FreeBSD I LOVE YOU

[scottclansman at cwazy.co.uk]

> >Anthony Atkielski wrote:
> >> Indeed, someone in the Third World without the means to buy a new PC and
> >> an expensive Windows license could find a junk PC and install FreeBSD on
> >
> >And where do you think would they "find" this "junk PC"?
> >Don't you think that's a bit condescending?
> >Like, "let's give those negroes our old shoes"?
<snip>
> >They can perfectly well buy new machines at local retailers (there are
> >some in bigger cities) for a fraction of the money that it would take
> >you to ship'em your old rustbucket. 
 But they can get used machines for a fraction of the fraction of the cost of 
an old rustbucket... to use your expression.  What was it that the 3rd world 
Windows license costs... $20?  Or was that just for India or something.  
Anyway, after living a year in Nigeria, West Africa, where the average 
National salary is roughly $900 ($300 or less in rural areas), $20 is alot of 
money.  Hardware will, in almost all cases, cost even more, so if the whole 
"junk" system with *NIX costs 70 USD w/ an old monitor (A quite large 
investment for a Nigerian) , and the "junkiest" system that can run Windows 
XP decently costs them 150 USD with a monitor... than I think that a "junkie" 
system would be the best choice.
 Just for my two cents... I recently sent an old laptop to a student in 
Nigeria who was getting ready to take a basic introduction to computer course 
(I.E. click the box to close the window, hit the keys on the keyboar to enter 
text into the word processor), and his teacher said that, though the laptop 
was about 10 years old, it would do perfectly fine.  I got it for $40 off 
ebay... still more than this Nigerian college student or his family could 
afford.
 Yes, we could have sent money.  But giving hand-me-down computers is useful 
to them, at no cost to us (We don't need those old computers), while giving 
money puts us at a loss, which is a feeling that Americans generally disdain.  
Giving money would help, as it would with alot of things in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 
and all the rest world countries, but old computers, I say, are better off in 
the hands of those who may  never have a chance to use or own a system of 
their own than in our dumps or garages.

                      Cheerio,
                          SigmaX