May have missed out the cynism "But, at least we've got another device to help us generate publications :)"
I think its an amazing feat, but it its time to move away from manufacturing devices for the poor (whether technical or not). This just limits exploration of potential uses, and i wonder if the existing caste system in India has a role to play in the definition of the product As for politial mileage, if it is for the social good and brings development, i dont mind if you get credit for it( a phenomenon witnessed in the upgrade of roads infrastructure in enya as part of the current president's legacy) I hope that while academics continue to work at getting publishing and grants to work in developing countries, the current trend of "dumping " technology for the sake of it stops, and we leave some good in the areas where we work Judy On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 9:15 AM, Jerome White <jerome at cs.caltech.edu> wrote: > This is a good point. And it kind of depends on how they are defining the > "fringes of society." > > The Rupees' taken a hit against the dollar recently, so it's hard to tell > what the article actually meant in terms of local money. However, assume, > conservatively, that the cost of this device will work out to Rs. 1500 -- > that's still a tremendous amount of money for a lot of people. > > However, there is a "rural/poor" segment that could afford this: those > making between 5 and 10 thousand Rupees a month. In fact it's what some > spend on a mobile phone. However, with the mobile, there is very compelling > reason to make such an investment. A similarly compelling reason, from their > perspective, to own this device isn't clear to me. > > But, at least we've got another device to help us generate publications :) > > jerome > > On 06-Oct-2011, at 4:11 PM, Fritz Meissner wrote: > > > How much is $35 to the poorest of the poor? I recall an economics study > that paid Indian workers the equivalent of a monthly salary, I think that > was 50USD... 35USD is beyond cheap in the West but perhaps still not > affordable in that context. > > > > OTOH if the tablet is locally made, perhaps just the work that the > manufacturer provides will be beneficial. > > > > Fritz > > > > On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 1:32 AM, Joyojeet Pal <joyojeet at gmail.com> wrote: > > I agree with Yaw on this -- sure, it is great that this technology is so > cheap, and one can argue that similar such efforts have brought up new > technology innovations (Netbook etc) and various other benefits, what is > deeply problematic is the idea that this will solve the issues of > development in India, and Indian minister Kapil Sibal's announcing the > project as being some kind of a dig out of exclusion ( > http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/india-announces-35-tablet-computer-to-help-lift-villagers-out-of-poverty/2011/10/05/gIQAPT8PNL_story.html > ) > > > > If you look at UNDP's latest HDI report on India, you may find that > someone should find this claim at least quixotic, given that the country > ranks 119th in the world for what ranks are worth. India as a state spends > among the lowest on education (3.6%) and healthcare (1.1%) and has an income > inequality problem that is by all measure growing yearly, gender inequity is > 0.748 (on a scale of the 'best' at 0.212 and 'worst' at 0.814). the average > Indian spends 4.4 years in formal schooling.. the list goes on and on. > > > > i'm not saying this is not a significant achievement, my concern is tying > this to development in such a way, in fact specifically in the perception > that this could be the state's part in providing development in india. i > think it hurts the cause of folks working in this space at the very least. > > > > On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 7:03 PM, Yaw Anokwa <yanokwa at gmail.com> wrote: > > the hype around this tablet is terrible. > > > > i think it's great to have cheaper technology, but android tablets, > > even cheap $35 android tablets, will not lift villagers out of > > poverty. i wish it were that easy... > > > > > > On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 15:49, Rahul Banerjee <banerjee at cs.washington.edu> > wrote: > > > Sorry for the spam, but I couldn't resist sharing such wonderful news: > > > > http://www.seattlepi.com/business/article/India-announces-35-tablet-computer-for-rural-poor-2203509.php > > > > > > (Actually, the government is subsidising its price (which would be > > > closer to $50), but it's still pretty amazing that something like this > > > exists at all) > > > > > > -- > > > Rahul > > > _______________________________________________ > > > change mailing list > > > change at change.washington.edu > > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > change mailing list > > change at change.washington.edu > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > change mailing list > > change at change.washington.edu > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > change mailing list > > change at change.washington.edu > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > _______________________________________________ > change mailing list > change at change.washington.edu > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > -- Judy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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