__/ [ Mark Kent ] on Wednesday 16 August 2006 09:13 \__
> begin oe_protect.scr
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> New York School Districts Select Linux Desktops from Novell to Improve
>> Student Access to Technology
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>| Ultimately, some 80,000 students in the Rome City School District and
>>| other schools supported by the Madison Oneida Regional Information
>>| Center could benefit. As a result, students will gain technology skills
>>| and a new research tool that will improve their learning experience.
>>|
>>| "The ratio of computers to students in our school districts currently
>>| makes it impossible for students to get enough hands-on experience to
>>| fully leverage the power of technology and the Internet," said Joan
>>| Sotherden, director of the Mohawk Regional Information Center. "Thanks
>>| to the low cost of Linux on Intel processor-based hardware and the
>>| management and productivity tools that Novell provides, we can now
>>| expand access to technology much more broadly. We hope to move quickly
>>| from the pilot to a full deployment in the schools that make up our
>>| region."
>> `----
>>
>> http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060815/sftu088.html?.v=67
>
> I don't see why the US$100 laptop shouldn't be used everywhere, rather
> than just in the 3rd world. It would surely benefit many schools in
> less well off parts of the UK.
I once thought about the very same arguments. My sister, who has just turned
10, has this laptop-shaped educational tool. It's embedded and the screen is
small, monochrome, and low in resolution. She doesn't seem to have much
interest in it. I'd wager it's simply because high-end computers lurk around
the corner. This, however, is the key difference. For the same reason, many
people will not surf the Web on their mobile or PDA. It's about options --
about _what else_ you have available. In poor countries, on the other hand,
the 'terrain' changes. And let's not forget the issue of queueing up to use
a workstation...
> It would be so inexpensive that anyone could afford to buy one.
The teenages struggle to just keep a mobile phone of of sight. Where would
they conceal a miniature laptop...? First mug, then 419 scam.
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