Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Bringing Connectivity to Under-Served Communities

Aaron Sundsmo's call for low-cost, low-bandwidth email technology is exactly what VITA pushed for many years through the low orbiting satellite store-and-forward email system designed for remote areas. We had wonderful demos using this technology, but, sadly, the technology could not be commerciali

[GKD-DOTCOM] Social Networking via Low Bandwidth Connections

Dear GKD colleagues, I'm very happy to learn of this discussion, and of the many people working on these issues. My name is Andrius Kulikauskas and in 1998 I founded Minciu Sodas a private business, and open laboratory in Lithuania, that serves and organizes independent thinkers

Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] What's on the Horizon?

Dear GKD Members, In response to the question asked on What's on the Horizon, to us in the developing world it is more or less provision of basic connectivity, integrating basic services in the connectivity and a lot of capacity building. I wish to concentrate on educational delivery and discuss a

Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Using Intermediaries to Facilitate Communication

On the issue of intermediaries, while acknowledging the very valid concerns pointed out by Don Osborne, I'd just like to add that some work has been done to try and get around some of these problems. The "voices in their hands project" by a Philips Researcher, Paul Rankin

Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] Using Intermediaries to Facilitate Communication

Vickram Crishna and Cliff Missen have referred to intermediaries writing letters and emails. I just want to agree that is also how life is in Oke-Ogun. I offer four examples to elaborate. 1) In Oke-Ogun letters are often written by an intermediary on behalf of an illiterate person, often by hand

[GKD-DOTCOM] The Importance of Speech

This discussion line has taken a really interesting turn, moving towards the use of speech. Even though literacy rates are rising, writing and using keyboards and other input devices is still a barrier for maybe half the worlds population. I am not sure that Cliff had this in mind, but Vickram has

Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] What's on the Horizon?

This new set of questions is intriguing. I am not sure I agree with the direction of the questions and the focus on magic bullet technologies. First, I submit that the focus of efforts should be on policy, particularly universal access policy. IDRC's Acacia programme, DFID's CATIA programme and US

Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] What's on the Horizon?

Perhaps we should ask: what could be on the horizon? After all, this is a question more likely to lead to proposals for action that are feasible in terms of their possible payoff in the medium term if appropriate action would be taken now. In that connection I would suggest an examination of the pr

Re: [GKD-DOTCOM] How Much Bandwidth is Necessary?

Vicram Crishna wrote: > Today, villager's messages are being delivered on paper to an Internet > Cafe and then transcribed into email for delivery worldwide by someone > who holds an email account. This reminds me of my first encounter with the Internet in 1992 when I visited the Nicholas Coperni