[olug] [OT] $100 computer pledge bank

[Cesar Delgado]

Well, I guess the pledge time is over and the 100,000 pledges needed
never arrived.  Most of you might have heard about the $100 laptop
that's being developed (http://laptop.media.mit.edu/).  There was a
pledge drive where they were asking $300 for 1 laptop where the rest of
the money would play for 2 more to be sent to the areas that have been
decided upon.  Well, sadly it didn't work.  And reading the posts on /.
about it just made me even sadder.  Most people are bitchin' and moanin'
about the cost and how they wouldn't pay 3x for something.  I did, I
pledge for 2 actually and I'm still a broke college student.  Most
people on /., I'm quite sure, wouldn't even think twice about spending
~$300 on ThinkGeek stuff the first time they went to the website!  But I
guess I have a different view.  As most of you know I'm from Colombia in
South America (not one of the countries that are going to get these
laptops any time soon BTW).  And I guess I've seen the need down there
so I can imagine quite easily the need somewhere else.  Maybe it's
harder for some people used to a prety decent public school system to
imagine a need that big.  Maybe I should hire Sally Struthers to make a
commertial about it.

I'm disappointed at the community in general right now.  I know, for
sure, there's more than 100,000 geeks out there.  And I'm sure most of
them spend way more than $300 on stuff that ends up in a closet.  But
when asked to help, well.. same as the pledge bank, fell short.  It's
quite sad.

-Cesar