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Recent posts

OLPC Implementation Costs

less than 1 minute read

I'm now writing some OLPC posts for OLPCNews.com; my first post is uncovering some of the hidden costs in OLPC implementation - it turns out that the $100 ...

A Million Laptop Hangover

4 minute read

Over the next few years, ministers of education worldwide will be waking up from their celebratory launch parties announcing the agreements for the OLPC lapt...

World Bank and National Economic Models

1 minute read

I got to attend a lecture by William Easterly on his new book, focusing on whether or not foreign aid can affect world poverty (spoiler: the past 5 decades d...

OLPC now XO?

3 minute read

There's a developing thread at Engadget about the branding efforts on the OLPC, as well as some argument to its utility. I of course jumped in, responding to...

Copyright

less than 1 minute read

I used to use recipes as a good, non-new/Internet-y example of how you can still make profits (recipe books) with no attempt at copyright enforcement (who c...

Zimbabwe

less than 1 minute read

A lot more information about Zimbabwe, some history, and also a look at their draconian proposed wiretap law (it's possible even worse than in the US!)

The limits of ICT4D

1 minute read

Someone has to pay the 'net bill: Internet traffic in Zimbabwe has come close to a standstill after an international satellite firm slashed its bandwidth be...

Nica Tech Writeup: The importance of local

6 minute read

Sometimes, knowing the local context is not only important, but a stark requirement. Scratch that - always. In Managua, Nicaragua, this is point is driven ...

Morality of Development

4 minute read

Development, like politics, is a metaphorical room where you're amazed at just how many elephants can fit simultaneously, and yet be ignored. These elehpant...

The Economics of Free

less than 1 minute read

While not strictly dev/ICT related, this blog is tracking the economic implications of Open Source, (focusing on the university software development context)...

Technology and the University

less than 1 minute read

More tangentially related tech info, my former employers, The University of Texas' Office of Technology Commercialization are hosting their next big conferen...

Esperanza En Accion

less than 1 minute read

I'm on the technology committee of the Esperanza En Accion board, and as part of this, and in fulfilling a long-standing promise to EeA's director, I'm off t...

Net Neutrality

1 minute read

Dan Kaminsky is working on a software testing tool to check to see if your ISP is giving equal quality to all your traffic, or if they are favoring certain t...