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

2003-12-03 Thread S Woodside
On Monday, December 1, 2003, Robert Miller wrote: Simon Woodside wrote: WorldSpace is a broadcast system. With a WorldSpace system you are only capable of receiving data, not sending it. I wish to disagree in that we are currently using WorldSpace very effectively as a global multicast

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

2003-12-02 Thread Daniel Stern
After lurking on the list for more than a week, allow me to introduce myself. I am director for the Uconnect Schools Project. Our NGO is providing computers to mostly rural primary and secondary schools in Uganda. Schools pay something less than $200 for each computer, which is enough for us to

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

2003-12-01 Thread S Woodside
My main concern about WorldSpace is that it is billed as a communication system. Most electronic communication systems are two-way, they allow conversations. But WorldSpace is one-way. It is, in fact, a broadcasting system, not a communications system. Just as you would call TV a broadcast system.

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

2003-12-01 Thread Robert Miller
Simon Woodside wrote: WorldSpace is a broadcast system. With a WorldSpace system you are only capable of receiving data, not sending it. I wish to disagree in that we are currently using WorldSpace very effectively as a global multicast solution to refresh all of the Axxess servers that

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

2003-11-28 Thread David J.A. Sawe
Indeed, WorldSpace is not a total solution in itself, but only part of a solution in an imperfect situation. I don't see that anybody has yet promoted it as 'a substitute for the real thing'. Thus the risk of that misperception should not cause us to ignore its existence and its potential uses.

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

2003-11-26 Thread S Woodside
WorldSpace is a broadcast system. With a WorldSpace system you are only capable of receiving data, not sending it. While I think WorldSpace is a great and wonderful thing, it's very dangerous if people thinking it's a substitute for the real thing which is an internet connection that allows

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

2003-11-20 Thread Gary Garriott
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

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

2003-11-19 Thread Robert Miller
On November 14th, Thaths (Sudhakar Chandra) wrote: This brings to mind something that the satellite radio outfit WorldSpace is doing. The idea is brilliant, in my opinion. You basically buy this satellite radio (approx. $70-100 depending on model). You also buy a computer card to interface

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

2003-11-18 Thread Aaron Sundsmo
Sudhakar Chandra wrote: This brings to mind something that the satellite radio outfit WorldSpace is doing. The idea is brilliant, in my opinion. You basically buy this satellite radio (approx. $70-100 depending on model). You also buy a computer card to interface with the radio. For a fee

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

2003-11-14 Thread Sudhakar Chandra
On 11/10/03 18:43, Guido Sohne wrote: This is very interesting to me but raises some questions related to practical use and implementation. It basically seems that 'offline' content is being maintained in a somewhat current state by periodically syncing with upstream information. You mention

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

2003-11-10 Thread Guido Sohne
On Wed, 2003-11-05 at 17:14, Robert Miller wrote: And, what if all the content on this server were remotely refreshed nightly via satellite broadcast with any updates so that those content resources were always current as of 2:00 AM that day and were available to students, faculty, and

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

2003-11-07 Thread Robert Miller
Hello Thaths and Others: Thaths wrote regarding the issue of viruses becoming bandwidth consumers and ultimately undermining the user experience for students, faculty, and others. While I had discussed the technology behind the solution I wrote about, it provides a remotely managed server that is

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

2003-11-07 Thread Guido Sohne
On Mon, 2003-11-03 at 17:26, Ahmed Isah wrote: In my opinion, Cornelio Hopmann got it all wrong. The issue is not to do with selling a useless product that has no demand. Rather, it has to do with whether the target market is really aware of the benefits of the product to them. This then

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

2003-11-06 Thread Sudhakar Chandra
Hello Robert and others, On 11/05/03 09:14, Robert Miller wrote: With regard to Ahmed's note and the great work he is doing by bringing Internet literacy to the students in his university in Nigeria, what if you could connect one Campus Content server to that Internet connection and locally

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

2003-11-05 Thread Robert Miller
Hello All, With regard to Ahmed's note and the great work he is doing by bringing Internet literacy to the students in his university in Nigeria, what if you could connect one Campus Content server to that Internet connection and locally store many times the content in the US Library of Congress?

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

2003-11-05 Thread Jim Forster
Sorry for the late post...hope it's not too late for this subject. I'm Jim Forster, an engineer with cisco Systems. I thought I'd describe a small effort in Nepal that I'm helping. -- Jim 1. What activities are endeavoring to bring connectivity to under-served communities? Dave Hughes, a

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

2003-11-03 Thread Ahmed Isah
Hello all, In my opinion, Cornelio Hopmann got it all wrong. The issue is not to do with selling a useless product that has no demand. Rather, it has to do with whether the target market is really aware of the benefits of the product to them. This then boils down to illiteracy of the benefits

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

2003-10-31 Thread Gary Garriott
Colleagues: I have great hopes for this discussion as the topic is as relevant today as ever and perhaps more so, given the recent backsliding in rural infrastructure as a direct result of truncated privatization processes. Here in Panama we have an interesting situation. I undertook a mission

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

2003-10-31 Thread Sudhakar Chandra
Dear GKD Members, I got back from Kenya after serving there as a VSO [1] volunteer for a year. I was teaching IT in a womens college in a rural place called Tala. I also trained the staff on the more advanced subjects of the curriculum. First, let me talk about the state of connectivity in the

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

2003-10-31 Thread Cornelio Hopmann
Dear GKD Colleagues, Jean-Marie Blanchard wrote: Main barriers to Internet penetration are identified as: lack of Telecom infrastructure, limitation of population income, not adequate enough content and applications, lack of local expertise and population awarenessAlcatel is

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

2003-10-30 Thread Leo D. Waters
My name is Leo Waters, from Nigeria. I recently included myself in the GKD subscription list. I would just like to say 'welcome' to all, and that I am very humbled by the level of information I have just began to read about your involvement in overall IT use-growth in under-served communities of

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

2003-10-30 Thread Don Osborn
Dear GKD Members, Pertinent to our current discussion is the following article, forwarded from the Togo-L list, which delineates the problems as seen from an African perspective. Don Osborn ** Africa Takes On the Digital Divide Africa Recovery (New York)

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

2003-10-30 Thread Jean-Marie Blanchard
Universal Access to Internet: Dream or Reality? Connectivity is a key challenge for developing countries. Until recently, the only question was how to provide quality phone services at affordable costs throughout the entire country. In the coming years, we will have to address in addition, the

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

2003-10-29 Thread Vicente Marasigan
Peter Burgess wrote: There can be activities to bring connectivity to the underserved, but it will never be done with the organizational and funding framework that dominates development space today. The technology is available. The people are available. But the business model and value chain

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

2003-10-29 Thread Robert Miller
Dear GKD Colleagues: I am following up on the series of emails that have gone back and forth on this topic. I am a consultant who spent 19 years with HP prior to taking early retirement last year. My last role was National Business Development Manager for Education and Healthcare and I was

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

2003-10-29 Thread Edward Addo-Dankwa
The E-Commerce for Non-Traditional Exports Project being implemented by the Ministry of Food Agriculture, Ghana, and supported by the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) seeks to: provide efficient promotion and increased market transparency to improve the

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

2003-10-28 Thread Al Hammond
A resource that describes briefly many such efforts can be found on line at www.digitaldividend.org--our Clearinghouse, with over 900 ICT for development projects. Quite a few are basic connectivity efforts--both networks, like n-Logue, EID Parry's Corners, ITC echoupal, etc., as well as access

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

2003-10-28 Thread Dipak Basu
The Moderator has asked: * Week 1: What activities are bringing connectivity to under-served communities? (10/27 - 10/31) NetHope www.nethope.org has a slightly different model. NetHope is a consortium of non-profits who work with under-served communities around the world. NetHope attempts

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

2003-10-27 Thread Pamela McLean
We have been asked to answer five questions, which are repeated below with replies on behalf of OOCD 2000+ 1. What activities are endeavoring to bring connectivity to under-served communities? Oke-Ogun Community Development Agenda 2000 Plus (OOCD 2000+) is endeavouring to bring connectivity to