Information technology divide.

[_pH_]

If you're that concerened, Toby, why not donate your PC? Then we wouldn't have to put up with your drivel on here any more. Bonus!

 

[mentalchik]

with a printer i'd have thought. mmm, the cost of printer cartridges.... and i suppose that it will need windows xp and a specific office application.

the cost of owning a pc doesn't stop at the acquisition stage. desk, chair, electricity, isp fees/telephone bills, software, ink, paper. children shouldn't be forced to use fuzzy old monitors either.

its a right old can of worms to be sure.

Yep, luckily we do have a pc at home, with access to the internet etc but it does make me wonder about families that don't have the money !


A great deal of my son's homework is now done on the computer and printed off etc

 

[Wintermute]

Part3 - Why I put my Open source zealot in the box for this question:
I know that someone is going to pop up in a second and say that Open Office is free, may be even Linux as well. I don't see how that is an option for a family who don't have a computer. The advantage of Windows is that when it goes wrong every Tom, Dick or Harry can fix it even if that is by reinstalling it. Against Open Office firstly you don't give the child the learning advantage on the vast majority of computer they will use during their life and while you can export from OO to Word it is another step and for someone starting out I don't see how that is an option.

Open Office IS free - and Linux is free, too. No "maybe" about it. And - I'm no Linux evangelist but I think you're under-selling it. There are Linux distro's that a child of 5 could easily install. Have you seen Ubuntu? And I disagree about the learning advantage, too; the interface differences aren't what some people might think, and many would argue that using Linux gives you an advantage in learning how your pc actually works. And one more thing on Open Office: "exporting" to MS Word format is as difficult as File -> Save As. It's not hard. And besides, if you're just going to take it in to print it, why save it as a Word doc? Simply hit the "export to PDF" button and you're done. You'll probably even get extra brownie points.

Part4 - How much I think it costs to do that:
Never the less I think a budget of about £90 is where you are pitching. I know that is a lot of money for some people. I think you have to pretty much accept that Internet will have to be dropped for the equation.

NINETY QUID???? For a word processor? Shop around a bit, you'll get a pc, monitor and maybe even a printer for less than twenty.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/packard-bell-...5245784520QQcategoryZ3746QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I agree about the internet access, but yeah it's simply not necessary.

 

[Firky]

few years back in the dot com boom, you could get a free pc off newcastle city council if you were the poor and had kids.

 

[Giles]

Even internet access is getting pretty cheap these days, especially if you can share the cost between a few neighbours. I know some people living near me who are paying BT 25 quid a month for 1Mb broadband net access, but there are four households sharing it with wireless, so its a tiny amount per month each.

You don't need a powerful PC to web browse, any more than you do to type up documents etc.

Giles..

 

[Kameron]

Open Office IS free - and Linux is free, too. No "maybe" about it. And - I'm no Linux evangelist but I think you're under-selling it.

It is just that computers, all computers need to be looked after, they don't just run themselves. If you aren't technically inclined when it goes wrong you are going to have to rely on the kid next door and other practically unskilled people. This means that the best chance of getting any level of support is for a standard-ish Winbox.

 

[poet]

A 500mhzish P3 running win98 can be had for about £40 out of the loot or off ebay with all the relevant gubbins and is more than capable of net access, word processing and pretty much anything short of intensive multimedia. Similar systems are being thrown and given away on a daily basis, I have kitted out 30-seat IT rooms and had change out of a hundred quid, most of which got spent on network gear and cheap mice. Basic broadband can be had for as little as £15 a month, unmetered dialup for £8 or so. The industry is full of people trying to flog expensive, uselessly overpowered kit, hiding the fact that a basic computer and internet access is very, very cheap. That £40 PC was top of the line a few years ago and is still as capable as it was then, given that it's kept virus and spyware free. There's nothing it wouldn't be capable of that a schoolkid would need to do.

 

[Giles]

Due to my job, I've often ended up with a few "old" PCs that I don't need any more, together with assorted peripherals.

I have set them up with a nice "clean install" of an appropriate-age version of Windows, some basic software like Office 97, Firefox, AVG free anti-virus or similar, and then given them to people I know who want or need a PC but can't afford (and don't need!) a new, one and who don't know how to deal with setting up a secondhand one.

If someone sets a machine up *right* in the first place, they can pretty much be left to themselves even when the users are completely non-technical.

Giles..