[kictanet] My Take: Affordable computers

Fri Aug 28 12:56:52 EAT 2009

We have to start somewhere. Bringing in used computers is a simple and
effective way to bring computing power into schools and villages. Yes,
Computers for Schools Kenya does charge for these computers (too much if you
ask me in comparison to other groups doing the same), and yet the schools
pay for them so they can give their students a fighting chance at joining
the knowledge economy. We need to consider the welfare of our young people
before we sell out to the "new" game as Uganda has. Can Kenya really afford
to equip ALL of our classrooms with brand new computers? And has anyone
considered the monopoly given to Microsoft when we push for only new
equipment? The license fees involved for software? There is a lot more to
consider than simply e-waste.
Crystal

On Fri, Aug 28, 2009 at 12:48 PM, Areba Collins <arebacollins at gmail.com>wrote:

> 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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>
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> Collins Areba Omwoyo
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-- 
Crystal "Naliaka" Watley Kigoni
Voices of Africa for Sustainable Development
crystal at voicesofafrica.org
http://www.voicesofafrica.org/

"You must be the change you wish to see" - Gandhi
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