Computer Aid has published the results of a study into the best low power PCs for use in ‘developing’ countries, carried out in conjunction with three African Universities and the ZDNet technical labs in the UK. Download the full report. (.pdf)
A community in a remote mountainous area of Greece has created its own access to the internet via a wireless mesh network. As well as serving the local people, free wi-fi is available for visitors. This is a truly autonomous network. When something goes wrong, people work together to fix it. It’s helping to bring together…
The “business and markets can solve everything” propaganda is not restricted to the West. When it fails to deliver, community initiatives that don’t prioritize profit could be a solution. Businesses will go where the money is. CALGARY (LC for APCNews) – Cybercafés are in decline in Senegal. Too much offer compared to demand because of…
One hundred institutions in rural areas of Paraguay with access to the internet. Poor indigenous communities experiencing contact with the world beyond their local surroundings for the first time ever. These are just a few snapshots of the outcomes achieved by Oportunet, a project launched in 2007 in Paraguay that has demonstrated the potential of…
While the proliferation of wireless devices has made accessing the internet more convenient and less obtrusive (no unsightly cables lying around), studies are now revealing the trade-offs that come with convenience. More specifically, the dangers that the widespread adoption of wireless technology has created in regards to our health. Simply put, most people underestimate the…
The community of Doe Bay, Orcas Island, off the Washington coast, have set up their own internet service, with antennas in trees. Using a directional microwave link to the mainland (10 miles), and a lot of shorter links and relays, the network now supplies around 50 residents with 30-40 Mb synchronous connections. “This has been a total grassroots…
Posted by Elena Martin. Sugatra Mitra installed a computer in a hole in a wall on a street in Kaljaki, New Delhi to see how effectively children could teach themselves technology as part of what would become his Hole-in-the-Wall Project. The computer had a cover to protect it from the elements, an opening for the…