All right - I'm a bit of ludite at home, too. And, I agree that life is better when we're not all attached to our electronic gadgets.
But, I doubt it's going to change overnight or anything. On 6/14/05, Matthew Small <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > You're twisting what I said. There are many things about technology that > makes life safer. But as for trying it - without tv and internet - I have > in fact done it at home and found my life to be tremendously simpler and > more enjoyable because I'm not addicted to the flickering monitor that's in > front of my face. I my experience, TV and internet are psychologically > addictive and although they are useful tools, they also give an outlet to > show life's more destructive tendencies. > > Yes, technology is a fine tool. It's also changed everyone's live, and not > all of it is beneficial. Don't we hear everyday how kids are attached to > the Nintendos and DVDs instead of playing outside? Have you ever read > accounts of how removing a TV from a household makes children behave better? > I've personally experienced the change in my own lifestyle when I did so. > My yearning is for a simpler life, where advertising does not reach out of > the TV and the Internet into my house and make me want for things I don't > need, and wish for a life that doesn't exist anywhere except on a TV show. > I hate the fact that I even know who Michael Jackson is, and that people > feel the need to watch his every move. I don't wish to deny basic life > sustaining necessities, but I sure do wish that it wasn't so complicated. > I envy a culture that can survive without the plug-in drug. Perhaps they > need the internet. But they got along without it before, and now all that's > going to change. > > Matthew Small > Web Developer > American City Business Journals > 704-973-1045 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Deanna Schneider [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 9:43 AM > To: CF-Community > Subject: Re: Bringing Internet (and VoIP) to Uganda > > Have you ever tried it? Just give it a try - unplug for a while (no > phone, no tv, no internet, sporadic newspapers, if any, only check > postal mail once a week or so). Now - hope that you don't need an > ambulance, or to get news about your mother passing away, or > information about that war thing going on. > > I'm not saying that every house should have broadband and cellphones. > (Hell, I don't have a cellphone and I barely use the phone.) But, the > fact that I can pick up the phone and call 911 if I need to means a > lot to me. And, it's awfully nice that if a storm is coming that I > generally know about it before I'm in danger. We're pretty lucky not > to have to worry about disease epidemics most of the time, but being > able to notify people about vaccine clinics in a timely manner could > save a lot of lives in a lot of parts of Africa. > > There are a lot of really basic uses for telecommunications that > simply aren't available in many parts of developing countries. > > The thing that you might not get is that, at least in my experience, > it's not like these folks live in a time warp ala that last M Shamylan > movie. They _know_ what they're missing and desperatley want aspects > of it. They're already struggling with balancing traditional aspects > of their culture with more Western ideologies. It's a complex life > already. Who are we to tell them that they should be happy with what > they already have? > > > On 6/14/05, Matthew Small <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I don't think I'm being condescending at all. I wish that I could live in > a > > time when life wasn't so rushed, so connected, so in-your-face. I think > > it's an arrogant attitude that makes technologically advanced cultures > > believe that technology automatically makes life better. > > > > > > Matthew Small > > Web Developer > > American City Business Journals > > 704-973-1045 > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Deanna Schneider [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 9:12 AM > > To: CF-Community > > Subject: Re: Bringing Internet (and VoIP) to Uganda > > > > On the contrary - there, just like here, people benefit from computer > > skills and access. When I was in Nigeria in 1993, one of my friends > > there was making a living working on people's computers for them. (He > > later got a job in Canada because of those skills.) People wanted to > > be able to communicate, and there were phones - but they were > > unreliable and difficult to use (invariably, only one of the two > > people could hear at any one time). It's very condescending to think > > that people don't want to be in touch with the world around them, > > simply because they live in a developing country. The idea that they > > live in a "simple culture" is just uninformed. Much of Africa already > > has blended culture. Years of missionary work took its toll long ago. > > > > On 6/14/05, Matthew Small <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I don't think that that phone, computer and Internet improve lives > > > dramatically. It sounds like the beginning of the end for their simple > > > culture. > > > > > > Matthew Small > > > Web Developer > > > American City Business Journals > > > 704-973-1045 > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: C. Hatton Humphrey [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 8:46 AM > > > To: CF-Community > > > Subject: Bringing Internet (and VoIP) to Uganda > > > > > > Quite an interesting little project these folks have going on. > > > > > > http://www.inveneo.org/?q=uganda > > > > > > At 11:10am PST on June 8th, with a VoIP phone call from the Community > > > Knowledge Center to the village of Nyamiryango, Inveneo's first solar > > > and pedal powered communications system went live in the Bukuuku > > > sub-county, Kabarole district of Western Uganda. This successful > > > deployment was completed in partnership with ActionAid, and enables > > > villagers to use a phone, computer and the Internet for the first time > > > ever, empowering them to use communications and technology to improve > > > their lives dramatically. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:160741 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
