harmo@cc.helsinki.fi (06/03/91)
I have some visitors from Nepal Telephone Company (NTC) and I've been talking to them about computer-mediated communication systems, mainly usenet. I feel that Usenet could be a great tool for development. It could help NTC and other local companies and byreacracies greatly in their own computerization (I am taking for granted here that computerazation can be a good thing for developing countries, of course that is much open for discussion). It is quite difficult to find a broad range of expertize in Kathmandu, not to speak of other parts of Nepal). Nepal is also full of foreign experts. Telefax has helped communications very much, e-mail and usenet would be another big step in making the work of experts more efficient. Maybe some experts could even be replaced by expertice offered thru the networks. I understand that the universities in Kathmandu are so poorly computerized that it would be quite difficult to get much educational benefits from the usenet connections (maybe participants in soc.culture.nepal will respond to this). Maybe the + & - of computer-mediated communications would be a fruitful topic in the new comp.society.development-group? Then some technical and organizational questions to netters in news.misc. I've been claiming that: -They could get the necessary hardware and software for about 5000-10000$ (386+unix+uucp+nn+9600mnp or trailblazer or...?) -They could maintain the system locally (there is at least one unix-dealer in Kathmandu, and NTC has qualified computer personel, though no unix-experience so far). With Nepali bureaucratic system it would maybe mean assigning one or two foreign-trainded engineers to maintain the system and using the local company for support and training. Alternatively, they might get some international funding. -They could try to find a newsfeed in London (all international calls go thru London anyway, lines to neigboring countries are too bad). About half-hours connection daily would keep them well up-to-date on most important newsgroups and on e-mail. How do you go about finding a feed? -Many international organizations would be very happy to get these connections. NTC could serve as a feed to them. Internal telephone connections are very good in Nepal, so that would be no problem. Any mistakes here? Am I perhaps underestimating the work in maintaining a usenet-node? What worries me most is how does this fit in usenet and uucp policies? NTC is a state-owned business. They must make some profit thru the system or it must help run their other businesses more efficiently. As I understand, that would be quite un-usenethical. Does the fact that this would take place in one of the poorest developing coutries change anything? Will they be able to charge the sites that they will be feeding (apart from the telepone-bills)? Should they rather look for some commercial systems? Should a possible usenet- and uucp -connection be established by some other organization (UN?) that could put up the system and serve as a feed to others?
emv@msen.com (Ed Vielmetti) (06/04/91)
In article <1991Jun3.141524.1@cc.helsinki.fi> harmo@cc.helsinki.fi writes:
What worries me most is how does this fit in usenet and uucp
policies? NTC is a state-owned business. They must make some
profit thru the system or it must help run their other
businesses more efficiently. As I understand, that would be
quite un-usenethical. Does the fact that this would take place in
one of the poorest developing coutries change anything?
Profits are generally seen as an OK byproduct of usenet as long as
that's not the only purpose of connections; there are several firms in
the USA (UUNET, PSI) which sell uucp connections for a fee and they're
generally agreed to be a good thing. This stuff costs money to do, no
question about that.
There's a general sense that monopolistic communications practices are
bad, that is to say EUNET's past practices of discrimination against
independent networking in Europe were roundly thrashed out on
news.admin, and they eventually relented and allowed other networking
organizations to hook up without penalty. It would be interesting to
determine whether the situation in Nepal is such that any sort of
competition for networking services is even possible, or whether the
country is in such a state that only state-owned business can afford
the bills.
netnews also has the effect of exporting revolutions (e.g.
soc.culture.china had an impact on the student revolution). will
soc.culture.nepal be seen as a threat, will there be restrictions on
political speech? i dunno what the real answer is there.
--Edharmo@cc.helsinki.fi (06/04/91)
I wrote: > -Many international organizations would be very happy to get > these connections. NTC could serve as a feed to them. Internal > telephone connections are very good in Nepal, so that would be > no problem. > > Any mistakes here? Upon further reflection I came upon quite a bad mistake in the scheme. I believe that there are very few unix-machines (not to speak of mainframes that could run newsreader) in Nepal, so there probably would not be much demand, unless NTC set up a modem-based newsreading service. That would require quite a lot more than a simple feeding system (many incoming modems, complicated billing, customer support, ....... a new computer culture, in a word). Is there really no newsreaders for ms-dos -machines?
hv@uwasa.fi (Harri Valkama) (06/05/91)
In article <1991Jun4.170923.1@cc.helsinki.fi> harmo@cc.helsinki.fi writes: >word). Is there really no newsreaders for ms-dos -machines? Of course there are. Both for DOS and Windows3. -- == Harri Valkama, University of Vaasa, Finland ============================ P.O. Box 700, 65101 VAASA, Finland (tel:+358 61 248426 fax:+358 61 248465) Anon ftp garbo.uwasa.fi (128.214.12.37) & nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) hv@uwasa.fi hv@finfiles.bitnet /s=hv/o=uwasa/prdm=inet/amdm=fumail/c=fi
guest116@disk.uucp (Anon) (06/08/91)
In article <1991Jun5.065259.27110@uwasa.fi>, hv@uwasa.fi (Harri Valkama) writes: > In article <1991Jun4.170923.1@cc.helsinki.fi> harmo@cc.helsinki.fi writes: > >word). Is there really no newsreaders for ms-dos -machines? > > Of course there are. Both for DOS and Windows3. > > -- > == Harri Valkama, University of Vaasa, Finland ============================ > P.O. Box 700, 65101 VAASA, Finland (tel:+358 61 248426 fax:+358 61 248465) > Anon ftp garbo.uwasa.fi (128.214.12.37) & nic.funet.fi (128.214.6.100) > hv@uwasa.fi hv@finfiles.bitnet /s=hv/o=uwasa/prdm=inet/amdm=fumail/c=fi ould you please send me e-mail or post some info about a few?? I have herd of waffle but n H no address gro is given fro th e compant which produces it!