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Open Economies - RE: [OpenEconomies] Need for a standard set of specifications for recycled computers

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RE: [OpenEconomies] Need for a standard set of specifications for recycled computers

  • To: <openeconomies(at)cyber.law.harvard.edu>
  • Subject: RE: [OpenEconomies] Need for a standard set of specifications for recycled computers
  • From: "Elliot Noss" <enoss(at)tucows.com>
  • Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 16:05:40 -0400
  • Importance: Normal
  • In-reply-to: <20020920092121.57213.qmail@web21402.mail.yahoo.com>
A quick note of correction here. A domain name with email from a reliable
vendor starts at $15 not $50. Incremental email addresses are even less.
Thanks.

Regards

Elliot Noss
Tucows inc.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Iqbal Mohomed [mailto:iqbal_iia@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 5:21 AM
> To: openeconomies@eon.law.harvard.edu
> Subject: Re: [OpenEconomies] Need for a standard set of specifications
> for recycled computers
>
>
> Hello Richard,
>
> I do see a lot of scope for a Linux vendor such as Red
> Hat to come up with hardware specifications for
> recycled computers. The core of Linux has a very small
> footprint when compared with Windows 9x+. Companies
> such as Red Hat already have Hardware Compatibility
> lists that detail the compatability status of hundreds
> of components. Best of all, Linux has a very small
> footprint ... about 1/3 of the students in my intro to
> programming class have gotten old computers and put
> Linux on them. However, in many cases, the hardware
> needed to be tweaked.
>
> Here are a couple of issues though:
>
> 1) Computer hardware, and especially old hardware, is
> notoriously difficult to integrate. This is from my
> experience doing hardware integration at Nortel ...
> sometimes different revisions from the same vendors
> did not interoperate (imagine this happening with your
> RAM chips!). As such, any standard is probably going
> to be a high level specification and the whole process
> is unlikely to become totally seamless. However, much
> of the latest hardware has plug&play capability, which
> allows the computer to detect and try to automatically
> configure the component. Thus, the future for this
> endeavor looks bright.
>
> 2) With the (almost) total penetration of the North
> American operating system space by Windows, I am very
> concerned about providing Unix derivatives to the rest
> of the world. These OS'es work really well if you know
> exactly what you are doing. The GUI interfaces with
> Linux usually require more resources so may not
> applicable for very old systems. There is a potential
> solution to this problem though ... there is software
> that lets you run most Windows applications on Linux.
> I have not used it myself so I am not sure how good it
> is but it can only get better as we move forward.
> Comments?
>
> 3) I was recently installing Windows 2000 and Red Hat
> 7.3 for a friend. We were amazed at how seamless the
> Red Hat installation went. It detected and configured
> almost every single device automatically. The overall
> installation process was a treat. Windows 2000 was
> horrible in this respect. This isn't a fair comparison
> because Windows 9x or XP have much easier installation
> processes than Windows 2000. However, it is important
> to note that many Linux distributions have progressed
> to the point where the OS is as easy to work with as
> Windows.
>
> 4) I am a real fan of Internet email. It gives you the
> ability to have an unlimited number of accounts, check
> your email from anywhere in the world, etc. Best of
> all, it is free. I do see the problem you point out
> though about the email address looking unprofessional.
> The solution is easy but costly ... get a domain name
> and forward all incoming email to your Internet email
> account. The expenses pile up because you need to keep
> your domain registration current as well as get
> hosting from an ISP. It probably comes to about $50 a
> year. If you are not picky about the email address,
> there are cheaper options.
>
> Regards,
> Iqbal
>
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