From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: "jerryc@innerpeace.org" Subject: Re: What's happening? Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2003 08:06:36 -0400 Sender: linux-8086-owner@vger.kernel.org Message-ID: <3EE083CC.9050004@innerpeace.org> References: <3EE05643.32EEF307@lulop.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Return-path: List-Id: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format="flowed" To: linux-8086@vger.kernel.org Here's what I've found out from discussions with computer recyclers around the world. (Canada, BTW, has one of the most well developed computer recycling programs.) The resourcful ones have plenty of demand for pentiums, 486's, and even 386's, and put most of the ones they can salvage back into use. They even use 286's for word processing machines and are pretty much matched with supply and demand. They have some use for 8086's for some science applications, but they have more supply than demand. If they had applications for the 8086's, they would love to put them to good use. Even when they recycle the parts for scrap metal and keep them out of landfills, that's still a poor utilization of the resource compared to keeping them functioning as intact computers. As insignificant as these computers seem by today's standards, they are so far above having no computer, particularly with the right applications. The value to society of keeping these computers doing something of value is huge. When you add the value of keeping them out of landfills it gets much bigger. With the billions of dollars companies are sinking into open source and the potential liability exposure manufactures like IBM, HP, and even Dell will face from the environmental hazards of these old computers in landfills, both the actual and PR value of supporting a program like ELKS is a no brainer. We just need to present this to the right people who do the funding for open source. If anybody has the right connections to get some financial support for ELKS from some of the sources that are already funding open source, please get this info before them. Compared to what's being spent elsewhere, we're really talking small change and huge return on investment. I'm planning to visit Red Hat in the next few weeks before I head for Rwanda. They probably don't have the funding themselves but should be well connected to those who do. I'm hoping to inspire them to put some support into this. Hopefully that will get the funders to throw some small change behind ELKS and get this project to a stable, functioning level. Emanuele Galloni wrote: > Thank you Jerry, > I did get it and it seams good. > The fact that you are going to Rwanda makes it even better. > One of the things I was working on is the following: > Originally, some of you guys were saying that ELKS, since it can run on > any pc, from an 8088 to a Pentium IV, could > be a very useful in developing countries where old computers are much > more common that the newest ones. > Is there anybody who can give me some infos about this side of ELKS? > Many thanks. > Emanuele > > "jerryc@innerpeace.org" wrote: > > We're not in London, we're in the Smokey Mountains of Asheville NC US. > > But we could do an email interview. > > I don't know what your schedule is, but I'm headed to Rwanda in July > with the Inner Peace work. If it's real important to do something in > person, I might be able to route myself that way and do a layover. > > I just did a post with a little info about what we're doing. If you > didn't get it, let me know. > > Emanuele Galloni wrote: > > Hello guys, > > I am still trying to give to ELKS some sort of media resonance.. I > would like > > to video- interview somebody about it and shoot some computers and > palmtops > > running it. I am based in London (UK) from were I cover things for > Lulop.com. > > If anybody is still interested and is not too far from here, please, > let me > > know. > > Emanuele > > > > > > > > Richard Wallman wrote: > > > > > >>On 5 Jun, Miguel Bolanos wrote: > >> > >> > >>>In the new site we will have the status of the project, as well as > the > >>>TODO list and docs, this site is intended to be available in > several > >>>languages. > >> > >>If you need web space, I'll happily provide some. > >> > >> > >>>Regarding the project it self, the last commit was indeed several > months > >>>ago, i am trying to organize my time to get back into all this. > >> > >>That's okay, I just thought it may have been abandoned altogether! I > > >>may get round to finished my xmodem and compression programs then... > > >>-- > >>Richard Wallman > >>http://www.murkygoth.uklinux.net/elks > >> > >>- > >>To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe > linux-8086" in > >>the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org > >>More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html > > > > > > - > > To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe > linux-8086" in > > the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org > > More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.htm > > - > To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-8086" in > the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org > More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html >