I never said that every single person in Africa is starving, if that is where you are getting.
All I am saying is that the percentage of people literally starving in this continent is so huge that talking about an affordable smartphone is a hybris, if you are familiar with the concept.
It feels inhuman, disgusting, pathetic and a lot of other feelings (to me - IMHO) that someone takes action to address the lack of smartphones in Africa before he adresses starvation.
But then, I would not expect anything less from M$.
I believe the best way of dealing with the starvation problem in Africa (or anywhere else) is to provide the workers with the skills to compete in the high technology employment marketplace. Smartphones are a good way to provide low cost access to web-based training.
Africa cannot afford the cost of providing wired access to the Internet; providing wireless access is orders of magnitude less expensive than trying to wire up the entire continent.
I would hope that an initiative like this would encourage others (like Mozilla with their lower cost, more open smartphone projects) to try to help provide Africa with better, less expensive Internet access.
Notice how many of those apps solve an actual need, and/or save money. Not all, but I still find that inspiring, if not shaming, compared to the apps I tend to read about on HN and elsewhere.
Gosier added that many young people were now solving problems using apps: "This generation of Africans will build an app that demands their governments come to their villages and fill holes".
Of course Microsoft is doing this for more selfish reasons, but I just wanted to point out that being able to connect and communicate is important and does help people to help themselves; they don't have a lack of smartphones per se, but a lack of that infrastructure. Desktop PC and landline internet everywhere just aren't in the cards yet.
I have no idea of Microsoft meddling around with this will actually help, or make things worse, as seems to be so often the case. In that respect I agree with you. But still, what is often just a frivolous gadget "here", can really become a tool for others, it certainly does so for many Africans; so I'd be all for supporting such efforts that have no strings attached.
Comments
I never said that every single person in Africa is starving, if that is where you are getting.
All I am saying is that the percentage of people literally starving in this continent is so huge that talking about an affordable smartphone is a hybris, if you are familiar with the concept.
It feels inhuman, disgusting, pathetic and a lot of other feelings (to me - IMHO) that someone takes action to address the lack of smartphones in Africa before he adresses starvation.
But then, I would not expect anything less from M$.
I believe the best way of dealing with the starvation problem in Africa (or anywhere else) is to provide the workers with the skills to compete in the high technology employment marketplace. Smartphones are a good way to provide low cost access to web-based training.
Africa cannot afford the cost of providing wired access to the Internet; providing wireless access is orders of magnitude less expensive than trying to wire up the entire continent.
I would hope that an initiative like this would encourage others (like Mozilla with their lower cost, more open smartphone projects) to try to help provide Africa with better, less expensive Internet access.
Mobile phones are not only useful to chat and check facebook:
http://akirachix.com/Blog/finalists-of-mobile-garage-student...
Notice how many of those apps solve an actual need, and/or save money. Not all, but I still find that inspiring, if not shaming, compared to the apps I tend to read about on HN and elsewhere.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201202090172.html
Gosier added that many young people were now solving problems using apps: "This generation of Africans will build an app that demands their governments come to their villages and fill holes".
And last, but surely not least:
http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/how-mobile-phones-are-tra...
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Of course Microsoft is doing this for more selfish reasons, but I just wanted to point out that being able to connect and communicate is important and does help people to help themselves; they don't have a lack of smartphones per se, but a lack of that infrastructure. Desktop PC and landline internet everywhere just aren't in the cards yet.
I have no idea of Microsoft meddling around with this will actually help, or make things worse, as seems to be so often the case. In that respect I agree with you. But still, what is often just a frivolous gadget "here", can really become a tool for others, it certainly does so for many Africans; so I'd be all for supporting such efforts that have no strings attached.