[Indic-computing-users] Simputer, local languages, content... et al

[Frederick N. <fr...@by...>]

Very interesting debate. Has relevance for our IndicComputing issue
too. FN

From: "Vinay L Deshpande" <vi...@nc...>
On the India-GII list
Sent: Saturday, September 21, 2002 4:28 PM
Subject: [india-gii] Reply to Scott McCollum on his article on Simputer

Dear Pete:

Thanks for forwarding this to me; it shows me that there ARE people who do
not yet understand what the Simputer really is -- the Trust and we all need
to do more to dispel misconceptions.  I do hope my reply to Scott McCollum,
appended below, will help clear his misconceptions.

Best regards,
Vinay

QUOTE

Dear Scott:

Your September 19 article in the World TechTribune
(http://www.worldtechtribune.com/worldtechtribune/asparticles/buzz/bz09192002)
on how the Simputer will NOT bridge the digital divide, has just come to my
attention, and I do feel you should have talked to the developers as well as
some of the actual users, to get a better understanding of the product,
before pontificating about something that you clearly do not understamd.
Typical of some in the developed world to pretend that since they are from
the developed world, they know better than the "natives." Allow me to clear
your misconceptions:

You said, "It's a cheap handheld that runs non standard software which will
not help to bridge the digital divide." First of all, it is not cheap, it is
simply inexpensive.  Cheap today signifies low quality, whereas the Simputer
is a high-quality product that uses state-of-the-art technology and
components.  Secondly, it is based on very standard software, as it uses the
GNU/Linux operating system, which cannot be termed as non-standard by any
stretch of the imagination, unless your definition of standard is Windows,
WindowsCE, PalmOS, or Symbian.  Further, the Information Markup Language
(IML) that has been newly created for the Simputer, is in reality an XML
application, and XML, again, cannot be termed non-standard by any stretch of
the imagination.  In fact, Microsoft, whose software you will perhaps agree
is a standard, are promoting XML as an internet standard.

Nevertheless, using the Simputer's SDK, programs can also be written in C,
which is a current standard.  Also, J2ME is now available on the Simputer,
and J2ME, you will hopefully agree, is yet another current standard.  The
interfaces that the Simputer uses, such as USBn audio, IrDA, and V.90 modem,
are also current standards.

You then say, "by teaching an illiterate nomad how to use a computer that
only other illiterate nomads use, they are not helping to bridge that
digital divide," and "How can anyone honestly expect developing nations to
ever help themselves if the Simputer doesn't actually teach them how the
rest of the world really works?" It is rather presumptuous to think that the
Simputer is only aimed at the illiterate, and further that all illiterates
are nomads.  What the Simputer does do, is to enable even illiterates, and
yes, even the nomads among them, to use information technology as a tool to
do things that matter to them, including accessing the internet for
information at least in their own language, which the Simputer speaks to
them using its built-in local-language text-to-speech facility.  Admittedly,
since they may not know English which you probably consider the only
standard language, the Simputer may not just yet be able to teach them
everything about how the rest of the world works, as some of that
information content may not currently be available in their local language. 
But I dare say that there is a lot of material already available in many
non-English local languages, in India as well as in other developing
countries, which is still accessible to them.  This we consider a good first
step in bridging the digital divide.  Besides, aren't use of handheld
devices and internet access part of "how the rest of the world works?"

By the way, hunt and peck is also how many in the "rest of the world" work,
but I dare say that the illiterate nomads touching pictorial icons is hardly
hunt-and-peck.  In any case, a not-too-distant version of the Simputer will
allow these illiterate nomads to use spoken commands in their own language,
obviating the need for hunt-and-peck.

As for illiterate nomads interacting with other illiterate nomads, aren't
most of the interactions that any individual has, anywhere in the world,
with other individuals in their local area(s)?  Local here could mean a
village, town, city, state, or even country.  For that matter, it doesn't
seem like you yourself cared to interact with the developers of the
Simputer, half way around the world, to learn the facts about it, before
jumping to your own ill-judged conclusions, so why should you expect the
illiterate nomads to not derive any value by interacting with other
illiterate nomads?

Now, let's talk about applications.  True,  users must wait for someone to
develop a specialized application and distribute it before they can enjoy
the Simputer.  But this is also true of any other standard handheld device
if anyone in the developed world too needs an application that is outside
the standard suite of PIM applications.  Yes, a lot of specialized
application software is available on many web sites for the standard
handheld devices currently available in the market, but didn't users of such
devices have to wait when such devices initially appeared, to have them
written by some developer(s) ?  Why should the Simputer be any different? 
In fact, there is already an army of independent developers, worldwide,
which is creating many innovative applications on the Simputer, for bridging
the digital divide, that have real meaning to the lives of those illiterate
nomads as well as their literate counterparts in the cities and towns in the
developing and developed worlds.  One example is a Simputer-based ultrasound
device to help government health workers monitor the health of mother and
foetus among the aboriginal women in the remote villages of Africa where
there is no electricity available for using standard ultrasound diagnostic
equipment used in urban-area clinics or hospitals.  That is bridging the
digital divide, by passing on the benefits of modern digital technology to
poor tribals in caring for their health.

You finally say, "the most glaringly obvious problem of the Simputer is
trumpeted as one of its greatest qualities: portability," as such
portability would make the Simputer vulnerable to easy theft.  No one can
deny that the human temptation to steal exists among all peoples of the
world, whether they live in developed countries or the developing ones.

Why else would computer stores everywhere, including the developed world, do
brisk business in those lockable tethers which they also use in-store,
attached to laptops and handheld devices on display?  The real point that
you seem to have missed, is that by virtue of the smart-card facility, the
Simputer can be shared among a group of persons who can't individually
afford even the low $200 price, while still retaining the privacy of their
data and other information.  And because of such shared ownership, there
will be greater care exercised to prevent theft(s).  The same would be true
of even Simputers which are placed in a village, say, by the government or
even by "progressives" from the West, which, being community property, will
be jealously guarded by the community!  As for the Simputers that would be
in a cyber-cafe-like Simputer Cafe in the village, the owner of the Cafe
will have adequate preventive measures instituted against theft.  All this
does not mean that theft will be totally impossible, but it also doesn't
mean that because of the likelihood of theft owing to its portability, the
Simputer is not suited for use by those poor villagers.  For that matter,
the same poor villagers possess small, easy-to-carry or -pocket items such
as traditional jewellery, farm implements, utensils, etc., which do once in
a while get stolen, but which they do normally know how to protect from
theft, so why should the Simputer be any different?

I am afraid you do need to educate yourself, Scott.

Best regards,

Vinay Deshpande
Managing Trustee
The Simputer Trust

----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy Oram" <an...@or...>
To: <ind...@li...>
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 5:38 PM
Subject: [india-gii] Critique of Simputer

> > The following article (which came to me across another
> > mailing list) is worth reading carefully. It would be easy
> > to sneer at. ("You're doing nobody a favor by giving them a
> > graphical interface and a mouse.  They've got to learn
> > command-line utilities like everybody else.") The arguments
> > are not presented as well as they could be, in my
> > opinion. But there are several cogent arguments, somewhat
> > hidden.
> >
> >   SIMPUTERS: WHEN TECHNOLOGY DOES _NOT_ BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
> >   [SOURCE: World Tech Tribune, AUTHOR: Scott McCollum]


http://www.worldtechtribune.com/worldtechtribune/asparticles/buzz/bz09192002.asp

> > I would rephrase--and answer--McCollum's objections as
> > follows:
> >
> > 1. Because the Simputer must use non-standard interfaces and
> >    applications, users must wait for someone to develop a
> >    specialized application and distribute it before they can
> >    enjoy it.
> >
> >    Answer: this limitation sets the bar somewhat higher than
> >    other devices, but other users also need, for the most
> >    part, to wait for someone to develop a service or web
> >    site with the material they want. But even limited to
> >    Simputers, a county government or local business that
> >    sees a need could hire a programmer to code up an
> >    application and put it on a smart card. The barrier is
> >    still pretty low.
> >
> > 2. Simputer applications allow Simputer users to talk to
> >    each other. But there's a much wider world they need
> >    access to.
> >
> >    Answer: A lot of research suggests that local
> >    interactions are more common than remote ones. For
> >    instance, people on a company LAN or extended network
> >    tend exchange more interactions with each other than with
> >    people out on the Internet. Universal access by a
> >    community to each other's systems is probably of greater
> >    interest than access to the outside. Nevertheless,
> >    gateways to selected outside services could be designed.
> >
> > 3. The Simputer traps users in baby interfaces, so they'll
> >    never grow into interfaces other people can use.
> >
> >    Answer: design a teaching tool that uses the Simputer to
> >    help people learn more complex systems.
> >
> > 4. Technology cannot be introduced in a vacuum. A social
> >    infrastructure is needed. Thus, introducing $200
> >    Simputers into poor areas will just lead to theft.
> >
> >    Answer: This is actually a sophisticated
> >    argument. Infrastructure is indeed necessary. But if
> >    somebody thinks a Simputer worth stealing, it has proven
> >    its value. People in poor areas have other small,
> >    valuable objects and possess the street smarts to protect
> >    them.
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Andy Oram  O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.        email: an...@or...
> > Editor     90 Sherman Street                       voice: 617-499-7479
> >            Cambridge, MA 02140-3233                  fax: 617-661-1116
> >            USA                          http://www.oreilly.com/~andyo/
> > Stories at Web site:
> > The Bug in the Seven Modules     Code the Obscure     The Disconnected
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > ___________________________
> > Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR)
> > is the oldest non-profit, mass membership organization
> > working on social impacts of computer technology.