Hello,
In our continuous pursuit of a world where digital access and freedom are unalienable rights, the imperative to embark on a bold, collaborative journey towards creating a 100% free firmware/free software-based computer has never been more critical. This initiative, transcending beyond mere technological innovation, represents a fundamental pillar in spreading democratic values globally. It invites a concerted effort from nations like the United States, alongside international partners, to champion this cause as a testament to our collective commitment to democracy, accessibility, and economic sustainability.
Economic Sustainability and Accessibility
The proposition of developing and distributing a computer that runs entirely on free software is not only a technological breakthrough but a significant economic opportunity. By leveraging the principles of free software, we ensure that the resulting technology is accessible, modifiable, and distributable by anyone, thereby drastically reducing costs associated with proprietary licenses and hardware constraints. Such cost efficiency makes it economically impractical for any nation to reject this technology, promising a broader reach and deeper impact in bridging the digital divide.
A Democratic Imperative
The essence of democracy is rooted in the freedom of choice and the right to privacy. A globally funded initiative to create a 100% free software computer epitomizes these principles, ensuring that every global citizen can access technology that is inherently designed to be free from government or corporate surveillance and control. This endeavor aligns perfectly with the vision of spreading democracy, as it empowers individuals with the tools for communication, education, and participation in the global digital ecosystem, free from undue interference.
Addressing International Concerns
Critics may argue that such an initiative could inadvertently benefit countries with contrasting political agendas, such as China and Russia, by providing them with advanced technology that could be repurposed. However, this perspective overlooks the transformative power of free software in fostering individual empowerment and autonomy. By making this technology universally accessible, we support the global populace in asserting their rights and freedoms, even within restrictive regimes. The focus is not on the geopolitical chessboard but on uplifting every individual, regardless of their government’s stance on digital freedom.
The Role of the United States and International Community
As a nation that champions the values of freedom and democracy, the United States, alongside other democratic countries, has a pivotal role to play in this initiative. By investing in and supporting the development of a 100% free software computer, we not only advance technological innovation but also reinforce our commitment to spreading democratic ideals. This effort requires a multi-faceted approach, including financial investment, diplomatic engagement, and collaborative research and development, to bring this vision to fruition.
Call to Action
The path to creating a globally accessible, free software-based computer is fraught with challenges, yet it is imbued with the potential for unprecedented global transformation. It calls for an unwavering commitment from all stakeholders involved, from government entities to private sector innovators and civil society advocates. Together, we can dismantle the barriers that stand between millions of people and their right to freely access and engage with the digital world.
As we move forward, let us anchor our efforts in the understanding that technology should serve humanity’s highest ideals—freedom, equality, and democracy. I invite you to join this noble endeavor, to contribute your expertise, resources, and voice to a movement that promises not just a technological revolution, but a leap forward in making our world more open, equitable, and free.
I see people dumping perfectly good working laptops all the time. Some of them end up getting resold as used, some are kept at home by people thinking they’ll reuse them and many are just eventually thrown away because people don’t realize they can be repurposed.
I’m not the most technically minded person but I’ve taken the time to learn how to build a basic desktop PC and install a Linux distro on it. I’ve picked up several of my friends and relatives old laptops they were planning on either trying to sell or just throw away because they don’t want to be bothered learning how to install Ubuntu. The majority of people solve technical problems by just trashing things and buying something new. I see people junking laptops, tablets and smartphones all the time. The worst I’ve seen is parents teaching their kids this behaviour… I’ve watched the kids complain about their $1,000 Apple phone’s memory is full and ask their parents for a new one which they get … then the old phone is thrown in the drawer and forgotten about … not even backed up or data transferred … a year or two goes by and eventually it is sold for nothing or just thrown away.
There’s no need to manufacture new cheap devices … just resurrect old stuff, install Linux and you’ve got yourself a $50 laptop with the latest software that will work with the latest services and websites.
I literally just had a client ask where he should recycle all his old computers, thinking they were just garbage.
I ended up with a 6 year old Dell All-In-One that is now running Linux Mint and acting as a second TV (and it has a touch screen!), a four year old Asus Laptop with a dead battery (that he thought was totally dead because it wouldn’t turn on unless it’s plugged in) that is now running Linux Mint and acting as my video conferencing station, a 7 year old tower that I upgraded for him 3 years ago with 2 TB SSD that is now waiting for me to find a use for it, another old tower that I upgraded several years ago with 2 8TB drives so that he could archive vast amounts of mostly useless old businesses data he thought he might need… those are also waiting for me to think of a purpose for them… 3 nice big monitors (2 are VGA only, but I have some VGA to HDMI adapters)…
All for the price of taking a bunch of ACTUAL ewaste to the recycle center.
My company is going to scrap hundreds of laptops, some new models with less than a year of use, because it’s upgrade season and it’s “too risky to give away”.
I was begging then to let me keep mine, paying. I already have access to all my data and it’s 9 months old.
Nope, to the bin.
My mother’s work place did the same. Keeping it? Wiping it? Taking it out to the parking lots and shooting the drives? Nope. Straight to scrap, all of them. Same thing with almost all of the (public) schools I’ve been to. In fact my teacher, knowing I was in tech, dug some out of the scrap bin and I refurbished them for the class, as he was desperately short. To my surprise they were thinkpads with i7’s and 8gb of ram each in like 2017.
Utterly crazy how people are so willing to junk their computers for basically no reason .
Dude… I literally just got out of local school looking for funding for a computer lab.
Any suggestions for finding these laptops will be highly appreciated
How do they dispose of hardware? I feel like a covert night time rescue operation is in order.
They just said “send to scraping, can’t be reused”. The cost of those laptops is around the weekly cloud compute cost of a team member, we are taking a rounding error in the company finances, so they just won’t care.