Comment Re:Why am I not doing this? (Score 1) 140
I for one am not doing this because hill-tribe Laotians are not, as you suggest "a large group of people that need it the most." Too often, these technology projects don't think about the social implications of introducing, no, forcing computers into communities where the most advanced technology in use is an hydraulic rice-thresher. How are computers and KDE going to help them with their swidden agriculture, or the growing problem of opium addiction? What about prostitution, or the road infrastructure?
Yes, self-advocacy is a Good Thing(tm), but how useful is communicating with the outside world if the outside world doesn't speak your language? The highland groups that are being involved with this project don't even speak Lao, let alone Thai or English! When dam construction starts in one of their villages, they might start talking, but no-one will be able to listen.
So much good could be done with technology, but it really seems like the people out there implementing it don't think much further than the gadget factor, and certainly don't think of the real implications for the people on whom they're imposing these technologies.
Yes, self-advocacy is a Good Thing(tm), but how useful is communicating with the outside world if the outside world doesn't speak your language? The highland groups that are being involved with this project don't even speak Lao, let alone Thai or English! When dam construction starts in one of their villages, they might start talking, but no-one will be able to listen.
So much good could be done with technology, but it really seems like the people out there implementing it don't think much further than the gadget factor, and certainly don't think of the real implications for the people on whom they're imposing these technologies.
