Below we have shared a short TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk given by Aleph Molinari regarding what the oft used term “Digital Divide” means. He makes a very interesting case for the reality and proposes a way of thinking about the problem that may lead to some real and meaningful solutions.

Growing up, Jesse and I would discuss this subject quite often, as we could see the effects of the digital divide all around us. Let me be clear and say that this divide was not just a lack of access to equipment and technologies, but also to information and the know how to employ said technologies. This was and is a problem that has to tackled from the widest angles and its one that exists the world over, from our communities to those of third world countries.

In the western world, its almost a necessity for one to have access to computers and the internet just to get through the day to day. The most ubiquitous example probably being the use of email. There are many examples of companies that exclusively take applications via the internet.

To us, it made since that we should invest and work towards bridging the divide because while there may be up front costs, the return on investment could be enormous. We can already see this in various scenarios that have allowed people to access technical resources in order to better themselves at a reduced cost. For instance distance learning has allowed high school and college students in various parts of the world to take classes that they might not have had access to. And while those courses might be just as expensive as regular courses, there can still be a savings because the student does not have to travel, or because the student could be capable of maintaining a job while pursuing their studies at their own pace.

Another example that comes to mind is in regards to financial matters. Financial literacy is one problem that keeps many people in the same cycle. With the advent of online banking however, many people have been able to reclaim their financial lives and really see whats going on. Something as simple as being able to scrutinize spending, pay bills quickly in a pinch or even just being able to schedule them can be a very empowering tool.

Check out the video and see what you think!

Hello readers and supporters of the Jesse Higginbotham Technology Trust! We wanted to provide some updates on what we’ve accomplished on the technology side as well as some other interesting tech news. First we’ll talk about the local issues.

As of last week, we have delivered our 78^th computer to a deserving family through our Mindtriggerz project. We are on schedule to deliver our 100^th computer this year. We would like to give a special thanks to the Spencerian University students who by way of their Computer Hardware Independent study program assisted us in the refurbishing process on several machines recently. In order to help further our progress and expand the scope of the Mindtriggerz project, we have created a wish list on Amazon.com for items such as surge protectors, flash drives and computer speakers. These items will allow us to better serve our clients. If you are interested in making a contribution by way of the wish list, please click the link below.

Jesse Higginbotham Technology Wish List @ Amazon.com

On another note, we have been tracking the progress of the Broadband Coalition (Free Lexington Public Wifi). The project began in 2010 as a collaboration between several groups such as the Blue Grass Community Foundation, LFUCG, UK, LPD as well as the Lexington Public Library System, Connect Kentucky and the Urban League. The project was primarily funded by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation by way of a $560,000 grant.

The project was proposed in order to provide free internet/wifi access to residents of Lexington’s East End and Cardinal Valley neighborhoods as well as to offer computer training classes. By providing Free Wireless access, this project would offer residents of these areas greater economic prospects and opportunities such as being able to apply for jobs online or take online classes. This internet access would also be useful to the public safety sector such as police, EMT’s and emergency responders.A good deal of progress has been made thus far such as the installation of wireless access points in all target areas as well the fiber optic cabling needed to carry the internet signal to the access points.

However, the process has not been without issues. The main bulk of the project was slated to be completed by August of 2010. At the time of this writing, connectivity has been spotty and while some have reported success in connecting, many others have not been so fortunate. We have been corresponding with the projects leaders and organizers and we’ve been told that they are very aware of the problems and are working diligently to solve them. We will be continuing to update you on the progress as we continue to monitor it. The hope is that functionality will increase dramatically in the coming weeks and months.

Finally, we would like to leave you with an exciting piece of news related to expanding the availability of low cost computing technology in classrooms and economically challenged areas of the world. You may have heard of the One Laptop Per Child initiative. The goal was to create inexpensive, durable and sustainable computers that could be distributed to third world countries. A problem encountered however was that in order to keep the price per unit down, large volume orders would be necessary – something most countries and aid organizations could not afford to pay. This problem might become a thing of the past thanks to Raspberry Pi.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has worked to create a low-price, bare bones computer that could be used in classrooms to reduce the cost of computer assisted learning as well as being a tool for teaching programming and computing basics. They envision this not only being useful in the United States but also in third world countries. They recently started taking orders for their first version which costs $35. There was also an announcement from Seneca College that they have developed a full alpha version of Fedora Linux that runs on a 2gb sd card. By pairing the Raspberry Pi machine with Fedora, a fully functional pc could be had for less than $50.