Ideas for Haiti’s Internet In the nearly ten months since the Haiti earthquake, Google has engaged with and learned a lot about the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. When we looked at our internal data a few months ago we were particularly saddened, although not entirely surprised, to find that the country’s Internet bandwidth -- a critical component of any modern economy -- was radically lower than that of its close neighbors. At the request of the Clinton Foundation, and with some input from external experts like Inveneo, we recently came up with some ideas for improving access to the Internet in Haiti and wrote them up in this paper (.pdf). They include opening TV or other appropriate spectrum for use, as the FCC recently approved in the United States, and different possibilities for connecting to undersea cables that would help make easy, cheap broadband connectivity a reality for Haitians. These are some ideas to start the discussion.
Solar Power Pricey? It's Cheaper Than Anyone Thinks That magic moment when electricity from sunlight costs the same (or less) as energy from conventional sources is known as grid parity. At that point, the rate of solar power installations may outpace even today’s blistering pace since one kWh of solar power will cost no more than an equivalent amount of power from coal or other sources. For decades, that moment has resided in some distant tomorrow. But that day will arrive faster than predicted because of faulty assumptions analysts are using in their calculating according to a recent study (PDF) in the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Author Joshua Pearce at Canada’s Queen University, argues the cost projections for photovoltaic are far too high given the remarkable advances and plunging prices of the last few years. "Older models for determining solar photovoltaic energy costs are too conservative," says Pearce in ScienceDaily. "There is a very well established economy of scale in the solar industry.
Sloan School of Management | 15.561 Information Technology Essentials, Spring 2005 Sloan School of Management | 15.564 Information Technology I, Spring 2003 Urban Studies and Planning | 11.948 Power of Place: Media Technology, Youth, and City Design and Development, Spring 2001 Net Neutrality 101 When we log onto the Internet, we take lots of things for granted. We assume that we'll be able to access whatever Web site we want, whenever we want to go there. We assume that we can use any feature we like -- watching online video, listening to podcasts, searching, e-mailing and instant messaging -- anytime we choose. We assume that we can attach devices like wireless routers, game controllers or extra hard drives to make our online experience better. What makes all these assumptions possible is "Network Neutrality," the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. Net Neutrality means that Internet service providers may not discriminate between different kinds of content and applications online. The biggest cable and telephone companies would like to charge money for smooth access to Web sites, speed to run applications, and permission to plug in devices. The network owners say they want a "tiered" Internet. What's the Problem Here? The End of the Internet?
effect Internet computer technology third world differs places France Japan essay - 34075 Paper Topic: The effect of the Internet computer technology on the third world , and how that differs from places like the US , France and Japan The Internet is a network of networks , linking computers to computers sharing the TCP /IP protocols . Each runs software to provide or serve information and /or to access and view information . The Internet is the transport vehicle for the information stored in s or documents on another computer Since the end of the 1980s a new era of possibilities concerning information and communication technologies (ICTs ) begun in the third br world . Use of the Internet , at first mainly confined to the aid agencies researchers and some NGOs , rapidly spread to a growing number of users among the general public . The Internet has created access to good libraries and new books , to journals and scientific articles the creation of virtual classrooms is becoming widespread In terms of investment , a number of third world countries now have stock exchanges .
Mobile internet access in developing countries « Conversations for a Better World Monday, May 17th, 2010 - 2 comments Is mobile internet access in the developing world a viable option? It’s time to explore new avenues of technology. I have been leery of getting behind web-based applications for social marketing in developing countries – designing elaborate health information systems, using information and communication technologies to improve heathcare, mobilizing social networks. In a report in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Tom Wright pulls together a set of facts and practices that has me thinking that maybe it is time to start considering mobile web for social change in emerging markets. Wright points to decreasing costs, increased bandwidths (faster connection speeds) and improvements in browser technology (easier navigation and file compression) as factors in the growth of mobile access. It is not time to move away from SMS as a critical feature of social marketing efforts that want to achieve behavior change at scale.
Mobile Internet Access In Developing Countries I have been leery of getting behind web-based applications for social marketing in developing countries – designing elaborate health information systems, using information and communication technologies to improve heathcare, mobilizing social networks. Broadband connectivity for internet access is spotty at best, and the promise of the internet for billions is still a few years away (2015?) if projects like the Connect Africa Initiative, Connect the Caribbean and other projects to connect the unconnected fulfill their mission to make affordable connectivity accessible to all. Then there are the costs of adoption by large numbers of people, especially among the poor. Mobile phones using SMS have been the interim answer for technology-based, scalable health projects designed for people rather than government agencies, NGOs and research projects. It is not time to move away from SMS as a critical feature of social marketing efforts that want to achieve behavior change at scale.
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