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From: Joerg on 16 May 2010 13:55 D Yuniskis wrote: > Hi Joerg & Nico, > > Joerg wrote: >> Nico Coesel wrote: >>> Or send goods directly. Back in the days of the cold war my mother >>> used to send things (mostly clothing) to a family in Poland. > > <grin> My neighbor is routinely fixing up cars (bought at > auction) and shipping them home to Poland. > There were whole ferries that left Germany full of cars, destination Lithuania etc. Not sure if they still do that. >> We do that through our church, to Kabimoi in Kenia. Now they need a >> new computer because the other one was stolen. But it has to be >> Africa-proof so probably not Win7 and all that. > > There are organizations that do that on a large scale. > W98 (cringe) is usually the safest thing to export to > these places as it typically has "enough" capability > and enough support for the sorts of peripherals that > are likely to also be encountered, there. > > Monitors are the bigger problem as they are large and > bulky and fragile. Monitors can sometimes be obtained locally but people really like laptops because they can be locked away or taken home. Reduces the risk of a burglary (which is how the previous one vanished). -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
From: D Yuniskis on 16 May 2010 14:18 Hi Joerg, Joerg wrote: >>>> Or send goods directly. Back in the days of the cold war my mother >>>> used to send things (mostly clothing) to a family in Poland. >> >> <grin> My neighbor is routinely fixing up cars (bought at >> auction) and shipping them home to Poland. > > There were whole ferries that left Germany full of cars, destination > Lithuania etc. Not sure if they still do that. I just find it absolutely *amazing* (depressing?) that it can make sense economically to be doing this. I.e., it has *got* to cost a considerable amount to ship a car across the pond! (I've never inquired as to what it costs him as I figure that's "prying") Plus all the money (spent *here*) purchasing the parts to fix them up; the time involved to make them driveable, etc. >>> We do that through our church, to Kabimoi in Kenia. Now they need a >>> new computer because the other one was stolen. But it has to be >>> Africa-proof so probably not Win7 and all that. >> >> There are organizations that do that on a large scale. >> W98 (cringe) is usually the safest thing to export to >> these places as it typically has "enough" capability >> and enough support for the sorts of peripherals that >> are likely to also be encountered, there. >> >> Monitors are the bigger problem as they are large and >> bulky and fragile. > > Monitors can sometimes be obtained locally but people really like > laptops because they can be locked away or taken home. Reduces the risk > of a burglary (which is how the previous one vanished). Laptops aren't immune to theft :> And, they are harder to maintain "locally" than a desktop would be. I.e., you have to think about who is using it and how they are using it. I always like giving "generic" (could be "name brand" but none of this proprietary hardware that is a chore to replace or repair) machines to folks because they (or someone they know -- BESIDES ME!) can hopefully support them. OTOH, some of these machines that require lots of magic incantations just to get them *open* (for service) will quickly find themselves either: - operating with something broken (CD/DVD, etc.) - discarded *because* something broke (I know how loudly *I* cuss when some oddball memory module or weird form factor power supply dies on me...)
From: Jim Thompson on 16 May 2010 14:46 On Sun, 16 May 2010 10:55:34 -0700, Joerg <invalid(a)invalid.invalid> wrote: >D Yuniskis wrote: >> Hi Joerg & Nico, >> >> Joerg wrote: >>> Nico Coesel wrote: >>>> Or send goods directly. Back in the days of the cold war my mother >>>> used to send things (mostly clothing) to a family in Poland. >> >> <grin> My neighbor is routinely fixing up cars (bought at >> auction) and shipping them home to Poland. >> > >There were whole ferries that left Germany full of cars, destination >Lithuania etc. Not sure if they still do that. > [snip] I don't know about ferries, but the wife of my contact engineer at Bosch was of Russian origin. She'd regularly drive into Russia, sell the car, then fly back. ...Jim Thompson -- | James E.Thompson, CTO | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | | | Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat | | E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 | The only thing bipartisan in this country is hypocrisy
From: Joerg on 16 May 2010 14:47 D Yuniskis wrote: > Hi Joerg, > > Joerg wrote: >>>>> Or send goods directly. Back in the days of the cold war my mother >>>>> used to send things (mostly clothing) to a family in Poland. >>> >>> <grin> My neighbor is routinely fixing up cars (bought at >>> auction) and shipping them home to Poland. >> >> There were whole ferries that left Germany full of cars, destination >> Lithuania etc. Not sure if they still do that. > > I just find it absolutely *amazing* (depressing?) that it > can make sense economically to be doing this. I.e., it has > *got* to cost a considerable amount to ship a car across the > pond! (I've never inquired as to what it costs him as I > figure that's "prying") Plus all the money (spent *here*) > purchasing the parts to fix them up; the time involved > to make them driveable, etc. > The reasons are the usual for many countries: No local industry, insane levels of import tariffs, corruption, et cetera. Sometimes it's easier to drive it into a country with foreign plates to visit someone (which is typically true) and then "forgetting" to take the car back home. >>>> We do that through our church, to Kabimoi in Kenia. Now they need a >>>> new computer because the other one was stolen. But it has to be >>>> Africa-proof so probably not Win7 and all that. >>> >>> There are organizations that do that on a large scale. >>> W98 (cringe) is usually the safest thing to export to >>> these places as it typically has "enough" capability >>> and enough support for the sorts of peripherals that >>> are likely to also be encountered, there. >>> >>> Monitors are the bigger problem as they are large and >>> bulky and fragile. >> >> Monitors can sometimes be obtained locally but people really like >> laptops because they can be locked away or taken home. Reduces the >> risk of a burglary (which is how the previous one vanished). > > Laptops aren't immune to theft :> And, they are harder > to maintain "locally" than a desktop would be. I.e., you > have to think about who is using it and how they are using it. > Oh, those guys repair just about anything. They have to. If you use a good brand laptops last forever. I have a Dell here that's almost 10 years old. But newer ones that need lots of airflow are not good for Africa. Problem with desktops is that you can't take them home because most people there do not have cars. And if you don't take it home you'll need a guard in many places or it's gone. > I always like giving "generic" (could be "name brand" but > none of this proprietary hardware that is a chore to > replace or repair) machines to folks because they (or > someone they know -- BESIDES ME!) can hopefully support > them. OTOH, some of these machines that require lots of > magic incantations just to get them *open* (for service) > will quickly find themselves either: > - operating with something broken (CD/DVD, etc.) > - discarded *because* something broke > > (I know how loudly *I* cuss when some oddball memory module > or weird form factor power supply dies on me...) Yes, in places like Africa things must be generic. And also power-failure proof because power can fail at any time, out of the blue, and UPSes aren't practical there. -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ "gmail" domain blocked because of excessive spam. Use another domain or send PM.
From: D Yuniskis on 16 May 2010 15:06
Hi Joerg, Joerg wrote: >>>>>> Or send goods directly. Back in the days of the cold war my mother >>>>>> used to send things (mostly clothing) to a family in Poland. >>>> >>>> <grin> My neighbor is routinely fixing up cars (bought at >>>> auction) and shipping them home to Poland. >>> >>> There were whole ferries that left Germany full of cars, destination >>> Lithuania etc. Not sure if they still do that. >> >> I just find it absolutely *amazing* (depressing?) that it >> can make sense economically to be doing this. I.e., it has >> *got* to cost a considerable amount to ship a car across the >> pond! (I've never inquired as to what it costs him as I >> figure that's "prying") Plus all the money (spent *here*) >> purchasing the parts to fix them up; the time involved >> to make them driveable, etc. > > The reasons are the usual for many countries: No local industry, insane > levels of import tariffs, corruption, et cetera. Sometimes it's easier > to drive it into a country with foreign plates to visit someone (which > is typically true) and then "forgetting" to take the car back home. Oh, I can understand how it can happen. It just *feels* like Milo's 7 cent eggs... :-/ >>>>> We do that through our church, to Kabimoi in Kenia. Now they need a >>>>> new computer because the other one was stolen. But it has to be >>>>> Africa-proof so probably not Win7 and all that. >>>> >>>> There are organizations that do that on a large scale. >>>> W98 (cringe) is usually the safest thing to export to >>>> these places as it typically has "enough" capability >>>> and enough support for the sorts of peripherals that >>>> are likely to also be encountered, there. >>>> >>>> Monitors are the bigger problem as they are large and >>>> bulky and fragile. >>> >>> Monitors can sometimes be obtained locally but people really like >>> laptops because they can be locked away or taken home. Reduces the >>> risk of a burglary (which is how the previous one vanished). >> >> Laptops aren't immune to theft :> And, they are harder >> to maintain "locally" than a desktop would be. I.e., you >> have to think about who is using it and how they are using it. > > Oh, those guys repair just about anything. They have to. If you use a > good brand laptops last forever. I have a Dell here that's almost 10 > years old. But newer ones that need lots of airflow are not good for Exactly. Also, newer models tend to be harder to maintain mechanically. "Cheaper" fabrication, more integration (electronic and mechanical), etc. I still curse myself for recycling an (old) laptop with *BUILT IN* power supply. Thing was built like a tank! (but, also like a tank, it was quite *slow*!) > Africa. Problem with desktops is that you can't take them home because > most people there do not have cars. And if you don't take it home you'll > need a guard in many places or it's gone. > >> I always like giving "generic" (could be "name brand" but >> none of this proprietary hardware that is a chore to >> replace or repair) machines to folks because they (or >> someone they know -- BESIDES ME!) can hopefully support >> them. OTOH, some of these machines that require lots of >> magic incantations just to get them *open* (for service) >> will quickly find themselves either: >> - operating with something broken (CD/DVD, etc.) >> - discarded *because* something broke >> >> (I know how loudly *I* cuss when some oddball memory module >> or weird form factor power supply dies on me...) > > Yes, in places like Africa things must be generic. And also > power-failure proof because power can fail at any time, out of the blue, > and UPSes aren't practical there. Yup. Ditto for "modems" (though that seems to be a "problem" in *many* countries). |