Providing Access to Info in Developing Countries

matt writes "Widernet is a program run at the University of Iowa to provide developing countries access to information. Most of the universities they work with (mainly in Nigeria) have no internet access or have a very expensive, limited one. So Widernet ships hard drives with a data dump of about 100G to place on the local network. Students have access through the eGranery. Some the of the problems they are dealing with are how to provide updates to the already distributed libraries, how to provide the eGranery such that it can be setup with little or no IT knowledge, and how to stretch a limited budget and donations. I sadly had to turn down an internship with them, but would still like to contribute. Surely we can help with time, resources, and/or knowledge." And you thought sneakernet was dead.

Comments

Long Live SCO

[Anonymous Coward]

Ronald Raygun was a sorry piece of shit, I'm glad he is dead.

Michael: Please Read

[SimianOverlord]

3 recent Michael stories, with corrections in bold and comments, ellipsis in (brackets):

schnarff writes "Space.com has obtained a sneak preview of the Moon-To-Mars commission report, which will be officially released ON June THE 16TH. The report calls for THE spinning off OF NASA centers as FFRDCs, establishing an independent cost estimation bureau, and (otherwise) streamlining NASA's bureaucracy."

Mz6 writes "Microsoft has launched its 'Get The Facts' road show (--); the tech equivalent of a political battle bus (--); to tour the country and convince the wavering that Redmond is (as) at least AS cheap and (as) secure as its (o)Open(-)(s)Source rival. (and to spread the word that Windows is better than Linux. REDUNDANT) Nick McGrath, Microsoft's head of platform strategy(CAPITALISE), described the campaign as "(')a reality check we're bringing out(')"(PROPER QUOTATION MARKS WILL DISTINGUISH ACTUAL QUOTES FROM 'IRONIC' QUOTES), aiming to tackle the 'myths'(SEE?) surrounding Linux. Microsoft's road show will be in Edinburgh on June THE 17TH, IN Manchester on June THE 29TH and IN Newport on July THE 7TH."

ctwxman writes "For most of the United States (sorry West Coast), this is the season for lightning. It is as powerful as it is spectacular to look at. It is destructive too - by itSelf or (through)DUE TO the hail, straight line winds and tornadoes that often accompany it(REVISE WHOLE SENTENCE). (As someone who forecasts the weather) As a weather forecaster, I'm often asked about lightning. As you might imagine, there's plenty to (see)READ about lightning on the Internet. The conditions necessary and a little bit of the physics behind lightning are explained by Jeff Haby, a meteorologist (one of my professors actually) at Mississippi State University (REVISE SENTENCE). Once forecasters get a handle on what's going on, they put the word out through the Storm Prediction Center.(REVISE SENTENCE) Regular outlooks are issued by SPC for severe storms. Once those storms rear their ugly heads(CLICHE), they're followed with mesoscale discussions looking at the active areas. The Storm Prediction Center is also the place where Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Watches are issued and storm related damage reports are compiled. Lots of hobbyists like to track lightning strikes on their own, and there's equipment available to do just that. Getting hit by lightning is never fun, though not always fatal. National Geographic chronicled an amazing story of a lightning strike, and rescue, on Grand Teton."

NOTE: The latter is one of the worst Slashdot story summaries I have ever, brow furrowed, attempted to read. It should have been revised, tightened up and resubmitted. That is, after all, the function of an Editor is it not? The final sentences read poorly, and do not flow logically from subject to subject. A number of the hyperlinks should have been discarded or revised into a single sentence. It is not the fault of the author, it is the editor's job, and it is not being done.

Michael, if you're reading this, there are many very fine adult education courses to fill in the gaps in your education. It isn't difficult to read through submissions and spell check them before you post them. This would improve the reading experience of a huge number of people. Please sort it out.

Michael, I shall continue to analyse your performance, and I might begin posting "translations" early in comments if the situation does not improve.