Low Cost Technology For Development

[Flora Mhene]

Hardware and software is currently very expensive and there is need for those involved to find a way of minimising costs to affordable levels by anybody down to the people in remote areas of the country. Manufacturers have to remain in business hence for the project to become a reality financial sponsors/ donors are required. Developing countries require affordable electricity because without electricity digitalisation cannot even be introduced.
A lot of volunteering from the educators is fundamental. The bottom end is money has to be made available and so donors have to be called for to kick start the project.

[Mangin]

Well, if we talk about software, some cheap solution are existing through Opensource projects; yet, most of the time they are not used in developping countries (and in all countries in general). Why? Is there any politic issue?

Yet, regarding hardware, some projects are trying to succeed in offering low cost ones. Yet, it seems that the ones that are existing are not succeeding in penetrate the markets. So, why they can't? Why are the reasons of this?

As you say, we can talk about the issue of the electricity. And to fix this issue, people are working on solutions such as: solar energy, wind energy, try to reduce energy consumition, etc.
Is it posible to implement these solutions in Africa or Latin America?

For example, if there is a solar panel integrated to the computer, will people use this one for other things that could be more important for them than the computer?
What are the elements that people maybe forget to take into account when they were thinking to these solutions?

Finally, in my opninion we don't have to forget that technology is just a tool. The most important is the use that we make of it, and so on education will be necessary.