More Tech Salons About Wayan Vota
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In a world where 6 billion people have access to a phone, yet only 4.5 billion have access to a toilet, it is pertinent to ask how technological innovation can meet the needs of those living in poverty. At the How Can We Do Technology for Development Better? Technology Salon at ThoughtWorks in London, Amber…
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Congratulations! Ghana was just deemed to be the 2nd most lawful country in Africa (behind Botswana) by the World Justice Project. While this is a laudable achievement, just how much technology was involved? Did we need Ghana Open Data? Or can Ghanaians enjoy good governance without technology solutions getting in the way? Please RSVP now…
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The UN Week Digital Media Lounge will be highlighting new approaches that are tackling Millennium Development Goal challenges. Innovative information and communication technologies are one way to accelerate progress toward meeting the MDGs. But what are the big new ideas? Who is pushing the innovation envelope? And how are humanitarian agencies using these ICT tools…
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There has been a great deal of media attention on the ‘One Laptop Per Child’ (OLPC) project since the announcement of a “$100 laptop” over five years ago. Most of this attention focuses on its potential to address the educational challenges in developing countries. Much less is known about what is actually happening on-the-ground with…
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Are you a Technology Salon subscriber on the West Coast that’s feeling left out of our two SMS4D Salons in Washington DC? Don’t! We’re bringing all the great SMS text messaging fun to San Francisco with SMS4Dev-SF on June 17th.
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Now that your interest was piqued with last month’s SMS for Development Technology Salon, get ready for SMS4D-2: the Cloudy Salon.
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In a recent Twitter exchange, James BonTempo asked a very pertinent question about the current mHealth buzz:
The only mHealth definition? (Img: DataDyne)Should definition of #mHealth include devices (wondering specifically about netbooks) or simply the concept of mobility?
He followed up his initial query with a simple poll that asked if mHealth should include a list of specific platforms or just the concept of mobility. So far, Twitterers agree, the “m” in mHealth should represent mobility, regardless of form factor.
But that’s different from the general notion of mHelth, represented by the mHealth Wikipedia entry, which focuses on equipment “mHealth is a recent term for medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, PDAs, and other wireless devices”
In our next Technology Salon, we’ll explore what the “m” in mHealth means for those who actually practice mHelath, with these field-experienced experts:
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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?
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.
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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?