On Monday, November 4, 2013 11:07:38 Christopher Havel wrote:

"Need" is a bit of a strong word... but I really really really really
want one ;)

first, what Luke says about poverty is completely true. and i feel you: i’ve 
experienced poverty myself.

that all said, something i’ve learned with hardware is that if you give it 
away 99% of people don’t do anything with it. i say that as someone who has 
been involved with giving away more than a few devices in the past, 100s at a 
single event even :)

we want these devices to be *used*, and by having people pay for them not only 
do we help support production and development but it gives people a pretty 
good reason to actually *use* them.

so that’s the “why i don’t plan on just giving these things away”. 

however, i am very open to the idea of putting aside a limited # of these 
devices for people who demonstrate not just need, but also a plan, and sending 
earmarked devices to those people at our expense.

what i’d look for is:

* a short, written plan of what you are going to use the device for. it 
wouldn’t have to be ground breaking / earth shattering in amazingness, just a 
“here’s what i’ll be doin’ with it”. this will help us prioritize between 
different kinds of projects

* a commitment to post regular updates (e.g. 1-3 times / month) online so 
others can follow your progress. believe it or not, this is a *really* nice 
way to give something back to the community and would be a way of supporting 
the project with your time rather than your money.

for me, such a program would have to:

* be able to produce results everyone would identify with as “good”; put 
another way: no losers, only winners

* be respectful to everyone involved; i would not want to initiate a 
beg’n’grovel fest, for instance, so the application process should be focused 
on positives: a description of my project(s), how i plan to document my 
progress so the community can join in on my successes, etc.

would that work for you, or would you tweak something in there?

i can’t promise we’d have this program ready for launch, but i’d be willing to 
make it happen in the mid-term.