Hello!
Just some Folklore!
On Mon, Apr 30, 2001 at 01:34:46PM -0400, Wayne Wilson wrote:
...
> a) For example, old fashioned mechanical cars, i.e.
> those with carb's instead of fuel injectors, cabled
> throttles instead of sensor based microprocessor controlled
You're right, but you would wonder how much sensors you can cut off,
short circuit, etc. and the car still runs, ... well, goes.
> outside of the western supply chain means, no spare parts,
> only spare PC's.
I see the challenge here, to be able to adapt the OS (and
applications) to this spare PC's. We have a five year lag to
"western" civilization for getting *technology trash*.
Five year old Ultrasound diagnostics, five year old X-Rays, five year
old Electrocardiografs, five year old Computers, 95% of them are crap.
I wonder what we will do, when we are filled up. What will YOU (the
"west") do when we are filled up?
Ok. I have been trying for six years to get people trained to make 5%
of the crap usable, don't think it worked, now I am trying to do the
same on the software front. Am I mean?
...
> 2) The capital investment to provide a support
> infrastructure independently of the west is very hard to put
> into place.
Don't worry, we patiently wait for new crap, when the old one get's
unusable.
> a) Look at phones. Many developed areas are getting
> cell phone technology because the west can currently deploy
> it faster and cheaper than wires. But wires would be much
> more locally sustainable.
...
Call me when the raining seasons begin. The few available underground
cables, which are NOT tropical grade, drown inmediatly and calling my
neighbour is similar to calling my mother, 27000 km away.
Here in Nic investment in cable network is virtually not done. The
telefone company is to be privatized, but ever since Jorge Mas Canosas
death nobody would by it. A lot of firms pop up and install cell-phone
networks, from which a high profit can be made, since it is a status
to have a cell-phone. (Soon I will start to throw kids out of class
when they use the celular, in LaSalle College they had to forbid the
entrance of celulars because of the distraction).
Anyway, radio comunication seams the only feasable way to spread a
comunication net over the country. It's easy and cheap to install, it
works mostly with solar energy (the relay stations).
> simply can't work in a world where you are much more likely
> to be disconnected than connected. That creates a
...
Yes, I feel that, for example with GNUe, where the discussion thread
is mostly on IRC.
> stratification effect, were certain places are able to
> afford a western style infra-structure and use it, but the
> situation changes rapidly as you move out of these enclaves.
...
This is a fact yet. Therefore I use a qoute around "west". What
tends to agudize is the gap between live style (better not used the
word "classes"), not the distance between countries. I heard of
iniciatives to recollect old computers and refurbish/FreeDos/Linuxise
them to make them available to public schools in the United States of
(North) America.
> So my point is: Look carefully at what is flowing down the
crap.
> pipe to you and make sure you can support it locally, and in
Serious now. You are making very important statements here, and I
hope that more people will read and digest it.
> particular, since you will use this trickle down technology
> far beyond it's support lifetime in the west, make sure you
> can keep it running for the next 10 years with out the west
> being involved!
>
But here I want you to make a stop. The "west" IS involved, heavily.
Or should I say that "the south" (the east??) is heavily involved in
the west?
It is not posible (yet?) to make this distinction, your tecnology is
my tecnology, I want it or not, because it is brought in for two
reasons,
a) there is no *other* tecnology available, because "western
technology" is designed and built everywhere (El Salvador,
China, Korea, Sweden, Rumania,...), it's no longer "western",
and what get's untouched of it are some romantic islands in the
scenario.
b) The globalized economy requires, that "western", "eastern" and
so on, companies are making buisness here, with Zonas Francas,
Investment, Marketing, and they need to do it with "western"
technology, so they bring it. They also need the country
produce sufficient "qualified" workers to support it, so they
support education, you yet see the line?
Of course this is all mixed and not everybody get's access to
technology, but thats the same in your country, only the percentages
differ, not the main picture.
I promise from now on to concentrate on Health IT in the future, not
on folklore, or to shut up (unless asked otherwise).
Best Regards,
Jorge-Le�n
