Recently, I have heard some news that companies planned to sell low-cost PCs to developing countries and help the local education. This is good news, but can families living in those countries especially in rural China really afford it? I am afraid they could not. Meanwhile, world generate millions tons of electronic trash every year and people have to spend huge money to dispose of them. Base on this situation, I wonder if there is a way to kill two birds with one stone.
No matter OX laptop made by One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), Classmate PC produced by Intel or 9 low-cost PC unveiled by Lenovo last week, they all need new materials to build and will be sold to developing countries, so organization or corporations undoubtedly will make money in order to at least keep the line running, even though Nicholas Negroponte, the first proposer of the low-cost laptop said this is a non-profit plan. More new materials, in addition, will bring more electronic trash, which will cost much more money to dispose of.
Moreover, companies concern about the low price of PCs too much. What they ignored is whether people who live in poor area are able to buy it. Although for a new capable laptop, 0 is really low, yet in some regions of rural China a family can fortunately earn only 0 for each year. If parents bought a laptop for their children, then how could they live? For this reason, I suppose that people living in poor area will not purchase those expensive low-cost PCs.
Now there is a problem. If people can not afford a low-cost PC, how can we make them use it? Our target is to help those children from poor area study with computers, but now we are unable to make it. One thing reminded me. My old computer will belong to my old cousin very soon. I'll give it to him for free because I know he can't pay for it. He comes from Huangmei, a small village near Jiujiang City which is small too. Now he is studying architecture engineering in a college and need a computer urgently. So well, why not collect abandoned PCs from big cities then renew them voluntarily or with saved PC disposal fees, and give them to children as a gift? On one hand families need not pay that big money just for touching keyboard and mouse. On the other hand we decrease the increasing electronic waste. Virtually, Lenovo Ltd. schemed the similar thing several years ago. They used Environmental Protection as their slogan to receive old PCs on the cuff, and now they want to sell renewed ones to those poor areas for more than 9. They do this for commerce but not education.
The low-cost PC program, however, is for education, so do some real things efficiently to help children. Help them with your mind and your hands, but do not ask for them with your greed.
*Shane Wang is studying photovoltaics and solar energy in UNSW in Sydney, he is also an active member in China Development Youth Forum.
Related Articles/ Background Readings:
BBC NEWS | Technology | Low-cost PC aims at rural China
Low-cost PC aimed at poor, rural China -- chicagotribune.com
