Hi all, I'm following with a lot of interest your discussion and I just read this post at ICTWorks' website and thought it may be of interest for it.
Regards, Carlos On 07/10/11 19:28, James Dailey wrote: > Tapan's assessment rings true for me. > > I would also say that in my experience, Technology is both an > amplifier and aspirational. Beyond mere amplification, an important > distinction should be made between an amplification of current "ways > of doing business" and dramatically new ways of doing business that > are a result of a tipping point that the technology allows us to reach. > > Are ipods, itunes, and the digitalization of music strictly necessary > for us? Does it make sense for our society to spend billions on that > while there were perfectly good ways of listening to music? My take > is that it is an irrelevant question - we live in such a world. We > live in a world where people (given a choice) aspire to own the newest > and greatest, and where ICT enables new modes of > business/interaction/service delivery in the real world. > > The democratization of technology, the widest possible adoption, > though, requires a price point and a set of features /form factors / > experiential benefit that - on balance - are sufficient in their > aspirational bounty and their tipping "pointiness". > > This new $35 device, with a touchpad, seems like a great move - and a > huge opportunity. More moves in this direction would include a better > battery, solar thin film on the reverse side for easy recharging in > the tropics, hardened for outside field use (water proof against rain > storms/ dust proof against the road), and lower price. > > The poor pay more for their services (water, power, information) than > the rich on a per unit basis, and so shared access models and lower > cost technologies that dramatically lower the barriers and increase > the availability is a - on balance - a net positive. > > - James Dailey > SEATTLE > > > On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 7:36 PM, Tapan Parikh <tapan at cs.washington.edu > <mailto:tapan at cs.washington.edu>> wrote: > > Ive never understood Kentaros point here, or at least why its > delivered with such pessimism. > > Its strictly a glass half-full, half-empty kind of argument. Of > course technology does not achieve its effect in isolation. Of > course you need all the rest of the things Kentaro mentions. But > an "amplifier of your intent" still sounds pretty awesome to me. > This is what Steve Jobs was trying to do for us, and what we are > trying (successfully or unsuccessfully) to achieve for the poor > and marginalized through ICT4D. Im not saying that computers are > the best or most appropriate technology, but the potential is > there, and that is why we are working to achieve it, and why it is > still research. > > I find Joyojeet's critique much more interesting. Are computers > truly amplifiers, or are they strictly aspirational? Said another > way, is high technology perceived as an end in and of itself, or > do we understand its true machinations*, and use them for some > other higher purpose - the highest being to learn, and through the > process become better people, or a better society. I am sure > everyone who has worked in ICTD has directly observed "gadget > lust" in our partners, users, and without doubt, in ourselves. > > Summarizing my point, the important question is "are u the one > riding the horse, or is the horse riding you?". The jury is still > out on this for ICT4D, as it is for the rest of the World, IMHO. > * For the philosophy and German buffs, see Heidegger's "The > Question Concerning Technology". > > > On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 6:55 PM, Yaw Anokwa <yanokwa at gmail.com > <mailto: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 > <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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 <mailto: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 > <mailto: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 > <mailto:change at change.washington.edu> > >> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> change mailing list > >> change at change.washington.edu > <mailto:change at change.washington.edu> > >> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> change mailing list > >> change at change.washington.edu > <mailto:change at change.washington.edu> > >> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> change mailing list > >> change at change.washington.edu > <mailto:change at change.washington.edu> > >> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> change mailing list > >> change at change.washington.edu > <mailto:change at change.washington.edu> > >> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> change mailing list > >> change at change.washington.edu > <mailto:change at change.washington.edu> > >> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> change mailing list > >> change at change.washington.edu > <mailto:change at change.washington.edu> > >> http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > >> > >> > > > > _______________________________________________ > > change mailing list > > change at change.washington.edu > <mailto:change at change.washington.edu> > > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > _______________________________________________ > change mailing list > change at change.washington.edu <mailto:change at > change.washington.edu> > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > _______________________________________________ > change mailing list > change at change.washington.edu <mailto:change at change.washington.edu> > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change > > > > > -- > James Dailey > skype: jdailey > > > _______________________________________________ > change mailing list > change at change.washington.edu > http://changemm.cs.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/change -- Carlos Rey Moreno Investigador Fundaci?n EHAS - www.ehas.org Soluciones TICs apropiadas para zonas rurales de pa?ses en Desarrollo Edificio de Biblioteca, Despacho B013, E.T.S.I.T URJC Camino del Molino s/n - 28943 Fuenlabrada (Madrid) - ES Tel.: +34 91 488 87 13 / M?vil: +34 666 01 92 82 Skype: carlos.reymoreno Twitter: creym Si quieres estar al d?a de las actualidad de las TIC para el Desarrollo, suscr?bete en http://lists.ehas.org/listinfo.cgi/ticxdh-ehas.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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