Computers for under £25 will help 11 million disadvantaged Brits on benefits get online

neoglow · 10 Jun 2013 at 08:39

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-Brits-benefits-online.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Wonder how Crysis 3 will run on these

...(joke)

wnb · 10 Jun 2013 at 08:42

Wont be long before ebay is swamped with affordable pc's.

Ceryndrion · 10 Jun 2013 at 08:51

these scum should be in workhouses being forced to break rocks with toffee hammers, not getting subsidized computers at the taxpayers expense..

rage rage vitriol and bile

oll3h · 10 Jun 2013 at 08:51

wnb said:
Wont be long before ebay is swamped with affordable pc's.

Damn right. The laptops that get given out for free to school kids whos parents are not so well off often end up destroyed or sold.

Efour · 10 Jun 2013 at 08:52

Spec on these badboys ? will they have 3g dongles or some kind of mobile access as part of that isp deal?

marc2003 · 10 Jun 2013 at 08:56

i'm not sure i'd want to pay 25 quid. still, i suppose it's better than the current 99 they charge or 149 to people not on benefit. :rolleyes:

2GHz Processor
1GB RAM
60GB Hard Drive
CD Drive
USB Ports
15" Flat Screen Monitor
Wired keyboard
Wired mouse
Please note: This is the minimum spec that you will receive- most of our computers exceed these minimum requirements

phil675 · 10 Jun 2013 at 08:59

Is this so that people who sit at home all day can get on Facebook?

matt_fsr · 10 Jun 2013 at 09:06

Oh great, so now the people who don't want or understand computers can have £25 machines that will get them online.

So they'll be running end-of-life Windows XP, with no current antivirus and be perfect havens for botnet spam and all the nasties of the internet.

A couple of infections and they'll be riddled with spyware, viruses and junk that renders them completely useless, thus further alienating people from 'online' and 'the internet'.

Great plan, whoever dreamed that up *slow claps*

Mucky_Pup · 10 Jun 2013 at 09:13

When I was a kid, we didn't have a PC and internet until my parents could afford it, I don't see why that dynamic has to change, and people yet again have to be provided with something for nothing.

edscdk · 10 Jun 2013 at 09:14

matt_fsr said:
Oh great, so now the people who don't want or understand computers can have £25 machines that will get them online.

So they'll be running end-of-life Windows XP, with no current antivirus and be perfect havens for botnet spam and all the nasties of the internet.

A couple of infections and they'll be riddled with spyware, viruses and junk that renders them completely useless, thus further alienating people from 'online' and 'the internet'.

Great plan, whoever dreamed that up *slow claps*

yes but it will get them addicted to faecbook and they will then have to pay people like me to remove the virus... I htink this is a GREAT idea (and profitable for me)

elmarko · 10 Jun 2013 at 09:31

Mucky_Pup said:
When I was a kid, we didn't have a PC and internet until my parents could afford it, I don't see why that dynamic has to change, and people yet again have to be provided with something for nothing.

How old are you?.

As nowadays being computer illiterate is a considerably bigger disadvantage at school than 10 years ago (not to mention in the work-place).

RedMogg · 10 Jun 2013 at 09:40

Like we need more dolescum spending their waking hours using local hookup sites, Facebook and searching for "Little Known Behavioural Conditions that Guarantee a Successfully Disability Living Allowance Claim with Easy to Mimic Symptoms"...
Though to be fair, the worst of the Benefits fiddlers already have the latest tech, courtesy of that *charitable service providing essential goods to the poorest of society*: Brighthouse...

*

apeksdiver · 10 Jun 2013 at 09:45

phil675 said:
Is this so that people who sit at home all day can get on Facebook?

Yep thats the sort of thing they will be used for, are they really going to do job applications on them?

Mucky_Pup · 10 Jun 2013 at 09:53

elmarko said:
How old are you?.

As nowadays being computer illiterate is a considerably bigger disadvantage at school than 10 years ago (not to mention in the work-place).

25, what difference does that make?

Which is why schools have IT lessons is it not? And why there's plenty of free access courses for adult learners to learn computer skills? You'll not get me to change my opinion of that its not life threatening to not have a computer and Internet access and so I don't deem it a necessity that should be subsidised and provided by the state to people who couldn't otherwise afford it. Life isn't fair, there are haves and have nots, just because a computer and Internet access is a great tool to have to aid in life, doesn't mean it should be provided from the states coffers.

mmj_uk · 10 Jun 2013 at 09:58

Where have these 11m disadvantaged Brits appeared from? I thought all benefit claimants were rolling in cash with Sky subscriptions or was that just government spin aimed at popularising austerity?

Sharlaw · 10 Jun 2013 at 09:59

matt_fsr said:
Oh great, so now the people who don't want or understand computers can have £25 machines that will get them online.

So they'll be running end-of-life Windows XP, with no current antivirus and be perfect havens for botnet spam and all the nasties of the internet.

A couple of infections and they'll be riddled with spyware, viruses and junk that renders them completely useless, thus further alienating people from 'online' and 'the internet'.

Great plan, whoever dreamed that up *slow claps*

And thus boosting the tech support industry, and maybe giving them the incentive to learn some new skills and go into the IT support sector. genius.

elmarko · 10 Jun 2013 at 10:01

Mucky_Pup said:
You'll not get me to change my opinion of that its not life threatening to not have a computer and Internet access

Nobody said it was.

Mucky_Pup said:
and so I don't deem it a necessity that should be subsidised and provided by the state to people who couldn't otherwise afford it. Life isn't fair, there are haves and have nots, just because a computer and Internet access is a great tool to have to aid in life, doesn't mean it should be provided from the states coffers.

Mindless rubbish.

We should examine the potential economical net benefit of potentially reducing unemployment & increased social inclusion (over the long term) over the cost of providing these low-specification machines.

Finally, at 25 I doubt you are a net contributor - so complaining about 'subsidising others' has a high chance of being hypocritical (not that you need to earn about a certain about to hold an opinion, just when you start to berate others for being subsidised).

[DOD]Asprilla · 10 Jun 2013 at 10:13

elmarko said:
How old are you?.

As nowadays being computer illiterate is a considerably bigger disadvantage at school than 10 years ago (not to mention in the work-place).

Not to mention that 'it's available online' is now the response to most requests for information. The NHS used to publish 'Birth to 5' books for newborns, but now the information is only available online.

What if you don't have a computer?

Most of us here have got multiple web devices and can go online any time we want, but we take it for granted that everyone else can do the same. just as an exercise see how many time you see in a day that 'full details are available on our website' or 'just go to our website' either on TV or in print.

It's a lot.

Public services are going the same way.

UncleRuckus · 10 Jun 2013 at 10:24

Or get this guys, people could leave the house and use the computers and internet for no cost to them at a library.

jimjamuk · 10 Jun 2013 at 10:26

are they going to get free broadband as well then cause they arent going to be using dialup on the governments tab?