Post #2497128

2026-05-09 15:58 UTC

@jens@toots.nu many people have raised the notion that internet access, and even broadband internet should be a right for people, and sweden has put money in to that infrastructure which I think is good. Currently though, all of our computing is ment to take place in a US datacenter somewhere. Why could it not be a fundamental right to have access to computing power too? I think it makes sense that a source of power (the ability to do computing) should be accessible by all, not just those with a lot of money. This could be interpreted in different ways, maybe the government has a compute cloud you are allowed to run your stuff on, maybe there are tax breaks for buying laptops, maybe the government starts producing affordable RISC-V processors, or something completely different. But this was a poll with a question because I wanted to hear what other people thought when posing the question, not directly spell out my own thinking (as I have done now that the poll is closed).

Replies (1)

@jens@toots.nu 2026-05-11 06:16

@micke@camp.smolnet.org In the past there has been incentives to buy computers (Hem-PC) where your purchase was paid by a deduction of the gross salary monthly. This is still in effect, but maybe not as wide as before because the need hasn’t been there. So bringing something like that back if there is a gap could be done. But is there such a gap today? Doesn’t everyone have access to a computer at home? There’s definitely value in pursuing increased European options in the cloud space. But I think there are many such options today already, and it would seems as they are increasing now in the face of steps USA is taking. So what is your experience in access to computers at home? Is there some research you’ve read that points to an existing gap today that you can share?

Open ##2497129