 PMJust a thanks to the writer of this review. The laptop may not have been tested to the environmental standards it will experience, but at least we now know what it basically is. It was written in a genuinely honest fashion and is appreciated.
That being said, I'm not sure who this laptop is aimed at, but it isn't going to do so well in our rural areas if it can't get a power source. I used to do GPS surveying for rural projects and the biggest problems they experience is water, shelter, food and sanitation (not always in that order). Most of the kids do walk to school and 99% don't have a readily available power source at home. The schools and halls I was inspecting did (I can’t say what non South Africans have). I also agree with the fact that in most places that these things are going to be used, they won’t have available tech support. Let alone Linux inclined tech support. They should truly be “on and go”.
If these laptops are used as teaching aids and left almost permanently at the school, they may last a year or two. That being said, I would think that a benefit would be gained by any school that had these machines, and were able to run and maintain them. Off all the rural projects I’ve seen personally (500+) maintenance has been the final make or break. Giving a bunch of laptops to a school with a smile is going to be useless. Also some pre-education to school staff would greatly improve the usability of the laptop. In the end it doesn’t cost x, but x + training + maintenance, but will benefit the community if executed correctly.
My 3rd world 2 cents.
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