It's all well and good thinking that the net will cause some dramatic sea-change in the fortunes of lesser-developed nations, but surely what it all comes down to is how to disseminate information for learning. An example is India, which has achieved much via a mixture of old and new technologies. They have acheived a revolution in education via satellite radio broadcasting. This has enabled distance-led teaching on a huge range of subjects, from basic education to health issues such as HIV. Of course, India also happens to have a huge number of very highly educated and talented people; it's just that it has a huge economic imbalance. The net certainly is the ultimate expression of free thought (this could go really off-topic) and so it is the superior tool for sharing information. However, it arguably won't provide the best return for the necessary investment. These nations will benefit more from democracy where it currently is not prevalent, clean water, sanitation and food supply. The world has survived thus far without help from Messrs Grove, Gates, Jobs and Torvalds. Where does this lead? Another 4 billion PCs consuming vast amounts of energy, requiring more fossil fuel combustion - with the subsequent global warming effects. Maybe ignorance is bliss... an no-one said life was fair.
Slashdot Mirror
It's all well and good thinking that the net will cause some dramatic sea-change in the fortunes of lesser-developed nations, but surely what it all comes down to is how to disseminate information for learning. An example is India, which has achieved much via a mixture of old and new technologies. They have acheived a revolution in education via satellite radio broadcasting. This has enabled distance-led teaching on a huge range of subjects, from basic education to health issues such as HIV. Of course, India also happens to have a huge number of very highly educated and talented people; it's just that it has a huge economic imbalance. The net certainly is the ultimate expression of free thought (this could go really off-topic) and so it is the superior tool for sharing information. However, it arguably won't provide the best return for the necessary investment. These nations will benefit more from democracy where it currently is not prevalent, clean water, sanitation and food supply. The world has survived thus far without help from Messrs Grove, Gates, Jobs and Torvalds. Where does this lead? Another 4 billion PCs consuming vast amounts of energy, requiring more fossil fuel combustion - with the subsequent global warming effects. Maybe ignorance is bliss... an no-one said life was fair.