6 things I learned form Adele Botha

Adele Botha

Originally uploaded by stevewheeler7

1. mobile coverage in inner city areas in south africa, Jamaica and other developing areas: %100
2. out of the kids surveyed, %70 had used mobile internet in the last day
3. even texting is expensive, but people workaround it using pleascallmes
4. kids are creating de-facto p2p networks over bluetooth, with the same sharing etiquette of web p2p nets.
5. kids figure out the technology, but need help coping with the culture shock
6. there are known trees where, if you climb up a particular branch, you can get reception. people go up, send & receive batches of SMSs, and walk on. (is there a collaborative map of these?)

(more hhl coverage on Steve Wheeler’s blog)

The African origins of the Von-Neuman computer

I’m a long time fan of Ron Eglash’s work. So when I tuned into TED talks last night, and saw him on the side bar, I immediately switched over. And man was it worth it.