[design] Lack of built-in serial and // port ?

[Ian Daniher]

Samir,
IIRC, there *is* a serial port, but due to constraints I have not been made
aware of, It isn't exposed, instead it is buried inside the case.
Sorry I can't help more,
-- 
Ian Daniher
it.daniher at gmail.com
Skype : it.daniher
irc.freenode.com: DyDisMe

On 10/23/07, Samir Saidani <saidani at squeakfr.org> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I have heard about the OLPC initiative a while ago, and recently
> I have decided to take a further look at this very interesting
> initiative... Here are first thoughts about it...
>
> I'm quite new to this project, and one thing that strikes me was the
> lack of built-in serial and parallel port.  Why ? When you don't have
> a lot of money, you tend to use obsolete technology which are cheaper
> than the newer one, like parallel printers, serial modem, serial mouse,
> parallel scanner, etc ... This obsolete technology are easily available
> on poor countries, because it's easy for an non profit organization
> to send this kind of technology that almost nobody wants anymore (at
> least the enterprises, and the schools of rich countries update quite
> often their hardware and throw the old one to the garbage or donate it
> to a NPO).
>
> So you can have the old tech for free, because they often end into the
> gargage while they are still working great. And this is not a theory,
> we have founded here in France a npo which locally is working to give
> One Computer Per Child for 0 $. We have already a lot of computers,
> and we are slowing down the process to avoid a computer hardware
> overload... Recycling is an ecologic approach to the environment, and it
> seems that it is a concern of the whole OLPC initiative. Recycling allows
> you to do things by yourself with little money (or none at all). I know
> that there is a serial/USB interface, but I'm not sure that it would be
> as easy to use as built-in ports (possibility to lost it, unable to do it
> by yourself due to the complex USB electronics component...). So when you
> consider the target audience (poor countries, rural zone, poor people),
> I think this is a design mistake. Or at least it's reducing a lot the
> possibility of hacking and recycling obsolete hardware lying around.
>
> Maybe and probably do you have already talk about this matter ?
>
> Thanks !
> Samir
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