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the OLPC was the "send them bikes" disguised as the DIY-able system. They designed what they thought would be the best computer for impoverished children when in reality those children had no real use for a computer

I dunno, saying they don't have a use for a computer seems incorrect to me, even in the poorest parts of the world today, a substantial minority have acquired their own computer that's cheap, small, efficient, has a built in long distance radio, can run arbitrary software, doesn't require reliable electricity (I mean cell phones)

obviously it's a different technological and economic today compared to 2005, but still, "the global poor don't need computers" is questionable just based on the fact that they are spending their own money to get them

Saying they had no use for a computer was a poor choice of words. Rather, OLPC wasn't what those communities needed

It's extremely expensive to ship bikes around - even old unused ones.

isn't this what bike thieves do though?

> bespoke

I see what you did there