Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tata Nano vs. OLPC/XO
On 12/01/2008, Murli Nagasundaram [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Michael, while that story sadly turned out to be an urban myth (if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't) there are numerous instances of resourcefulness one encounters as one wanders about in poor societies where people survive, if not thrive, in the most challenging circumstances -- and here's the incredible part: with their humanity intact; and indeed remaining more human and humane than many if not most people one encounters in cities. I have been shamed many times by the generosity I have encountered among people that many consider poor. - The micro-banking revolution began in Bangladesh - villagers in the Indian subcontinent often build their own satellite dishes out of scrap metal they find on the roadside - An entire class of students gets through school sharing a single textbook per subject; they end up with far sharper memories - The humble streetlamp is the venue for many a night class This is very true. Having less things doesnt mean you don't learn less or have a poorer quality of life. What I find saddening about the whole Tata thing is that this could have been a great chance to introduce an electric vehicle, or even a hydrogen one, one that was cheap to look after and run based upon the use of solar energy. That would have been a world changing concept. In Puru I noticed that all the outlaying villages and those floating on lake Titicaca use solar power above any other source (partly down to a scheme to allow them to pay for the cells in installments). Solar power remains the most promising technology for developing nations and it's good to see it being adopted. Now we just need cheap light batteries or a way to store hydrogen created via the use of solar energy and then developing nations can avoid the whole dependency on petrol thing and skip the mistakes of developed nations. So, anyway. To directly relate this to software / site design it's about working out what is the mininmum you need for the job and being ruthless with the pruning of needless functionality (yes I know it's a bit of a stretch). I've been using Vista for about a week now and can happily live without it graphical sparkle. I hoping gradients on everything is a phase everyone is going through - we don't need things like that do we? My first computer had 48k memory (yes k, not m or g) yet I had loads of fun playing games with it, wrote programmes and even wrote an essay using it. Okay maybe a thin link to the much more worthy topic of the ability for people to be resourcefull giving limited resources and be potenitaly as happy as those with endless resources. Stew Dean *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tata Nano vs. OLPC/XO
Stew: To directly relate this to software / site design it's about working out what is the mininmum you need for the job and being ruthless with the pruning of needless functionality (yes I know it's a bit of a stretch). That's the essential mindset, I think, Stew. And ruthless is the word! The tendency to develop something more complicated than necessary will destroy us, ultimately, if we succumb to it. The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them. [Einstein] (Note that he didn't say a *higher* level is required) I don't think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness %u2014 to save oneself trouble. [Agatha Christie] Jeff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=24467 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tata Nano vs. OLPC/XO
Michael, while that story sadly turned out to be an urban myth (if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't) there are numerous instances of resourcefulness one encounters as one wanders about in poor societies where people survive, if not thrive, in the most challenging circumstances -- and here's the incredible part: with their humanity intact; and indeed remaining more human and humane than many if not most people one encounters in cities. I have been shamed many times by the generosity I have encountered among people that many consider poor. - The micro-banking revolution began in Bangladesh - villagers in the Indian subcontinent often build their own satellite dishes out of scrap metal they find on the roadside - An entire class of students gets through school sharing a single textbook per subject; they end up with far sharper memories - The humble streetlamp is the venue for many a night class One down side of the new prosperity -- and who doesn't want to be prosperous? -- is the kind of ingenuity, quickwittedness and autonomous behavior that didn't take uninterrupted and clean power, water, roads, etc. for granted. The upside, of course, is that people can spend their lives doing more than merely surviving. But even in extreme circumstances, the arts have always thrived, if only as a means of venting one's anguish and pain, a case in point being the Roma people of Europe. -murli On Jan 12, 2008 1:59 AM, Michael Micheletti [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Your statement reminds me of something I read (sorry can't remember the source) about the design of a writing instrument for the US space program. The astronauts needed to be able to write in zero gravity, upside down, in a vacuum, while Martians were attacking, etc. A large program was established; some many hours and millions of dollars later the Fisher Space Pen emerged to great praise. The Russian space program, constrained by budget, gave their astronauts pencils. Michael Micheletti -- murli nagasundaram, ph.d. | www.murli.com | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | +91 99 02 69 69 20 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tata Nano vs. OLPC/XO
Murli wrote: There are numerous instances of resourcefulness one encounters as one wanders about in poor societies where people survive, if not thrive, in the most challenging circumstances... There are a couple blogs on this theme that might be worth checking out: Street Use http://kk.org/streetuse/ AfriGadget http://www.afrigadget.com/ // jeff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=24467 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Tata Nano vs. OLPC/XO
On Jan 10, Ratan Tata, patriarch of the Tata conglomerate in India unveiled what is billed as the least expensive car in the world, the Nano. Not a very original name, but the story behind the car is quite fascinating. Here is an interview with Ratan Tata about how the project was initiated and how the design evolved. http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_t/Tata_Motors/20080110_makingof_thenano.html I bring this up to compare and contrast with the XO project. Both involve technologies, and both have the goal of making technology accessible and available to people who could have never dreamed of having it before. Let's leave aside issues of pollution, crowding, fossil fuels, etc. for the moment (there are lots of good arguments on both sides there, and some very practical issues that grand theories and ideals cannot address). One project was taken up by a famous university lab and the other by a famous corporation (who are hoping to buy Jaguar and Land Rover). Both projects were driven by high ideals. Ratan Tata is head of the probably the most ethical and socially conscious corporation in India; they are respected through the length and breadth of the country). This was his pet project, his parting gift to the people of India and the developing world before he retired. Nicholas Negroponte has a very high profile in academia and industry, and the XO is clearly Negroponte's pet project. Differences now emerge. The XO was created by a very talented group located in the most technologically advanced nation in the world for people living in the most underdeveloped nations. The Nano was created by a talented group of engineers located in nation with the largest population of poor people. The designners could observe the daily struggles of their 'clients' to and from work every day. The Nano is a conventional car driven no differently from any other. The key challenges related to keeping cost of production under $2,500. This resulted in 34 patent applications, many related to the design of the engine. Cost cutting had to be so severe, that even savings of 25 to 50 cents on a part were considered significant. Having lived in both the US and India for many years, I realize it is impossible to truly and completely empathize with one's clients unless one really has been totally immersed in their culture and are able to accept their perspective. I recall back in the early 1980's when we used to use 8-bit microcomputers to run corporate applications formerly run on IBM mainframes. Living in a scarcity-prone society drastically affects one's mindset (in both positive and negative ways). You learn to live with less, and get the most from whatever is available. This generates a nation of MacGuyvers (apologies to non-US list members -- MacGuyver is one of my favorite TV characters who gets out of difficult situations using whatever is available around him). I am convinced that the Nano as it exists could not have been designed in either Japan or the US (or any G-8 nation, for that matter). Whether that is a positive or a negative, I don't know yet, but I believe it is important design factor to keep in mind. Cheers, Murli *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
