10-22-2011, 11:41 PM | #1 |
Kate
Posts: 1,700
Karma: 3605799
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Oregon, United States
Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour
|
Aid organization provides African schools with Kindles and ebooks
|
10-23-2011, 03:51 PM | #2 |
Member Retired
Posts: 1,999
Karma: 11348924
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Limbo
Device: none
|
They probably provided one school for the purpose of getting publicity on it.
I don't believe in human benevolence |
Advert | |
|
10-23-2011, 05:36 PM | #3 |
Kate
Posts: 1,700
Karma: 3605799
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Oregon, United States
Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour
|
|
10-23-2011, 05:37 PM | #4 | ||
Wizard
Posts: 1,090
Karma: 6058305
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Paperwhite
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
10-23-2011, 05:50 PM | #5 |
Wizard
Posts: 3,117
Karma: 9269999
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: UK
Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5
|
Mmmmmm............
I simply can't see how these devices are going to stand up to the presumably harsher conditions, and rougher treatment - you have only to see any Forum to see how fragile they are in our pampered surroundings, and with expensive covers too.
And we can, mostly, I suggest, better afford to replace ours once we've found them essential equipment. Unless, that is, the technology has suddenly become more robust - or should we say, can be more robust........ Too much to hope we also see it, if so ? (Oh, and the production costs can be trimmed - or more probably "cross subsidised".) |
Advert | |
|
10-23-2011, 11:16 PM | #6 | |
Spork Connoisseur
Posts: 2,355
Karma: 16780603
Join Date: Mar 2011
Device: Nook Color
|
I applaud the organizations efforts. I was surprised at the list of their partners.
Quote:
|
|
10-24-2011, 12:08 AM | #7 |
Addict
Posts: 280
Karma: 2064388
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: MN, US
Device: Kobo Touch, Asus Eee Pad Slider
|
That's friggin' awesome. Yes.
The Kindles look to come with a shell case of some kind, with an extra padded layer on one side that the screen would be cushioned by. I'm sure there will be screen casualties eventually, but I don't think it'll be an enormous issue. 1. These kids have *nothing.* Having an ereader is like being given a box of gold. I bet they treat it a lot better than Western kids do. 2. Even with the occasional broken screen, it's probably still cheaper and has a broader reach to more kids than a physical library would. |
10-24-2011, 07:04 AM | #8 |
Are you gonna eat that?
Posts: 1,633
Karma: 23215128
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Phillipsburg, NJ
Device: Kindle 3, Nook STG
|
i hate to be such a negative nancy but i'm sure some warlord will enjoy the fat stack of ereaders coming his way.
just being a realist. *shrug* |
10-24-2011, 11:08 AM | #9 | |
Grand Master of Flowers
Posts: 2,201
Karma: 8389072
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Naptown
Device: Kindle PW, Kindle 3 (aka Keyboard), iPhone, iPad 3 (not for reading)
|
Quote:
|
|
10-24-2011, 11:10 AM | #10 | |
Martin Kristiansen
Posts: 1,546
Karma: 8480958
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Johannesburg
Device: Kindle International Ipad 2
|
Quote:
I have ridden a bicycle from Israel to South Africa and never encountered a single warlord |
|
10-24-2011, 01:18 PM | #11 |
Kate
Posts: 1,700
Karma: 3605799
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Oregon, United States
Device: MeeBook, Kobo Libra Colour
|
I just LOVE the way cynics and pessimists always describe themselves as realists, as though only bad things are true.
I'd laugh if it weren't so sad. |
10-24-2011, 06:55 PM | #12 | |
Addict
Posts: 280
Karma: 2064388
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: MN, US
Device: Kobo Touch, Asus Eee Pad Slider
|
Quote:
We gave a lot of countries in Africa some of the worst, most scammish loans in the history of loans. The interest is positively explosive. These countries are trying - valiantly - to pay their debt. For the size of their economies, they're actually phenomenal at being good for their payments. But the interest is so high that they'll never be able to pay them off. In addition to that, we did the loans under the condition that they have to live under an "austerity budget." They are not allowed, under the terms of the loans, to expand their government and do things like build schools. So not only can they never pay off their loans, but they can also never develop their countries. There is no doubt there is a plethora of corruption in Africa. But if you want to know the root of most of it, look at your own government, not theirs. Their governments are actually relatively good at distributing goods they're given - better than some American charities are. There's cases of fraud, and major ones, but they're not the rule. This applies, contrary to most people's beliefs, to food aid as well. African governments that receive food aid usually DO distribute it, and they do it at the prices they're told to. So what's the problem? The subsidized food we sell them is so cheap that whenever there's an influx of it, it puts African farmers out of business. So between shipments, there's no farmers, and everyone starves. Once again, look to your own government, not theirs. Last edited by SmokeAndMirrors; 10-24-2011 at 06:58 PM. |
|
10-24-2011, 08:09 PM | #13 |
Evangelist
Posts: 416
Karma: 1045911
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Device: Kindle 3
|
While this is lovely and all the rest of it, I often have to deal with supporting things like this as a service for friends' NGO and living in SA.
Kindles are most likely the worst devices to hand out, specifically K3's - they are pretty damn fragile compared to most phones and such. They are a closed platform in almost every regards above replacing a battery. There is no software that is reasonably easy for syncing documents (i.e lesson plans) - let along authoring them - for educators (and getting them using Calibre/kindlegen - good luck!). Prepackaged and free books are fantastic, but at some point you leave the bounds of English setwork and there's very little other practical use outside of reading the supplied free novels (which are likely in a second or third language). A complete lack of app support outside of America and no native, trivial note taking (or other functional case) seems questionable. Library support - wishful. Amazon aftermarket support? if you need a replacement, however I doubt these would qualify, even in SA we're only able to use the Amazon International Services items, which is about 5% of the Amazon marketplace, book prices and limits are rather draconian. All of this often leaves some pretty decent hardware taking damage extremely quickly without anyone to really do something about it; or not understood gifts being sold/traded as soon as the teacher/church/someone isn't looking (just look at the culture of smoking ARV's). At some rather low point $40? * x students is most likely far better spent on employing actual teachers or working on a more open reader for this outreach (even if that excludes amazon). Last edited by Serpentine; 10-24-2011 at 09:35 PM. Reason: a few missed things :/ |
10-24-2011, 09:19 PM | #14 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,262
Karma: 2979086
Join Date: Nov 2010
Device: Kindle 4, iPad Mini/Retina
|
I wonder how many of the Kindles were eaten.
|
10-26-2011, 09:49 AM | #15 | |
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Posts: 1,212
Karma: 6244877
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Coastal Texas
Device: Android Phone
|
Quote:
/sarcasm |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Content Google eBooks will be readable on Kindles | sirmaru | Amazon Kindle | 6 | 12-02-2010 05:04 AM |
eBooks in Schools? | Hampshire Nanny | News | 13 | 09-01-2010 11:40 AM |
African Reading | M0zza | Reading Recommendations | 5 | 01-22-2009 06:51 AM |
Visual Aid? | DixieGal | IMP | 4 | 05-08-2008 05:56 PM |