Technology Salon

4PComputing

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a discussion at the intersection of technology and development

More Tech Salons About 4PComputing

  • Cell Phones vs Computers: February Technology Salon

    Washington DC | By on February 5, 2009 | 1 Comment

    With the explosion of mobile handsets and the faltering of the “$100 laptop” idea, the international development community is focusing on the mobile phone as an empowerment tool, while questioning investments in computers. Is this wise? Is there a data continuum that includes both? Or should development dollars really shift to one platform at a loss to the other?

    cell phone africa
    The primary development platform?

    Please join us for a spirited debate where Troy Etulain of USAID will push us to envision a future where development objectives are achieved on mobile phones, while Wayan Vota will back computers, desktops even, as the true tool of choice to accelerate development with technology.

    Katherine Townsend of State will moderate the discussion with an eye to finding realistic recommendations for the development community.

    Our gracious host is the UN Foundation and I’ll have coffee and donuts for a good morning sugar rush to wake everyone up.

    Mobile Phones vs. Computers: a False ICT4D Choice?
    February Technology Salon
    Thursday, February 12th, 8:30-10am
    UN Foundation Conference Room
    1800 Mass Avenue, NW, Suite 400
    Washington, D.C. 20036 (map)

    Do note that seating is limited and the UN Foundation is in a secure building. So the first dozen (12) to RSVP will be confirmed attendance and then there will be a waitlist.

  • Computers in Schools TCO: November Technology Salon

    Washington DC | By on October 23, 2008 | Comments Off on Computers in Schools TCO: November Technology Salon

    For November, we have a very special Technology Salon. In coordination with the World Bank e-Development Thematic Group and infoDev, we will have a World Bank ICT and Education Community of Practice Discussion on Total Cost of Ownership:

    How much does it really cost to introduce and sustain computers in schools? A discussion of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and models of affordable computing for schools in developing countries.

    Come join what we hope to be a lively presentation and discussion of the findings of both activities, their potential implications, and the underlying methodologies and assumptions underpinning the models explored in this work.

    Speakers:

    Logistics:

    11am to 12:30pm – 6 November 2008
    The World Bank “J” Building,
    701 18th Street, NW, room J-B1-075

    While this Technology Salon promises to be larger than usual, seating is still limited, so please

    OLPC in the Field: June Technology Salon

    Washington DC | By on June 2, 2008 | Comments Off on OLPC in the Field: June Technology Salon

    Rabi Karmacharya
    Rabi Karmacharya

    There is much talk about One Laptop Per Child, Nicholas Negroponte idea of a “$100 laptop” empowering education in the developing world. Yet the focus tends to be on the XO laptop itself, not the overall impact of the program on both technology and education.

    For the next Technology Salon on June 3 at 5:30pm, we’ll move pass the headlines and into the field with two special guests:

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  • Dialing for Digital Development: May Technology Salon

    Washington DC | By on May 1, 2008 | Comments Off on Dialing for Digital Development: May Technology Salon

    Mobile phones have established themselves as the communication and networking platform of choice for billions of the world’s consumers, most of whom are at the base of the global economic pyramid. Worldwide, mobile phone subscribers outnumber Internet users almost 3 to 1, with much of that gap coming from skyrocketing mobile phone use in Africa, India and China.
    Yet new mobile computing platforms, such as the XO laptop from One Laptop Per Child and the Asus Eee PC promise to radically change Internet access with breakthrough portability, performance, power and price. Does “4P Computing” pose a challenge to mobile phone dominance, or does each approach blend into the other?

  • The Rise of 4P Computing: April Technology Salon

    San Francisco | By on April 14, 2008 | Comments Off on The Rise of 4P Computing: April Technology Salon

    One year ago this week, One Laptop Per Child changed its mission, dropping its invitation for lower-cost alternatives to the XO laptop. Was that a reaction just to Intel’s Classmate PC, or amazing foresight?
    Either way, a year later we are witnessing a dramatic change in the low-cost laptop marketplace. New low-cost laptops, or as I am now calling them, 4P Computing (Power, Performance, Portability, Price) are popping up daily with entrants from the practical Asus Eee PC to the seemingly comical Van Der Led.

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