" Some people on the list will disagree with me as they have in the past, but the future is literally in your hand. Your cell phone, "
Good to know that you and Bill Gates agree on something. At least for the developing world. Mike ************************* Michael F. Pitsch [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Taran Rampersad Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 3:05 PM To: The Digital Divide Network discussion group Subject: Re: [DDN] PC Magazine reviews $159 Linspire computer Cindy Lemcke-Hoong wrote: > SO... what do all these discussions mean to the $100 computer that > will soon deliver to the children of the developing world? > > Cindy > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > There's a $100 computer? :-) From the MISTICA list, I understand that Argentina has signed up for Negroponte's contraption. I lamented the loss of $100 million that Argentina could use on infrastructure instead, which would benefit everyone. My friends down there saw my point. If a 1 gigabyte USB stick is the length of my finger (and it is), and an operating system can fit into less than 50 megabytes (and more than one can - one desktop OS adapted is http://damnsmalllinux.org/ - also see the standard, http://www.symbian.com/ ) - and screen resolutions continue to increase (and they are) and the power requirements for systems are decreasing (and they are), then I'm sure Negroponte's laptop will get the success it deserves and continue to get the attention it doesn't. (For advocates of the neon windup toy, please answer my previous questions instead of ignoring them.) If we expect children to not consciously break their toys (and they do), then I expect trusting them with a device that an adult can accidentally break (as Koffi Annan did) is folly. If in 1999 (for the record, we're in 2006) someone could build a web server that could fit in a matchbox (and they did: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/02/990210070216.htm ), then we should definitely expect more from commercial entities and NGOs - and if you look carefully at what the commercial entities are doing, you'll notice that bandwidth usage is increasing, that requirements for processing are decreasing for systems that are not servers (like your mobile phone). Of course, Web2.0 requires more processing on the client side, and done properly it will require *some* processing. Some people on the list will disagree with me as they have in the past, but the future is literally in your hand. Your cell phone, which is usually much more than a phone. Phones transmit and receive data. Modern cellphones process data as well. When does a phone become a computer? When does a computer become a phone? The lines are not distinct anymore. I've reached a point where I am actually tired of carrying around a laptop - and I've only been doing it for one year as of February 25th! The 'desktop' is less relevant now. So what about developing nations? Mobile phone infrastructure is increasing (though I must admit odd things are happening in Trinidad and Tobago). Can anyone say that in 5 years the developed nations will be focused more on mobile computing than desktop computing? No. But that's what I'm seeing. Honestly, I don't like it either. I hate telephones. But they are more ubiquitous than PCs, they have a better infrastructure worldwide, they allow rapid voice and data communication, and they work quite well as thin clients. We already have $100 U.S. systems. Most people just don't see them that way. The manufacturers are fighting for the ground floor right now. Shouldn't the future be what developing nations shoot for instead of antiquity? When my technology that I carry with me weighs less than my average meal, I'll be happy. :-) -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago [EMAIL PROTECTED] Looking for contracts/work! http://www.knowprose.com/node/9786 New!: http://www.OpenDepth.com http://www.knowprose.com http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowprose/ "Criticize by creating." - Michelangelo _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message. _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list DIGITALDIVIDE@mailman.edc.org http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
