Speculations on the Future of Free Geek - Revision history

Rfs: /* More speculative thoughts */

2010-08-05T13:45:37Z

More speculative thoughts

Arrogantrabbit: /* Resources */

2010-05-11T21:27:36Z

Resources

Rfs: /* More speculative thoughts */

2007-01-29T17:30:32Z

More speculative thoughts

Rfs: oops. restoring an inadvertantly deleted comment (and correcting its spelling)

2007-01-29T16:46:52Z

oops. restoring an inadvertantly deleted comment (and correcting its spelling)

Rfs: formatting

2007-01-29T16:35:27Z

formatting

Kelandris: /* Money */

2006-02-10T20:58:57Z

Money

Matteo: formating phil

2005-12-21T21:34:10Z

formating phil

Revphil: /* More speculative thoughts */ gold options

2005-12-21T21:25:58Z

More speculative thoughts: gold options

Revphil: /* More speculative thoughts */ gold options

2005-12-21T21:24:52Z

More speculative thoughts: gold options

Rfs at 19:52, 4 June 2005

2005-06-04T19:52:53Z

@@ Line 100: / Line 100: @@
 * Along the way, the lower end stuff could need to go overseas for maximum positive impact.
-==More speculative thoughts==
+==Looking at the Horizon==
 We might be able to get data on how many laptops per non-mobile computer per PDAs exist in the US and in other industrialized countries. From this data we might be able to guess when integrated hardware will overwhelm computers. That point would mark the beginning of the decline for the build program, which would accelerate as computer technology becomes more integrated into everything. We can call that time ''the horizon''.
@@ Line 108: / Line 108: @@
 [[User:Rfs|rfs]] 13:28, 24 Jan 2005 (PST)
 [[Category: Big Picture]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ==Resources==
-Free Geek runs on several resources. Without each of these elements Free Geek struggle or even collapse. In no particular order:
+Free Geek runs on several resources. Without each of these elements, Free Geek would struggle or even collapse. In no particular order:
 ===Money===
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 ** donations in response to solicitations
 ** grants
 ==Volunteers==
 Volunteers can be grouped by motivations (though there's overlap, of course):

@@ Line 100: / Line 100: @@
 ==More speculative thoughts==
-We might be able to get data on how many laptops per non-mobile computer per PDAs exist in the US and in other industrialized countries. From this data we might be able to guess when integrated hardware will overwhelm computers. That point would mark the beginning of the decline for the build program, which would accelerate as computer technology becomes more integrated into everything. We can call that time '''the horizon'''.
+We might be able to get data on how many laptops per non-mobile computer per PDAs exist in the US and in other industrialized countries. From this data we might be able to guess when integrated hardware will overwhelm computers. That point would mark the beginning of the decline for the build program, which would accelerate as computer technology becomes more integrated into everything. We can call that time ''the horizon''.
 Between now and the horizon, we might want to focus more on laptop repair and software skills than we have in the past.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:46, 29 January 2007
Line 107:		Line 107:

	[[User:Rfs\|rfs]] 13:28, 24 Jan 2005 (PST)		[[User:Rfs\|rfs]] 13:28, 24 Jan 2005 (PST)
		+
		+	Various theories on the value of the dollar in a hyper-inflated economy exist and thus prompt us to considering our [[gold options]].
		+
		+	[[User:Revphil\|Revphil]] 13:25, 21 Dec 2005 (PST)
		+
		+	[[Category: Big Picture]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-=Resources=
+==Resources==
 Free Geek runs on several resources. Without each of these elements Free Geek struggle or even collapse. In no particular order:
-==Money==
+===Money===
 We get it in two basic ways:
 * as a business
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ** online sales
 ** wholesale sales of gizmos we don't repair to scroungers
-** wholesale sale of scrap material to recyclers
+** wholesale sale of scrap material to recylcers
 ** recycling fees
 * as a charitable organization
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 ** donations in response to solicitations
 ** grants
 ==Volunteers==
 Volunteers can be grouped by motivations (though there's overlap, of course):
@@ Line 27: / Line 26: @@
 ** Software tinkerers -- '''coders'''
 * Technology lovers -- '''geeks'''
-==Other people==
+===Other people===
 * Those who buy stuff from us retail -- '''customers'''
 * Those who buy stuff from us for repair -- '''scroungers'''
 * Those who buy scrap from us for recycling -- '''recycling industry'''
-==Gizmos==
+===Gizmos===
 * Those that can be used and there's a market for above -- '''marketable gizmos'''
 * Those that can be used but nobody wants -- '''unmarketable gizmos'''
 * Those that are broken -- '''useless gizmos'''
-=Driving Forces=
+==Driving Forces==
 There are several things beyond the control of Free Geek that allow us to exist. These things will change the reality in which we operate, and will eventually radically change how Free Geek works.
-==Moore's Law==
+===Moore's Law===
 ''([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law Moore's Law] refers to the exponential growth of computer capabilities.)''
@@ Line 47: / Line 46: @@
 Someday this will give out and hardware will plateau. At that point the number of gizmos we receive will begin to drop. No one knows when this will happen. Because we use gizmos that are out of date, we have the luxury of being able to see it coming, because it will hit the main computer market before it hits us.
-==We get obsolete stuff==
+===We get obsolete stuff===
 From outside Free Geek's perspective the gizmos we get are in the categories of ''unmarketable'' and ''useless'', but inside Free Geek, we consider them again and find the ''marketable'' ones. So from an outside perspective we give away obsolete equipement, roughly:
 * Five year old equipment is what we started giving away (FreekBox I and first half of FreekBox II).
 * Three year old equipment is what we are giving away now (last half FreekBox II and FreekBox III).
-==Hardware is getting more complex and more integrated==
+===Hardware is getting more complex and more integrated===
 * As the PC developed, more components were built into the motherboard, so computers themselves became more integrated.
 * As more components are integrated, each component becomes itself more complex and difficult to repair.
@@ Line 71: / Line 70: @@
 * Compare this to the car repair and tinkering culture that sprang up when automobiles were simpler, but has largely fallen by the wayside. It seems likely that the same scenario will play out with computers. Interest in building and repairing computers will fade as component integration progresses.
-==Software plays catch up to hardware==
+===Software plays catch up to hardware===
 The development of hardware leads the way, and programmers follow up by:
@@ Line 79: / Line 78: @@
 Because Moore's Law moves so fast the first item predominates. But at Free Geek, we experiment a bit more than most with the second.
-==Open source software challenges proprietary software==
+===Open source software challenges proprietary software===
 There is endless debate about what the future will look like in terms of software, but it seems likely that:
 * Open source software can dominate on servers.
@@ Line 86: / Line 85: @@
 * Applications that have small niche markets might take longer, but some of these niche markets overlap with the open source developer community.
-==The digital divide is wider in other parts of the world==
+===The digital divide is wider in other parts of the world===
 For some period of time, a market for the ''unmarketable'' (in the US) gizmos will be the developing world.
-=Conclusions=
+==Conclusions==
 * Many of our build volunteers will fall away eventually as computers become too complex to fix.
 * By training people to repair laptops we can extend this
@@ Line 100: / Line 99: @@
 * Along the way, the lower end stuff could need to go overseas for maximum positive impact.
-=More speculative thoughts=
+==More speculative thoughts==
 We might be able to get data on how many laptops per non-mobile computer per PDAs exist in the US and in other industrialized countries. From this data we might be able to guess when integrated hardware will overwhelm computers. That point would mark the beginning of the decline for the build program, which would accelerate as computer technology becomes more integrated into everything. We can call that time '''the horizon'''.
@@ Line 108: / Line 107: @@
 [[User:Rfs|rfs]] 13:28, 24 Jan 2005 (PST)

@@ Line 110: / Line 110: @@
 Various theories on the vaule of the dollar in a hyper-inflated economy exist and thus promt us to considering our [[gold options]]
- [[--[[User:Revphil|Revphil]] 13:25, 21 Dec 2005 (PST)]]
+[[User:Revphil|Revphil]] 13:25, 21 Dec 2005 (PST)
 [[Category: Big Picture]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:24, 21 December 2005
Line 107:		Line 107:

	[[User:Rfs\|rfs]] 13:28, 24 Jan 2005 (PST)		[[User:Rfs\|rfs]] 13:28, 24 Jan 2005 (PST)
		+
		+	Various theories on the vaule of the dollar in a hyper-inflated economy exist and promote considering our [[gold options]] [[--[[User:Revphil\|Revphil]] 13:24, 21 Dec 2005 (PST)]]

	[[Category: Big Picture]]		[[Category: Big Picture]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:52, 4 June 2005
Line 107:		Line 107:

	[[User:Rfs\|rfs]] 13:28, 24 Jan 2005 (PST)		[[User:Rfs\|rfs]] 13:28, 24 Jan 2005 (PST)
		+
		+	[[Category: Big Picture]]