[SGVLUG] ndiyo

[David Lawyer]

On Mon, May 15, 2006 at 12:16:03PM -0700, matti wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> News.com had an interesting article about
> a conference www.futureinreview.com
> 
> I noticed an interesting session:
> 
> "Ndiyo in Africa: Beyond PCs": A conversation with Quentin
> Stafford-Fraser, Executive Director, Ndiyo; hosted by Tom Rabon,
> Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Red Hat Inc.
> 
> from the news.com article
> 
> "High on the agenda this year will be the ongoing debate about
> supplying technology to developing nations. Quentin Stafford-Fraser,
> the executive director of Ndiyo, will present the project's plan for
> connecting villages in Africa through very inexpensive Linux thin
> clients, rather than using the low-cost PC model proposed by companies
> like Intel and AMD, as well as organizations like One Laptop Per Child.

Are thin clients really very inexpensive?  In the US I think they sell
for about $200 plus the cost of a monitor.  But they also need an
expensive server plus cabling.  So overall, they are not much cheaper
than low-end PCs.  The main advantage of thin clients is centralized
control (including centralized data storage and security).  This is
suitable for large organizations.  Why use this model in Africa that
has much more serious problems, like (worst case) 40% of the
population having AIDs.

Why not use used PC's which would be a lot cheaper?   Of course, one
can turn a used PC into a thin client via software, so the thin client
model can be used also, without buying new thin clients.

			David Lawyer