Re: [DISCUSS] Phone USF tax

["Robert G. (Doc) Savage" <dsavage@peaknet.net>]

On Thu, 2003-05-15 at 13:19, William Underwood wrote:
> On Thu, 15 May 2003 16:43:14 GMT
>  mike808@users.sourceforge.net wrote:
> >Any URLs for more info?
> 
> http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/1997/da971374.html
> 
> Appears to pay for telecom for schools...

William is exactly right. This is the source of so-called "E-Funding"
for Internet service for schools and libraries. Yes, it's a tax, and the
only way for you to "opt out" is not to have phone service at all. 

Like so many ideas that started off well-intentioned, E-Funding has
turned into yet another way for Microsoft to cram its proprietary
product mix down our municiple throats -- for money, of course. The most
disgusting example I've seen was Granite City high school. Can anyone
explain to me why they would need a 250-user license for Exchange 2000?
And the hardware necessary to host that many mailboxes? In one high
school???

E-Funding should be tailor-made for the LTSP. Spend half as much for
hardware and practically nothing for software. Get 5-7 years of life out
of each hardware generation instead of 2-3. Give students what they
need: a solid browser and access to the Internet. Along the way, 2 or 3
students in 100 might find "the real thing" so interesting they decide
to pursue careers in computer science. At that rate, in ten years or so,
this country wouldn't need 150,000 H1B visas a year to overcome our
"shortage" of skilled workers.

--Doc


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