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'Access
to ICT' - Choice of Platform
In terms of the WuC projects, Liverpool
was the only project to concentrate
solely on the use of recycled pcs,
although Manchester offered them too,
as well as new pcs and set top boxes.
The projects in Alston, Blackburn
and Suffolk offered new pcs, while
Newham and Brampton concentrated on
set top boxes.
For more information on the individual
WuC projects, click here.
Recycled PCs
In general terms, recycled pcs
needed more technical support because
they are more prone to break down
on account of the age of the components
and some 'wear and tear'. Sourcing
replacement component parts to match
the original specification can be
difficult since component manufacturers
supply to a market that is predicated
upon upgrades and improved specifications
and the cost of older component can
exponentially rise to reflect age.
Providing some kind of warranty will
be more likely to involve some associated
and sometimes hidden costs too.
However an
ILM project can be initiated as
part of a recycling operation and
this has a currency in light of recent
WEEE
Directive (Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment) directive that
became European law on 13th February
2003 and requires implementation by
member states by 13th August 2004.
New PCs
The ubiquitous new pc has the
advantage of offering an up to date
technical specification, which can
be important for RAM dependent applications
such as video editing or online gaming,
which requires a good quality video
graphic card. Procuring a new pc offers
a 3 year manufacturer's 'return to
base' hardware warranty.
Set Top Box and Net Top Box
The set top box is a pervasive
platform for home entertainment and
access to digital TV services, but
generally struggles to deliver multimedia
rich content and web based graphics
since a degree of content repurposing
is required and this can be expensive
for the content. This hidden cost
is often passed on to the consumer
in the form of higher charges per
minute for set top box connection
to the internet.
However, using set top boxes does
open the door to some 'video on demand'
services and can be an imaginative
solution where the set top box can
replicate the services provided by
a pc such as e-mail and internet surfing.
This has been successfully demonstrated
in the Carpenters Estate project in
Newham.
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Technology
infrastructure
Technology infrastructure ranges
from the most basic 56k
modem dial-up, through ISDN and
ISDN2 to 512kbps ADSL
then radio
wireless broadband and satellite.
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