rahul, i would encourage you to check out http://www.kentarotoyama.org/research. i think his work on technology as an amplifier and the ten myths of ict4d will be quite insightful.
yaw On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 18:16, Rahul Banerjee <banerjee at cs.washington.edu> wrote: > Yes, I agree that this is simply another hardware platform on which > people can build stuff. It is a solution enabler, not a solution in > itself. However, this price point means that one can deploy solutions > for cheaper than with existing hardware. > > I think we all agree that *solutions* built on top of hardware > platforms change people's lives -- cheap hardware simply opens up such > possibilities to interested parties who want to build solutions, but > don't have enough money for expensive hardware. > > I would like to emphasize this point -- the best ideas can come from > anywhere. Once you let such a cheap device loose into the wild (so to > speak), I'm certain that several talented people will come up with > good ideas and implement them. What remains to be seen is how many of > those are useful and improve people's lives significantly. > > -- > Rahul > > On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 6:02 PM, Clint Tseng <cxlt at cs.washington.edu> wrote: >> Yes, but your argument is centered around how the technology is better. I >> don't think I have to point out who we're echoing when we say that >> technology alone is not enough. We could make the Galaxy S2 or the iPhone 4 >> cost $10 and it simply wouldn't make the kind of difference you'd hope for >> (eg, much at all). >> The App Store is not available because you have to pay Google licensing fees >> to put it on your device, which would have driven the cost up. >> Touchscreens are nice, but I don't think any of this will truly matter for >> the populations we're talking about until we see voice technology like Siri >> develop to the point where you don't need to care that you're talking to >> technology. At that point, perhaps it's worth revisiting the distribution of >> generic technology to remote regions and untrained users without caring >> about what their actual needs are. For now, it's still much better to >> actually do the footwork to figure out what people need and give them that >> than to try to hand out or sell general purpose computing devices and hope >> to make a difference. >> $0.02. >> -Clint >> >> On Thursday, October 6, 2011 at 3:16 PM, Rahul Banerjee wrote: >> >> Against a cell phone, the tablet's screen is a compelling argument. >> >> However, I don't know if really poor people (who are mostly >> illiterate) would go for a tablet over a *television* -- I've observed >> that even people living in illegally constructed shacks next to train >> tracks always have a DTH antenna dish sticking out from the roof. My >> belief is that: >> 1. TV's are dead simple to operate -- turn them on and they work. If >> you can't navigate your magical tablet's touchscreen, you have a >> magical paperweight. >> 2. There's decent infrastructure in place (in India) to get a >> direct-to-home subscription. I've been to some pretty remote places in >> India (places that are accessible only using off-road vehicles and are >> completely cut-off for three months during winter) and nearly all >> these houses had dish antennas. AFAIK, 3G-based data plans aren't that >> ubiquitous yet (you could only get them in certain cities in India >> last time I checked -- about 2 months ago). >> >> The battery question is an interesting one -- I read a review which >> stated that the battery life is two hours. I've observed in urban >> slums that (illegally) hooking up wires to overhead electricity supply >> cables (a dangerous practice, to be sure) is common. I'm not claiming >> that this is the norm everywhere, but financial pressure often >> eliminates batteries anyway :) >> >> I'm going to keep on harping on the "poor but intelligent/talented >> student" angle. These are the people who'll benefit the most from such >> a device. Imagine being able to read textbooks on this! Btw, I also >> discovered in the review that the App Store / Marketplace is disabled, >> which is *not cool*. Maybe they don't expect the target users to have >> connectivity, but this severely limits the platform. There are a ton >> of free apps out there which the users cannot get, and now custom >> delivery platforms will have to be built for every project (I'm >> thinking of textbooks, telemedicine, the fieldwork apps like the >> Verbal Autopsy stuff, etc) >> >> I've rambled enough here. My summary would be that this is a giant >> step forward, but the poorest of the poor (think indigent poverty) >> won't magically lift themselves out of poverty using this one device. >> However, it does generate lots of exciting possibilities for >> "slightly-better-off" segments and it can be an enabling device for >> several projects on a shoestring budget. >> >> -- >> Rahul >> >> On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 1:00 PM, Fritz Meissner <fritz.meissner at gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >> Just brainstorming a hypothetically compelling reason: consumption of >> locally-made movies, which I'm given to understand?currently happens >> wholesale on cellphones in India. Would the move to tablet form, i.e. bigger >> screen and (one would hope) better sound, make for a massively improved >> experience? >> The Aakash could be a better investment than a TV / DVD player, given the >> greater capacity and reusability of USB or SD cards compared to DVDs. Of >> course, the TV has a bigger screen, but it doesn't run on batteries. How >> much would a TV cost? >> >> Fritz >> >> On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 3:15 PM, Jerome White <jerome at cs.caltech.edu> >> wrote: >> >> 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 >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 >
