RE: [DDN] "A picture is worth a thousand words!" "Yup, in kilobytes"
Hi Claude, And as my computer science students discovered: A picture is also worth a thousand different interpretations! :) BC @ Your Library ECU - a participant in the 2004 WA Statewide Library Marketing Campaign. Barbara Combes, Lecturer School of Computer and Information Science Edith Cowan University, Perth Western Australia Ph: (08) 9370 6072 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap compared to that of an ignorant nation." This email is confidential and intended only for the use of the individual or entity named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please notify me immediately by return email or telephone and destroy the original message. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Claude Almansi Sent: Wednesday, 20 October 2004 3:32 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; The Digital Divide Network discussion group; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [DDN] "A picture is worth a thousand words!" "Yup, in kilobytes" Hi I wrote what follows in anger at an www.elearningeuropa.info forum called "The Role of the New Technologies in Cultural Dialogue" http://tinyurl.com/5m7ks , where all the initial posts insist on how important the use of images would be for multicultural exchanges, wondering at why so many sites are still textual, "refusing the multimedia revolution". The total absence of any mention of tech limitations to access angered me, and I wrote a post entitled <<"A picture is worth a thousand words!" "Yup, in kilobytes">> http://tinyurl.com/5qmaj : This subject line is from an actual exchange during the World Summit on Information Society http://www.itu.int/wsis/ in Geneva last December. With another participant, first met online through the "Information Society: Voices from the South" mailing list, we were joking about the Summit's official pages and PDFs, made huge by the addition of clumsily formatted logos and pics of personalities, offered by the organisers of WSIS with no regard for people with slow modem connections, web e-mails with scanty storage, forced to use antiquated computers in cybercafes. The most insensitive use of pictures was made by the Austrian organisers World Summit Awards http://www.wsis-award.org/ . At first, if you didn't have the shockwave pug-in, you just couldn't enter their site, because there was no alternative to their flash home page. They also produced a pdf for the nomination of experts for the award: enormous and locked. I asked them to produce a text version in several parts, as several people on the above mentioned mailing list were unable to download it, yet wanted to submit expert nominations for their countries. The organisers refused because they couldn't understand what it meant to have "non hi tech" internet access conditions. So I asked Andy Carvin, then working for the Benton foundation http://www.benton.org , if he could have a go. It worked. He got the separate texts forming the PDF from them and reposted them, separately and unlocked, at the Benton site. Americans are ahead of us in tech, but for them, it is just a tool, that must be adapted to the user's conditions. We Europeans all too often seem more enamoured of tech for tech's sake :-S Reading the erudite quotations about "Image language" provided by Pierre-Antoine Ullmo in this forum, I can't help wondering if their authors have ever been forced to use the internet in measly conditions, and what they actually know about bandwidth, hotlinking, storage, RAM capacity, CPU's, W3C accessibility rules... In About the Image http://www.elearningeuropa.info/forums.php?fPage=viewtopic&t=437&p1=1&p2 =1&p3=1&p4=1&lng=5 , Ullmo himself writes: Quote: "However the majority of applications on the web remain conventional, giving priority to the text and to a lineal and rigid reading mode. There is no real revolution of the writing process that accompanies the progress of new media." True, but only in part. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page , probably the best online Encyclopedia, multilingual, made by users from different countries, makes abundant use of hypertext, inviting non-linear reading. The scant use of pictures is not due to conservatism, but aimed at insuring accessibility for all. The same consideration for less favorised users explains the austere look of most "GNU" sites. See http://www.fsf.org . As to websites made in poorer countries, there is another reason for this scant use of images: bandwidth theft. Hosting rates are calculated in function of the bandwidth used by a site. If a small association with little means can only afford a limited bandwidth, using images for its site means running the risk that someone will copy-paste them in another site: it unfortunately happens all the time, in particular in "usenet" sites
RE: [DDN] Town meetings
try http://www24.brinkster.com/alexweir/UniPoll/index.asp which is a 'post-your-own-questions' open global voting system, where the answer is not a simple yes or no, but a grey-scale 1 thru 9. This kind of functionality can be very useful if the town meeting moderator(s) can set concise questions(s) Although strictly speaking there is no private-group facility on this/my site at the moment, it can be used as such, especially if the actual question is only available on the email or web group and a reference only to the question number is posted on the UniPoll site as above.. Also setting, polling and closing the question quickly (within 1 day or several hours) increases the assurance that all responses are from your group and not from passing strangers. The source code for this site is simple asp3 and the database is microsoft access 2000. I can make both available if for any good cause. Mr Alex Weir, Contract Software Developer, Harare, Zimbabwe. tel +263-4-301 047 and +263 23 824 045 (mob) http://www24.brinkster.com/alexweir/ global roving email mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] instant messenger: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Larry Elin > Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2004 3:19 PM > To: Diigtal Divide > Subject: [DDN] Town meetings > > > Can anybody answer this question sent to me by a friend? > > Q: "I've been assigned the task of developing an 'electronic town > meeting' for > Evergreen by our local Chamber of Commerce. Any single piece of advice > or > resource that might be more valuable than others?" > > Larry Elin > Television, Radio, Film Dept. > S.I. Newhouse School > Syracuse University > Syracuse, NY 13210 > (315)443-3415 ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] "A picture is worth a thousand words!" "Yup, in kilobytes"
Claude, I'm glad you made the points you did, but I also see two sides to this. Having lived for a while in Niger, with poor connectivity and at the time relying on the parastatal telecom monopoly for the only connections, I know the frustration of encountering blithely high bandwidth web presentations (some by development organizations no less). But I still see an advantage in judicious and creative use of image and audio for the many multilingual markets where the dominant internet languages are not that widely used. Why not find appropriate ways to exploit the image and sound potential of the media? In Niger and several years ago in cybercafes in Mali I did not usually have too much problem with loading simple images, though my tactic was always to run more than one browser window concurrently so I could work on one thing while another was loading. Much appreciated were pages that use JPEG or GIF images but also have a text only option. Including the latter should be a general rule for any international development site. (Re audio, I know of a couple of people in Bamako who received audio file attachments to e-mail, and downloaded and listened to them in cybercafes.) My impression is that bandwidth issues are improving in a lot of places in the global South (certainly did in Niamey) to where loading a less flashy set of simple images is not as much a problem as it used to be. However many such places will likely remain behind the curve for a while so that mobilizing the latest tech for the maximum multimedia effect will always be inappropriate for them. At the same time, development of text content in diverse languages where appropriate, and machine translation for text that won't get otherwise translated, should definitely be on the agenda. Just my ¥0.02 ... Don Osborn Bisharat.net Quoting Claude Almansi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Hi > > I wrote what follows in anger at an www.elearningeuropa.info forum > called "The Role of the New Technologies in Cultural Dialogue" > http://tinyurl.com/5m7ks , where all the initial posts insist on how > important the use of images would be for multicultural exchanges, > wondering at why so many sites are still textual, "refusing the > multimedia revolution". > The total absence of any mention of tech limitations to access angered > me, and I wrote a post entitled <<"A picture is worth a thousand words!" > "Yup, in kilobytes">> http://tinyurl.com/5qmaj : > > This subject line is from an actual exchange during the World Summit on > Information Society http://www.itu.int/wsis/ in Geneva last December. > ... ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] "A picture is worth a thousand words!" "Yup, in kilobytes"
It would seem to me good practice, especially for those in the "divide" business, to have a very simple, very fast loading home page which would give "connectivity" options to the viewers. (Oddly, I think there are many with broadband connections and fast Pentiums who would view text as their first option.) Email text should also give reliable information as to what are the connectivity issues for any links provided -- particularly for those with heavy graphics. 11:13 AM -0500 10/20/04, Donald Z. Osborn wrote: Claude, I'm glad you made the points you did, but I also see two sides to this. ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
Re: [DDN] possibility of a "headless emac"
On Oct 18, 2004, at 11:58 AM, Phil Shapiro wrote: there's talk on various apple news sites that the emac is nearing end-of-life. i sure hope that the next incarnation of the emac is a "headless" one -- without a monitor. there are literally millions of CRT monitors being decomissioned in homes and offices these days. it's best to put these older monitors to use with a new computer that doesn't come with a monitor. The ecological argument on these monitors presupposes that there is some method by which these CRTs will be kept permanently out of the landfills. But that's just not so -- given usable lifespans and the shift in the market to LCDs (and the next wave of display technologies on deck starting in 2005), these devices are simply going to enter the trash stream at some point shortly. (Besides -- ever check out the energy budget of a CRT versus an LCD? I'm not so sure that it's not better to dump that CRT.) Since I make my bread and butter from Apple computers, I'd be quite happy if Apple came up with a brilliant device at a price point cheap enough to get it into Cracker Jack boxes. But it's just not going to happen. Apple has been jumping up and down, waving its arms, saying, "We are not in the commodity computer market. The worst of what we sell is too good to sell that cheaply; if you want a $300 computer, look elsewhere." On the other hand, what they get *very* little credit for is that what they sell has a longer lifespan than the rest of the industry, and as a result anyone who wants a $300 Mac can get one; it'll just be the one released two years ago. But so long as you're willing to avoid the hype of running today's software, it's going to last you for years. And I know that both Phil and I have our own Museums of Macs of Yore up and running to back that up. Anyway -- if you want to pressure Apple, then there's better ways to do it. How about a program where old Macs can be brought to Apple Stores as distribution points for local nonprofits and schools? Cost: zero (excepting lost inventory space and staff time, both nonnegligible). Benefit: one more place where old computers are kept out of the trash stream and doing some good. Best, Jeff Porten ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
[DDN] => Doors to Diplomacy 2005 Web Site Competition for Middle School and High School Students
*Please re-post as appropriate Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC October 19, 2004 State Department Announces "Doors to Diplomacy" 2005 Web Site Competition for Middle School and High School Students The U.S. Department of State along with the Global SchoolNet Foundation is pleased to announce the 2005 "Doors to Diplomacy" award competition. This educational award will recognize the student-created Global SchoolNet Web project that best teaches others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy. Winners will be announced in spring 2005. Students work in small teams with teacher-coaches. Each student member of the team who wins the "Doors to Diplomacy" award receives a $2,000 scholarship, and the winning coaches' schools each receive a $500 cash award. The State Department also sponsors a trip to Washington, DC, where the winners receive a private tour of the State Department facilities, meet with key officials, and participate in a special award presentation ceremony. For a project description and information on eligibility and judging criteria, visit http://globalschoolhouse.org/doors/ For more information, contact Yvonne Marie Andres Global SchoolNet Telephone: 760-635-0001 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or Janice Clark U.S. Department of State Telephone: 703-875-5086 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Global SchoolNet Foundation 132 N. El Camino Real, #395, Encinitas, California, 92024 Phone: (760) 635-0001Fax: (760)635-0003 www.globalschoolnet.org Collaborate, communicate & celebrate learning! Thank YOU for Supporting GlobalSchoolNet.org. Please Donate NOW! Our nonprofit needs your support to continue being a much-needed resource for online educators. Even a $20 tax-deductible contribution allows us to keep the website running and to provide our free projects, newsletters and support services. Try the "Donate Now" button on our homepage or visit: http://www.globalschoolnet.org/membership/members/login/contribute.cfm ___ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
