On 19 Aug 2003 01:06:00 +0200, Erik Moeller erik_moeller@gmx.de gave utterance to the following:
But I *really* like the idea Jimbo raised a long time ago about producing an at-cost encyclopedia for third world school. :)
So do I. How cheap can we get? It might be more cost effective to build Wikipedia reader computers using old machines and cheap harddrives in the
single digit gigabyte range (of course that requires the cheap availability of electric power, which makes it a non-starter for the poorest countries). With some crack Linux hackers we should be able to whip up something that runs on a 486 (using a miniature Linux distro for embedded devices and a very lean webbrowser like Dillo).
I recall seeing a TV item where the South African Government had developed an English inventor's idea of a $5 hand (crank) powered radio and put it into production, and that they were looking at the possiblilty of doing something similar with a computer.