I run a project called cd3wd which gives free high quality technical development information to the Third World – we are online and also we distribute offline copies through bittorrent . The project has currently 3 million webpage views per year and this browser traffic is growing at 20% per annum. We get a large following among Western survivalist groups because of the quality and breadth of the material.
I am currently trying to get cd3wd factory pre-installed on new PC’s emanating from the production lines at Dell, HP and Lenovo. This attempt has proved fruitless so far, despite the fact that I have worked at Dell and at Digital and Compaq in the past and am using some old contacts to try to get to the Corporate Social Responsibility Sections of the 3 Companies concerned. I also used LinkedIn extensively. All leads so far have gone dead.
My closest so far is Michele Glaze of Dell Corporate Social Responsibility. But I enclose her reply below:
Michele Glaze has sent you a message.
Date: 3/19/2011
Subject: RE: cd3wd.com/cd3wd/ project for Third World
Alex: Thanks for thinking of Dell. However, our giving is focused on a global signature program called Dell YouthConnect, http://www.dell.com/youthconnect. It provides hands-on access to technology and ICT skill development.
I wish you the best of luck.
The deal would be this: There would be one single install file of 13 Gigabytes to be loaded onto each PC. Every user on machine arrival could delete if and when they wanted, or they could install on the PC itself, or copy through external hard drive or thumb drive to other PC’s. It might even be years before the (initially corporate) PC moved into the home or small business sector and the contents were used. It would be up to me and cd3wd to promote information about the existence of these install files and to urge their usage. The manufacturers would get a tax write-off for very little work.
So – what does this tell us?
1. There is very little humanity or charity in the corporate world of today
2. There is the same among the so-called professionals who inhabit LinkedIn
3. While useless and even negative projects attract funding like bees to a honeypot, decent projects often dont get a dime
So – anyone out there who works in one of these companies or their associates – please help. Journalists – please help. Others – please Like this blog and spread the word – thanks
alexweir1949 