Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 12:27:49 -0400
From: "Adlai Amor" <AAMOR@wri.org>
To: <mjhammel@lwn.net>
Subject: Re: Linux at Creating Digital Dividends

Dear Tim:

We are glad that you are concerned with the global digital divide and our
attempts to solve this problem. Since the problem cannot be solved just by
one individual, we welcome the participation of all those who are
concerned. We would like to be clear, however, that the Creating Digital
Dividends Conference (http://www.digitaldividend.org)
is not focused on specific technologies or operating systems, but rather on
new business models that accelerate sustainable development.

The World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org), organized the conference
to challenge the digital industry to rethink their business models and
reformulate their products and services in ways that can serve the needs of
people in poor communities throughout the world and provide the tools for
radically improved management of natural resources.

We do not care which technology will be used, provided it gets the job
done. Indeed, in many Third World countries, some of the solutions may
hinge not on the desktop computer but in mobile devices like cell
phones. This Creating Digital Dividends Conference is just the start of the
process and we welcome the participation of all groups and all sectors of
the digital industry in meeting this challenge.

For example, the conference is showcasing the Simputer, a Linux-based open
source computer designed for use in developing countries by the Simputer
Trust of Bangalore, India (http://www.simputer.org). Several months
ago, we also extended invitations to all sectors of the industry, including
senior executives at Red Hat, a leading Linux company (which they,
unfortunately, turned down). WRI is also bringing together entrepreneurs,
government representatives, and other groups from developing countries in
Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, and India.

Being a national of the Philippines, I am particularly excited by this
conference. I was in Bangalore this year and have seen how digital
technologies can empower communities. I have also seen how, by using cell
phones, rural farmers can get better prices for their crops. This may seem
mundane to people who live in developed countries, but in villages where
such technologies are new, it is quite revolutionary.
 
You can watch the conference proceedings through our daily Webcast at
www.digitaldividend.org. We hope that we can count on your support in
encouraging the development of the technologies needed to bridge this
digital divide, no matter what operating system is used.

Feel free to contact me if you have further questions. 

Thank you.  

Adlai Amor

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Adlai Amor


*****************************************************
Adlai J. Amor
Media Director
 World Resources Institute
10 G Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002, USA
Tel: (+202) 729 7736 * Fax: (+202) 729 7616
Email: aamor@wri.org
Website: http://www.wri.org
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