Using WiFi to Bridge the Digital Divide 338
andori writes "CNN is running a story about how WiFi is enabling low-income residents Internet access. The project is set at a public housing development in Boston, Massachusetts. Residents buy the WiFi NIC, and the access if free. It is nice to see people making an effort to expand the reach of the Internet to a broader audience."
I do that now.. (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem we run into most is still the cost of the hardware. For people who don't make alot of money, getting started can really take some sacrafice.
keep the internet free (Score:5, Interesting)
This rules - another way we can keep information free to all, especially to people who can use it to improve their lives. Someday broadband will be a reliable public utility.
Re:I do that now.. (Score:3, Interesting)
A friend who works at a local coffee shop is interested in having someone come in and set up a wireless network. I have an AP at home, but its only for me. Any good references or documentation on how to set something like this up well for public use?
Who has a PC but no phone? (Score:3, Interesting)
Appropriate use (Score:5, Interesting)
"Residents can buy wireless cards for their desktops or laptops. The cards, which can cost up to $100 retail, will be given away to the elderly and sold for $60 to others."
I'm not a low income household, but with a full-time student (wife) and kid to feed, it's sometimes hard for me to cough up money for extra hardware (and I'm not what most would consider to be a low income family). I would hope that these people have their own priorites straight before venturing into this. I also hope their welfare checks aren't buying them wireless NIC cards.
Re:Wireless Anarchy (Score:3, Interesting)
The internet provides no accountability in any case. The caught number of hackers is dwarfed by the uncaught. Providing poor people with anonymous internet access is probably safer than providing it to the idle rich (college students).
If you're insecure, you can't rely on every ISP in the world to be helpful or vigilant. Not because they shouldn't be, but because they are not.
Re:FP! (Score:5, Interesting)
Linux, BSD and GNU are virtual Godsends to the poor. Third world countries aren't the only ones who can benefit in this manner. The poor everywhere are poor, and having lived in third world countries, in almost pure hunter gatherer conditions, I must say from my own experience that the poor in many of these places are considerably better off than the residents of public housing in rich countries.
"Stone Age" living is still independant living, where one can at least tend to one's own wants and needs in some manner.
The citified poor have been reduced to a state of utter dependency where even their God given abilites to fare for themselves are, for the most part, denied.
Can the poor with a $10 dollar used 486 benefit from broadband. Damned effin' straight they can.
KFG
Wow... (Score:5, Interesting)
You can think I'm over-reacting, but you should just reread some of the messages that have been posted here. I think free, broadband access in the homes of people who can't afford it is just great.
I think the internet is one of the keys to providing better education and opportunity to those people born into such circumstance that opportunities are rare. Will some people abuse it? Sure...but so? Better they are sitting at home surfing for free porn then some of the other alternatives they could be doing with their lives.
There have been times in my life when money was tight. Because I haven't always had priviledge, does that mean I'm not responsible enough to have as broad a spectrum of rights and opportunities as others? Open your minds...
Craenor
Re:Appropriate use (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm curious? Why exactly are online games and pr0n NOT a good use of something like this? File swapping ... well if they want to be safe from any potential copyright violations carried out on their network then I guess you could drop this BUT personally I wouldn't see the point of setting up a free network to "bridge the digital divide" if you are then going to retain a gap! Surely any defence of file sharing must be especially appropriate to low income households? I can only assume you would like to ban file sharing, I wouldn't!
Secondly, while I agree that they should have their priorities straight before they venture in, I don't see why they shouldn't spend their welfare check on a wireless NIC if they have them straight and can squeeze out the cash!
Re:That's good! (Score:5, Interesting)
Tech: How can I help you?
Customer: I would like to cancel my account.
Tech: Ok... [procedure] And if I may ask, why are you leaving us?
Customer: Yeah, I got wireless internet access.
Tech: Oh? There's a wireless provider in your area?
Customer: Yep- my neighbor's offering it.
Tech: Goodness, we had no idea- what is the name of their business?
Customer: Oh he ain't no business, he doesnt even know I'm using it. Anyways, thanks, goodbye
We were all astonished that someone would steal like that and then tell the truth to one of the few organizations that would actually bother figuring out who was letting people leech like that unknowingly...
How did we let this happen? (Score:3, Interesting)
And I thought that the 1996 telecommunications act renewed our government's support for this concept. Didn't they include internet service in the 1996 plan?!!
I live in one of the more desirable suburbs of my city. But I am screwed as far as having any access to highspeed internet service. Even as a paying customer!
WHY AREN'T WE ENFORCING THE LAWS WE HAVE ALREADY TO FIX THIS SITUATION?!!!
Re:The internet as an educational medium. (Score:3, Interesting)
Really. I'm not making this shit up!
Broaden your awareness (Score:3, Interesting)
If you wish to buy, the second hand tech store three blocks from public housing in my city has PIII's lined up for $175, wiht monitor. For an extra *2* bucks they'll install Red Hat or Mandrake for you.
This isn't necessarily a good deal though, since the Walmart is selling new Linux systems for as little as 200 bucks. That's cheaper than a 19" TV.
Sure, *you* might think of PC's as being multithousand dollar items, but that's your bias. It isn't the case.
KFG
Will it help? Yes (Score:3, Interesting)
Anything that gets more information into a poor kid's head sounds like a benefit to me. Even if you only look at improvement in helping a kid with his homework, that's a great benefit right there. I know my childhood would have been a lot different if I had such easy access to information (it wasn't really around until my late teens).
Here is How (Score:2, Interesting)
Digital Divide, eh? (Score:2, Interesting)
So long as this remains funded by private industry and charities, more power to them. It's the danger that this "digital divide" concept might be pushed into the social responsibility realm where the perception is that it should be funded with tax dollars. It makes me about as pissed as the moment I realized that some of the subsidized housing here in Atlanta was better than the apartment I was living in - it's not about necessity, it's become something completely different.
I feel obligated to quote Michael Powell, "I think there's a Mercedes divide. I'd like one, but I can't afford it."
The Haves and the Have Mores (Score:1, Interesting)
With a diminishment of actual poverty, those who profit from social strife have to push the bar ever and ever higher. Instead of a divided between the haves and the have nots, we get a divided between the have-mores and the haves.
The fact that Jim has 2 cars in his garage and Joe has 15 in his garage thus become a social crisis, evidence of the failure in capitalism which requires much greater government control of our lives.
Re:Appropriate use (Score:3, Interesting)
Yes I have a conscience! What sort of a question is that? May I paraphrase your position as follows: "I believe that we should only allow the poor to do good and proper things while the rich can do whatever they like". If I donated the money for Internet access, I would be mighty p*ssed to discover that some holier than thou had decided that they should define internet access rather than supplying the technological service! If they want to monitor for illegal acts, fine. If they want to block certain websites, games, or programs then they are acting as censors and I would be very concerned about the usefulness of the service they then provide, as instead of bridging the digital divide they would simply be redefining it as "you can have this, but not this, why? because were giving it to you and we say so, be thankful and STFU".
What's wrong with playing quake? Is it not preferable to taking a weapon to school and killing your peers in real life? Same for pr0n (I am using quite facetious arguments I know, but we could spend weeks hammering out the rights and wrongs only to realise that we had simply expressed our own personal prejudices upon the audience, for example British Tabloid papers love to print pictures of topless women on Page3, does that mean they are pornographic? does that mean we censor the newspapers read by the vast majority of the paper reading public in the UK?) should we allow the poor (your word) to view pr0n on keep it from them and maybe have one more frustrated rapist on the loose? What about if some labourer comes in every day after being out for 12 hours and a hard days work and they just wants to make his world that little bit happier by looking at some naked bodies, is his use any less valid than the 40 year old housewife next door who wants to gossip? If so look for laws to outlaw pictures of naked bodies (good luck), don't try and use a position of monetary superiority to enforce your opinions because if you do you are really taking away from the residents and not supplying them as you will discourage anyone else from providing a solution or competition.
If someone suggested that MS, the Republican party or the local church were offering Free Net service, but only to their approved sites/services you would have no debate (well maybe you would, but I would have no problem ignoring you as a troll) but you would see this as entirely different, why?
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)