The Great Divide

This video is a news article about a Chicago based company that recycles computers that would have wound up in the landfill and gives them to needy children, in order to bridge the digital divide. It's a great concept, and it led me to think about the differences in the digital divides and the ease of bridging them in respective communities.

It's much easier to bridge the divide in America. People have the resources to teach themselves, and they have the resources to be able to donate to others. In third world countries, and places where they try to implement the One Laptop Per Child programs, it's just not feasible. In fact, it seems counterproductive. If by some chance the program had enough resources to distribute the laptops, they certainly don't have the resources to maintain the laptops effectively. It's hard to think about these children who would be teased with this promise of technology when it would be fleeting.