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Government to offer £98 computers to those without internet access

by Sarah Griffiths on 17 January 2011, 09:34

Tags: UK Government

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Cheap and cheerful?

The Government is launching a pilot scheme to offer cheap computers to some of the 9.2m British adults who are currently going without internet access.

It is hoped the scheme, which offers a basic computer bundle for less than £100, will help bridge the digital divide.

According to The FT, Martha Lane Fox, the UK's digital tsar said the pilot scheme will makes use of refurbished computers from Remploy and around 8,000 machines are expected to be sold this year.

While predicted sales will only go a small way to addressing the digital divide, Lane Fox reportedly hopes it can be extended. The £98 package, which is said to include a refurbished machine running Linux, an LCD monitor, mouse and keyboard plus a warranty and phone support, will apparently be sold via 60 online centres and Remploy.

Lane Fox reportedly told The FT: "Motivation and inspiration are still two of the biggest barriers [to using the internet], but clearly perception of price is another big deal for people. A good price point is certainly part of what helps people get online.

"We have an opportunity here in the UK to make sure we are achieving internet skills and usage as high as TV usage. We should be using our old computers and refurbishing them to close the gap in this country."

Lane Fox is also the leader of digital inclusion initiative, Race Online 2012, and this scheme forms part of that initiative.



HEXUS Forums :: 12 Comments

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That only mentions the computers - are they also giving free internet access out ? (min £10/month )
This has “fail” written large upon it; I wish it didn't, but:
Refurbs from Remploy - hell, I think Remploy are great, but for £98 you have to suspect (and I've had a quick shufti at their ebay store) Northwood P4s with not much RAM and 30-40GB hard disks, right? Like the nastier end of Bigpockets and Europc refurbs.
Running Linux:
“I've got a problem with Windows”
“No sir, you almost certainly haven't…”

“Where can I find Word?”
"Well, not on that PC for a start…"

mikerr's point about Internet access is well taken as well.

edit: According to The Reg:
The boxes will include a mobile dongle from three for £9 a month.
crazy, crazy, crazy! There are a myriad of ways already for those without PCs to get access, eg libraries, drop in user centres and community centres too. Linux will put most new users off PCs for life . The problem is overcoming the obstacle of ‘wanting’ to use a PC which so many suffer from. I should know. I was a complete luddite until about 6 years ago. I am nearly 75 now but build my own PCs which saves a fortune in repair and upgrading costs. As an unpaid volunteer I have got many silver surfers started and they all without exception are glad they did.

What we do not need is this ill sourced and low grade hardware set up which still does not address the real problem-some people just cannot see the need for them to try it
Depending on which flavour of Linux they use and how the machine is set up the differences between this machine and a windows machine could be entirely cosmetic as far as the end user is concerned (particularly as the end user is likely to have limited existing knowledge and experience).

I will be interested to see the spec for these machines, how universal will they be if they are refurbished machines? Will it be pot luck what CPU, HDD and memory comes in the machine? How well setup will the software be on the machine…. putting open office and a few other bits of software on the machine and configuring them to use MS Office file types as default will make a big difference. I just hope that whatever distro they use has good peripheral driver support….
If the boxes cost £98 to administer, I wonder how much is being spent on administering this scheme? That'll probably add a chunk to the actual cost of running this scheme…