Overcoming the digital divide: With a little help from friends

On the platter at WCIT: How to bring a brand of technology to developing countries through lower-cost devices, without killing the more expensive high-end products

Intel CEO Paul Otellini will be in India for three days starting May 23, but first, top Intel executives will be in Austin, Texas, attending the World Congress on Information Technology. So will rival AMD8217;s executives. On the platter at WCIT: How to bring their brand of technology to developing countries through lower-cost devices, without killing the more expensive high-end products. Intel already has announced it will spend 1 billion to market inexpensive computers in emerging markets like China, India and Mexico. AMD has the lead here, with a 250 computer already out and in India, as well as a manufacturing tie-up. But later this month, Otellini will have his say too in India. All ears will be on whether he will still not want to cross the digital divide 8216;8216;using yesterday8217;s technology.8217;8217;

The Internet8217;s new clothes

Some conservative groups and pornography web sites have stumped plans of the Internet Council for Assigned Names and Numbers ICANN to start up a new 8216;8216;.xxx8217;8217; top level domain. Website names will not end in a .xxx wherever appropriate, going by a 9-5 vote cast on last Thursday by the ICANN members, ending six-year war over how the porn industry should be 8216;managed8217; on the Internet. The adult entertainment business is worth 12 billion on the internet. Two of every five people who get online visit internet pornography site which will, for the moment, also continue to spam the ones who don8217;t and remain illegitimate in most countries.

Whine to the MAX

WiMAX, the new generation of wireless communication technology is suddenly gaining mindspace again. Is the present interest the usual round of hype that precedes all conferences attended by engineers, software programmers and a content creators? In the past, WiMax 8216;8216;events8217;8217; have meant that yet another 8216;advanced8217; standard will be announced. The developers have already exhausted the alphabet up to 8216;g8217; 8212; the latest version last time anyone looked was called 8216;802.16 g.8217; There are rumours that the technicians have already run the WiMax alphabet up against the 8216;z8217;.

Nevertheless, the WiMAX Forum will be exploring possibilities in India later this month. As a feeler, they have sent out mailers that ask for a 8216;8216;conducive spectrum policy8217;8217; and 8216;8216;standardisation of technology.8217;8217; That, Indians have heard of before. What8217;s missing is the seamlessly interconnected WiMAX towers that are supposed to provide better-than-WiFi links for voice, data and video.