[kictanet] My Take: Affordable computers

[Areba Collins]

I cant believe this, are you guys actually arguing that having no
computer is better than having one that is old, consumes lots of power
and has only a few years left in it?  Cause as far as the rest of it
is concerned, quality is a function of competition.

On 8/28/09, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com> wrote:
> Listers Evans has raised a pertinent issue, we might not have made some of
> the strides we have achieved in the sector without the used computers, on
> the other hand there is an environmental concern that is valid, this calls
> for a multistakeholder approach to create a win win situation for our local
> business men (Remember the used car parts issue that sprang up early this
> year), NGO and any other organisation involved in the importation process,
> may be its time KEBS got involved in the process, reading through Bills
> email i am of the opinion that there might be some imbalance in the way the
> importation of the computers is handled, by the way i had there is a
> facility for disposing off e-waste in Dandora, maybe Mr Tom Musili could
> shed some light on the issue, i wish we had statistics to help in evaluating
> the impact of the used computers.
> Let the debate continue..
>
> On Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Bildad Kagai <billkagai at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> On Aug 28, 2009, at 8:12 AM, Victor Gathara wrote:
>>
>>  I am thinking here of donations of used computers that can
>> make their way into the country through a regulated and monitored
>> channel (such as ComputerAid) who will also have responsibility to
>> ensure EOL disposal according to WEEE standards to prevent dumping of
>> electronic waste.
>>
>>
>> Victor,
>> In your position, you know very well that these second had computers are
>> not donations. You can ask Tony Roberts how much he is paid to dispose a
>> computer from Barclays in UK, that eventually finds its way to a school in
>> Mau. And the Mau school pays for shipping and other costs....but besides
>> all these politics......DFID
>> might consider to fund a specific study comparing the final 'landed' cost
>> of
>> a dumped computer versus a 'clone' assembled with new parts at Crescent
>> Technologies or JKUAT taking into consideration the kazi kwa vijana
>> created....if it has not been done already. PS. I am speaking as a
>> 'contributor' to this mess here, because I also have problems disposing my
>> old computers and printers in the office. Most of the times, its easier to
>> take them to a school in shags that cannot afford the electricity bills of
>> running them...and... just live with the guilt like everyone else despite
>> being labeled as The Hero who brought us computers.
>>
>> One reason IBM sold its hardware unit was because Moores Law states over
>> time, the cost of hardware approaches zero and the cost of power
>> consumption
>> and capacity of the hardware doubles every 18 months.  Thus, bringing 5
>> year
>> old computers to Kenya only drains too much power when we should strive to
>> bring consumption per watt down. At least, just based on power consumption
>> alone, dumped computer should never see the 'light of day' at the Kenyan
>> port if locally assembled computers will consume half of the wattage
>> today....especially now when everyone is striving to go green.
>>
>> http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000868.html
>>
>> Google, for example, has watched its energy consumption almost double
>> during the past three generations of upgrades to its sprawling computing
>> infrastructure. *It recently unveiled a major new datacenter site in a
>> remote part of Oregon, where power costs are a fraction of those at
>> Google's
>> home base in Silicon Valley.* But cheap power may not be enough. Last
>> year, Google engineer Luiz Andr� Barroso predicted that energy costs would
>> dwarf equipment costs -- "possibly by a large margin" -- if power-hungry
>> datacenters didn't mend their ways. Barroso went on to warn that
>> datacenters' growing appetite for power "could have serious consequences
>> for
>> the overall affordability of computing, not to mention the overall health
>> of
>> the planet."
>>
>>
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>
>
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Collins Areba Omwoyo
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arebacollins[at]gmail[dot]com