Free email for Houston

<i><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010820/3556765s.htm">Houston citizens get free e-mail Project attempts to close 'digital divide'</a>

By Jon Swartz
USA TODAY

In what may be the most ambitious project to narrow the ''digital divide,'' the city of Houston will launch a program today to offer free e-mail and use of personal computer software to its 3 million area residents.

The service will start in three low-income areas, then spread through the city.

How it works: The city is working with Houston-based Internet Access Technologies (IAT), which offers a package of software and e-mail services dubbed SimDesk. People who verify their residence will get a SimDesk account number to access the software, including word processing, and e-mail. They could then access their stored documents and e-mail from any device connected to the Net -- from anywhere in the USA.

The city will give residents free use of about 1,000 PCs already in libraries and fire and police stations. Houston residents who own PCs also can access the software if they have an Internet service provider.

''We saw an opportunity in the information age . . . to bridge the digital divide by making computers accessible to every Houstonian,'' says Mayor Lee Brown, who was New York police commissioner and drug czar in the Clinton administration. ''It's crucial to have e-mail and electronic résumés.''

The city and IAT have not formalized their contract. But it will be a 3-year, multimillion-dollar deal, officials say. IAT hopes to strike similar deals in up to 12 cities, including Chicago and Indianapolis. In future deals, IAT might team with Internet service providers such as AOL Time Warner or EarthLink.

Last year, 19% of U.S. households with annual income of less than $15,000 had Internet access, vs. 70% of households with annual incomes of more than $75,000. More than 50% of whites go online, as do 49% of Asian-Americans, 29% of African-Americans and 24% of Hispanics, a recent Commerce Department report shows.

Houston's program is the latest to encourage Internet use among minorities, the poor and people in rural areas.

''We expect to have (people) standing in line to use the Internet,'' says Denny Piper, the city's chief information officer.

Tech companies are also taking steps to close the digital divide. Among them:

* Microsoft. The software giant last year announced it will donate $100 million in cash and software over 5 years to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to build 3,000 centers where kids can use PCs.

* Sun Microsystems. It gives $1 million annually in computers and software to low-income schools in California, Colorado and Massachusetts.

* Oracle. The database firm has donated Internet appliances, network equipment and printers to 2,500 classrooms the past 3 years.

But the economic slowdown has reduced giving by some companies. Also, government funding could be cut. For the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, the Commerce Department proposes cutting the Technology Opportunities Program to $15 million from $42.5 million. In part, it is aimed at providing more Internet access to minorities.
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I'm not against anyone using computers, but frankly, I see no need for this. There are a wealth of private companies that give email addresses for free, and computer usage is available to the public at libraries already.

I believe this is just an attempt to make some headlines and give Mayor Lee Brown something to say in his campaign speeches about how he brought Houston into the 21st century, giving everyone access to the tools of information. But obviously, this isn't gonna be free, and God knows that when the government tries to do something like this, it costs 3 times as much as it should, and doesn't work particularly well either.

In my opinion, this is up there with that big billboard in terms of uselessness. And who's gonna pay for all the staffing, maintaining servers, and doing helpdesk calls? Well, it's nice to know that we're wasting money at a good clip . . .

 

I agree, in one sense. But, there are already things like this as well online, and I have NEVER used one that was worth anything, and just because this is "the city of Houston's", would be any better? I doubt it. And either way, I have seen online wordprocessing places for free in the past. I will have to check to see if they're still up though.

I am all for helping poorer people have access to computing resources, but I think this is a bad idea. Heck, if we wanted to give people a mediocre word-processor, we could use <a href="http://www.abisource">AbiWord</a>, and it would be free, and probably work better. The money saved could be used to buy more computers.

 

The thing is Jeff, I understand all about the lack of computer exposure that so many underpriviledge people are faced with. I've talked with people from schools in Laredo where they don't have computers, but cardboard boxes with computer shapes painted on them, so they can teach students what to do if they encounter one.

The simple fact is that this won't make computers any easier to use, or any more proficient. All it does is give people access to certain tools that they can use when at a public library, police or fire station. There is nothing about increasing exposure in this, only increasing capabilities to a small extent.

But we can already access the internet at those locations, and this plan doesn't increase the number of computers or their capacity (at least, not from the description). Rather, it provides some tools to use with the computers. No one will be taught how to use it. The same people who don't use computers now, likely won't use them after this. The opportunity is there, it's just not utilized. Perhaps the problem is just that the computers aren't accessible enough. I was at the public library recently (the central, downtown one), and there were tons of people using the internet terminals. People had to stand, but it was very well done -- nicer than at the downtown library in San Antonio, where using the computers is like asking to see God.

I'd propose a counter plan to this. Rather than spending millions of dollars creating a system that will give public access to certain resources through a government agency, I think there is a better way. Instead, let's put a little information sheet on each workstation, just giving people the web addresses to find such resources. Or perhaps a small portal that comes up as the default start page. I just think that if we're gonna try and increase computer exposure, let's not come up with half-assed shams like this. For about 20 bucks, we can print out instructions and tape them to machines (all of them), or make a small startup page for people detailing some free services they can look into -- the city of Houston has web developers, and something small like this wouldn't cost much. THEN, spend the money that they've decided to appropriate to this in actually increasing computing capacity. Workstations, server capacity, computer desks and maintenance/setting up wouldn't be over $5000, even at government rates. For every million they spend, the city of Houston could purchase 200 computers, have them up and running, supported, and placed in a convenient location. That would give a LOT more exposure than buying free email accounts for everyone in Houston.
The thing is, I just feel that this is a waste -- that we could do something better with these funds. Especially along the same lines. By giving everyone access to free email accounts and free office suites, you didn't increase capacity, you just increased the tools one can use. I'd rather increase capacity, allowing children to actually see those laptops and use those computers, rather than telling them "Well, if you use the computers you aren't using now, you can make documents and check an email account we'll give you".