$100 Laptop is not for you!

If you surf the net it's hard to avoid the excitement over the 'one laptop per child' (olpc) initiative. While it doesn't address core structural global inequalities which persist, opening up technology to the so-called 'third world' is to be nevertheless welcomed.

But, what is rather sickening is the greed of those in over-developed countries clamouring to get hold of the $100 laptop, either because it's so cheap or because of the 'cool' - dare I say geek - factor. (Nor is it the working classes in the 'West' wanting or necessarily being aware of this technology either).

There are stories about selling the laptop for $300 in the West to raise money for olpc. Well charity doesn't alter structural inequalities either. And it's a twisted capitalist logic which makes consumption desirable in order to aid the third world. Get real.

Hands-off, olpc is not for the privileged.

psiphon - against net censorship

For those residing in nations which heavily censor the net, psiphon offers a means to bypass blocked sites. It relies on a trusted social networks.

Appears like it's still in its infancy if you check out the site's forum page, but seriously worth supporting.

i-Phone: i-Don't

Yes, yet another post about the i-phone. But guess what, I don't want one and never will.

1. Apple and their horrible DRM lock you in like an idiot. Free yourself! I'm happy with my iRiver H-140 which can play Ogg

2. Music downloads straight to phone? Foolish people. What about the awful compressed quality? Will you end up paying again for the cd?

3. Battery Life. I want a phone that will work without draining it because I like to listen to music.

4. The touch sensitive screen on the i-phone will be rubbish as a keyboard. The lack of tactility of touch screens is a real problem. Unless some easy text entry system is developed it will be frustrating. (Alternative methods such as a Fitaly and Messagease are efficient but have steep learning curves which the mass market will never adopt).

5. I couldn't help myself...

Sony Ericsson M600i - the holy grail? (part I)

The holy grail? Of course not. It's only a phone (and nor am I religious). But indulge me anyway...

It seemed like it was going to be futile looking for a usable phone + pda.

Yeh, there are Blackberry's, Treo's, xda's but they look awful (apart from the Pearl), and with BBs you have to pay extra charges for push email. While a proper qwerty is great its impact on the phone size is a high price to pay. And those slide out qwerty's are a pain as they can't be used single-handed for quick texting.


The m600i however, has a cool phone factor size and a nice touch-sensitive screen, with a good keyboard (learning curve of course, and takes getting used to if you've got big fingers).

In the UK, with T-Mobile webnwalk, it's the nearest thing of having the web in your pocket.

Still early days for any kind of proper review, but will post as my use progresses.