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Digital Opportunity
 With
the objective of bridging the vast digital divide a Web portal
christened, www.digitalopportunity.org was recently launched
in New Delhi. Says Britain-based Anuradha Vittachi of the
Digital Opportunity channel, “We want to create a little
pond on the Net where people can throw in their pebbles. That’s
the only way we can bridge the digital divide by creating
ripples of unexpected consequences.”
Sri Lankan-born Vittachi is the director of OneWorld, an
online network, which reports on sustainable development and
human rights. OneWorld has promoted the new channel in association
with Washington-based Benton Foundation, a non-profit organisation.
“Information about how the digital divide is being
addressed in Europe and in the US is widely available. However,
till date, there has been no site, which provides a global
picture and explores the viewpoints, challenges and successes
of grassroots communities in and around the world. We aim
to plug that gap,” says Benton Foundation’s Andy
Carvin. “Developing countries have largely been marginalised
in the global dialogue on the benefits and negative impact
of digital technologies,” says channel editor Kanti Kumar.
 The
channel leverages the experience of Benton Foundation’s
Digital Divide Network in building a community consisting
of practitioners, academicians, policy leaders and people
from ICT industries. According to its promoters, the channel
will feature news from around the globe, campaign actions,
success stories, opinion pieces by leading commentators, in-depth
analysis and research, funding information, e-mail digests
and a search engine on ICT for development.
Crafts online
 This
project has been initiated to support women’s craft co-operatives
in Himachal Pradesh. The project helps members in marketing
their handloom silk and woollen shawls via a website, which
has been set-up for the purpose. More details about the initiative
are available at www.developmentgateway.org. Conducted by
the Communication, Culture & Technology Program of Georgetown
University, Washington, D.C., the website offers four theses
exploring the project. The theses are available on http://www.k2crafts.com/
ComputersforIndia
 For
schools interested in acquiring information on earlier generation
Pentium PCs, check out www.digitalequaliser.org and follow
the link to ‘computersforindia’.
The site provide information on how computer literacy programmes
have been conducted in various parts of India, copies of documents
required for waiver of import duty, and related information.
Virtual teaching in Pak
Teaching goes virtual in Pakistan. Following in India’s
footsteps, neighbouring Pakistan has been investing heavily
in expanding Net access, reports the BBC.
Thousands of Pakistanis are being offered the chance to
learn the skills they need to thrive in the computer age thanks
to a new virtual university. The $40m project is providing
distance learning through television and Internet, enabling
all interested candidates to take part in the classes, irrespective
of their place of domicile.
The project aims to create a generation of software programmers
and computer engineers who can rival the best in the world.
Pakistan is eager to develop an information technology industry,
much like India has done. Experts estimate the country needs
at least 60,000 computer science graduates to achieve this
aim.
Onward online learning
 National
Centre for Software Technology (NCST), an autonomous organisation,
involved in research and development, is organising an international
conference on online learning called ‘VIDYAKASH-2002’
from 15th-17th December 2002 at Mumbai. For further details
go to http://www.ncst.ernet.in/vidyakash2002/ or e-mail: vidyakash2002@ncst.ernet.in
ICTs guide
 Aditya
Dev Sood, who runs the Centre for Knowledge in Bangalore informs
that a new version of the ‘Guide to ICTs for Development’
printed across 88 pages, and covering some statistical analysis
on the sector is now available on the stands. Further details
are available at www.cks-b.org.
Mobile for rural India
What’s the market for mobile computing services in
rural India? This analysis, conducted by Media Lab Asia/Global
Entrepreneurship Lab, helps in understanding how mobile computing
services will complement services offered by village kiosks.
More information is available on http://web.media.mit.edu/~nathan/research/mla/Final_MLA_report.pdf
HP Labs initiatives
 IDG
News Service correspondent John Ribeiro reports that HP Labs
India, which was set up in Bangalore earlier this year by
Hewlett-Packard is developing products suitable for India’s
rural markets.
Among the things on the company’s agenda are Indian
language support for an experimental PC (which can be used
by four users simultaneously, taking digital photography to
village kiosks as a second revenue stream et al.
Eight-O-two-dot-eleven
 Venkatesh
Hariharan of Media Lab Asia says MLA is exploring the use
of 802.11 technology for rural networks. Says he, “I
am interested in knowing about others who have tried to apply
802.11 technology for rural connectivity and their experiences
so far,” For more details e-mail venky@media.mit.edu
or visit the MLA site www.medialabasia.org.
Partners from India?
Jean-Claude Dauphin of UNESCO informs that the UN body
has recently developed a free software portal at http://www.unesco.org/webworld/portal_freesoft.
Jean can be reached at jc.dauphin@unesco.org
Currently, UNESCO is looking out for contributors with a
good knowledge of the Free Software movement in relation with
UNESCO fields of competence education, science and culture.
The organisation is especially interested in countries from
the south who could revise, update and extend the UNESCO Free
Software Portal as well as include new basic documents. Further
information is available on http://www.unesco.org /webworld/portal_freesoft
Linux-in-Education, LIFE
 Check
out the Linux-in-Education (LIFE) mailing list, being run
from Mumbai by Professor Nagarjuna G, a scientist and keen
Free Software proponent at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science
Education.
http://mm.hbcse.tifr.res.in/mailman/listinfo/life Incidentally,
Nagarjuna is also planning to put together an interesting
college of Free Software tools for engineering college students
in India. See http://mm.ilug-bom.org.in/mailman/search/college-distro/
n-Logue, n-rural
 n-Logue
Communications CEO P G Ponnapa recently wrote saying that
n-Logue is a rural focused operating company and works accordingly
with the objective of ensuring quality service in rural and
semi-urban areas. Besides work at Dehra Dun, they have been
involved at Melur in Madurai district too. According to Ponnapa
the important thing is in knowing how local applications can
be taken and made contextual in this scenario for the rural
populace. Says he “Many people have visited our projects
in Tamil Nadu and have seen what exactly is happening. The
Tamil Nadu government has noticed this and has asked us in
their Policy document to replicate this in 10 districts.”
Politico-computing
 Media
reports recently said legislators in Uttar Pradesh have once
again revived their demand for laptop computers that will
enhance their capability to serve their constituents. In the
previous assembly, all parties had unanimously approved a
plan to equip legislators with a laptop, but then state chief
minister Rajnath Singh withheld permission to continue with
the project due to lack of funds.
 Says
Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala of IIT-Madras, “It is good that
our legislators want to use these tools.” But according
to him there are two concerns. Firstly, vendors try to dump
expensive equipments in the country. Many large multinationals
try to sell expensive machinery to MPs and other government
officials (or even the institutes faculty) when actually a
simple low cost laptop/computer would do just fine. This leads
to an inflated budget, which in turns backfires on general
computerisation. But at this point of time there doesn’t
seem to be any simple way out. Secondly, there is a need for
laptops to be used creatively. Says Jhunjhunwala, “Some
NGOs should design a course. Also, MPs should respond to mails.”
India Computes! is presented by Frederick Noronha, the co-founder
of BytesForAll, a voluntary, unfunded venture focusing on
how IT and the Internet can benefit the common man, particularly
in South Asia. Join the BytesForAll mailing list by sending
a message to fred@bytesforall.org with “SUB B4ALL”
as subject, or check out the website at www.bytesforall.org.
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