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Open Source Replacing Books in Kenyan Schools

Posted by Zonk on from the only-in-kenya dept.

ickoonite writes "The BBC is reporting that wi-fi enabled Pocket PCs running open source software are being used as digital textbooks in classrooms in Kenya, where 'real' books are hard to come by. The story says that the scheme, in its trial stages, currently only affects 54 pupils, but all of them are enthralled by the devices - unsurprising in a country where electricity is a scarce commodity. The article does not make it clear what is running on the Pocket PCs, but this seems a wonderful example of how the free and open spirit of open source can make a real difference." A follow-up to a story from March.

170 comments

  1. I wonder about the success of this program... by Mad_Rain · · Score: 1

    I wonder how much of the success of this program is based on the fact that there is lack of knowledge about these devices (and subsequently, how to go about breaking them), with electronics being a scarce commodity at all. Perhaps there is also a greater personal responsibility and respect for these educational opportunities, which is reinforced by the culture too.

    I hope that these electronic books work out better than they tend to in more "civilized" countries like the US.

    --
    "What do you think?" "I think 'What, do you think?!'"
    1. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by rockytriton · · Score: 1

      I'm sure they use pirated software and don't pay for copyrights of the books as well.

    2. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by grazzy · · Score: 1

      Yeah, wouldn't a factory printing books have been a better investment here?

      I have a couple of neighbours here (sweden) that are developing a light for usage in faraway villages in africa, they charge during the day in the sunlight, and can then light up the night. However, a slight problem being noticed, is the fact that the africans doesn't want the light on at the night, cause.. its night.

    3. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by vinohradska · · Score: 1

      Maybe, but there are plenty of Books in the Public Domain available.

    4. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In rural Kenya, they don't have running water, natural gas, or electricity. They use kerosene lanterns for light. But what they do have, and they are lots of them, is cell phones. And with cell phones, they can get some degree of internet access.

      I know a pastor in rural Kenya who chares his laptop from his car, and emails us via his cell phone.

    5. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by Fishstick · · Score: 1

      > Yeah, wouldn't a factory printing books have been a better investment here?

      depends on if there are enough readily available, cheap raw materials around (trees).

      --

      There is much cruelty in the universe, John.
      Yeah, we seem to have the tour map.

    6. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Kenya, just about year round, they get 12 & 12. Twelve hours of day, and twelve hours of night, turning at about 6 or 7 am/pm. Out in the rural areas it's so dark, the milky way really stands out, it's beautiful.

      If you've been doing the 12 & 12 all your life, why would you want a light? Night time is sleepy time!

      Subsistance farmers who work 16 hours a day (it's the women I'm talking about here - the men just stand around and shoot the breeze) probably don't want to lose ANY precious sleep to modern conveniences.

    7. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't the amount of recharging during the day from solar energy not be sufficient to power a light all night? Wouldn't it take many times longer to charge it than it does to drain it?

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

    8. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      Not at all. We have some *very* low power light sources now, and the charging panel is much larger than the light source to begin with. From what I've seen of solar chargers, I'd say about 2 hours of charging would yeild about 16 hours of light- no breaking of the laws of physics neccessary, it's just that your light is MUCH less bright than the sun.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    9. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by SquadBoy · · Score: 1

      Yes because clearly the intent is to have them pull all nighters.

      Many of these folks, just like our ancestors, are working from pre-dawn to after dark just to get by. I can see how an hour or two of light once it's too dark to work could be a great benefit.

      --

      Cypherpunks: Civil Liberty Through Complex Mathematics. Those who live by the sword die by the arrow.
    10. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 1

      Those would have to be some HUGE solar collectors.

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

    11. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      To run 2 milliamp LEDs? For 16 hours? We're only talking 32 milliamp hours per LED - your average AAA battery is in the 900 mah range- and with 12 Volt power at a couple of amps I can charge my AAA NIMHs in about 15 minutes. LOW power light source coupled with reasonable battery and a 15 sq cm solar panel could easily give you several hours of light for only a couple hours of charging.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    12. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those would have to be some HUGE solar collectors.

      I can see the reason for your ./ name.
      One less inept would have noticed that you
      can buy solar powered lights most everywhere,
      including Walmart.
      The solar collectors are approx. 2.5x2.5 inches
      square, and the light comes from a yellow or
      white LED. Not real bright, but good enough.
      The ones I have supply light all night long.

    13. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 1

      I thought the article was talking about a USEFUL amount of light. A LED won't be adequete.

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

    14. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by DunbarTheInept · · Score: 1

      The lights you describe are not particularly bright. They don't seem like they'd be worth it.

      --

      Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.

    15. Re:I wonder about the success of this program... by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      3 lumens is all anybody needs to do usefull work or read. When camping, I use a single LED flashlight to read.

      Take a look at the history of factory productivity sometime- I think it was Henry Ford who sponsored the research, but that's what they discovered- no decrease in human productivity down to three lumens. HOWEVER- lighting a full area effectively with only three lumens is much harder.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  2. Yes it runs Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    i saw the programme the other day and they specifically mentioned Linux and FOSS was being used

    so yes it does run Linux (they didnt mention which distro)

  3. Broken... by HermanAB · · Score: 1

    Cool for today, but what about tomorrow when all the newfangled gizmos are broken?

    --
    Oh well, what the hell...
    1. Re:Broken... by ThosLives · · Score: 1
      Amen to that. Reminds me of a quote I read somewhere, probably here on /.:
      "A map with a bullet hole through it is still a map. A GPS with a bullet through it is a paperweight."
      In a country where "electricity is scarce" I'd rather have a paper book, where if part of it is damaged the rest of it is still usable. Sure, it's more difficult (i.e., you're better to make a completely new one) to change the content of a physical book, but the book has a much higher robustness factor. For instance, think about what happens when you represent the letter 'A' as a single binary number. You change 1 bit out of 8 at random and you can turn that 'A' into a '?' or something. If you have 9 x 5 grid with dark and light spots that makes the glyph 'A', and you swap the same percentage of squares at random from dark to light (6 squares out of 45) and you can probably still recognize that it's the letter 'A'.

      Ok, that's similar to, but not exactly the same, as physical books versus electronic books. Perhaps simply recognizing that the book is self-contained, whereas the tablet PC requires media (the binary states of something), the translator (the system and I/O devices), and a power source. Simple reliability classes will tell you that in this instance, more parts is not more reliable, and probably has a lot more hidden cost than for which an account has been made.

      --
      "There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)
    2. Re:Broken... by HermanAB · · Score: 1

      Africa is also an incredibly harsh continent. There is an old joke about an experiment with 3 canon balls, 3 people of different cultural backgrounds and a hermit cell in a monastery. One of the test subjects managed to break one ball and lose another - I rather won't recant the story here, but there is lot of truth in it... ;-)

      --
      Oh well, what the hell...
  4. missing the point, perhaps? by ComputerSherpa · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Does it seem to anyone that squabbling over the operating system these devices are running is a little pointless? Step back and look at this for a second: A bunch of Kenyan kids have just been given a really big gift. That's really cool. Let it be.

    --
    Information wants to be anthropomorphized!
    1. Re:missing the point, perhaps? by FLAGGR · · Score: 1

      Except closed source OSes tend to cost money, I'm guessing the main factor that let this be (and its a real good thing(tm)) is the fact that its running free software, which can be customized to the situation, and is obviously much cheaper than buying the WindowsCE licenses...

    2. Re:missing the point, perhaps? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As far as I know you don't have to buy the Windows CE licenses separately because the OS comes built-in with Pocket PCs. So for all practical purposes, in buying the devices, the OS licenses are already paid for.

    3. Re:missing the point, perhaps? by natrius · · Score: 1

      How is it missing the point? Did you read the part of the article that mentioned the open source nature of it? "They are wi-fi enabled and run on licence-free open source software to keep costs down." The only reason they recieved this gift is because people allowed their software to be freely used and distributed. That is the point.

    4. Re:missing the point, perhaps? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In other news, Kenyan school children are now realizing Microsoft is spelled with a $, Torvald was a Saint, and Bill Gates was a Slave Trader who lived in the 16th century.

    5. Re:missing the point, perhaps? by dustmite · · Score: 1

      I know you were joking, but the machines aren't connected to the Internet ... from this site:

      "The other big drawback to this project is that the locations using the system are tied into one-way broadcasts from EduVision, not connected to the Internet at large. There's a philosophical issue at play -- this system makes students and schools are little more than consumers of educational material. The people testing the devices already note a practical problem with one-way communication: there's no way to get feedback to the makers directly from the users. This one-way system also raises the question of what happens if EduVision goes away -- without the central distribution of updated material, the electronic textbooks are suddenly fragile, power-hungry versions of old paper books."

  5. Hmmm... by Lord+Marlborough · · Score: 1

    Now, if we can manage some open-source food, perhaps we can actually feel better about ourselves with regards to sub-saharan Africa.

    1. Re:Hmmm... by MisterMurphy · · Score: 1

      Feeding the head is as important as feeding the body. Greater education leads to greater abilities and self esteem, which leads not only to employability but the self-awareness to demand fair wages. When this happens, it (hopefully) leads to a cascade effect across the society, increasing standards of living.

      If I recall my African Studies classes correctly, hunger in sub-Saharan Africa is due to poor transportation infrastructure, and also is used as a weapon. Famine, created by regimes to control a discontent populace, or kill rivals. So maybe open-source trains, or open-source revolutionaries. The food exists; it is getting it there, and making sure it gets to the hungry.

    2. Re:Hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach him to fish and you feed him for the rest of his life.

    3. Re:Hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You may laugh now about the idea of open-source food, but wait until all the world's food supply is patented.

    4. Re:Hmmm... by markdavis · · Score: 1

      Better to have some open-source birth control. There would be a whole lot less suffering in the world...

    5. Re:Hmmm... by Richthofen80 · · Score: 1

      I think the problem you recall from your classes is a small subset of a larger problem.

      Nations in Africa undergoing economic difficulty often have decent supplies of natural resources and ariable land. The problem is that the rule of law is very much dead in several countries, whose barbaric warlords steal and pillage from hardworking people. When taken for all they have, there's very little incentive to start over. The successful ones are stolen from, so why be successful? Without the rule of law in effect, there's very little reason for foreign companies to invest time and money , when they know it will be stolen from and their investment wasted.

      What these nations need is a government of checks and balances, a police force not prone to corruption, and a populace willing to install the two. Then real education can happen.

      --
      Reason, free market capitalism, and individualism
    6. Re:Hmmm... by MisterMurphy · · Score: 1

      This is a nice chicken/egg problem, here. How do you create good government without an educated populace? How do you create an educated populace without a good government? A government run by thugs (i.e. people without an education) will tend towards thuggery. It will spend money on arming itself, harming others, and subjugating its own people. So how do you get an enlightened, well ordered government without education? Education, self-improvement, and a well ordered family lead to a healthy government in the aggregate, and without those you only have an anomlous calm before a collapse of civil order.

      Coming from a family of teachers, I'd say that the place to start is education. Personal bias, maybe. But I see the education more as a groundwork, a needed first step. "If you set the foundation straight, the house will have to try to be crooked. With a crooked foundation, the house will have a very hard time being straight."

    7. Re:Hmmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Amen to that Brother!..from where i come from poor kids go to school for only reason- the free food that they give you for lunch
      the kids'll most probably sell it to the first guy on the street in exchange for more food or clothing...

  6. I watched that program by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The teachers said they don't have electricity to charge them, they break too easily, are too complicated.

    The minister said it was a wasted test not suited to his country.

    The engineer said books can fall in puddles too, (as though that breaks a book) and in future they would make them with more rubber so less likely to break. He also seemed to think books can only be used once whereas these can be used again and again....

    If we don't use them in the west why would they want them in the third world?

    1. Re:I watched that program by zakezuke · · Score: 1

      If we don't use them in the west why would they want them in the third world?

      Because to deploy something new in a region that doesn't have much in the way of an existing infrastructure is easier than trying change a deeply rooted society. Further, given they don't have much in the way of text books to begin with they are the most likely people to accept pocketpc books in lue of regular books as something is always better than nothing.

      Further... have you ever tried to ship books? Books are huge, heavy, bulky bits of compressed wood. A single hardcover edition can weigh in at 3 to 5 pounds. Shipping a crap load of pocketPCs that in turn can be updated without shipping anything is strangly appealing for nations off the main shipping routes.

      For me to ship one 4 pound book from the US to Kenya would cost a minium of $20.00... 17 4 pound books $220, and 68 (4 packages under 70lbs) 4 pound books $880. Assuming three classes that's $2640 in shipping costs plus the cost of 204 4 pound books which are likely to cost between $4000 and $8000 best case scenero for new books, even used books the $100 per student yearly is easy to believe. You can easily see why this gift was accepted... saves students a ton of money.

      --
      There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
  7. Maybe fun for the 54... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There is no way that Kenya can afford this for their entire educational system, or even the Nairobi system. Fun on a small scale, impossible in practice.

  8. Hmm by IcarusMoth · · Score: 1

    You know MS calls their Portable OS PocketPC. So my guess is that they run PocketPC2003, by Microsoft

    1. Re:Hmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yup that fits the description of OPEN SOURCE.

      wow you are a fucking genius!

    2. Re:Hmm by aardwolf64 · · Score: 1

      Microsoft has never called their portable OS "PocketPC". A long time ago, it was "Windows for Pocket PCs", but the current version is "Windows Mobile 2003".

    3. Re:Hmm by IcarusMoth · · Score: 1

      Maybe, but a quick Google Search indicates that the units running "Windows Moblie 2003", are commonly called "Pocket PC 2003" units. Also a bit of anecdotal evidence; when the one that my job gave me boots up (you know the time before I start emulating NES games) it says Pocket PC 2003. By which I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just saying.

    4. Re:Hmm by IcarusMoth · · Score: 1

      I know I'm not supposed to feed the trolls, but... I gave consideration to the fact that MS is not OSS, but while the OS might be closed source, the software used to distribute and manage the books and grading might be. Sort of how you can run Firefox or Gaim or Thunderbird or Blender3D or your mom on a Windows XP box. Word?

    5. Re:Hmm by fafalone · · Score: 1

      Be sure to e-mail 2001-2002 and let them know not to put "Microsoft(R) Pocket PC" on iPaqs' About screen. It's clearly an alternate title for CE 3.0, used by Microsoft.

  9. Cool, but... by RandoX · · Score: 1

    ...you can't eat a Pocket PC.

    Well, I guess you could...

    1. Re:Cool, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you could eat it but do you think you could shit it?

    2. Re:Cool, but... by deathcloset · · Score: 1

      true, but you can't eat a fishing pole either.

    3. Re:Cool, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      despite what you may think not every African is starving to death.

      however millions live in areas where it is poor and the educational oppurtunities are limited (aka cycle of poverty)

      many african countries are not concerned with food for today (those needs have been met) they are concerned with improving things for tommorow

  10. Links etc.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    from the project site itself

    http://www.eduvision.or.ke/technology/tech4.html

      The eSlates are the end-user terminals of EELS, used by both teachers and students. An eSlate is Linux-based tablet computer, modified to survive in the technologically risky environment that is primary and secondary education. The tablets come in the same form-factor as a current textbook, and have a user-interface custom-designed for computer novices. Data input is done through a stylus on a touch-screen, using a combination of tapping and handwriting recognition. In addition, the bottom of the unit slides out to reveal a small keyboard for longer writing assignments.

    1. Re:Links etc.. by AndreyFilippov · · Score: 1

      "...Furthermore, because our network and software is proprietary, demand for stolen eSlates will be minimal - they simply will not work for uses other than those for which they were designed." :-(

  11. Hi-tech replacement? by PopeOptimusPrime · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Hmmm... They don't have the ultra low-tech basics, so we replace them with relatively hi-tech, high maintenance substitutes... Why not just spend the money on textbooks, which rarely break or get BSODs.

    1. Re:Hi-tech replacement? by flooey · · Score: 1

      I wonder if there's some reason that books aren't as easily obtainable. Perhaps shipping things into the area is very expensive, and a textbook (or, more likely, a set of several textbooks on different subjects) would weigh a lot more and be a lot bigger than a single PDA, and thus cost a lot more to ship. It's also possible that books have to be replaced often there for some reason (they get used for kindling, insects eat them, it's hard to keep them safe from the rain, whatever), so a PDA might have a longer lifetime if properly taken care of.

    2. Re:Hi-tech replacement? by dannyd933 · · Score: 1

      buying 100 textbooks would cost A LOT more than buying one pocket PC and loading 100 free e-books.
      as for textbooks rarely breaking, that is where my 9th grade Spanish teacher and I never saw eye to eye.

  12. Possible opportunity... by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 3, Insightful

    From TFS:
    The BBC is reporting that wi-fi enabled Pocket PCs running open source software are being used as digital textbooks in classrooms in Kenya, where 'real' books are hard to come by.
    So real books are difficult to obtain, but Pocket PCs are plentiful?

    Looks like I need to take a trip to Kenya with a couple suitcases full of books...I smell a trading opportunity here.. ^_^
    --
    ____

    ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

    1. Re:Possible opportunity... by sh0rtie · · Score: 1


      actually they mentioned in the program that books where approx £100+ per year per student so the eSlates where actually cheaper to run (power came from solar) presumably they got a deal for bulk purchasing from HP on the iPaqs (plus its good PR for HP)

    2. Re:Possible opportunity... by deervark · · Score: 1

      I think the real oppurtunity is to open up a pawn shop next to the school where they can trade their pda's for food and guns.

    3. Re:Possible opportunity... by Alex+P+Keaton+in+da · · Score: 1

      So real books are difficult to obtain, but Pocket PCs are plentiful?
      Uh- not to be sarcastic, or insult you (you are excused if you are in high school and don't have to buy books)- but did you go to college? We are talking textbooks, not Penguin Classics. I have bought many $90-$250 textbooks for school back when. Textbooks used in grade school classes are also very pricey. More than E-books. Plus, textbooks are not as useful after a few years (some subjects more than others), so with e books thay can be updated. Plus, if you get the materials (e.g. e books, software) donated, many times FedEX or UPS or DHL donates the freight- and they will be more likely to donate service to ship 100 8 oz e-books than 100 3 pound textbooks.
      As far as the power- not being a dick, but why cant we send them little pedal or crank powered generators for their e-books....

      --
      And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
    4. Re:Possible opportunity... by Karma_fucker_sucker · · Score: 1
      I know what you're saying. But what really pissed me off was that I could get the exact same information as in a $100+ textbook from a publisher that charged $40+. Think I'm full of shit? Well compare your typical programming textbook that you'd have to buy in a CS program with a book from O'Reilly. Yeah, yeah, it's not a "CS" textbook, but the information is identical. And any other information thatmay be needed would be a great research project for the students - free from the InterNet.

      AND I'm sure there's some program for third world countries to get textbooks for FAR cheaper than those of us in the US.

      --
      Evil people don't think they're evil. - George Lucas, Making of Ep III
    5. Re:Possible opportunity... by Karma_fucker_sucker · · Score: 1
      IT's the NGOs. Read this book:

      Adventure Capitalist by Jim Rogers. The liberal types will not like him and neither will the conservative types, but he does have some interesting opservations.

      -Fucker

      --
      Evil people don't think they're evil. - George Lucas, Making of Ep III
    6. Re:Possible opportunity... by imsabbel · · Score: 1

      You can print a 300 page textbook for 10pounds without any problem, too (if you dont need fancy printing quality..). And that would give 10 books per student and year that will still be there the year after...

      --
      HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
    7. Re:Possible opportunity... by imsabbel · · Score: 1

      The world is not the US, and in other countries, textbooks arent rediciously overpriced...
      (i know it for fact from physics, where the most expensive book i bought was the Tipler (which was about 90$ equivalent, for 1200 pages in Din A4). Most textbooks are between 50-70Euro.

      --
      HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
    8. Re:Possible opportunity... by Alex+P+Keaton+in+da · · Score: 1

      The world isn't the US? Golly Gee, if I had a decent textbook, I might have known that knowledge. Sarcasm aside, you and I have no reason to disagree. YOu say a typical textbook for you is 50-70 Euros.... A Euro is about $1.22 US, so that 70 Euro book is roughly what, 80$ or so US... (Is the 50-70Euro price including any taxes?) That is about the cost of a decent PDA here... PDA= multiple textbooks (if the content is donated, which it would be- How can you say no to those skinny kids). Seems much cheaper for several subjects...
      There is a new ethiopian restaurant in town, so I thought I would check it out. I went in, they made me sit on the floor, and Sally Fields brought me an old can of corn.

      --
      And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
    9. Re:Possible opportunity... by Jerry+Coffin · · Score: 1
      So real books are difficult to obtain, but Pocket PCs are plentiful?

      Plentiful probably isn't the right word, but small and light (and therefore cheap to ship), and versatile, yes.

      For that matter, the real strength (at least in the long term) probably isn't the PDAs themselves -- it's that they allow you to read electronic media.

      Looks like I need to take a trip to Kenya with a couple suitcases full of books

      From their viewpoint, consider that if those suitcases were full of DVDs instead, you could be carrying a reasonably complete cirriculum covering pre-school through a couple of reasonably well-equipped colleges.

      --
      The universe is a figment of its own imagination.

      --
      The universe is a figment of its own imagination.
    10. Re:Possible opportunity... by linzeal · · Score: 1

      How much do a dozen textbooks, how bout hundreds or even thousands cost? A 1 gig stick of 30,000 cycle static memory rungs less than 50 dollars in bulk. That one gig can have millions of pages of text even without compression. There is enough space for 1000's of medium to high resolution rasterized images and 100's of thousands of vector. Paper is dying, thank the gods.

      --
      An Education is the Font of All Liberty
    11. Re:Possible opportunity... by Electrum · · Score: 1

      Well compare your typical programming textbook that you'd have to buy in a CS program with a book from O'Reilly.

      I had an O'Reilly book for a college course (Fall 1999 -- David Ackley is the best professor I've ever had).

    12. Re:Possible opportunity... by lazlo · · Score: 1

      So the question here is, why does that book cost $90? Sure, it's a big book, but so is Cryptonomicon, and I picked that up for under $20, and could pick up a paperback of it for under $10. I would posit that there are three reasons for that $70 difference.

      First, there are probably a lot more man-hours of work researching, writing, and checking the average textbook. Not to say that Neal doesn't do a great job, but the fact density of a textbook is (or should be) very high.

      Second, economies of scale are severe for information. And a textbook doesn't usually have quite the readership of a bestseller.

      Third, economies of scale for printing exist as well. Typesetting a book and doing a printing run have a relatively fixed cost, whether you're printing one book or a bazillion.

      Of those three problems, e-books only solve the third (which is probably of the least magnitude of the three).

      Of course, pirated e-textbooks would neatly solve all three problems, but I wouldn't exactly call that a shining example.

      But what would be interesting is to solve the first two problems with open-sourced textbooks. There are currently several projects to do exactly that, producing textbooks under various open licences. From what I've seen, they haven't gotten very far with that... but it's still a fun idea, and I hope it works out well in the long run.

      And that would be a shining example of open source, even if all they did was print them out on dead trees and hand them to the students.

      As it is, I looks to me like this project is probably selling these students relatively high-priced information delivered via moderately priced hardware using free software. If the people who are paying for it think it's worth buying, then I'd say that everyone wins, which is always a good thing. But from the article, it looks like they're not 100% sure that they're winning.

      Still seems like a worthwhile endeavor.

      --
      Pound! Bang! Bin! Bash! is this a shell script or a Batman comic?
    13. Re:Possible opportunity... by the_womble · · Score: 1

      From my experience of Kenya is probably means that someone somewhere is getting a kickback on the Pocket PCs'

    14. Re:Possible opportunity... by TheWormThatFlies · · Score: 1

      Dude, in developing countries, books which have to be imported from overseas are more expensive than they are in the countries where they are printed. So take the most horrendously overpriced textbook you can think of which was printed in your country. In an African country, it probably costs twice as much.

      Book prices are ludicrous in South Africa, which is considerably better off than other Sub-Saharan African countries - even the prices of mass-produced popular novels, which are probably imported in huge numbers. Take anything more obscure, like a textbook, and it's more expensive. Also, textbooks are much larger, and many are only available in hardcover.

      There's a range of textbooks (made by Oxford University Press, I think) printed in softcover on lower quality paper, which are cheaper and can only legally be distributed in the developing world. It's a nice idea, but unfortunately I don't think anyone else is doing it.

      My university textbooks were heinously expensive. They are totally outside the price range of very poor families here. Without financial assistance from universities and scholarship funds, many students would be unable to get them.

    15. Re:Possible opportunity... by orasio · · Score: 1

      Yes, there is.
      I live in Uruguay, and textbooks are cheaper here than there.
      Seems that you pay for it. RTAC is a program financed by the US government to print spanish translated US textbooks, and distributing them very cheaply throughout spanish speaking countries of América.
      Computer Networks, by AST is $80 new, on Amazon.com.
      You can buy it here for around $30, new, in spanish, financed by the US government.

      In the old times, it was called cultural imperialism (let's give them our books, before the commies do, so they adopt our culture and not theirs).
      Now it's just inertia, or a way to keep the cheap labor coming (there are lots of computer professionals here right now who will work for little $, in US or Indian companies, or even go to the US to work).

  13. Let me get this straight... by Mose250 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Real books are hard to come by...but wifi-enabeled Pocket PCs are easy? I'm all for technology applications, but a book is a fraction of the cost of a PDA (yes, even a textbook) - and more durable, too.

    1. Re:Let me get this straight... by HermanAB · · Score: 1

      Yup, woulda been really purty if those WiFi adaptors had a 10,000km range...

      --
      Oh well, what the hell...
    2. Re:Let me get this straight... by SeekerDarksteel · · Score: 0

      A fraction? Have you seen how much textbooks cost nowadays? I mean technically you are right though, 1/2 is a fraction.

      --
      The laws of probability forbid it!
    3. Re:Let me get this straight... by Compholio · · Score: 1

      Real books are hard to come by...but wifi-enabeled Pocket PCs are easy? I'm all for technology applications, but a book is a fraction of the cost of a PDA (yes, even a textbook) - and more durable, too.

      When textbooks are 100-300 USD a piece and PDAs are 100-700 USD I can see where it might be preferrable to go with an inexpensive PDA if you have a good way of getting the material to put on it.

    4. Re:Let me get this straight... by Relic+of+the+Future · · Score: 1
      A few years ago (while still in college) I got a used Jornada 820 for $50 and a used wireless card for $15 (I use it primarily as a portal term; it's lighter than a "real" laptop, with better battery life and still a full keyboard). ONE of my textbooks cost me $190 that semester (had to have the new edition too, grumblegrumble).

      In short, I believe it. Haven't RTFA, but I'm sure they're not using $1,000 PDAs.

      --
      Those who fail to understand communication protocols, are doomed to repeat them over port 80.
    5. Re:Let me get this straight... by guaigean · · Score: 1

      Yes, ONE textbook is cheaper than a PDA. But 2-3 and you've passed the margin. The big deal here is that these Pocket PC's can hold far more knowledge than a single textbook, and the cost becomes more and more beneficial as more e-books are added.

      --
      Microsoft Sucks, F/OSS Rocks. I get mod points now right?
    6. Re:Let me get this straight... by Mose250 · · Score: 1

      I think that everybody's missing the point - the price of a textbook isn't driven by the printing costs; it's the content that's so pricey. Somebody still has to research and write this material, and putting it on the PDA is still going to cost a lot of money.

    7. Re:Let me get this straight... by macshit · · Score: 1

      When textbooks are 100-300 USD a piece and PDAs are 100-700 USD I can see where it might be preferrable to go with an inexpensive PDA if you have a good way of getting the material to put on it.

      Um, it's the last bit that's the kicker though.

      Textbooks are not expensive because the raw materials are expensive, they're expensive because the publishers know they can charge a lot, as they have a captive audience.

      If the people in charge of textbooks in Kenya can come up with the material, the cost of printing it up would almost certainly be far less than the silly high cost of textbooks in the U.S., especially if they use lower-quality paper etc.

      As textbooks don't really need to be changed every year, and are about a zillion times more reliable than a typical PDA, I expect that paper ends up being a lot cheaper.

      But of course it doesn't have the "gosh wow" factor -- or the opportunity for kickbacks -- which usually seem to be true reasons for projects like this.

      --
      We live, as we dream -- alone....
    8. Re:Let me get this straight... by E_elven · · Score: 1

      And the books just magically appear on the PDA, right?

      --
      Marxist evolution is just N generations away!
  14. Great intentions.. by dannyd933 · · Score: 1

    but will it work? I work at an international relief NGO and supplying textbooks has always been a huge barrier for education in Africa. Maybe this will be a key test for open source in developing countries. An issue with developing countries and free services is that often these poor people will sell the "gifts" on a black market or steal someone else's in order to get food and water.

    Maybe a way to end this would be for Microsoft to patent the taking of free goods and services and reselling them for personal gain.

    1. Re:Great intentions.. by Eugene · · Score: 1

      it's hard to supply because of the weight and bulk?

    2. Re:Great intentions.. by dannyd933 · · Score: 1

      Yes, and textbooks also cost a lot of money and are outdated quickly (you can put hundreds of textbooks on a handheld pc).

  15. Wha? by daeley · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I'm as big a fan of open source as the next geek, but I'm not sure the connection between open-source software and book replacement is really clear. Buy the units, and they come with an OS and (probably) reader software. It sounds like the title here should be "Technology Aiding Literacy in Kenyan Schools."

    --
    I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    1. Re:Wha? by dannyd933 · · Score: 1

      read the article. "They are wi-fi enabled and run on licence-free open source software to keep costs down." The kenyans are obviously not buying the handhelds. The open-source is helping the company supply as many hnadhelds as possible.

    2. Re:Wha? by charlieo88 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps they mean that the texts are open source as opposed to the technology dislaying them. I didn't see a mention either way in the article when I skimmed it though.

    3. Re:Wha? by natrius · · Score: 1

      I'm as big a fan of open source as the next geek, but I'm not sure the connection between open-source software and book replacement is really clear.

      Textbooks are expensive. Open source software is cheap. Pocket PC hardware costs as much as one or two textbooks, so if you can replace a whole bookshelf with a Pocket PC, that's quite an accomplishment. Paying for software to run on it would double the price.

    4. Re:Wha? by john82 · · Score: 1

      The last time I looked, textbooks did not have the same reliability problems as a PocketPC. Drop a book, scratch the cover, or step on it. It's still readable. And you can't beat it for power consumption or battery life.

      How does a PDA compare?

      Using a PocketPC does not make sense in the referenced environment. I don't think people really have a feel for the support system required. It's just taken for granted.

  16. good idea zonk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    post the link to the somewhat related previous story so as when the usual idiots turn up moaning about "dupes", they can be modded down with greater efficiency.

  17. Marketing by TheStonepedo · · Score: 1

    This is nothing but MS doing "humanitarian" work to gain even more exposure. This is like giving out sports cars because they're short a few bicycles. All the world sees is "Look dear, something is improving. Microsoft did that."

    --
    I'll be your candy shop of infinite deliciousity if you'll be my discotheque of endless rump-shaking.
    1. Re:Marketing by I8TheWorm · · Score: 1

      Nice attempt at an MS stab, but these are using Linux. I don't expect, however, to see another post from you stating " This is nothing but Linux doing 'humanitarian' work to gain even more exposure."

      --
      Saying Android is a family of phones is akin to saying Linux is a family of PCs.
    2. Re:Marketing by TheStonepedo · · Score: 1

      Pocket PC. Call it a fucking PDA if it doesn't run Pocket PC software.

      --
      I'll be your candy shop of infinite deliciousity if you'll be my discotheque of endless rump-shaking.
    3. Re:Marketing by syukton · · Score: 1

      This is nothing but Linux serving a humanitarian purpose because it's the right thing to do.

      --
      Reinvent the wheel only at either a lower cost, greater effectiveness, or your own personal enrichment and satisfaction.
  18. Objections/Solutions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are two objections to this tech in the story. (Raised by a teacher)

    1) The devices are delicate.
    There are several hardened versions of PDAs available. Failing the availability of hardened versions there are Rhino cases & what not.

    2) Lack of electricity for recharging.
    Uh, solar powered rechargers?

    C'mon geeks, make this work. As the ghost of Xmas Present warned when Scrooge asked him about the urchins hiding beneath his cloak..
    "This is Ignorance, the other is Want. Fear them both".

    1. Re:Objections/Solutions by ahecht · · Score: 1

      "There are several hardened versions of PDAs available. Failing the availability of hardened versions there are Rhino cases & what not." Oh good, there are plenty of black rhinos in Kenya.

  19. Wi-fi enabled? by cribdasig · · Score: 1

    In related news, a suspicious looking man was arrested earlier this morning after parking himself in front of a man's hut. Local police report it as the first known case of wardrving in Kenya.

  20. The PDA's run Linux... by Observador · · Score: 1
    from eduvision's site:
    The eSlates are the end-user terminals of EELS, used by both teachers and students. An eSlate is Linux-based tablet computer, modified to survive in the technologically risky environment that is primary and secondary education. The tablets come in the same form-factor as a current textbook, and have a user-interface custom-designed for computer novices. Data input is done through a stylus on a touch-screen, using a combination of tapping and handwriting recognition. In addition, the bottom of the unit slides out to reveal a small keyboard for longer writing assignments.
    --
    I wish I could filter out the annoying Pickens articles...
  21. Why is it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That so many people pronounce it "Keen-yan" instead of "Ken-yan" like the word is spelled?

  22. Of course by LupeSpywalper · · Score: 1

    these PDA's are quickly filled with "open source" copies of Harry Potter 1-6.

  23. Wonderful, but... by pomo+monster · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's definitely cool that children in developing nations are using computers to improve their prospects, but too often in these sorts of discussions the notion is advanced that computers (and the internet) are just what developing nations need, as regards technology.

    In fact, a much better investment is in mobile phones and mobile networks. Even the cheapest handsets encourage kids to learn to read and write, not to mention gain proficiency in handling technology. At the same time, adults can use mobile phones to find employment, find affordable goods, negotiate deals, conduct business. Mobile phones integrate themselves into daily life much more easily than PCs, and their impact is thus felt much faster and wider. If the free flow of information enables a market to work efficiently, then what better technology to kickstart the economy than mobile phones?

    Here are a few articles with the hard numbers pitting mobile phones against PCs.
    http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0712-rhett_butler.ht ml
    http://usinfo.state.gov/af/Archive/2005/May/17-488 286.html
    http://www.economist.com/printedition/displaystory .cfm?Story_ID=3742817
    http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm ?story_id=4157618

    While it's certainly heartening that open source software is having a positive effect in poverty-stricken Africa, it's also important for aidgivers to note that dollar for dollar, computers aren't the best use of limited funds.

    1. Re:Wonderful, but... by xs650 · · Score: 1
      In fact, a much better investment is in mobile phones and mobile networks. Even the cheapest handsets encourage kids to learn to read and write

      U R SO RITE

    2. Re:Wonderful, but... by pomo+monster · · Score: 1

      Well, at least they'll be able to communicate with American teens.

    3. Re:Wonderful, but... by beeblebrox87 · · Score: 1

      I live in Tanzania, just south of the Kenyan border, but from frequent visits to Kenya it appears to me that the situation with technology is even more advanced there. Here, the GSM mobile phone network is already very developed, better in many ways than the US one (better rates, no contracts/lock-in). Mobile phone ownership is also surprisingly widespread, even making less than 25 cents an hour have mobile phones. Those who can't afford a phone can purchase a simcard and use it to send/receive SMS messages from a public phone. I would wager that every one of those 54 students' families owns at least one mobile phone. Spending aid funds on mobile phones is unnecessary because for the most part they're already there.

    4. Re:Wonderful, but... by pomo+monster · · Score: 1

      Considering that Kenya's population has only 5 mobiles per 100 people, I'm not so sure "every one of those 54 students' families owns at least one." If they do, you can be sure plenty of them are being shared by their entire families, many by two or more families at once, particularly in rural areas (like where this school is). A handset becomes a lot less useful when you have to share it with others--you can't take it with you to the market, you can't send or receive SMSes privately, it's a crapshoot whether or not you'll reach the person you want, etc. It still helps, but it could be a lot better.

      The GSM infrastructure and regulatory framework is better in Kenya than much of the rest of Africa, but even Kenya desperately needs more (and more affordable) mobile phones.

      BTW, I don't work for any mobile carrier or company, I'm just interested in this stuff.

    5. Re:Wonderful, but... by pomo+monster · · Score: 1

      Where in Tanzania do you live, exactly? I get the impression that there's a giant gap between urban and rural life in terms of access to technology and integration in the economy. Is this true in Kenya and Tanzania?

    6. Re:Wonderful, but... by beeblebrox87 · · Score: 1

      Where in Tanzania do you live, exactly? I get the impression that there's a giant gap between urban and rural life in terms of access to technology and integration in the economy. Is this true in Kenya and Tanzania?
      I live in Arusha, a city of around 250,000 people (though counts vary). The gap between urban and rural areas is indeed large.

      In urban areas, mobile phones are ubiquitous (housemaids and night watchmen paid $50 a month still have phones), satellite TV and internet are available, and electricity and running water are widely available (although rather unreliable). In the four years since I moved here, Arusha has gained its first supermarket, fast food restaurant, and small shopping mall, and rumour has it there will soon be a proper cinema (the current cinema shows pirate VCDs, mostly bollywood).

      In rural areas, there isn't enough electricity to refrigerate vaccinations, much less run televisions. In many areas there is essentially no cash economy, with people simply subsisting on whatever food they can grow.

      I'm not very familiar with Kenya, but I'm told that the cash economy has penetrated rural areas more than in Tanzania, and urban areas are also more developed (Nairobi has hypermarkets, large shopping malls, and several multi-screen cinemas). So yes, there is a giant gap between urban and rural life in East Africa.

    7. Re:Wonderful, but... by Boxcarwilli · · Score: 1

      I rarly comment, but I had to bite!

      Two things....First, PC's are a much better educational tool than Cell Phones. This is about "education", not "find employment, find affordable goods, negotiate deals, conduct business" which comes after getting an education for the most part. Try similuating a USABLE model of the solor system on a small handset vs a pocket pc.

      Number two, your post is obviously one coming from an employee or lobbiest of some sort of the cell phone industry, you couldnt be more obvious and it makes me sick.

    8. Re:Wonderful, but... by pomo+monster · · Score: 1

      Dude, calm down. I just graduated from college and I'm not working for anyone at the moment, but I suppose you'll just have to take my word for it. I see your point about PCs being more appropriate than cell phones for certain uses, but demand for those uses isn't nearly as urgent in (most) developing nations as demand for the things cell phones provide. Read the articles I linked to.

  24. Irony by dsginter · · Score: 1

    I hope that these electronic books work out better than they tend to in more "civilized" countries like the US.

    The irony of the situation is that in more "civilized" countries like the US, corruption takes over and results in textbooks that go through constant revision in order to keep sales up.

    I tried to help my wife save some money by purchasing a used text book once. Shortly after class started, the professor admitted that she'd made a mistake on the book and that the students would need to purchase the 9th revision of the book instead of the 8th. Since I had purchased the book on the used market, I could not exchange it. For shits and giggles, I compared the 9th edition with the 8th and found only minor change - mostly just moving page numbers around and swapping the numbers on the chapter questions.

    The people responsible for these financial rapes deserve nothing more than to be shot in the face.

    --
    More
  25. Battery Life by rlp · · Score: 1

    My experience with WiFi enabled PDA's is that they exhaust the batteries really really fast. How long will a student be able to read before the 'Low Battery' message pops up?

    --
    [Insert pithy quote here]
    1. Re:Battery Life by Pxtl · · Score: 1

      Don't need to run wi-fi 24-7. Can just use it once per day to synch.

  26. Textbooks ARE cheap by MirrororriM · · Score: 1

    Maybe they can use their new PDA's to surf over to halfoff.com and buy some cheap books, eh?

    --
    Content Management System: A pretentious way of saying "text editor."
    1. Re:Textbooks ARE cheap by mboos · · Score: 1

      You've probably never been to a university bookstore recently. I've had to spend more than $500 each term on textbooks. I could easily get some kind of handheld for that price.

      I tried (unsuccessfully) to buy used textbooks, but the practice of publishers in recent years to issue a new edition every two years makes that impossible.

      --
      --Mike Boos
    2. Re:Textbooks ARE cheap by A.Chwunbee · · Score: 0
      "I tried (unsuccessfully) to buy used textbooks, but the practice of publishers in recent years to issue a new edition every two years makes that impossible."

      Every TWO years? So are people at your college always failing and having to do the resitts?

      --
      select * from base where originalOwner = 'you' and currentOwner != 'us'.
      0 rows returned.
    3. Re:Textbooks ARE cheap by camarojoe · · Score: 1

      Where are they going to find a wifi hotspot? At the rainforest internet cafe?

    4. Re:Textbooks ARE cheap by mboos · · Score: 1

      I do exaggerate when I say two years. But last term, just about all of the books I needed were new editions (one had yet to even arrive at the bookstore for the first week of class). Additionally, not everyone is willing to part with their books after taking a course (my dad for example still has ALL of his textbooks from university) Waterloo actually has a far lower turnover than other universities.

      --
      --Mike Boos
    5. Re:Textbooks ARE cheap by MirrororriM · · Score: 1
      I do exaggerate when I say two years.

      No, I'd say you're pretty close to right on - espeically when it comes to IT classes (my field). An example of how I got screwed is that you had to pay $170.00 for a Cisco learning packet, but it covered the part I class in the Fall and the part II class in the Winter. The thing is, they ended up not having the part II class in the Winter due to not enough people signing up. What they did next was really shitty - they made everyone buy a new book that next Fall as the "old one" was considered non-usable in the class. $170.00 for a 2 credit hour class :(

      But last term, just about all of the books I needed were new editions (one had yet to even arrive at the bookstore for the first week of class).

      Sounds like my last term. Books kick my ass when it comes to the overall cost of schooling.

      Additionally, not everyone is willing to part with their books after taking a course (my dad for example still has ALL of his textbooks from university) Waterloo actually has a far lower turnover than other universities.

      I keep ALL of my books - why should I spend $100.00 on a book when they'll only give me 25% of bookstore credit if I turn it back in to them...so they can turn around and sell the book for $70.00 as "used". Screw that noise. Besides, the IT books could still come in handy.

      Anyways, my point was really just that they don't need the newest books there and used books (even a year or two old) would more than suffice compared to nothing at all. I wonder if halfoff really would ship there...

      --
      Content Management System: A pretentious way of saying "text editor."
    6. Re:Textbooks ARE cheap by zakezuke · · Score: 1

      Maybe they can use their new PDA's to surf over to halfoff.com and buy some cheap books, eh?

      Shipping? Think $20 for a book... think $5.00 to $10 per book if shipping 17 in a single box. That's about the limit before you hit 70lbs via regular means. This is assuming the shipping company is nice enough to charge you the actual shipping cost and not special handeling fees for shipping to another country, and nice enough to put all the books you are ordering into a single box and not be charged the $20 per package to ship.

      This is assuming their school system is in English... as opposed to Swahili which I think is as offical as english as the national language, or
      Gikuyu and Luyia which from my understanding are two of many languages which are popular there, not to speak of Luo and Kamba

      --
      There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
  27. Yeah, great idea... by TheSneak · · Score: 1

    Great, maybe they can sell it on ebay for some money for food clothing and medicine.

    Nice to see governments thinking of the children. Yeah right...

    Next up on the voting block: Bill 235, Giving gold rolexes to homeless people who lack wristwatches.

    --
    Nasa spent billions making a pen capable of writing in space. The Russians just use a pencil.
    1. Re:Yeah, great idea... by stratjakt · · Score: 1

      The more you send them free food, the more you damage their agriculture industry.

      The more you send them clothes, the more jobs you take from their tailors and textile workers.

      They don't need handouts, they need real economic reform, and education has to be at the center of that.

      The world doesn't need welfare nations.

      --
      I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
    2. Re:Yeah, great idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So they send PDAs? How about qualified people to train teachers? How about fixing up their schools? Those seem a bit more pertinant than E-Books.

      The world doesn't need welfare nations, but we're happy to set up shop there and get unskilled labour for 1/1000 the price of back home. Ironic.

    3. Re:Yeah, great idea... by Anonymous+Custard · · Score: 1

      The more you send them free food, the more you damage their agriculture industry.
      The more you send them clothes, the more jobs you take from their tailors and textile workers.
      They don't need handouts, they need real economic reform, and education has to be at the center of that.
      The world doesn't need welfare nations.

      The more you send them medicine, the more you damage their pharmaceutical industry?

      Tough love doesn't help anyone during a famine or epidemic. It just gives people like you an excuse to be selfish.

      --
      $8.95/mo web hosting
    4. Re:Yeah, great idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      His point, which seems to have flown over your head at supersonic speed, is that fixing today's famine with a crapload of free food only increases populations and sows the seeds for tomorrow's famine, and the next, and the next. Until you reform the conditions that create famines, national welfare only increases long-term suffering.

      I call selfish those who produce an increase in total misery so that they can feel they're "doing something".

  28. Technology Literacy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This probably only works because these kids don't know about all of the interesting ways to waste time on computing devices. ( Games, IM, email, reading slashdot, etc.) I'd much rather use pocketpc instead of a textbook for these reasons.

  29. Where are the electronic books coming from? by slapout · · Score: 1

    Ummm...that's great and all, but where are they getting the E-books? I know that there are free ebooks out there, but aren't most specialised texts sold for money? And protected by DRM? Where are they getting these from?

    --
    Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
    1. Re:Where are the electronic books coming from? by Maximum+Prophet · · Score: 1

      I would hope they and their teachers are writing the books, with local references and stuff they really need.
      Once one book is written, with electronic books, everyone can share it. Try doing that with dead trees. That is why Kenya needs eBooks, rather than the equivalent number of books written by foreigners. (Which they get as well on an eBook) Also, they can start with a standard text, like a math book, and customize the word problems to fit local conditions.

      "If you know the alphabet A-M, you can teach the alphabet A-M" -- Ruth Stout

      --
      All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
  30. The e-books by jurt1235 · · Score: 1

    Are those books opensource too, you can have the software for windows or linux (or any other), but the content of the books is another precisely copyrighted area with very little grey areas.

    --

    My wife's sketchblog Blob[p]: Gastrono-me
  31. Right. Except by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft has NOTHING to do with this. They're HP iPAQs, they run Linux.
    Or did you post to the wrong article? M o o o r o o o n ;)

  32. "Willing guinea pigs" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fifty-four 11-year-old students are willing guinea pigs in an extraordinary experiment aimed at using technology to deliver education across the continent.

    Let's leave the fat Italians out of this.

  33. What's with the OSS cheerleading ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    , but this seems a wonderful example of how the free and open spirit of open source can make a real difference."

    And if M$ had donated 57 PocketPC units to the students, then it would have been an example of M$ just trying to indoctrinate another set of future customers? The parent posters statement is a load of crap, and just goes to show how daft fanboys on both sides basically don't have a clue about the real world.

    1. Re:What's with the OSS cheerleading ? by dustmite · · Score: 1

      And if M$ had donated 57 PocketPC units to the students, then it would have been an example of M$ just trying to indoctrinate another set of future customers?

      Uh, yeah, because now it's just OpenSource vendors trying to indoctrinate the students to become future customers? Oh wait, OSS IS FREE --- so your comment makes no sense whatsoever, and there is no contradiction/double-standards there.

      Why don't you AstroTurfers get logons already?

  34. Open Source Hippie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The article does not make it clear what is running on the Pocket PCs, but this seems a wonderful example of how the free and open spirit of open source can make a real difference.

    What kind of tree-hugging hippie crap is that? The "free and open spirit of open source"? Have you named this spirit?

    Hmmm... It doesn't say what is running on the Pocket PCs. I'd be willing to bet it's Windows Mobile 2003. Stick that up your open source hole.

  35. But... by Evangelion · · Score: 1


    Do they run flash?

  36. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  37. Trickle down economics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The real question is how many of these will end up in the hands of corrupt government officials.

  38. Brilliant! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Yay! Provide expensive electronic devices as replacements for paper books in a country with no electricity and very little tech culture! Let's scale this up! Let's give all Kenyan kids Pocket PCs instead of books! Never mind that they are difficult to read in sunlight, are expensive, cannot be recharged at home, are fragile, will probably be damaged or destroyed after a few years, cannot be produced locally, and are from an alien culture.

    Books? Bah! Cheap pieces of crap! Books are a backward technology! Any nitwit with a crappy printing press can print them. Hell, there are probably thousands of printing presses of various sorts in and around Kenya right now. Kenya's low-tech economy is probably flooded with cheap books made of newsprint with flimsy covers. Kenyans are undoubtedly sick of them, and have them cluttering up closets, rucksacks, and spare surfaces in their homes. God knows how many pathetic companies have been printing books throughout Africa, all of them with boring, familiar, and too easily understood content steeped in local culture.

    Instead of wasting money printing updated school textbooks locally and giving them away to students, they should import cool new Pocket PCs by the tens of thousands and replace them whenever they are lost, stolen, damaged, or become otherwise unusable.

  39. Where can ya see lions? by mesmartyoudumb · · Score: 1

    Only in Kenya!

    Forget Norway!

    http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/kenya/

    --
    "Comedy's a dead art form. Now tragedy, that's funny."
  40. ...But who will give the books away for free? by CorporalKlinger · · Score: 1

    It's great that the software is free - but the devices certainly aren't and neither is the intellectual material being displayed on them. Additionally, I don't know of a single book that when you drop it on the ground, it costs $200+ to replace. It's a nice idea, but there's a reason people still prefer to read books on paper, even in the USA where such devices in schools could be commonplace. You never get a system error with a book or run out of batteries reading a book on a plane or bus. As long as there is light to read it, a book can enlighten a mind.

  41. How open is this system? by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

    I get the impression that only Eduvision can send updates to these devices. Maybe the reason they are so cheap is that they are loss leaders to get Kenyans into a vendor lock in. Could end users reflash with a new kernal for example? If it were an open system, there should be some documented protocol for updates, and a spec for the platform, and they would have mentioned it as a selling point. If it's closed, they'll keep quiet about this sort of thing, and make sure the boot rom will only load digitally signed software kernels, in which case the 'it runs Linux' line is highly disingenuous.

    Plus as TFA points out, rechargeable Pocket PC's are not that practical in a village with no electrical power. Come to think of it, what happens when the batteries wear out - slim PDAs usually have Lithium Ion batteries that have a rather short life. Batteries are pretty expensive in Africa too, hence the idea of a wind up radio.

    Still, it's good to see that the minister is skeptical, it's all to common for third world countries to get suckered into trend schemes that are cripplingly expensive in the long run because the politicians have been paid off by the vendor.

    --
    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
  42. Seems slightly flawed and overkill.... by ShyGuy91284 · · Score: 1

    These things have "steal me" written all over them. Every small school (less then 600 students) would have at least a few (and most likely more) stolen a year if they were used in US schools, and I'd imagine with them being as rare as they are there, they would be a huge target for theft both by some students, and by adults. I think books from here that are "old" should be donated to them. Perhaps it wouldn't work well due to public schools having somewhat dated text books in use as is, but at least for semi-higher education, I'd imagine plenty of people that still give their $100 books to their University book store (Yes, I'm well aware you can get much more selling them online to another student, but I don't think many bother) for $10 would much rather they go to good use then be resold by the original seller for $80.

    --
    In undeveloped countries, the consumer controls the market. In capitalist America, the market controls you.
  43. The teachers should be writing the books by Maximum+Prophet · · Score: 1

    The books should be written locally by the teachers.
    There's also many good references that are free on the web that could be downloaded to one book when the teacher takes a trip to Nairobi, then customized and shared with the students in the villages.
    Even slashdotters could write books for them. Once there's one good math textbook available, they could produce all they need.
    This is why Keyna need eBooks. Not because it's cool technology. Because it's better technology than dead trees.

    "Once you know the alphabet A-M, you can teach the alphabet A-M" -- Ruth Stout

    --
    All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
  44. How many books.. by OreoCookie · · Score: 1

    could they have bought with the money they spent on PPC's?

  45. So what you're saying is by commodoresloat · · Score: 1

    Don't look a gift horse in the kernel.

    1. Re:So what you're saying is by bubkus_jones · · Score: 1

      I would expect a horse to kick you across a room if you tried to look at it's kernel.

    2. Re:So what you're saying is by orasio · · Score: 1

      Don't look a gift horse in the license, more likely.
      And we know how much burn yo can get from that.

  46. No Books? by JamesAvery · · Score: 1

    So they don't have any books but there are tons of Pocket PCs lying around? What kind of bizzaro world is this?

  47. Interestingly by FeralTitan · · Score: 1

    I just visited a website yesterday which was advocating Open Source concepts for Six Sigma. I think the URL was http://www.treqna.com/ How open source spreads :)

  48. Hm! by kuzb · · Score: 1

    unsurprising in a country where electricity is a scarce commodity

    So, how were they charging them?

    --
    BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
  49. open-source food by rainmayun · · Score: 1

    undoubtedly you were being sarcastic, but patents on crop genes are a big big big deal in 3rd world hunger issues...

    http://www.ukabc.org/iu_april_release.htm

    1. Re:open-source food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is not a single person in the world going hungry because of plant patent issues. Not a single one.

  50. Speaking of school... by SheeEttin · · Score: 1

    Speaking of school, let's do a little math. 54($50 (usual textbook price)) = $2700. 54($150-300 (PDA price)) = $8100-16200. Hmm.

    1. Re:Speaking of school... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Bear in mind that you can fit several textbooks on one PDA. If you add up the cost of separate grammar, math, science and history books, it looks a lot more even.

      Although I still think this particular implementation is pretty pointless.

  51. Not the best use of money by Frangible · · Score: 1

    Textbooks display much more information, are far more durable, do not require power, are easier to read, and are less expensive. Considering the main issue here is cost-- especially over time-- perhaps textbooks and some food would be a better use of the money.

  52. Award for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gayest Slashdot story...

    ever.

  53. Long live Silicon by linzeal · · Score: 1

    Some PDAs can store 10's of thousands of books how can you even begin to compare something that is greater than some rural libraries with a singular book? Paper is dead, long live silicon.

    --
    An Education is the Font of All Liberty
  54. Africa? I'm picturing a PDA covered with flies. by AmazingRuss · · Score: 1

    (paraphrased from the Bob and Tom show)

  55. Cheap and effective, the eMate by Mechcozmo · · Score: 1
    Maybe they should have bought eMate 300s. They were a type of Newton with a keyboard built in and there was plenty of plastic to keep it safe. Ran on a rechargeable battery with long life or AAs (not sure about the AAs). The screen was great but grayscale only.

    They also had a PCMCIA slot so you could add a WiFi card, etc.

    Plus, seeing as they are over 8 years old, they would probably be quite a bit cheaper than PocketPCs...

  56. Award for... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stupidist headline...

    ever.

  57. actually I can see this working. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lets see...

    Theft: Covered-custom hardware signed to a base station. Anyone writing how they will all get stolen did not RTFA.

    In regards to damage-I actually have both a tablet, and several pocketpc's. If the pocketpc is a valuable item these folks will NOT be breaking them. I have dropped mine 20-30 times, and it still works fine.

    Power: my pocketpc runs about 3 hours without recharging. I suspect that the company providing these can probably recharge them in some way, wether through local power, or solar. Incidently I suspect a small solar charger might be the perfect way. I didnt notice the article addressing this, but its far from a deal breaker.

    reading books: I do it ALL the time, and in fact recently when I ahd to choose between buying a book, and simply getting a electronic copy from baen, I went electronic.

    The exchange of information is what advances technology, many folks don't realize how badly we have messed up our patent and copyright system-did you know they were originally intended to HELP exchange information, instead of these 50+ year lock downs?

  58. Who needs the fancy equipment? by celephaix · · Score: 1

    But.. they still have to have the textbook in one form or another, whether it's in hardcover or eBook. And there's a much cheaper way of reading eBooks.. namely, on paper! A binded printed copy would likely last just as long as a delicate Pocket PC, possibly longer. And, it would cost more to charge a PocketPC than just reusing the printed copy.

  59. Compare it to a Wiki... by tubapro12 · · Score: 1

    A good example of the advantage of open-source textbooks would be to compare it to an open-source encyclopedia/reference, or what's commonly called a wiki. the amount of overhead research can be cut down by having literally the whole world to edit it.

  60. only for the elite? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is this going to help the majority of children in Kenya? Let me doubt it.

    If my understanding of human nature is not that wrong (it usually is not) this is something that is only going to be on the reach of the very few that already have books and can go to school, that is, the ruling elite.

    If that's the case, then what a shame this money has not been better spent in purchasing text books, or better yet, in printing machinery to produce local text books.

  61. Got bouncy Open Source and Linux? Only in Kenya! by SmileeTiger · · Score: 1

    Got bouncy Open Source and Linux? Only in Kenya!

  62. Ur all ignorant and the 1st to see that by dzez · · Score: 1

    Im saddened by ur ignorant comments.Books are very expensive in Kenya! Over 500shilings for a normal textbook, thats $6.25!!!Most people here live below the Poverty line(less than a dollar a day for all their needs) So spending $6.25 on a book is a LOT repeat ALOT of money. A pda will allow them to access the internet which is choke full of information. Information is POWER...Its the only way to end the ignorance. If any of you lives in Kenya then u know wat Im talkin about. We dont have our priorities mixed up! The aim of going to school is to learn, and like a wise man once said.."The end justifies the means" U dont have to be that cold...U shud visit Kenya, the people are really friendly, almost anyone you visit will try to get you a present for no reason!!!

  63. Let's do a little larnin... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Parent poster's math assumes one textbook per child. Wonder what kind of school he went to...

  64. Novel concept, ill concieved by Pranadevil2k · · Score: 1

    The engineers behind this experiment (and that's what it is) should've taken into account the fact that these are people with little knowledge of electronic devices whatsoever. The book UI is apparently easy to navigate, and I'm sure it's got all kinds of nifty features that even a computer illiterate would be able to figure out. That's awesome for the use of the 'book.' But what about the physical piece of equipment? It's probably quite a bit heavier than a normal textbook, and certainly much more breakable. The batteries need recharging often, and there's an issue that probably can't be addressed easily.

    A better candidate for this sort of thing would've been a small town highschool in the US or some other less third world country where technology is widely available and electricity is as common as indoor plumbing.

    A very simple way around the problem of the systems being broken or stolen is to have them integrated into the students' desks. So instead of a piece of wood used for the sole purpose of holding your book and paper and stuff, you'll have a touchscreen computer with all your easy to use GUI features and can even have a fullsize keyboard roll out underneath.

    But even this would be an experiment that would be ultimately doomed to fail, because if every student has a powerchugging computer (even a rechargeable battery driven one) there won't be enough electricity to go around. It's becoming more and more of an issue as computers become more of an everyday thing and processors get faster and have more transistors and all that rubish.

    I seem to have gone off on a wild tangent and completely missed the point that Kenyan students are playing with computers to learn. I wish I'd had that when I was in school, I can tell you that. But these kids probably would've appreciated a better use for that money. Like getting a power infrastructure built, thereby new jobs, electricity, and a better all-around economy.

  65. You don't need birth control. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When you have a nice and eco-friendly gasenwagen for those brown people.

  66. So thats where my 4 cents a day is going. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Apparently Kenya is not one of the more impoverished countries of Africa. I don't think we're nearly this far along here in the States. 8 years ago I took a pascal class that was taught on Apple IIes.

  67. Linux, not Pocket PC by AYeomans · · Score: 1

    The devices run Linux, not Microsoft Pocket PC. The BBC corrected the article very rapidly.

    --
    Andrew Yeomans