Experimental Free Geek

There are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we do not know we don't know.

--Donald Rumsfeld

So there are known unknowns and unknown unknowns. How do we plan for that? Half baked and slightly scrambled thoughts follow.

The future of Free Geek is uncertain on many levels. This doesn't mean we are about to dry up and disappear, but it does mean we need to be flexible going forward and that we can't necessarily count on current conditions to maintain themselves.

Here are some speculations on uncertainty followed with some ideas of how we can structure ourselves to exist in a fluid future.

The integration of technology and its impact on the Build program

Consider how many people tinkered with cars thirty years ago and how many do today. As the automobile became a more and more sophisticated machine it also became harder and harder for the home car mechanic to be able to do anything useful by tinkering with his car.

Computers, too, are becoming more integrated. More and more we will see systems that work a lot more like laptops than the desktop computers we've been building in the build program. As this happens, computers will be harder to fix when they break, and there will be less components that can be swapped out. The build process will probably be more like the current system evaluation process than like the current build process. Figure out what works and use it or lose it, with very little opportunity to fix it.

Computer prices will also continue to drop. Taking your broken computer to a technician for repair will be less and less worth it. Consider the current state of DVD players as an example. Almost always, these are cheaper to replace than repair. This means there are not very many jobs for DVD

These phenomena discourage the current pool of builders from wanting to join the build program, because the job is less challenging and the market for skills developed will shrink.

When will the volunteer pool shrink?

Dunno

Competition from other eWaste processors

With the passage of the eWaste legislation, there will likely be opportunities for other eWaste handlers to make a profit from processing people's electronic scraps. As new businesses spring up to take advantage of this, Free Geek will face competition.

We will need to learn more about why people choose Free Geek over other eWaste processors, and figure out how to best capitalize on our strongest attributes. We may also need to ally ourselves with other eWaste processors where it makes sense. Free Geek's current good name in the community could benefit others in the market if they use us to help reuse components and add a socially conscious element to their business.

Some patterns of flexibility

The current build program focuses on producing essentially one type of computer system. But now that it is established, it has spun off several advanced build programs (laptops, Macs, servers, etc.) This should be encouraged. What we learn in these smaller production areas might be very useful in the future.

We should look at what people are using new computers for and find ways to explore those uses here at Free Geek. Consider that there was a time not so long ago that computers were seldom used as Internet access devices. A few years from now, they'll likely be appliances not so different from TVs, except with the capability of creating some media as well. If this is a trend that will take over we need to track it and become experts in how to teach people how to use computers for that purpose.

We need Free Geek to be a place where a lot of different uses for this technology can be explored, or we'll find ourselves incapable of teaching volunteers how to do things with that technology. When we lose the volunteers, we lose Free Geek.