Digital Divisions

The Universal Service Fund is that extra tax you see at the end of your phone bill. It was originally established to fund the expansion of infrastructure into poor and rural areas. The FCC is in charge of the fund, but because of some weird rules in how the money gets dispursed, the FCC estimated payouts to telecom companies are now out control, doubling over the last 7 years.

So the FCC recently voted on a temporary measure to cap the payments until the rules can be fixed. According to Ars Technica, analysts are calling for the revision on the rules to focus the payouts on building out broadband throughout the country rather that continuing to pay telecoms for the old fashion phone lines.

Great idea. It should be obvious though right? Paying the telecoms to build out the modern Internet infrastructure instead of copper phone lines?

A recent report from the Pew Internet and American Life project reveals that teens are writing more. Through 700 phone surveys and interviews with parents and teens aged 12 to 17, researchers discovered that all teens were writing for school and a vast majority enjoyed writing. Parents agreed that their teenagers were writing more then they did at the same age. Much of their writing occurs through the Internet, on social networking sites, instant message, email, and text messages.

While it’s true that teens are using the written language more, educators and others are worried that the use of the instant methods of communication where brevity is more important than proper use of the language is causing more harm than good.

I think that anything that gets kids to communicate and create is worth it. Teens are taught in school how to write properly and are required to write properly. I think that as long as they are taught the difference between the way they would write to friends and the way they would write to be taken seriously, it’s not a problem.

People 65 years and older are one of the fastest growing online demographics in the U.S. as of a few years ago, and in the U.K. around 16 percent of over-65s are on the Internet.

Microsoft recently announced a new project to offer a ’senior PCs’ to the older crowd in the U.K. There are no details out there now on much it will cost or when it’ll be available. However Microsoft has ‘SeniorPCs’ available for purchase on its website. It looks like these PCs are just slightly overpriced HP computers with some extra software to make things easier for seniors. I wonder what that means? From the site:

SeniorPCs are HP computers that come equipped with user-friendly software specifically geared to senior living. Think of it as a simplified way to do it all: e-mailing, word processing, plus managing prescriptions, finances, travel planning and photos. There are even word games and number games for keeping the puzzle skills sharp. Each SeniorPC also comes with an HP color printer.

Sounds to me like the same old Windows computer creatively marketed to seniors.

I don’t see how taking a computer and slapping a new name on it is going to make it any less intimidating or financially accessible for the older crowd. I wonder what Microsoft’s U.K. partnership will yield anything different.

Is it intimidation or apathy that keep seniors from adopting technology as quickly as the rest? What might overcome these barriers for seniors?

A report released May 1 by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation shows the U.S. is trailing most other advanced nations in providing high-speed Internet to its people. We’ve known for a while that the U.S. is falling behind, but the report makes the claim that bad policy is only a quarter to blame for this failing.

The report mentions South Korea, where a high population density makes broadband roll out more practical, compared to the U.S. where people live in single-family homes spread out in suburbs.

The report makes 11 policy recommendations based on their findings. Aside from the typical tax incentives to companies and consumers making it cheaper to deploy and adopt broadband, the report recommends extending government programs to help pay for wider deployment.

Some of the more interesting recommendations echo ideas that were discussed in my Digital New Deal post. Directly from the report:

• Promote the widespread use of a national, user-generated, Internet-based broadband mapping system that would track location, speed, and price of broadband.
• Fund a revitalized Technology Opportunities Program, with a particular focus on the development of nationally scalable Web-based projects that address particular social needs, including law enforcement, health care, education, and access for persons with disabilities.
• Support new applications, including putting more public content online, improving e-government, and supporting telework, telemedicine, and online learning programs.

It’s an interesting way to try to drive broadband adoption: force important government and social services online and use it as a reason to push the issue.

A report from WebSiteOptimization.com shows that websites have ballooned in size over the past few years. Between 2003 and 2008 the average web page size has grown from 93.1 kilobytes to 312 kilobytes. For people with decent broadband connections 312 kilobytes is drop in the bucket, but for those with slow DSL or, god forbid, dial-up connections, 312 kilobytes will take an eternity to load.

The same site has another report showing that around 12 percent of web users are still hanging on to their dial-up connections.

If the average website takes around 45 seconds (312 kilobytes at dial-up speed) to load on a dial-up connection, is it actually possible to use the web?

Verizon and Comcast are rolling out the next generation of high-speed technology to limited markets. The new connections are going to deliver about 25 times the rate of the average broadband connections that are most widely available today. Verizon’s FiOS has been available to folks in a number of states for over a year now, and Comcast just showed up to the party; offering its new service in Minneapolis/St. Paul in the past few months.

Not in Chicago though - Boo.

While I’ve mentioned Comcast’s plans before, this Wired article has a good break-down of what the new lines will be capable of and where this is all headed.

The United States is still behind in the broadband game. Many other advanced nations have higher adoption, availability and speeds. Its great that the telecom companies are pushing things forward, but this was supposed to happen a while ago.

This is a bit off-topic for a blog about technology, but I posted yesterday about micro-credit financing helping people in Bangladesh setup phone business and want to follow-up with something I’ve found. Micro-credit has been touted as a great capitalist solution to poverty. A small loan and hard work should be enough to help people pull themselves out of poverty, right? Unfortunately not everyone is able to turn the loan into a successful business and there has been very information about the flip-side of this supposed wonderful idea.

France 24, a french television station did an investigative reporting piece on what happens when the poor take out the micro-credit loans and can’t pay them back. Loan officers of the Grameen Bank, the pioneer of micro-credit, are dispatched to do what they can to get the loans repaid. The poor residents of these villages are threatened with the loss of their homes and the few things of value that they own, and have no way to repay. Loan officers even persuade them to take more loans to try again to make money.

This all comes through the France 24 story, I’m sure there much more to the story, but this is quite troubling.

via Gawker

Here is a good video about using microcredit to provide a poor remote village with a cell phone. The video is produced by the International Telecommunication Union, a special agency of the United Nations. Grameen Bank is an organization that provides micro-credit loans to people throughout the world, and provided the money the phone lady needed to get her business off the ground. The video looks at how useful and economically beneficial instant communication can be to individuals and communities.

So what do kids do the on the Internet?

Warren Buckleitner, the editor of Children’s Technology Review magazine, studied children in 10 different households who had access to high-speed Internet. Buckleitner put video cameras in the homes and had parents record how the kids used the Internet. He found that the kids by and large visited the following sites the most:

• Webkinz
• Club Penguin
• Noggin
• Addicting Games
• Everything Girl
• Millsberry

All of these sites are associated with toys, televisions shows, video games or advertising. Most if it is over-commercialized entertainment with an apparent goal to supplement and support product brands. Buckleitner laments the lack of educational value in these web sites when compared to educational software. These popular websites do not have what he calls a high educational “quality per click” ratio.

What really struck me is one of his first comments: “I watched children as young as three use Google to look up sites (don’t tell them they can’t read!).”

How can you use Google if you can’t read? Their entire site is text-based with a few splashes of color. It reminded me of a few recent discussions I’ve had with educators, where the notion came up that email, instant message and the Internet are encouraging kids to read and write much more then they used to.

It’s an interesting idea and, hopefully, a positive trend. As long as kids are not spending all their time reading and writing about Barbie dolls. Although grown-ups do spend a lot of time reading and writing about their toys.

via TheLedger.com

If technology is growing and changing at exponential rates how do people keep up with all the skills? Kids are great at intuitively picking these computer skills, its the adults that need the education.

This opinion piece at the Financial Times argues that continuing adult education is becoming so much more important with the fast-paced changes in the economy. The author, Michael Schrage, makes some poignant observations that go far in making his case. The population is aging. People are healthier and live longer. Older workers are in need of investment.

Schrage goes on to discuss how the Internet and global communications should make this continuing education thing a snap. All kinds of free media is available online, including high quality educational resources, podcasts, and lectures.