Speaking of low-cost access (to the Web, via email), the www4mail services have been one of the most appreciated. I considered it my lifeline when I stayed offline (but kept email) for more than a year, and would still use it for most of my Web access if it remained available.
Unfortunately, the www4mail services I know have become flaky and unreliable, sometimes responding sometimes not. A pity. We keep talking of low-cost access, yet when one becomes available that is truly useful and appreciated, few want to maintain it. I'm starting to suspect that some of these efforts are being tried mainly for their experimental and publication value. After the effort is published, or after presentations have been made in several conferences, the originators lose interest, and those who have grown to rely on the service are left on their own. Roberto Verzola Author, Towards a Political Economy of Information Philippines On 30 Apr 2004 at 14:26, Steven Clift wrote: > I am interested in learning about projects that have extended lower cost > e-mail access into the remotest areas - particularly cheaper > non-satellite options. Articles, tutorials, and links to software, > etc.. are of interest as well. ..snip... > I am also interested in any options that include low-bandwidth store and > forward mirroring of web content for remote use or one-way satellite > downlink options that are cost-effective. > > I am working on some recommendations related to the use of the Internet > in election administration and I'd like to include some pointers to > lower cost e-mail solutions for communication among election officials > and observers as well as "remote printing" of timely flyers and content > delivered electronically to places off the communications grid. > > Also, I was recently in Mongolia where the first ISP in the country > still relies on an expensive 256K satellite connection for all their > users. They were looking for any ideas that would help them keep traffic > in Mongolia (I suggested that they mirror http://tucows.com for example) > whenever possible. A 32 KB direction connection costs a business/NGO > something like $500 a month. I am interested in metropolitan wireless > options like iBurst <http://www.iburst.com.au> or Wi-Fi (this is > apparently licensed in Mongolia) options that have routed around > monopoly telco infrastructures in an economically sustainable, lower > consumer cost way. The issue of remote off the grid Internet/telephone > access is huge as well and postal service is quite mixed. ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
