Sharp criticism has hit the makers of Keepod amid ITWeb Africa having reported about the device this week.
Keepod is a $7 USB stick that can turn any computer into a personal device.
It comprises an operating system based on Android 4.4 (KitKat) while its makers claim it is secure, as it leaves no footprint on host PCs.
Keepod has gained global press coverage from the likes of the BBC and ITWeb Africa after it raised over $40,000 on crowdfunding website Indiegogo to bring the USB to the slums of Mathare in Nairobi.
The makers of Keepod also plan to introduce old, refurbished computers in Mathare to allow owners of the USB devices to access their own person operating systems.
ITWeb Africa went on to report on Thursday that 1,500 Keepods have subsequently been distributed to people in Mathare.
But Mike Dawson, the chief operating officer of education company Ustad Mobile, has hit out at the Keepod project that plans to help connect five billion people who are without access to personal computing.
Dawson has said the Keepod project is unnecessary because there are existing technologies that are cheaper, as versions of free and open source operating system like Ubuntu can be loaded onto USB sticks.
"There's nothing new here that will widen access," Dawson commented on the Keepod story on ITWeb Africa.
"Liveusb has been around for over 10 years. This (Keepod) project actually costs $800 per computer (40,000/50 computers). The crowdfunder had the false claim that it was the first standardised bootable operating system. You still need (a) computer... power... internet etc," Dawson wrote.
Dawson has also written an article that has criticised the Keepod project.
ITWeb Africa has reached out to Dawson for more comment on his views on Keepod.
"Keepod is physically just a USB stick," Dawson told ITWeb Africa.
"I don't know how much it costs to build the centre in Mathare and what is involved (they don't have much public information there). But the USB stick should be very cheap; it's a normal USB stick so a few dollars should normally cover it," Dawson said.
Dawson further added that he thinks providing cheaper machines is the right way to boost personal computer access in the developing world.
"Making computers cheaper is good, reducing taxation on required equipment, having better access to computers in schools and universities. There is the Raspberry Pi which is a whole computer chipset for $35. That can be put together with a screen; there is a new low power screen called HDMIPi for $100. That with keyboard and mouse makes a whole computer hardware set for around $150 - $200 brand new instead of needing to use refurbished hardware," Dawson told ITWeb Africa.
In response to Dawson's criticism, the chief executive officer for Keepod Ltd, Nissan Bahar, has told ITWeb Africa that only supplying personal computers in areas such as Mathare is not viable.
"We think that providing a PC for each person is impossible. It's not sustainable and not scalable," Bahar told ITWeb Africa.
"We say that if you take an unused PC, remove the hard-drive and put it in a place where people can share it using Keepod, it will live longer than any computer traditionally installed with Linux or Windows and that people will actually use their own private, fully features, OS and applications instead of a shared - and often limited and unattractive - OS," Bahar told ITWeb Africa.
"The cost of maintenance is dramatically reduced - no broken hard-drives, no misconfigurations or corruption of the host, no reinstall and recovery of the systems, privacy is kept and people can do it everywhere. They will connect their cheap USB flash drive to any PC in any location and will get their OS.
"We think that trying to make cheap PCs and tablets is crazy, a waste of money and harming the environment. In a world where 85,000 PCs are thrown away each day only in the United States, not finding a simple solution to reuse them is just stupid. And tablets? Really? Try go around Mathare with a tablet in your hands. Guys, wake up!" he added.
On Dawson's questions about why $40,000 is needed to create 1,500 Keepod USB devices, Bahar had this to say:
"The $40,000 are used to buy 1,500 USB devices, to build a hub that will provide classroom, public computer access and space to develop ideas, connectivity, maintenance, to fix PCs, to pay a staff of local contributors that will help support the hub, for security, for electricity, project expenses, and so on. Seems like a pretty good deal for 40K."
Bahar added that Keepod are working with a local organisation that know how to refurbish old computers at no cost at all, and that this helps continue the project.
Dawson; though, is adamant that the burden of bridging the digital divide relies on various stakeholders, and not just on technology.
"Costs are coming down, and access because of that is improving. The more we can both build local talent and attract the best international talent to the problem the better the results will be. It's already happening. A Kenyan startup Eneza education is regularly cited as a leading example of using tech for education (they do SMS quizzes for test preparation)," Dawson concluded.
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