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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3067871.stm Adrian Said >Seems sensible Maybe I'm being a bit negative today but .... I can see the benefits to a fledgling government strapped for cash. I have however, concerns about social aspects such as what is Afghanistan's data protection policy ? I seem to remember when studying the social implications of IT that some social scientists where warning about the use of data centres in developing countries, where "data protection" law was less well defined, being used to process data in ways that where illegal in the developed world where the laws are tighter. Could Afghanistan end up being used / abused in the same way ? Also I have to ask myself at the risk of stereo typing Afghanistan's, what is the benefit of a load of sheep herders with laptops running linux (or M$ for that matter) ? "My Grandfather was a sheep herder, my Father is a sheep herder, my Son is a sheep herder, my Grandson will be a linux technical consultant ...." Hmm that's a massive cultural shift for one generation to handle. Yes OK well maybe they will be able to use laptops to find out about tick fly treatment with the inevitable "For Mr Multinationals expensive universal cure for tick fly click here" link right next to the article that will scare them to death about tick fly (something that their sheep have been naturally immune to since they have come from generations of afghan sheep that have never had problems with tick fly),. Followed by "Mr World Banks loans for tick fly treatments you will never be able to repay us" link. Sorry I am being very cynical today, but its all to easy to use technology to enforce the old traditional status quo. There are so many ways this technology could be used to abuse or hood wink the unsuspecting Afghan [ or anybody else for that matter ]. The UN may well get the WWW into Afghanistan via linux, M$ or whatever, but then the commercial interest already control a substantial amount of its content. Its not the engine that concerns me its the emissions from the other end. I think what I am saying is I would be very careful about imposing a western hi-tech on a country that hasn't progressed beyond the middle ages, and then expecting miracles. These people need a sustainable independent economy first, technology can come later. If the technology can be used to achieve that sustainable stability so much the better, but there will need to be appropriate protections, and I don't see much talk of that at the moment. Ideally the Afghan's should be taught how to protect themselves. Well done UN for starting the ball rolling and for choosing the right (IMO) technology base, but could you please check that you have thought this through carefully. Tom. Information in this message is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is the intended solely for the person ( or persons) to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender, and please delete the message from your system immediately. The views in this message are personal, they are not necessarily those of Torbay Council. -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG Mail majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxx with "unsubscribe list" in the message body to unsubscribe.