Last updated on March 8, 2011
Tom over at A View from the Cave has been lucky enough to attend the Development Research Institute’s conference in New York City last week, and he is kind enough to share with his readers what has been discussed at the conference.
Today, Tom blogged Yaw Nyarko’s presentation, titled “Information Technology and Development.” I am grateful to Nyarko for the following (and to Tom for blogging about it):
“When looking at phones as a means to SMS and make calls, there are some opportunities, but internet applications are just plain foolish. The price of a smart phone is still too high and then you have to deal with data plans and working networks. In short, leave the iPhone apps at home. It is a long time before they will be effective development tools used by aid recipients.”
Amen to that! The current obsession with apps for development makes as little sense to me as the One Laptop Per Child campaign of yore.
Apps for Development: Finally, Someone Speaks Up
Last updated on March 8, 2011
Tom over at A View from the Cave has been lucky enough to attend the Development Research Institute’s conference in New York City last week, and he is kind enough to share with his readers what has been discussed at the conference.
Today, Tom blogged Yaw Nyarko’s presentation, titled “Information Technology and Development.” I am grateful to Nyarko for the following (and to Tom for blogging about it):
“When looking at phones as a means to SMS and make calls, there are some opportunities, but internet applications are just plain foolish. The price of a smart phone is still too high and then you have to deal with data plans and working networks. In short, leave the iPhone apps at home. It is a long time before they will be effective development tools used by aid recipients.”
Amen to that! The current obsession with apps for development makes as little sense to me as the One Laptop Per Child campaign of yore.
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Published in Commentary and Development