Re: Extropian Kids

Mark Grant (mark@unicorn.com)
Sun, 24 Aug 1997 22:06:31 +0000


On Sun, 24 Aug 1997 YakWaxx@aol.com wrote:

> It seems, as ever, computers are the
> great equaliser. Except in cost, what if our libraries started loaning
> computers?

Any parent who can afford a good TV can afford a high-end 486 or low-end
Pentium PC instead, and these days you have a hard time giving away used
386s (which are far more powerful than the home computers I grew up on);
in fact I suspect that when I upgrade in a few months I'll be giving this
486/66 laptop to a computer-deprived friend because it's barely worth the
hassle of trying to sell.

Computers are cheap if you avoid the latest and greatest. I read on the
Well a few years ago about a group coordinating famine relief in Africa
with old Commodore Vic-20s and radio modems because the computers were
free; today they could get used 286s or 386s for the same price.

Mark

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