Brainstorm ideas of how to quickly organize a computer for the local team
Status: 
This task will be open for two weeks until 29-02-2008.
The project doesn't currently own a computer and, therefore, they incur ca. 14 $ per day in internet charges at a cyber café.
They need to pay this amount no matter whether they are actually online (searching the web, chatting or sending/receiving e-mails) or working offline (e.g. preparing flyers, posters, financial statements or e-mails).
There is also only one person allowed to one computer. So it's impossible e.g. for the treasurer and Jean-Claude to work together to prepare a financial statement or have a joint chat with Antje.
To solve this situation a laptop is urgently needed for the project.
This will allow project members to work offline by themselves or in little groups. Thereby they can do more than they can do now and reduce cyber café expenses at the same time.
The project will probably continue to use the cyber café to go online. The information we have collected so far shows that private internet connections in Burundi are extraordinarily expensive (300 $ per month). Therefore, prices only become realistic as you attach 10 or more computers.
Please brainstorm here:
a) What technical details to look out for when choosing the laptop (in case we get a new or used laptop). What is really important and why?
b) Does anyone have any experience with the new one-laptop-per-child computer? Would that do the trick for our project? Please visit www.laptop.org for more information.
Since this would be very much cheaper than an ordinary laptop, we’re really very interested in finding out whether this is an option. So if you don’t have any experience yourself but could do some research on the internet about users’ experience, we’d be very happy for you to do so.
c) How to quickly raise a laptop (e.g. if you know about a company that is currently replacing its old computers let us know…).
NOTE: The local group would be more than happy to start a cyber café in Buterere for income generation and easy access to computers and the internet for themselves. So in case you know of anyone currently giving away 10-15 computers, please tell us. That would be great even it the computers were a quite old (provided they still work, of course).
Dear Ken and Ewan,
thank you for researching all that information !!
Warm regards,
Antje
Dear all,
In the past week, we have researched a lot of information on the one-laptop-per-child (OLPC). And the only question that is open there now regards the possibilities of exchanging files or chat with ‘normal’ computers. If you have any information on that, please share.
If you have any ideas of how to fundraise a computer or know of any organization, company or private person that could give one or more used or new computers away free or cheaply to NGOs in developing countries, please let us know.
Also, if you know what to look out for technically, please tell us what technical details the new or used computer(s) for the local team must have and why.
I read somewhere that there are now some commercial competitors for the OLPC i.e. laptops costing less than 400 $. If you know anything about them or can tell us whether these could be good enough for our local team, please share that, too.
We’re now entering the second, and final, week of our computer brainstorm and I’d be especially happy if more people will join our discussion :-).
Best wishes
Antje
Laptops have become a necessity these days. Used laptops are seen as a viable option to own a laptop at a very affordable price. These are the laptops that have been used by a person for sometime and sold for some reasons. Even if the laptop is used for a single day, it is called as a used laptop.
The reasons for purchasing used laptops are many. The main reason is that, it is available at a cheaper rate than the retail price of any new laptop. The availability of used laptops has increased owing to the recycling legislation that makes discarding of old PCs very expensive. Also used monitors are used for photo editing as the CRT monitors provides ultimate color purity than the LCD monitors for editing colors.
When purchasing a used laptop it should both serve functionally and at the same time save money. Doing a little amount of research by comparing and weighing various options from different kinds of sources will help in achieving the aim to buy used laptops at the best possible price. The price of the used laptop should coincide with the features. Internet serves as a good source for searching used laptops.
The working condition of the used laptop is of utmost importance. Normally it is not recommended to buy a laptop, which is more than three years old, for the reasons that either the system would have become outdated, or the user may not be able to run the latest applications and soft wares on it.
The features on the used laptops are the next important thing to be taken into consideration. The speed of the used laptop needs to be checked as used laptops run at a lower speed than the normal desktops with the same processor. Used laptop with less than 128 MB memory is not at all recommended for buying. The screen size, resolution and definition are other important factors in a laptop. Portability of used laptops is also taken into consideration. Laptops these days are getting slimmer and lighter. The weight of the backpack and, accessories should be kept in mind along with the weight of the used laptop to see if it is comfortable to carry. It is wise to purchase an extra battery while buying used laptops as the battery life of any laptop can be only for two years time.
While buying used laptops, checking should be done if it has a wireless connectivity, if not at least should have an external wireless card, since connectivity to the internet and intranet is very common these days. Select the one with a longer range and greater speed. Check for a USB ports as older laptops may not have them. The more the USB ports the more convenient it is. Also the hard drive of the used laptop needs to be more than 20 GB. The higher hard drive space of the used laptop purchased depends on the budget of the buyer. These days, songs and movies are stored in the laptops requiring larger hard disk space. The most important thing is to buy a used laptop from a reputed dealer so that the purchaser can get a warranty on it.
Hello Buterere neighbours,
Well, perhaps we all ought to try and get our personal friends, to get their friends, to go online and source laptops for Buterere, from Freecycle: http://www.freecycle.org/
Bravo, Antje - its a brilliant idea. Well, I did say, many moons ago (well, only two months ago, actually!) that lucky indeed, would be the village, which got you, to be its facilitator!
Buterere definitely has a worthy champion, in you, Antje: an excellent organiser, who is also spiritually well-attuned! Hmmm, what more could a forward-looking African village, want? :) Warmest regards to all Buterere's neighbours.
Best wishes,
Kofi.
PS Jean-Claude, please don't pooh pooh the community-based eco-tourism idea. it is a great catalyst for wealth-creation in poor communities, worldwide.
There are over 30 CBE destinations in my native Ghana - and every single one of them is transforming countless lives in previously-marginalised rural communities!
It is not as difficult a thing to do, as it might appear to the unintiated! Just find a tour operator running tours from Uganda (and which does multi-nation destination tours, which include Burundi and Rwanda_ - and ask them to add volunteering opportunities in Buterere, to their tour itineraries!
And I'd be happy to give you a draft, which you could adapt, too, to send to tour companies, if you want me to! :)
Dear Ewan,
Thank you for the technical details. We need that info to make sure that whatever laptop we’ll get in the end, will actually do the job.
Dear Kofi,
I’ve just had a very brief look on freecycle and I like it. Krystal (our fundraising person) and I will try and register with www.givemeaning.com as soon as possible. So we might also try and register with www.freecycle.org at the same time.
Regarding the eco-tourism idea, I have to admit that I’m not too convinced about it for the time being. I don’t think our project is ready for it yet (although that might change fast!). And I’m worried that it might cause more work (looking after the volunteers…) rather than ease the burden. Why don’t Jean-Claude, you and I have a chat on msn about this? What day and time would suit you? Sounds like you know lots and lots about it!
Warm regards
Antje
We've just received this great message from Akintunde in the fundraising thread. I'll discuss it with Jean-Claude immediately and keep you posted.
Antje Hi,
I am from Nigeria and I think one of the major challenge with Buterere is getting the computers there.
I work with a firm where I could get them old PCs and they could be donated to the project.
But how do I ship it to you guys?
Except if u insist on laptops, even that I could get some which are out of production.
So if you know how it can be shipped from PH in Nigeria to Kenya, I do be willing to help by God's grace. The items are bulky as well.
Dear Akintunde,
Jean-Claude is very happy and thanks you for your generous offer.
Regarding the shipping he says: “As we are wishing to do project to empower people, I have an idea on Contacting Minister of Relation exchange, and Ambassafor of BURUNDI in NIGERIA they can both help. I know an NGO which used that methods.”
So, he’s finding out about that option right now.
There must be a solution regarding the shipping. If that one doesn’t work we could open a task and invite neighbours to contribute their ideas.
Warm regards
Antje
Hello Antje and Jean-Claude,
Marvellous news from Nigeria - and may God richly bless the young gentleman who made this generous offer (whose name this old man now forgets!).
It would be immodest on my part to say that I know "lots" about eco-tourism, Antje. My sister, Marian owns Ghana's greenest and oldest tour company - as well as a non-profit travel foundation.
And since we are both passionate about conservation, and I love her very much, I have made it my business, over the years, to help her keep one step ahead, of the competition!
I think you don't understand the concept. It is not the villagers of Buterere who will "look after" the volun-tourists - but the organisation which organises the volunteer and internship placements, for the overseas volunteers and interns.
It is in the financial interest of the out-bound tour operator, from, let us say, Germany or Holland, offering volunteer placements in Buterere, to ensure that all the in-bound Burundi ground-handling is done perfectly: to ensure that they don't take a hit - and are sued by dissatisfied volunteers and interns: for whom a trip to Burundi, represents, a "once-in-a-lifetime" chance, to experience authentic everyday life, in a different culture, and society!
So rather than being a "problem" for them, it will rather offer employment opportunities, for the inhabitants of Buterere - and open up avenues for micro-enterprise for those with initiative: some of whom, for example, will buy bicycles and rent them out to tourists; open restaurants to serve local dishes to tourists; do up an extra room in their home to rent out to those volunteers and interns, who prefer "home-stays" with local people.
We are not attempting to reinvent the proverbial wheel, Antje - this developmental model has been pioneered here successfully, by the Ghanaian non-profit, SYTO, for years (since the early 1990's)! Trust me on this one, Antje.
Jean-Claude, I have forwarded a copy of a newsletter on fundamental tourism, I subscribe to, to give to you. Please do so - it will help you: and who knows you might even decide to get into that business yourself! A personable young man like you, will do very well in this people-centred business! Stay blessed, all Buterere neighbours!
Best wishes,
Kofi.
There are two fully functioning MACs that a German school is no longer using and can be sent to Buterere.
For those who don't know: Computers by Apple are called MAC. They have a different operating system than Windows. MACs are generally considered to be superior to PCs.
Free Open Office software can be run on MACs. So no problem there.
We'll just need to organize the shipping.
With these computers plus those from Nigeria, the local team can open up a small internet café :-D .
Does anyone know whether PCs and MACs can be part of the same LAN network? I suppose no. So that would be the downside of mixing them, I suppose. But does it matter really?
I'll tell you more soon.
Antje
Dear Kofi, antje and other contributors,
I don't find how to say thank you because of your great support to Buterere Community. Kofi's ideas are always very interesting and clear accompanied by exemplar, that’s great!
Even if I am not posting the messages here, my facilitator Antje is sending me your contribution in my personal mail boxes, and joy is exploding from I, I just want to post one message even if I am very busy working with local team always on your suggested ideas. I will come back here on Monday with a conclusion-decision on beautiful ideas to be carried out in the community.
By the way Realy MACs will help us to do many things here in this developing world, local people will be delighted, and it is a great contribution. Thank you for that!
May you stay blessed and God keep you in his hands, so that we continue to be delighted by your cheering messages!
With joy :lol:
Ewan suggested:
http://www.linutop.fr/
these look very promising for buterere as well as all the third world, but how to evaluate?
I went online to read about the Linutop and for the price and what comes with it, the XO looks like a better deal to me.