vision2020
Re: Computer Bank
dear friends,
I am very happy that people in our community are concerned with the lack of
computer access to the less fortunate residents of our region. I have been
following the discussion and many good points have been made. without giving
the future away, I encourage you who care about this subject to support some
of the projects the City is involved with (1912 building) since several
proposals will deal with the issue at hand very effectively.
as for the ideas going around allow me to give you a professional
perspective. the cost of supporting computers far exceed the cost of buying
them therefore the initial cost of the computer is not relevant... the long
term cost is. generally the lower the initial cost of ownership, the higher
the long term cost will be. due to this it is rarely effective (as our
schools have proven) to buy cheap computers or even free ones. what we need
is a public computer lab housed at the community center and maintained by
the city.
regards,
shahab...
----- Original Message -----
From: John Cronin <jaycron@turbonet.com>
To: <Vision2020@moscow.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 01, 1999 11:25 AM
Subject: Computer Bank
> There is a part of me that appreciates turning the family firearm on the
> old family computer or as Linda suggested, sending it off to an exotic
> place in the Third World. Before we do either, we need to remember that
> there are families right here in Moscow and throughout Latah County whose
> children do not have access to even a Remington typewriter. Believe it or
> not, there are Moscow families who cannot afford to buy a used computer.
> If the computers can survive Avista, why not figure out a way for them to
> continue to do that and be a resource for our children right here at home.
> Would it be feasible to create a computer bank similar to our community
> food bank? My guess is that there are some young people who need a
> volunteer experience working on computers and an organization like the
> schools or a service group who are looking for a project that would
benefit
> the community. If a project such as this were proven to expand the numbers
> of computer users, then the local internet and computer businesses might
> support it as well.
>
> John
> ----------
> > From: sec@moscow.com
> > To: Vision2020@moscow.com
> > Cc: Linda Pall <lpall@moscow.com>
> > Subject: Re: Computer Blast...
> > Date: Sunday, August 01, 1999 10:01 AM
> >
> > > Dear Stan,
> > >
> > > While I am not sure what parts you intend to imolate or otherwise
> > > transform into small pieces, I wonder if any of these parts/left overs
> > > could be used by someone else. The reason I ask is that the City of
> Moscow
> > > is looking into the prospect of having sister city relationships with
> > > various cities in the Third World. One singular image I brought home
> with
> > > me from Ghana was the Department of Planning and Budget in Kumasi
still
> > > working with a Remington typewriter. They were all anxious to upgrade
> but
> > > truly had nothing to work with. Is there any prospect of still finding
> a
> > > real use for the obsolete (to us) stuff?
> > >
> > > Thanks for considering this.
> >
> > for the working parts, ok, sure, but when THAT part goes.. good luck
> > trying to find a replacement part, thats the main reason there on the
> > "dead" pile, also, you can't even fit most most software on to these
> > machine anymore, so that is another problem (I am somewhat of a
> > specialist in old machines, (been working on PC's for 20 years)
> > getting them to work, I had a hand in setting up the 8080 and 8088
> > machines in the Junior High School Library to use the network),
> > also, machines are enviornmentaly sensitive, and may not do well in
> > 3rd world countries due to problems with power and voltage
> > coversion and so forth, (although if they can surrive Avista here in
> > Moscow, they may work ok in the 3rd world) as well as a VERY high
> > maintance requirement.
> >
> > now if I can lay my hands on newer machines (IE: anything that can
> > run windows 3.1 better), then I will bring them to your attention, but I
> > have been refering those to the Local School district due to there
> > great need for useable hardware.
> >
> > Stan Evans (208) 883-3445
>
Back to TOC