"Is Free Cell Phone Service & Internet a Panacea to The Digital Divide?"
Shannon
My name is Shannon and I am a student at
Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. With
the Internet humming with speculation of the launching of a free
mobile phone service subsidized by advertising revenues, answer me
this:
"Is Free Cell Phone Service & Internet
a Panacea to The Digital Divide?"
"Does the world's population have a moral obligation to demand the
acceleration of free cell phone & Internet services in order to
enhance the lives millions of people?"
Allow me to answer these questions while paraphrasing some of the
concepts
from the book, "SMART MOBS." and informing
you of my social cause research project that has
a mission to reduce the gap in the digital divide
Via the use of the emerging technologies of mass communications,
"smart mobs", multiple locale "flash mobs", and other social networks
shall establish precedents in social activism and consumer-demand
economics. The potential consequences could reduce the gap in the
digital divide, enhance the lives of millions of people world-wide and
lend to shaping future commerce.
Howard Rheingold
J Margolin
I am particularly looking forward to when cell phones and other enabling technologies are available in areas in the US known for gang activity, such as (in the SF Bay Area) E. Oakland, E. Palo Alto, and E. San Jose. (Because the gangs do have enabling technologies, of course - it's the poor, honest people who go without.)
It would be as though we don't pre-emptively write off entire communities. It would be as though we actually care about people who struggle, rather than saying we understand the social ramifications of a persistent socioeconomic underclass... and then judging which markets to open based on projected advertising revenues.
Filled with hope on this beautiful first day of school,
-Jessica
Jessica Margolin
Margolin Consulting
www.margolin-consulting.com
510 709 8267
Mark Elliott
mark
-----
Mark Elliott
PhD Candidate
The Centre for Ideas
Victorian College of the Arts
The University of Melbourne
234 St Kilda Rd
SOUTHBANK 3006
Victoria, Australia
Mob: 0421 978 501
http://mark-elliott.net/, http://metacollab.net/
m...@mark-elliott.net
J Margolin
I know this definitively from a woman who used to teach third grade in the area who commented that sometimes the free lunch US schools provide is the only definite meal of the day.
-j
Mark Elliott
J Margolin
So I can't miss the opportunity to plug this:
http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/03/31/wiltenburg/
Long story short, in one of their programs, they teach at-risk teens to measure health-related environmental variables, then how to create a presentation for their councilmember, who is then able to bring in more funds for improvements. End result: teens who would otherwise almost definitely be destructive are instead empowered, neighborhood is improved, teens learn science, presentation, and political skills that allow them to catch up in an "absolute" sense as well.
Mark Elliott
mark
Sam Rose
that a huge factor in Compassion Fatigue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion_fatigue
is the reality that people feel like there is nothing they can *do*
about the problems being reported.
I feel that if people could see a pathway towards doing something, and
see tangible results from their efforts, they would be more receptive
to hearing about dire problems.
On Sep 6, 7:44 pm, "J Margolin" <jmargo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I think more sadly people just don't want to hear bad news and certainly
> there's fatigue on these issues.
>
> So I can't miss the opportunity to plug this:
>
> http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/03/31/wiltenburg/
>
> Long story short, in one of their programs, they teach at-risk teens to
> measure health-related environmental variables, then how to create a
> presentation for their councilmember, who is then able to bring in more
> funds for improvements. End result: teens who would otherwise almost
> definitely be destructive are instead empowered, neighborhood is improved,
> teens learn science, presentation, and political skills that allow them to
> catch up in an "absolute" sense as well.
>
> On 9/6/07, Mark Elliott <mark.alan.elli...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > seems that keeping such voices silent could work in favor for the
> > conservative government and its agendas...
>
> > mark
>
> > On 9/6/07, J Margolin < jmargo...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Yes. Lunch is too expensive for the locals of these areas.
>
> > > I know this definitively from a woman who used to teach third grade in
> > > the area who commented that sometimes the free lunch US schools provide is
> > > the only definite meal of the day.
>
> > > -j
>
> > > On 9/5/07, Mark Elliott < mark.alan.elli...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > > Jessica - i'm not sure i understand, is cell phone access too
> > > > expensive for the locals of these areas?
>
> > > > mark
>
> > > >http://mark-elliott.net/,http://metacollab.net/
> > > > m...@mark-elliott.net
>
> > > --
> > > Jessica Margolin
> > > Margolin Consulting
> > >www.margolin-consulting.com
> > > 510 709 8267
>
> > --
> > -----
> > Mark Elliott
> > PhD Candidate
>
> > The Centre for Ideas
> > Victorian College of the Arts
> > The University of Melbourne
> > 234 St Kilda Rd
> > SOUTHBANK 3006
> > Victoria, Australia
>
> > Mob: 0421 978 501
> >http://mark-elliott.net/,http://metacollab.net/
hellekin
>
> I am glad you mentioned fatigue. I am starting to think more and more
> that a huge factor in Compassion Fatigue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion_fatigue
> is the reality that people feel like there is nothing they can *do*
> about the problems being reported.
>
> I feel that if people could see a pathway towards doing something, and
> see tangible results from their efforts, they would be more receptive
> to hearing about dire problems.
>
I just read a paper that hints about why collective action is not taken when
all elements seem to fall into place.
"What you know is who you know? Communication Patterns Among Resource Users
as a Prerequisite for Co-management" by Beatrice Crona and Örjan Bodin
http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss2/art7/
*
One sentence summary: "This study identifies a distinct pattern of
correlation between the distribution of local ecological knowledge (LEK)
help by resource users and the social network for communication of resource
related knowledge and information."
*
Some excerpts:
"It is argued that tacit or complex knowledge transfer requires frequent and
intense interactions (Hansen 1999, Reagans and McEvily 2003), thus, only
fairly tight groups are likely to develop complex group-specific knowledge.
If communication links are more diversely distributed among actors as
observed among the other fishermen categories, the possibility to maintain
group-specific knowledge is reduced"
"The community in focus has not initiated any collective action to reduce
fishing pressure or use of destructive gear. This is due, in part, to a lack
of empowerment of the community vis à vis the government with regard to
management of natural resources. However, we propose that observed network
structures may also serve as an explanation."
Then they go on described the central group in the fishermen network, which
"daily target" is less vulnerable to local changes than for other fishermen,
hence they don't *perceive* any over-exploitation as others may. That is,
if there is no local stimulus, then there is no problem -- it sounds like
the Shadoks, a French satyrical cartoon: "if there's a problem, there's a
solution. If there's no solution, then there's no problem."
*
One paragraph summary: "Our results demonstrate that structures in
relational networks are important for identifying central and potentially
influential actors. They also indicate that incentives and attributes,
enabling these actors to emerge as leaders and coordinate and instigate
collective action, are essential for successul co-management. Without the
appropriate incentives and knowledge, favorably positioned actors will not
exploit their positions to initiate collective action."
*
"In this study this was exemplified by the centrally positioned group of
deep-sea fishermen who have not taken any initiatives to regulate resource
extraction. As such they may in fact act as barriers for collective action
since highly motivated, but less central actors, have difficulty initiating
action due to their less favorable positions. Furthermore, potentially
influential actors, here represented by local buisnessmen, are loosely tied
to the communication network of resource extractors. Thus, their lack of
knowledge and access to information on resource status is likely to
negatively affect their incentive to engage in collective action initiatives
even though they could play an instrumental role theough their ties to
village committees and other institutional hierarchies."
The article also mentions the complimentarity of centralized and
decentralized networks. Centralized networks are better for simple tasks and
for bootstrapping action, but decentralized are better for solving complex
problems.
==
hk
Robert Thomas beau Hayes Link
CoCos,
I've posted a plug for SSRN: Social Sciences Resource Network. I'm also
familiar with PLoS one, thanks to one of our CoCo members. I thought
I'd query the group for any other such known _open_ repositories of
research.
Thanks!
--
Robert Thomas "beau" Hayes Link
(c)2007ISR http://www.semanticrestructuring.com
Fix the Mistake! http://repeal-aumf.org
Stephan Dohrn
In that the Directory of open access journals might be of interest and there is obviously the Digital Library of the Commons.
Stephan
cell: 202 294 4055
Skype & gtalk: stephandohrn
http://del.icio.us/sdohrn
Robert Thomas beau Hayes Link
> here is a list of information resources:
> http://www.ifpri.org/library/devresources.asp
include that list and the partners page at Science Commons.
Now I find myself asking why the preference for something like SSRN
over, say, wikipedia or a blog? It _is_ my preference, but I can't
explicate it well. Part has to do with the explosion of content and the
need for some kind of filtering/sorting method. Work intended for
ultimate consumption in scholarly journals seems to carry a certain
filtering effect on its own. Increasingly the problem isn't getting
hits in our search but tightening the search to a useful set of hits.
Peace,
Robert
sorm
discussion? Just joking..... but to get back on topic, answer me
this: Which platform has the inside track of potentially becoming a
panacea to the digital divide? The under $200.00 OLPC or the free
cell phone & Internet service platform subsidized with commercial
advertising?
Personally, I like the added convenience of the telephone with my
Internet access. In a few years the OLPC platform is going to be
obsolete.
http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/competition/google_gphone_laptop_competitor.html
J Margolin
We can talk about how wonderful transparency and distributed data is, but I think the swarm behavior message is a great potential antidote to fatigue, as it encourages people to just do what they feel is the right thing to do (and sometimes we have to choose between what is right and what is easy, to paraphrase JK Rowlings' spokesmouth Dumbledore), and somehow it will all work out.
Given swarm intelligence, people don't *have* to understand the larger issues, and they don't have to pick a leader to follow. They just have to make sure their own interactions are honorable and beneficial. In other words: Do what is right and don't give up hope / you're not foolish for having hope.
-J
J Margolin
Which platform has the inside track of potentially becoming a
panacea to the digital divide? The under $200.00 OLPC or the free
cell phone & Internet service platform subsidized with commercial
advertising?
Putting a star on someone's belly will not close the digital divide, just relocate it. With visibility will come abhorence; the star-bellied sneetches will queue up to have their stars removed.
If you want to bridge the digital divide, bridge understanding among the starred and plain-bellied sneetches.
-Jessica
J Margolin
--
hellekin
>
> Given swarm intelligence, people don't *have* to understand the larger
> issues, and they don't have to pick a leader to follow. They just have to
> make sure their own interactions are honorable and beneficial. In other
> words: Do what is right and don't give up hope / you're not foolish for
> having hope.
>
is locally beneficial often leads to global disasters. E.g. the "biofuel"
"solution" to "oil dependency" leading to more CO2 emissions at production
time, farming land loss, polluted water for a negligible* energetical
gain... So, understanding the larger issues seems fundamental to me. Other
examples include big distribution (cheaper, but at a social cost),
eat-more-fruits-and-vegetables (but they come from the other side of the
planet, and out of season), the war on drugs (destroying traditional
cultures to replace them with "biofuel" or other agricultural products for
export), obsolescence built-in manufactured products, and of course "the
market does it better" (aka. enclosure of the commons).
Leadership is not necessarily a bad thing. Domination is.
* negligible compared to the ecosystem damage, especially when nothing is
done to make cars consume less.
==
hk
Mark Elliott
So then the problem becomes in some sense philosophical - is an equal and just world of humans possible. This of course does not mean that i feel such concerns and solutions shouldn't be forefront in our minds - this is precisely the domain of cultural evolution (if you go in for that sort of thing :-) and is what marks in many respects the 'development' or 'progress' of humanity.
I suppose what it does mean is that quick, killer app type fixes are unlikely to disappear the digital divide on such a large scale levels, however, i'm sure we can all attest to the power of information and cultural connection and access...
mark
Robert Thomas beau Hayes Link
> So then the problem becomes in some sense philosophical - is an equal and
> just world of humans possible.
human organization reliant on specialized knowledge and experience there
will be inequality. The more reliance on such specialized knowledge the
greater the need for hierarchy. We could go back to hunting and
gathering, the communal "golden age", and forgo smallpox vaccines and
Bach. Or we can work for justice in the society we have. But
substantive equality, of ability or opportunity or power? Systemically
impossible if we wish to sustain our currently cherished cultural
artifacts such as, for instance, the net.
Also of interest is the observation that equality can be an objective
standard or, as in the case of "all men are created equal" a
philosophical construct. Justice is always a construct.
Peace,
Robert
Francisco Valadez Fernandez
Biol. Francisco Valadez Fernández
PSP, Subgerencia de Reforestación
-----Mensaje original-----
De: Cooperati...@googlegroups.com [mailto:Cooperati...@googlegroups.com] En nombre de Robert Thomas beau Hayes Link
Enviado el: Jueves, 13 de Septiembre de 2007 09:49 a.m.
Para: Cooperati...@googlegroups.com
Asunto: Re: "Is Free Cell Phone Service & Internet a Panacea to The Digital Divide?"
Mark Elliott
Francisco - thanks for jumping in! From what you know, for those in your country who do have cell phones, do you think their lives are improved? That is, do you see evidence that the phones are thus far bridging the digital divide in any way? And for that matter, what do you think about what i just asked Robert?
Ah, I just remembered after asking all these questions that i'm going to be away from the computer for a few days (going to the beach!), but I will return to the conversation as soon as i am able!
mark
sorm
On Sep 11, 4:25 pm, "J Margolin" <jmargo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> If you want to bridge the digital divide, bridge understanding among the....
Speaking of understanding, the One Laptop Per Child project is
contrary to the going trend among school-aged students. Having a cell
phone with Internet services is a must.
In light of the speculation of potential free cell phone & Internet
services, allow me to suggest that the cell phone platform is the
direction to proceed forward. Even before I started to write this
response, the One Laptop Per Child computer platform was obsolete.
Why spend the money on an obsolete platform that
school-aged people don't want?
On Sep 11, 4:25 pm, "J Margolin" <jmargo...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Which platform has the inside track of potentially becoming a
> > panacea to the digital divide? The under $200.00 OLPC or the free
> > cell phone & Internet service platform subsidized with commercial
> > advertising?
>
> Neither. The digital divide is a manifestation of the star-bellied
> sneetches <http://www.uulongview.com/sermons/bellies_with_stars.html> vs.
> the plain-bellied sneetches.
>
> Putting a star on someone's belly will not close the digital divide, just
> relocate it. With visibility will come abhorence; the star-bellied sneetches
> will queue up to have their stars removed.
>
> If you want to bridge the digital divide, bridge understanding among the
> starred and plain-bellied sneetches.
>
> -Jessica
>
> On 9/11/07, sorm <Panacea.Digital.Div...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Whoa ! Am I the only one to witness the hijacking of this
> > discussion? Just joking..... but to get back on topic, answer me
> > this: Which platform has the inside track of potentially becoming a
> > panacea to the digital divide? The under $200.00 OLPC or the free
> > cell phone & Internet service platform subsidized with commercial
> > advertising?
>
> > Personally, I like the added convenience of the telephone with my
> > Internet access. In a few years the OLPC platform is going to be
> > obsolete.
>
> >http://www.olpcnews.com/sales_talk/competition/google_gphone_laptop_c...
>
> > On Sep 5, 9:49 am, Shannon <Panacea.Digital.Div...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Hello forum members,
>
> > > My name is Shannon and I am a student at
> > > Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. With
> > > the Internet humming with speculation of the launching of a free
> > > mobile phone service subsidized by advertising revenues, answer me
> > > this:
>
> > > "Is Free Cell Phone Service & Internet
> > > a Panacea to The Digital Divide?"
>
> > > "Does the world's population have a moral obligation to demand the
> > > acceleration of free cell phone & Internet services in order to
> > > enhance the lives millions of people?"
>
> > > Allow me to answer these questions while paraphrasing some of the
> > > concepts
> > > from the book, "SMART MOBS." and informing
> > > you of my social cause research project that has
> > > a mission to reduce the gap in the digital divide
>
> > > Via the use of the emerging technologies of mass communications,
> > > "smart mobs", multiple locale "flash mobs", and other social networks
> > > shall establish precedents in social activism and consumer-demand
> > > economics. The potential consequences could reduce the gap in the
> > > digital divide, enhance the lives of millions of people world-wide and
> > > lend to shaping future commerce.
>
Francisco Valadez Fernandez
I think for the people do have cell phone, yes their lives are improved, actually a lot of people don´t have car but do have cell phone and they can speak with their family or partners, mates etc. saving time, money and effort. But by other hand, a lot of young people have cell phone and they just use it to talk a lot of time with friends or dates about trivial thinks spending money, becoming in a device distinctive of status quo, so like almost all technology, the cell phone can be very useful or a social discrimination devise.
And about the evidence that the phones are thus far bridging the digital divide in any way, I don´t think so, may be opposite, for example, at rural places with indigenous people here in México (there are about of 11 millions of indigenous) a lot of them can have cell phone and use it for save time, money and effort, because usually theirs communities are so far and margined; but by other hand there was a government program last President Fox administration called e-media, that was about introduce to the rural and urban schools screens with digital technology that help to the teachers and students to understand better theirs lessons, the only great problem was that rural and indigenous people don´t have electricity on many communities, and many of them don´t know and don´t want use digital devices, so the program was a really disappointment failure, spending millions of dollars. Nevertheless the cell phone can and do it, initiate the digital technology employ among the rural people more quickly and effective than any body could believe, don´t you think? Besides it to require more time, electricity and skills to operate a lap top than a cell phone….
And for last, about the Robert question the answer is yes I think…
Saludos desde Guadalajara, Jalisco, México.
Biol. Francisco Valadez Fernández
PSP, Subgerencia de Reforestación
sorm
that is being used to promote this research cause.
<script language="JavaScript" src="http://media.nowpublic.com/js/
6dcf6f312aef3522a384c0284b3f19d3.js"></script>
On Sep 5, 9:49 am, Shannon <Panacea.Digital.Div...@gmail.com> wrote:
panacea.dig...@gmail.com
Here is a link to a social networking site that is being used to promote this cause research canpaign
http://www.nowpublic.com/panacea-digital-divide
J Margolin
Social Entrepreneurialism is (currently) like building a gym. It's great - people can combat everything from osteoporesis to stress, can keep physically fit, and can even meet people and meet up with people to reinforce social community.
Charity is when someone in the gym yells out "spot." The charity-giver provides the little bit extra necessary for the person to finish their set and move on.
Some charity is analogous to the physical rehabilitation work that goes on in the gym: it's not just about a spot. It's about having prolonged interaction that (re)builds range of motion and function.
To me, providing cell phones and laptops is the equivalent of building a gym. It's great, we need it... but you know that the people who use the gym are probably not the 70 year old women facing osteoporesis or the tubby 10 year olds. It's definitely not going to be the people convinced that if they yell for a spot, no one will come, and maybe people will point and laugh.
In a way, it just pushes people who are (physically) marginalized further to the margins, unless a real outreach is constructed meeting their specific needs.
That's why neither is a panacea, and both might exacerbate some problems.
-Jessica
Sam Rose
I have to agree with Robert that "Justice" is a social construct, and
I also answer Mark Elliot's question:
" do you think that corporate capitalism as we
> know it today is reliant upon the 'lower' position of such divides (even and
> perhaps esp within minority world borders) in order outsource and even
> construct a meaningful vision of material status / fear of material poverty?
with a "Yes". I think much of our current global system of business is
dependent on the reality, and image, of poverty.
All of us, if we conduct business, now have a choice about how we go
about conducting business, how we go about defining people, and common
resources. We could choose to try and conduct business in a way that
generates positive externalities, or we could choose to conduct
business in a way that capitalizes on other's ignorance, weakness,
inability to oppose us, etc. We could choose to view people as people,
or as "labor". We could choose to view nature as a living system to be
respected, or as "resources".
Actually, some people argue that we don't have a choice about our
"world view". Some argue that it emerges from a combination of our
neurological make-up, and our environments. I have to disagree. I
believe that this is true for some people, that they cannot choose how
they view the world, because non-choice about the way they view the
world is built into their world-view. But, it's my opinion that some
people discover that they do have a choice, and they either act upon,
or ignore their ability to choose from among a range of ways to solve
problems.
I started working with http://barcampbank.org, and I started pursuing
Open Business Models http://socialsynergyweb.net/cgi-bin/wiki/FrontPage
as a possible applicable ways to pursue business and finance, and
organization of business in a for-profit way, without being
exploitative. The goal is to generate a balance of positive
externalities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality) while solving
your problems, instead of generating negative externalities. Right
now, it is a collection of statements: http://socialsynergyweb.net/cgi-bin/wiki/OpenBusinessModel
feel free to edit, or just to leave criticism.
I believe that the conditions that humans have created on earth over
the past 50 years are now pushing some people to realize that they can
change their world-view about the possibilities for business, and how
it is used as a technology/culture/medium to solve problems of
existence. I think it's too bad that we've lacked the foresight to
make these changes before a lot of bad things start happening on
global-scales in our systems. But, I think that there are some people
who are interested in choosing to switch their world view from
systematic exploitation based on materialistic gain, to systematic
collaborative/cooperative wealth building based on sustainable ways of
operating, just in time to possibly stave off human civilization's
collapse.
I also believe that there are others in the world right now who are
pushing in the "opposite" direction, in response to the same emerging
external conditions. As impending "dooms" draw nearer, I think that we
can see people starting to retrieve views of the world that they had
regarded individually and culturally as previously obsolete.
Both phenomenon are spreading by way of explosions of rapidly self-
replicating, and continuously evolving networks of groups. It seems to
me that the two diverging patterns are both rather decentralized in
nature, and dependent on either the evolution, or the destruction of
the current nation-state-technocracy systems. People are literally
starting to realize that for humans to survive into the next century,
they will either need to evolve, or destroy many of the current
dominant paradigms, and soon.
Sam Rose
On Sep 13, 7:45 pm, "Mark Elliott" <m...@mark-elliott.net> wrote:
> Robert - yes, I agree, and am one who recognises the role
> inequality/hierarchy plays in the many various formations of social and
> biological structures as well as knowledge and meaning construction. Kicking
> on with the philosophical tact, do you think that corporate capitalism as we
> know it today is reliant upon the 'lower' position of such divides (even and
> perhaps esp within minority world borders) in order outsource and even
> construct a meaningful vision of material status / fear of material poverty?
>
> mark
> --
> -----
> Mark Elliott
> PhD Candidate
>
sorm
"Now it's connectivity with mobility that marks the digital generation
divide," said Marian Salzman, a JWT spokesman in a written statement.
"Older Americans are happy to sit in the same place to go online,
while younger people expect to be able to connect anywhere at any
time, without being tethered to a particular location or time frame.
Mobility represents the next big shift."
With the addition of The New Digital divide, we now have five (5)
according to MIT research.
> I started working withhttp://barcampbank.org, and I started pursuing
> Open Business Modelshttp://socialsynergyweb.net/cgi-bin/wiki/FrontPage
Mark Elliott
Of course, 'all' is the sticky point which I think Jessica makes quite plain with that great analogy of the gym. And while a gym can help one's health, ultimately it rests on one's midset, - as Sam points out - as one does not need a gym to improve their health and even if one has a gym and uses it, that does not mean that they will improve their diet. And as Jessica points out, in some cases, the ability to shift one's mindset might be beyond one's capacity and/or circumstance.
So no, I'm thinking that the cell phone won't be a panacea to the digital divide and *all* the problems presented by this divide where it occurs (i'm in between computers right now as I dropped mine and am awaiting the delivery of my ebay purchase and I can tell you that having a handheld online is in no way a replacement for a 15" laptop screen - it's about information input). However I do think that mobile broadband devices will increase the cultural presence of otherwise largely marginalized communities all around the world. And the downstream effects that this has, may just begin to address the divide...
mark
> externalities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality ) while solving
Sam Rose
I think you are right. Presence of mobiel communication technology
won't solve all problems, but it will help bridge parts of the
"digital divide", giving forms of access where none previously
existed.
Plus, thinking about the evolution of input, it might be very possible
that, even on a tiny little screen, many problems could be addressed
by collaboration on mobile tech.
It probably won't work in the same way that our communication is
happening right now. But, we can think about how symbols, menus, etc
could be expanded to access and interact "online" in a way that still
lets people collaborate remotely on many different types of problems,
without the need for detailed written communication.
I can think of ideas about data collection, audio/oral-based knowledge
sources, personal finance, news reporting, voice conferencing,
collective decision making, scheduling, organizing, and more. Wouldn't
be as nice as a laptop, but the evolution could make the experience on
mobile communication better. Plus, access to powerful, flexible,
useful applications could stimulate economies, if they let people
solve problems. This is an area of investment that could gain a great
return for relatively low cost, if done right, and done equitably.
On Sep 23, 6:38 pm, "Mark Elliott" <m...@mark-elliott.net> wrote:
> Panacea: 'a remedy for all ills or difficulties' (Merriam-Webster)
>
> Of course, 'all' is the sticky point which I think Jessica makes quite plain
> with that great analogy of the gym. And while a gym can help one's health,
> ultimately it rests on one's midset, - as Sam points out - as one does not
> need a gym to improve their health and even if one has a gym and uses it,
> that does not mean that they will improve their diet. And as Jessica points
> out, in some cases, the ability to shift one's mindset might be beyond one's
> capacity and/or circumstance.
>
> So no, I'm thinking that the cell phone won't be a panacea to the digital
> divide and *all* the problems presented by this divide where it occurs (i'm
> in between computers right now as I dropped mine and am awaiting the
> delivery of my ebay purchase and I can tell you that having a handheld
> online is in no way a replacement for a 15" laptop screen - it's about
> information input). However I do think that mobile broadband devices will
> increase the cultural presence of otherwise largely marginalized communities
> all around the world. And the downstream effects that this has, may just
> begin to address the divide...
>
> mark
>
> > > externalities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality) while solving
sorm
Software That Fills a Cellphone Gap
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/technology/23prototype.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&emc=th&adxnnlx=1190595611-yH7zHyOVdcDFHAGzXjVHZA
which is relevant to this discussion.
A company named Vanu has developed software which allows a single
handset, like a cellphone, communicate across multiple networks. The
industry calls it software-defined radio and the company claims it can
handle multiple cellular signals at the same time, the way a computer
can run a browser, a word processor and a spreadsheet all at once.
A venture capital investor labeled the company "the Microsoft of the
wireless base station industry." His firm also recently invested $8
million into the company. The simple logic behind Vanu's business
plan is that it's easier and cheaper to upgrade software than it is to
send field technicians to cellular towers to add components.
Other major players in this industry are taking notice. I.B.M is
working with Vanu on a demonstration for a project to bring villages
in India onto the cellular network.
> ...
>
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