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| Frederick Noronha: bYtES For aLL ISSUE #1 JULY 1999 |
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Date: Fri, 02 Jul 1999 01:09:25 +0500
To: nettime-l@basis.Desk.nl
From: Frederick Noronha <fred@goa1.dot.net.in>
Subject: bYtES For aLL ISSUE #1 JULY 1999
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01010101 bYtES For aLL * bYtES For aLL * bYtES For aLL 10101010
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n e w t e c h n o l o g i e s w i l l m e a n h a v i n g m o r e
i n t h e h a v e-n o t c a m p i f w e a r e n o t c a r e f u l
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0101010101 Issue No 1 * July 1999
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1010101010 AN OCCASIONAL NEWSLETTER TO MAKE 0101010101
0101010101 COMPUTING AND TECHNOLOGY 1010101010
1010101010 FRIENDLY TO NEEDS OF THE MILLIONS 0101010101
1010101010 Compiler: Frederick Noronha fred@vsnl.com 0101010101
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RURAL DEVELOPMENT -- ADVANCING TELECOMMUNICATIONS
An edited book, "The *First* Mile of Connectivity: Advancing
Telecommunications for Rural Development" is now available from
the website of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/SUSTDEV/Welcome_.htm
and the book is highlighted on the top of the homepage. If you
have any difficulty with the long URL, simply go to www.fao.org
and click on "Sustainable Development" from the main homepage.
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BASIC-NEEDS LIBRARY ON A CD
http://www.oneworld.org/globalprojects/humcdrom offers a "basic
needs library" with 1,240 publications, free online. The best
description of the Humanity Libraries Project is: a low cost
vaccination campaign against lack of knowledge similar to a
universal polio vaccination.
The Humanity Libraries Project offers a model for an information
resource developed at low cost and made available to all for free
or very low cost. This model is important because a huge "base"
of essential knowledge has already been gathered and produced by
the UN and World Bank, and other publicly funded agencies at very
high subsidized cost by the international taxpayers, yet this
knowledge is not being disseminated and combined as it should be.
Individuals in Third World countries might also get a copy of the
same on CD. Contact Dr Michael Loots <mloots@globalprojects.org>
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INFORMATION-POVERTY RESEARCH:
Information Poverty Research Institute is a US based think-tank
that studies the long-term effects of information technology on
world poverty. The institute's research is concerned with the
fact that almost 99 percent of the world's population has no
access to information technology. The economic, political and
cultural repurcussions of this fact are the basis of a new form
of poverty -- information poverty -- one of the greatest issues
confronting individuals and nations in the 21st century.
IPRI's board of advisors will consist of technologists,
journalists, and activists from all over the world.
Contact us: mail@ipri.org
http://www.ipri.org/
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INDIA, CHANGING FACE OF TV AND RADIO
Beginning with the launch of satellite TV in the form of Star TV
in the early 1990s, India has seen a boom in electronic media.
Millions continue to have no access to clean water or basic
education; however access to TV and radio has increased
dramatically. This, coupled with the transition to a market
economy, has fueled a consumerist, entertainment-driven media
culture. Development agencies, once dependent on state-
controlled radio and TV, now have to define their own space in a
media environment that is competitive and market-driven.
http://www.comminit.com/review_indianmedia.html
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RADIO: PILOT COMMUNITY RADIO PROJECT IN KARNATAKA
"Our Voice" (Namma Dhwani), a pilot community radio project, was
conducted in Chitradurga district, Karnataka, to assess the
possibilities for local participation and programme content. A
monthly 30 min. programme was produced and aired on the local FM
station of All India Radio in 1998. The project involved
participation of local individuals and groups. Themes included
watershed management, girls' education, women's health, women's
self-help income-generation schemes and the impact of adult
literacy programmes on rural life. Experimental broadcasts using
a portable briefcase-size radio station from UNESCO will be
starting June 1999. Contact Sucharita Eashwar voices@vsnl.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
TV: SATELLITE TRANSMISSION PROJECT IN MADHYA PRADESH
Jhabua Development Communication Project -- This satellite
transmission project was launched in 1997 by the Development
Education Communication Unit of the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) in the Jhabua district, Madhya Pradesh, one
of India's economically poorest states. The project uses 150
direct reception systems in selected villages with 12 talk-back
terminals plus a studio and earth station. Programmes on health,
education, agriculture, forestry, panchayati raj (local
governance) and cultural heritage are broadcast in evenings,
supported by afternoon training programmes for development
functionaries. Contact SR Joshi sureg@ad1.vsnl.net.in
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LIST-SERVER FOR I.T. DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTH ASIA
SW-Asia-IT is a list-server for Information Technology
developments in South Asia. It seeks to expand the impact of
Internet initiatives and enhance coordination among development
actors in South Asia.
Archives: http://www.apnic.net/wilma-bin/wilma/s-asia-it
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT SECTOR
India Development Network (INDEV) is a British Council supported
effort working to increase access to relevant and timely
information about, for and by the development sector. It
includes: an NGO directory, project database, document database,
statistics database. INDEV also trains NGOs on web publishing.
Http:// www.indev.org
Contact Neena Jacob
neena.jacob@bc-delhi.bcindia.sprintsmx.ems.vsnl.net.in
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KANNADA KEYBOARDS FOR CYBERSPACE
It is widely feared that computerisation of government activity
without creating database in Kannada will drive away Kannada as
the language of administration. C V SRINATH SASTRY gives an
account of the efforts being made by the Kannada Ganaka Parishat
to fill up this lacuna and render the Kannada language as a
modern tool.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/may14/spsoft.htm
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SOFTWARE PACKAGE FOR MAHARASHTRA FARMERS
The State government plans to link 40,000 villages in the State
with a specially developed software package for farmers. The
unique package -- Agronet -- aimed at providing the farmers with
the latest information on agriculture, including cropping
pattern.The scheme will be given final shape within a month.
http://www.indian-express.com/ie/daily/19990508/ige08014.html
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VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY IN MADHYA PRADESH
The Madhya Pradesh Bhoj Open University (MPBOU) signed an MoU
with IBM, the global leaders in Information Technology to set up
a virtual university in the State. This is the first time in
India that an Information Technology (IT) major is associating
with an academic institution to set up a virtual university. IBM
will facilitate the development of the curriculum and provide
training to the faculty.
http://www.mpchronicle.com/daily/19990506/0605001.html
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RURAL TELEPHONES FOR BANGLADESH
A loan from the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF) is set to
expand the telephone network and put phones in 50,000 rural
villages currently unconnected to the network.
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INTERNET-RADIO FOR THE MASSES
Dr Arun Mehta, a Delhi-based communication engineer and activist,
and his colleagues are in the process of setting up the Society
for Telecom Empowerment, intended as a voice for the formulation
of sensible telecommunication policies. The Society also plans to
showcase some grassroot projects based on leading-edge
technologies. For instance, the community radio project -- using
Internet radio to take health, literacy and other messages to a
populace that is illiterate or does not know English -- which
will demonstrate the use of the Internet for the poorest.
Under the community radio project, it is envisaged that a village
would have a community information centre, with a multimedia PC
connected to the Internet. On this community PC, a Real Audio or
equivalent server could be installed, which in effect would
convert this PC into a radio station, which villagers could use
to tape and disseminate audio content. Output of the sound card
on the computer could be fed into an amplifier, and distributed
over ordinary copper wire to surrounding houses, each of which
only needs a loudspeaker. Or, audio signals can be distributed
from the community PC using either twisted-pair telephone wires,
or the coaxial cable used by cable TV operators. Homes would need
a small Internet Radio, consisting of a simple embedded
microcomputer, a loudspeaker, a microphone and a couple of
buttons for channel selection.
One point might be added: radio is currently a very restricted
and centralised medium in India, and the government is still to
open up community radio licences to a wide range of groups, as
expected.Details from Mehta's web-site
http://www.cerfnet.com/~amehta/
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IGNOU PLAN FOR RURAL AREAS
Indira Gandhi National Open University is considering the use of
satellite-based multimedia technology to reach the large number
of people residing in the rural areas of India. In collaboration
with UN-ESCAP, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
the Pacific.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
INTERNET RADIO IN SRI LANKA
The Internet is increasingly used for broadcasting radio
programmes. The Kothmale Internet Community radio project in Sri
Lanka demonstrates that this a particularly interesting approach
in rural areas. It uses community radio as an interface between
the Internet and rural communities.
Officially inaugurated on April 30, the official opening took
place after three months of trial period during which a WEB site
database http://www.kirana.lk was developed and community
volunteers were trained to handle various elements of the
project. Nearly three thousand rural people attended the opening
ceremony, and for many of them it was the first exposure to
computers and the Internet.
This project combines new information technologies with
conventional radio medium. It includes (i) Radio programme to
"Radio Browse" the Internet. Information is interpreted in local
language, with community broadcasters interpreting information
from selective Internet sites. This makes the Internet accessible
to those who do not understand English (ii) Community radio
function as a mini Internet Service Provider to the community
with free Internet access. Besides its own Internet Cafi the
community radio has provided two free Internet access points at
Gampola and Nawalapitiya community libraries. (iii) The community
radio also develops its own computer database (Internet WEB site
http://www.kirana.lk ), deriving information, which are often
requested by community members, from the Internet. Much of the
information in this WEB site is available in local language. A
collection of CD-ROMs will be made available at community radio
for community use.
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/highlights/internet_radio_130599.html
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VILLAGE KNOWLEDGE CENTRE
The Village Knowledge Centre enables farming families to produce
more without associated ecological harm and create a hunger free
area. The Knowledge Centre is designed to promote the monitoring
of the impact of information empowerment on the health, food,
drinking water and livelihood security of rural families.
http://www.mssrf.org/information village/knowledge-system-info-
empowerment.html
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MULTIMEDIA FOR VILLAGERS
Under the aegis of Project Vidya, Intel India, in association
with the National Science Centre, today launched the first mobile
computer awareness programme, 'Computers for you', for rural
India. Under this programme, a van equipped with multimedia
computers, software and a trainer will cover 60 villages in the
next 12 months, reaching out to over 4,000 children per village.
Bhimtal, Uttar Pradesh, will be the first halt for the van.
Intel has already set up 'Cyberskools' at the National Science
Centres in Bombay and New Delhi. Over 50,000 children and 5,000
teachers are given exposure to computers annually through the
Cyberskools. The Cyberskool also organises a weekend parent
training programme where children teach their parents how to use
computers and share knowledge of multimedia and Internet.
http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/jun/08intel.htm
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TELEMEDICINE IN GUJARAT
Doctors at the Rajkot Civil Hospital 'referred' an emergency case
to the U.N. Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre,
Ahmedabad. But the patient did not have to go to Ahmedabad since
the two hospitals are linked with an Online Telemedicine System.
The Rajkot doctors recorded the patient's ECG using an Event
Recorder, a small electronic equipment resembling a TV remote
control. It can record live the ECG data within a minute and
transmit it over the telephone. Simultaneously, videos of the
patient's condition were taken by a tiny camera and the doctors'
comments recorded by a microphone attached to a computer. Then
they dialled the telephone number of a transmitting centre which
passed on the data to the specialists in Ahmedabad. The
specialists analysed the ECG, viewed the patient on video, heard
the Rajkot doctors' comments, and jotted down their advice on an
electronic pad, which was transmitted back to Rajkot. All this in
a matter of minutes. And on ordinary telephone lines.
Using indigenous technology, the team developed the system with
expert advice from a panel of eminent physicians and surgeons
from India and abroad. It can be used to transmit online ECG, CT
scans, magnetic resonance imaging, Cathlab reports, pathological
reports, doctors' prescriptions, typed and even handwritten
notes, and moving images.
But the most important innovation, is the Event Recorder (ER).
The ER has no cords attached to it. The patient simply has to
place it on his chest, push a button and wait for a minute for
recording the ECG. This done, he has to dial the telephone number
of his doctor and place the equipment on the mouthpiece as per
directions given, and press the same button again. The ER
converts the electronic signals into audio signals which again
get converted into electronic signals on the doctor's personal
computer.
http://www.the-week.com/99jun13/life2.htm
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EMAIL-SOFTWARE 'INDOMAIL' CAN WRITE 12 LANGUAGES
Madras-based Lastech Systems Private Ltd has launched its e-mail
Software - "IndoMail", which facilitates sending e-mails in 12
Indian Languages. The languages covered by IndoMail are
Assamesse, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi,
Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu.
IndoMail, priced at Rs 400, ensures that any Email client
software like Netscape Mail, Microsoft Outlook, Eudora can be
used to read the Indian language mail.
The range of products offered by the company include Indoword,
Indovision, Indobase, Indoweb and Exact. All the products are
available in 10 Indian languages including Tamil.
http://www.economictimes.com/today/15tech10.htm
http://www.lastech.com/
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ANOTHER SOFTWARE FOR PAKISTAN, ARABIC SCRIPT
A web-based e-mail service Raakim.com [http://raakim.com] offers
e-mails in Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashtoo, and
Baluchi -- all are written in the Arabic script.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
INTERNET GROWTH LAGS IN THIRD WORLD
NEW YORK -- The idea that the Internet is the fastest-growing
communications medium is false, said a Syracuse University
professor. "It could take a hundred years for the Internet to
reach diffusion levels similar to that of the telephone," said
Milton Mueller.
The growth of the Internet in the United States overshadows the
reality of the rest of the world, especially in developing
countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, Mueller said. It's
the nature of a technology that is based on services in contrast
to television or radio, which can be used after being plugged in.
"When you buy a service, there are long, extended diffusion
curves," he said. "There is a distinction between that andbuying
equipment." The struggles in the developing world are more basic.
"If you don't have roads or electrical power, it's hard to do
anything with a computer," he said. "Americans are just not
appreciative of how early it is in the development of this
technology." Part of the barrier to the spread of the technology
is political and closely tied to monopolies in the
telecommunications industry, he said.
In Haiti, Mueller said, ISPs are skirting the country's telecom
monopoly by building wireless local-access networks and using
satellite and microwave technologies.
Haitian Internet providers are also servicing a largely rural
population by opening small telecenters -- central points where
users pay small charges for short periods of access to do things
such as download and send e-mail.
"This a model that may be imitated elsewhere," Mueller said. If
developing countries can remove the political and economic
barriers to the growth of the Internet, the economic
opportunities for growth will be huge, he said.
http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB19990609S0026
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MEET TO FOCUS ON URDU SOFTWARE IN PAKISTAN
The Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
[http://www.sdpi.org] is hosting a meeting of the Information and
Communications Technolgy Study Group on 7 July 1999 at SDPI,
Islamabad. Dr Mohammad Afzal will present his paper,
"Development of Urdu Software: Current Status and Future
Implications."
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LINK FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICES IN ASSAM
Spurred by the computer-savviness of other state leaders, Assam
Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta is making an attempt to
bring about an 'information-technology revolution' in this
otherwise underdeveloped region. With 'computer revolution'
becoming the new mantra, the Assam government has embarked on an
ambitious scheme to computerise all the district headquarters and
link it directly to the chief minister's office. This is the
first time that a northeastern Indian state has decided to link
its districts with the capital through computers.
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VILLAGE PAY-PHONES ALLEVIATE RURAL POVERTY
Mobile cellular phones have their own significant
contribution to uplifting the lives of the rural poor. This was
the conclusion of a field study completed by the Centre for
Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn in Germany
on the impact of mobile cellular phones called Village Pay Phones
(VPPs) on a rural community in Bangladesh.
The study covered specifically the beneficiaries of the VPP
project of the Grameen Bank and indicates socio-economic benefits
of VPPs as an alternative and cheaper medium of communication to
the villagers, especially the poor ones.
VPPs reduce fares and time spent on road transport, with a user
saving as much as Tk55-or more than the cost of six kilos of
rice-from one phone call. They provide poor producers and traders
an easy and fast way to check prices of their commodities, thus
helping increase the villagers' bargaining power.
One-fourth of the total phone calls were made by the poor segment
of rural population, implying more frequent phone use. The study
also shows that women make 35 percent of all calls made.
Source: Dr. Bayes, E-mail: <a.bayes@uni-bonn.de>, Arun Mehta, B-
69, Lajpat Nagar-I, New Delhi-110024, India, Tel: 6841172,
Website: <www.cerfnet.com/~amehta>
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send me updates fred@vsnl.com or fred@goa1.dot.net.in. thanks! -fn
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