Yaw, I just finished watching Kentaro's talk on the myths of ict4d and I see where you are coming from. Thanks for the link -- it provided much-needed perspective!
This reinforces my belief that this is a "killer device" for the tens of thousands of smart students in rural areas who have talent, but can't afford laptops. Forget what the politicians are saying -- it is emphatically *not* going to make farmers richer. I claim that students already want to get their hands on this sort of technology. My own high school had a "computer lab" with Acorn BBC Micros (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_Computers). Fortunately, being from a middle-class family, I was able to pester my parents (it only took 5 years) to get a Pentium desktop computer. Speaking from experience, most students will probably use it like just another toy, with a larger screen. But there are always a few (<10%) who want to "figure it out" and they will benefit from having access to such a device. As one audience member pointed out during the Q&A after Kentaro's talk, change can come from within the community if we provide enabling factors. Perhaps providing cheap, configurable devices like this to students is one such factor. -- Rahul On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 6:55 PM, Yaw Anokwa <yanokwa at gmail.com> wrote: > 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 >> >
