Difference between revisions of "The High Price of Computer Systems"

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To start with, they think of creative ways to bring the cost of the laptop down. An example of this is to use a cheaper version of display (with a portable DVD player display) and using the open source software including a Linux operating system and all other open source applications.
To start with, they think of creative ways to bring the cost of the laptop down. An example of this is to use a cheaper version of display (with a portable DVD player display) and using the open source software including a Linux operating system and all other open source applications.


==Enabler==
==Enablers==
The monopoly and domination of Microsoft
The monopoly and domination of Microsoft



Revision as of 12:23, 18 September 2009

Back to Economic Driving Forces

Description

This page is being edited by Piotr Ptasinski

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Still related to poverty, the current price of a computer system is still beyond reach of many people in the world. With many people still struggling to fulfill their basic life needs, getting a computer could never be their priorities or even dreams. In other words, a computer is still a luxury to many people.

A basic working computer system is already expensive in hardware components. Added with the high cost of mainstream operating systems and other commercial software used widely, they create a huge barrier for people to get access to computers for themselves and/or their children. Learning from this condition, the project aims to break the barrier by creating an ultra-low-cost system.

To start with, they think of creative ways to bring the cost of the laptop down. An example of this is to use a cheaper version of display (with a portable DVD player display) and using the open source software including a Linux operating system and all other open source applications.

Enablers

The monopoly and domination of Microsoft

High price of components, mainly monitors

Intellectual property / patents

Inhibitor

  • Open source community
  • Creativity on coming up with alternatives to the expensive parts


Paradigm

  • Open source concept has sprung up in reaction towards Microsoft’s domination and monopoly. These days many aspects of computing software will have an open-source version available for free on the Internet. Although some have surpassed the performance of commercial products, most of these open-source systems are normally not as reliable as their commercial counterparts.


Expert

  • Richard Stallman, GNU Project pioneer


Web Resource