[plug] Re: Computer Bank - please dont give them away.

[Buddrige, David]

Some good points - especially regarding the "op-shop" idea... will raise for
discussion...

1. Persons actually interested in learning how to use a computer (as you
say, no point in giving a computer to someone only for them to hock it the
following day.

2. One of the guidelines needs to be one-pc-per family to avoid people
taking as many as they can.

> Consider how the better charities operate. Goods are sold at low
> prices in Op-Shops. If they were given away, I can assure you people
> would take as much as they could get and sell it for peanuts to second
> hand dealers. The low prices in op-shops are enough to stop such waste,
> but not too much for the poor to afford.
> 
> Who are the beneficiaries? Poor kids who make it to University might be
> sufficiently motivated to just need the kit you describe.
> Are you thinking of single parent families, Aboriginies, unemployed,
> disabled, the "working poor"?
> 
All of the above...

> Most "lower socioeconomic" kids will have real problems, and need
> lots of support if they are ever to get into Linux. The home environment
> is likely bad. They would need somewhere to go. A computer room in the
> community hall? Perhaps with lockers for their PCs, and shared monitors
> (bolted firmly to heavy tables). Volunteers from Computer Bank to help and
> supervise.
> 
This depends... certainly, this is true of _one_ of the groups included
amongs what might be termed "disadvantaged groups", but is not necessarily
confined to this group alone... (nor are the problems you mention above
confined to low-income persons... some kids go nuts in a "rich" family where
abuse is rife too....

One of my contacts is a group called KAGY that works with such kids -
especially teaching them motor-mechanics... am considering offering this as
another area for potential employement along-side the more traditional
"working-class" job-skills.

>  
> Or would the strategy be to seek out those who only need financial help?
> 
Strategy yet to be defined in detail... this is the reason for discussion...
thanks heaps for these pointers... certainly, I will be taking these into
account... need to consider all aspects of what we intend to do...

>  I fear that getting hardware is the easy bit, but may achieve little
> more than a warm feeling by itself.
> 
agreed.

> But there must be huge numbers of unused 486s out there in industry,
> which companies might be persuaded to see as a cheap way to get some
> good publicity.
> 
agreed.

regards

David Buddrige.



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