Newer Technologies Digitally Divide Us
,----[ Quote ]
| How do we try and bridge this gap? No clean-cut solution exists to this
| complex issue. Nonetheless, advocates of open source technologies - such as
| open-source software and open-source hardware -definitely strive to help
| minimize costs for the consumers. For instance, the OpenOffice.org group
| provides a great, free alternative to the highly priced Microsoft Office.
| While it may not have the same development polish as Microsoft’s flagship
| office suite, it is hard to get around the fact it costs zero dollars to the
| user.
|
| Some projects try to address the fundamental issue behind the technological
| gap, which is access to a computer. One Laptop per Child is a non-profit
| organization based out of Delaware now producing a laptop partially built on
| open source technologies that will cost just $200. These laptops are designed
| for use in third-world countries and the organization will not sell them to
| the public. In spite of this, they have devised a clever system allowing
| people who are not in third world countries to purchase two OLPC laptops, one
| to keep for themselves and one to donate to the organization.
`----
http://www.dailynexus.com/article.php?a=14990
Free and Open Source Games
,----[ Quote ]
| I got involved with the Nonprofit Open Source Initiative because I was (and
| am) fundamentally interested in helping organizations work in a way that
| doesn't just lock out groups that don't have the financial resources to keep
| up with software advances, and that does allow them to truly own the tools
| that they are building their work around.
`----
http://www.pbs.org/idealab/2007/11/free-and-open-source-games.html
There is still one main foe when it comes to humanitarian causes
(not 'investments' in lock-in, which are called 'charity' and also get
funnelled to decision makers).
Related:
Working Linux Emergency Response System
Undermined at Homeland Security by Microsoft Lobbying
^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
,----[ Overview ]
| LAMP is at the heart of Emergency Response Network Systems and is
| saving lives. But recently, Microsoft maneuvered into taking the system
| away from a Free Software vendor.
`----
http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/57181/
Open source helps housing effort
,----[ Quote ]
| Open source software will serve at the heart of a project management system
| developed in a humanitarian effort to design housing for the needy.
|
| [...]
|
| Communities in areas affected by disasters such as Hurricane Katrina
| and the South Asian tsunami are intended benefactors of the system.
| One particular project involves designing inexpensive homes for Gulf
| Coast families in Mississippi. Also, designers in places such as
| Afghanistan, Angola and Chile are putting projects on the network.
`----
http://weblog.infoworld.com/techwatch/archives/010188.html
Free Works in Africa
,----[ Quote ]
| Fortunately for the school, eTux was being formed by a group of
| local Linux geeks. It provides networked computers to disadvantaged
| schools and communities. As its name implies, eTux uses Linux and
| open-source software.
|
| eTux scrounged some secondhand workstations and transformed them
| into thin clients. The thin clients were then connected to a Linux
| Terminal Server running Edubuntu, the educational version of
| Ubuntu Linux--free software backed by South African Internet
| mogul Mark Shuttleworth.
`----
http://inpics.net/isolemamba/
Open-source system helps victims cope with disasters
,----[ Quote ]
| The Sahana Free and Open Source project was built over three
| weeks to help coordinate tsunami relief efforts in Sri Lanka by
| a group of volunteers from the Sri Lankan IT industry, in
| collaboration with IBM.
`----
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=42480
Open source Wikipedia proves Good Samaritans do exist, Dartmouth says
,----[ Summary ]
| Dartmouth researchers say contributions of passersby of similar quality to
| those of regular users
`----
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/101707-open-source-wikipedia.html
IBM Partners With Grameen Foundation to Expand Its Open Source Microfinance
Banking Platform and Help Eradicate Poverty
,----[ Quote ]
| IBM and Grameen Foundation today announced a collaborative project to help
| microfinance institutions (MFIs) better serve poor communities around the
| world by expanding Mifos, Grameen Foundation's ground-breaking open source
| microfinance software platform.
`----
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0315221.htm
Why Do Some Software Programmers Work for Free?
,----[ Quote ]
| In the end, the results suggest that a potential monetary payoff down the
| line does motivate software developers to be more productive, but many
| developers are still attracted to the movement for things besides pecuniary
| rewards. They just don't seem to work as hard.
`----
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/odd-numbers/2007/08/31/why-do-some-software-programmers-work-for-free
Altruism and open source
,----[ Quote ]
| The story illustrates a point. That is, open source goals are often
| directed outward, not inward. It's not, I'm going to make money, but
| we're going to accomplish some larger goal.
|
| Often the target of open source ambition is the customer. Open
| source projects drive out costs and bring savings, which multiply
| as customers learn more about their open source tools.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=795
Controversy Swirls around OLPC Project
,----[ Quote ]
| However, it now appears that Intel has realized that it's better policy (and
| better public relations) to work with projects like the OLPC rather than
| against them. In fact, on July 13 it was announced that Intel is joining the
| board of the OLPC and will be supporting its efforts to spread low-cost
| computing to children.
|
| With this news, it seemed as if the OLPC had proved its intentions and could
| finally get on with deploying its XO laptops in developing countries.
| However, right about the same time, another titan of old-school computing
| decided to take a few shots at the OLPC and the low-cost XO.
`----
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2161645,00.asp
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