yes. metro pcs, virgin mobile, and boost mobile have no-contract $40 a month unlimited and $50 android phones. also, people do have internet and computers. it's around $15 or $20 a month, and you can usually share with a neighbor via wifi. the real issue is that parents don't always see the value of the internet because they themselves don't use it.
they're like the masses of people who got interested in the internet after it was on tv all the time and advertised. (which includes people of all classes of course)
they didn't get exposure from college, like i did, or exposure from work, like many office workers and management did. they got it from tv, and see it as a complement to tv or cable tv (which many, many poor people don't have).
so right off the bat, they don't see internet as more important than television or video games or other things, when it's probably the most important thing in telecommunications in the past century.
now, that said, there's a lot of working class computer users out there. in fact, when it comes to socializing online, i think the working class have been doing it more than anyone else for the past 10 or 15 years, because hands down, the internet is the cheapest way to socialize and meet people. i don't know for sure, but i suspect it's been a very important part of socializing for all the brainy kids in middle and high school.
look at the people being busted for being in Anonymous. it's a mix of classes. they're not all rich kids like Aaron Swartz (RIP).
that kind of leads me into some things that the rich and middle class can do to help the poor. i think the best thing ever has been free and open source software, especially linux, but the whole culture of giving it away, making sources available, and giving away free documentation. i've learned a ton this way, and meet people who have modest resources who are learning programming. a lot of sysadmin jobs are held by people who were working class, too. it's huge on so many levels.
another, which I've done, is just fix up old computers and give them away. i'm sure we all do this. just set them up with xubuntu and open office or something similar. maybe buy some ram. maybe show them how to repair it.
share your wifi password, or go open.
repairing computers for free or cheap helps too, but i'd say only if they really can't afford it. if they can, they should just hire one of the local shops.
Microsoft has done a lot towards making MS stuff cheap or free, and giving away hardware, for people in need or for nonprofits. I think that's helped a lot. FOSS can't really do the same, in the same way, but it's going to get there soon with open hardware.
i think app stores are good. they lower software costs for consumers, and reduce the risks for capitalizing software development. i think the ubuntu software center is a good thing and supporting that by buying and developing for it will help.
i wish i had studied spanish. it would be easier to organize some kind of computer network across buildings. of course, this violates contracts -- so forming an ISP that would allow customers to resell internet links would be a really useful thing for poor communities. also, fighting for legislation to protect this kind of peering service would be good.
facebook's new PAC looks like it won't help working class entry level IT folks, because it will fight to boost H1B. they're also going to push for charters and, probably, reforms to replace classes with online classes. so organizing against that within communities could be good.
I think library-based hackerspaces are also a good thing. Fight to fund those.
they're like the masses of people who got interested in the internet after it was on tv all the time and advertised. (which includes people of all classes of course)
they didn't get exposure from college, like i did, or exposure from work, like many office workers and management did. they got it from tv, and see it as a complement to tv or cable tv (which many, many poor people don't have).
so right off the bat, they don't see internet as more important than television or video games or other things, when it's probably the most important thing in telecommunications in the past century.
now, that said, there's a lot of working class computer users out there. in fact, when it comes to socializing online, i think the working class have been doing it more than anyone else for the past 10 or 15 years, because hands down, the internet is the cheapest way to socialize and meet people. i don't know for sure, but i suspect it's been a very important part of socializing for all the brainy kids in middle and high school.
look at the people being busted for being in Anonymous. it's a mix of classes. they're not all rich kids like Aaron Swartz (RIP).
that kind of leads me into some things that the rich and middle class can do to help the poor. i think the best thing ever has been free and open source software, especially linux, but the whole culture of giving it away, making sources available, and giving away free documentation. i've learned a ton this way, and meet people who have modest resources who are learning programming. a lot of sysadmin jobs are held by people who were working class, too. it's huge on so many levels.
another, which I've done, is just fix up old computers and give them away. i'm sure we all do this. just set them up with xubuntu and open office or something similar. maybe buy some ram. maybe show them how to repair it.
share your wifi password, or go open.
repairing computers for free or cheap helps too, but i'd say only if they really can't afford it. if they can, they should just hire one of the local shops.
Microsoft has done a lot towards making MS stuff cheap or free, and giving away hardware, for people in need or for nonprofits. I think that's helped a lot. FOSS can't really do the same, in the same way, but it's going to get there soon with open hardware.
i think app stores are good. they lower software costs for consumers, and reduce the risks for capitalizing software development. i think the ubuntu software center is a good thing and supporting that by buying and developing for it will help.
i wish i had studied spanish. it would be easier to organize some kind of computer network across buildings. of course, this violates contracts -- so forming an ISP that would allow customers to resell internet links would be a really useful thing for poor communities. also, fighting for legislation to protect this kind of peering service would be good.
facebook's new PAC looks like it won't help working class entry level IT folks, because it will fight to boost H1B. they're also going to push for charters and, probably, reforms to replace classes with online classes. so organizing against that within communities could be good.
I think library-based hackerspaces are also a good thing. Fight to fund those.