Belgium: A Computer in Every Home

joost writes "In an article published online by Belgian newspaper 'Het Nieuwsblad' (sorry only a dutch link), Belgian minister Miss Laurette Onkelinx speaks about her plan to provide every Belgian household with a computer. The minister is (amongst other things) responsible for 'equality' and therefore pushes the plan to provide the less fortunate with a pc. In the same article, she said she already started talking to Compaq for the hardware and Microsoft for the OS. Belgian Linux users are starting a campaign to petition Miss Onkelinx's departement, explaining their concern about the decision, and advising to look towards linux for an alternative.(more on be.comp.os.linux) You too can send an email by clicking here."

Re:Why push OS?

[osgeek]

Yeah, it's free unless they consider the cost of hiring a UNIX consultant to come in and help each user set up his system. It's called TCO - Total Cost of Ownership.

Within the past month, I've set up both a RedHat 7.2 box and a Windows XP box. Being a Mac user, I have no real love for Microsoft, but I have to admit that the Windows box could hardly have been simpler to configure with all of the basic services, while the Linux box required a lot of poking and prodding to find all the right pieces to get the job done. Windows (and to an even greater extent, the Mac) is the result of a more concerted effort toward unity, while Linux is the result of many hands all pulling in different directions.

Linux's strength is also its greatest weakness.

It's been tried (sort of)...

[suss]

Maybe they should learn a lesson from this: Free PCs for the poor on sale in black market [theregister.co.uk]... not everyone wants a PC, some people would rather have food and other basic needs.

Re:Is linux really the right choice?

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem with Windows for this application is that MS won't let anyone change it.

With a Linux system there could be specially constructed versions for different levels of experience and different needs, there could be 'upgrade' CDs that will reconfigure machines to take users to a new level.

With Windows/Office you _must_ do it the way MS want, and must pay. If a Linux system is used it can be done the way that users want.

Garbage. Just to address your example, double-clicking a menu item will work fine, and I see people do this at work all the time, as well as people who double-click hyperlinks. As far as single clicking, ever since IE 4.0 Desktop integration you've been able to make any icon, file, or executable in an Explorer window (the desktop is one) launchable with a single click.

On the whole, people who are only interested in trashing Microsoft don't realize how customizeable it truly is. One day my interest got piqued, and I started browsing around msdn.microsoft.com/library to figure out how the Google toolbar manages to add items to the IE right-click context menu. It turns out that I was able to write my own mini-script which allowed me to select text in an IE window, right-click and select "ROT-13" and, obviously, ROT-13 the text right in place. I was able to do the same thing with a textbox (like what I am typing in right now). I did this solely with the information in the MSDN library on the API and a little VBScript knowhow, in about an hour. One can develop plug-ins and add-ins for just about any feature in Windows or any of the Office suite apps, anywhere from writing VBA (Visual Basic for Applications, which is built into every Office App) up to writing and compiling a dll in Visual C and using it as an add-in. In short, the argument that MS is not configurable is complete shite.

Re:Traditional equality?

[jfunk]

Here is a vote for Debian, one distro that will always be free.

I'm all for free software just as you are, but I would never advocate sticking Debian on computers for people who have never had a computer before. apt-get is extremely useful but do you really think putting it in the hands of the masses is a good idea? Look at the recent libpng thing (I know it's not a common occurrence, but...). You and I are able to deal with that sort of thing really easily, but most people are not like us.

If you want Linux on these computers, try the more user-friendly distros like Mandrake or SuSE. The latter now automatically sets up TV cards on the initial install.

I'm not saying these distros are perfect, but they're much easier to install and maintain *for the average user* than Debian, Slackware or Redhat.

English translation!

[vrt3]

Well, I did it myself in a hurry, so it's not perfect. First, the correct link to the newspaper article in Dutch. Next, my attempt to translate it:

"Computer for every family" - 10/01/2002

Minister Onkelinx wants to eliminate the fact that lower incomes lag behind on IT

If it depends on federal minister for Equal Opportunities Laurette Onkelinx, every Belgian family will shortly own a PC. She is serious about it, since she already started talking with software gigant Microsoft and PC producer Compaq.

"Today not nearly everyone has access to the new technologies, that keep getting more and more important, especially on the labour market", Onkelinx says in an interview with La Dernière Heure. "To change that situation, we have started negotiations with multiple partners. We're talking to the European Investment Bank, and they seem to like the project. Further, we have alreadt talked with Compaq and Microsoft."

"We have indeed had contact with cabinet Onkelinx. Being the leader in the PC market, we should of course be interested in such a project", says Thierry Van Bever from Compaq. "There needs to talked more; nothing is definitive." A similar sound from Microsoft: "We were addressed for our operating system", spokeswoman Els Stevens confirmed.

It's not clear who was the right to a computer with Internet access. It's also not decided yet how it will (possibly) cost to the families. The minister doesn't doubt the project will turn out well: "I hope to be ready for all modalities in March. Thousands of families will then have a computer and internet access at their disposal. Moreover, it concerns not only families with the lowest incomes."

Number of PCs

The number of PCs per hundred inhabitants in our county was 31 in March 2001, as follows from a survey by ICTA, the Association of Information and Communication Industries. That leaves us in the middle of the European pack, after the Netherlands and Ireland, but before Germany and Great Britain. In what way that translates to the families, is not clear. According to a survey by the Communication department, by the end of 1999 already 58% of the families had a computer. 7% of the people who where questioned said they were considering the purchase of a PC in 2000.

Concerning the number of internet connections, we're slowly running ahead of the European average. In the European Union, 30% of the families had an internet connection by the end of 2000; in Belgium it was 31%. Besides, our country is the best cabled in the world, which gives us a headstart with the distribution of broadband internet. What's more, Belgium is world leader in the development en production of ADSL.

Re:Thoughtless Hemos... about the address

[joost.be]

It doesn't add to the discussion of posting or not posting an email address on /. but for those who care, the address is not the minister's address, but the address of her chief executive (or whatever you call those guys who call the shots when she's out)
Furthermore, I don't have a habit of posting on /. and I did it 'cause I wanted some attention to be drawn to this issue, and I hope some other channels would take over the news.
I guess that worked since I received some email from local press.

Old (i.e. "cheap") Hardware???

[Bilbo]

And you don't need a "brand-new-ultra-modern-speedy" pc, nope...you can have a nice workstation with a pentium 75. And they are cheap in purchase!!!

Hummm... P75? Well, that'd make a great server, but don't try to run X on it. Well, I've actually done it, but that was three or four years ago when software was less bloated, and it gave me somewhat reasonable response.

That being said, I agree that you can run Linux on much less expensive hardware than, lets say, Windows XP. However, if you are talking that many systems, it'd probably still be easier to buy new, but less than "cutting edge" hardware, probably something like a 700MHz AMD. It would be much too much paperwork and manual labor collecting and setting up used equipment.