PC’s = Empowerment?

I realise that most of my titles in this blog are in the form of open questions. This questioning, I feel, is necessary in order to (constructively) critique bastions of established wisdom in Sri Lanka (and also other places) that in some instances are cancerous out-growths from erroneous assumptions in need of immediate intellectual laceration.

Take for instance this interesting post on the eSriLanka PC. The author original post and Deane’s comments (the only one at the time of writing) both flag some interesting issues on the introduction of this PC and the underlying assumptions of community empowerment.

It is interesting how in a country with escalating electricity and telecommunications bills how the introduction of this PC alone, irrespective of what OS it runs, will result in greater IT literacy and use. It is interesting, as is pointed out in the post, that the PC will run FOSS. This surely is to be commended as a model that will hopefully push extremely capable operating systems such as Ubuntu to a larger user base.

However, I wonder how many of those who purchase the PC will simply erase the native OS and install a boot-legged (or in the rare instance, a legit) copy of Windows on the machine? My point here is that FOSS awareness in Sri Lanka is still at its infancy. I don’t know of any mainstream FOSS based IT literacy course (Word Processing courses for instance are often erroneusly conflated with Microsoft Word). Given that most of or IT graduates from the plethora of training colleges that litter Colombo and other parts of the island learn Microsoft products, it will be interesting to see just how long the FOSS based OS lasts inside an eSriLanka PC without the necessary public awareness campaigns to support its use.

I also found it interesting that the FAQ link on the eSriLanka PC on ICTA’s site links to RedHat. I can only assume that this is because a version of RedHat’s Linux will be installed on the PC, though why on earth the FAQ section should link to RedHat is beyond comprehension.

Out-going CEO/MD of ICTA, Manju Haththotuwa (no relation to author) had this to say at the launch of the eSriLanka PC:

“It is envisioned that through this programme people, across the country, will gain access to information and education; perhaps that was not accessible before; giving them a chance to uplift their position in life and enabling them better opportunities. Thus with this programme, as with all our programmes, we are in effect using ICT to bridge the digital divide”

Bridging the digital divide is a catch-all phrase that often overlooks the underlying dynamics of power, network access and the complexities of violent conflict that mitigates the potential of devices and technologies touted as the next big thing in empowerment. True enough, the idea is one deserving our support – PC’s need to go beyond their urban domains into the homes of those who use Sinhala and Tamil as their primary language. It also needs to break the PC / Microsoft paradigm – one that in effect requires a sea-change in our approach to IT training in particular. Furthermore, in order to fully realise the benefits of the eSriLanka PC, we need to have the supporting architecture of cheap and reliable power and telecoms. Given that the hardware spec in each of the machines are those that will be expensive to replace / repair, the spikes and surges that are the inescapable reality of our power-grids will possibly wreck havoc on unprotected machines. Finally, network access – I wonder if ICTA has any plans to package the PC with a subsidised internet access package through a ISP?

In sum, the total cost of ownership of the eSriLanka PC is far more than the advertised price of the machine itself. I hope I am wrong, but the lack of a coherent framework for training & awareness building to support the introduction of the machine and ensure the fullest potential of FOSS, coupled with the lack of attention given to network access, vitiate much of the potential of the machine.

As Deane succintly points out:

An interesting analysis would be to find out if these governmental projects which go outside the normal paradigms of development do actually work. Is it really possible to transform economies, or even communities inspired by ICTA infrastructure/education alone ? without first achieving solid economic growth.

I would argue for an emphasis on both. Economic growth, but more importantly, economic stability, is fertile ground upon which you can begin to think of initiatives that promote IT use since power outages, violence and astronomic costs of net access aren’t usually celebrated as factors that promote a reduction in the digital divide, no matter how many PC’s are pushed on to the market.