A laptop to change the world

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You're arguing a different point from mine.

The part of the comment to which I was responding dealt with a criticism of the laptop program, the second the author names:

"Secondly, that what they [critics] describe as 'cut-down computers' are patronizing to people there."

Mr. Allison answers the critics (including me in past posts, by the way) by saying:

"The second point shows how little people in the first world -- myself included -- understand the infrastructure of the developing world."


He is saying, I believe, that the people who criticize the program for being patronizing do not recognize that the infrastructure of the developing world does not support better than this program.

I was responding that inherent in this response is the acceptance that this program is indeed less than what people want, that recipients are being patronized in that sense. It's an excuse in response to a correct point, rather than a rebuttal to that point.



I also disagree with some of your points.

In response to my comment:
"The computers are considered patronizing because they have less than the capabilities and functionality that the rest of the world takes for granted and considers essential to computing."

you observe:
"If you are talking about yesterday you might be right, but as we see more and more apps/uses moved to the net and thin clients the essencial hardware drops radically."

One of the points Mr. Allison makes, accurately, is that the internet infrastructure is not reliably available. Hence the creation of local nets.
Bill Gates has suggested cell phone technology to overcome this problem, but of course the backers of this project will ignore any suggestions from those tainted by proprietary software.

Your point actually confirms mine rather than disputes it. One more thing those in developing countries cannot have.


You also say:

"But why assume they want/need what the rest of the world uses? As a comparison the first world has electricity, and in many cases delivering it in the third world is not practical. Does that mean they have no use for a hand-cranked generator or even a quality oil lamp for lighting? Of course it doesn't; it is a vast improvement over nothing."

I'm not trying to open the issue of Iraq. Okay!?!
But when the people of Iraq were polled about their opinion of the state of the country, one of the ways in which they universally measure progress is how reliably electricity is delivered.

Do they have generators? Yes.
Do they have oil lamps? Yes.

But they also have an expectation of the world that includes electricity reliably coming through a wire to their homes.

Even people living in the jungle who know of industrial civilization only by repute leave what they know to get closer to the wonders of which they have heard.

No guarantees. In fact, usually they end living in misery. But they do not go back.

People will live by ideals of the conditions they should have. And they will judge what they have by how closely it meets their hopes.


Again:
"China / Africa? Two very different circumstances. The biggest being China is not divided into a hundred fiefdoms all battling each other, and China has accepted that educating their population is a good thing."

In China, the pirated copies of Windows are not being sold to schools.

They are not being run on computers being supplied for the purpose by foreign benefactors or by their own government.

Whatever those pirated copies of Windows are running on, the hardware is sufficient to the purpose.

And rural China is so poor that the government considers the dissatisfaction of those who have not shared in industrial civilization's benefits the biggest threat to the country's stability.

If there's a difference with Africa, I'd like to learn what it is. I asked, not asserted an answer.


Finally, in response to my hyperbolic:
"Give everyone in the world Windows. Why do they deserve any less? "

you responded:
"Why does someone eat chicken when they can't afford the best steaks..."

If you're giving them food, they'll be a lot happier with steak than with chicken. Might ignore the chicken.

They won't accept donated t-shirts with the wrong slogans.

I'm not saying they're wrong. In fact, I'm saying that we should listen to them if we want an aid program to work. Helps to listen to the potential recipients, believe it or not.

Posted by: Anton Philidor   Posted on: 03/07/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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