The unintended consequences of unleashing computing power on poorer countries are totally unknown. There will be new and exciting innovations in computing and software that people in the so called first world will lap up (pun intended).

As for cyber criminals - don’t we have them already? Its like saying lets not give cars to poor countries because we already know that thousands of people are killed in motorcar accidents every year. But its okay for us to still own and use cars, ludicrous!

As soon as the OLPC allows people in Europe to buy one and give one away I shall participate.

Teach him to fish, he eats the rest of his life.

It’s amazing how many people just don’t get it.

1) $100 can provide an awful lot of food, teaching resources, materials, equipment, crops, live stock etc. for a whole community to use. To send a box of laptops to a village of mud huts in Africa is just a slap in the face.

2) what are we expecting these IT literate people to be doing in 10 years time when they’re happily speaking English, have IT kit that they’re very comfortable using but no money and very little chance of any kind of legitimate career in their own country? a) you’ve just caused all the newly educated people to abandon their villages for work, which in turn will create a cheap labour force for the west to exploit as well as cause a huge increase in immigration to western countries. or b) you’ve tooled and educated the next generation of cyber criminals because its going to be a whole lot easier to make money illegally than legitimately. These educated people may even be forced to use their IT skills and equipment illegally by people with far my driven than we are.

We really should tackle the basic needs of all these people all around the world before sending them laptops.

iImon.

Bonnie