Earlier quoted context omitted.
Irony?
They used the image of a tethered balloon to depict one that would be wireless :)
Ah, thanks! I chuckled :D
Google blimps will carry wireless signal across Africa
121–125 of 125 posts
Re: Google blimps will carry wireless signal across Africa
#122Earlier quoted context omitted.
Assertion? Do explain your authority on Africa to me. As someone who has family in Africa, right now, and more going within a month, I am confident in my assertion that Africa is a failed continent. Everyone on earth has tried to civilize, ahem, "bring online" Africa and failed beyond resource extraction. It is a money pit and there are no rules. There is significant precedence for failure if you open any history boo…
> Assertion? Do explain your authority on Africa to me. As someone who has family in Africa, right now... If we're making comparisons of experience I lived in Africa for over 30 years. But that's not relevant. Changing the subject from substance to authority is not a good sign: appeal to authority is a logical fallacy for a reason. But " I lived in Africa" is not right. Africa is big and diverse. Nobody lives in a co…
You don't know what you're talking about. What were you doing in Africa for 30 years...drinking on beaches in Cape Town??
Here is why it is COMPLETELY stupid to put wifi blimps in Africa. LOL
http://www.heritage.org/multimedia/infographic/2012/10/manpa...
Re: Google blimps will carry wireless signal across Africa
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep, I think it's photoshopped: http://www.flickr.com/photos/isafmedia/4995227882/
No journalistic integrity at Wired, I guess.
Nor at the guardian it would appear: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/may/28/google-afri...
Re: Google blimps will carry wireless signal across Africa
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
> As such it is inaccurate, smug, racist and ignorant, and reflects an implicit assumption that the world should be organized so that it is benign to the interests of affluent westerners. I understand why you read it that way, but you couldn't be more wrong about what I think about Africa. As rattray mentioned: I wasn't judging them, just making an observation of how things are there. Your interpretation of my standp…
Thanks, that was an excellent discussion of the problems of being a rich visitor in a less rich country! And thanks also for such a calm response to my hostility. The reason I was critical is that it is poor judgement to bring up the cliche of "Nigerian scams" when discussing something as important as attempts to spread internet availability in sub-saharan Africa. Now, I understand that to some extent you were making…
> And thanks also for such a calm response to my hostility.
Well, it was understandable hostility because I fogot to give the proper context, and then it's easy to misinterpret what I intend to discuss. So also my responsibility to fix the miscommunication (seems to be a theme here... :P).
> It's just not the time to talk about "Nigerian scams" -- a phenomenon which is at worst a minor #firstworldproblem.
Ah, but there our communication still goes astray: I completely agree that it's a minor #firstworldproblem. I was wondering about it's influence as a #thirdworldproblem - "corrupting the youth," ruining local perception of the internet and getting in the way of its adoption for other purposes. To quote tomjen in a separate response: "we don't need people with the morality of 419's to destroy the start-up ecosystem."
Re: Google blimps will carry wireless signal across Africa
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Assertion? Do explain your authority on Africa to me. As someone who has family in Africa, right now... If we're making comparisons of experience I lived in Africa for over 30 years. But that's not relevant. Changing the subject from substance to authority is not a good sign: appeal to authority is a logical fallacy for a reason. But " I lived in Africa" is not right. Africa is big and diverse. Nobody lives in a co…
You don't know what you're talking about. What were you doing in Africa for 30 years...drinking on beaches in Cape Town?? Here is why it is COMPLETELY stupid to put wifi blimps in Africa. LOL http://www.heritage.org/multimedia/infographic/2012/10/manpa...
According to you, it shouldn't matter where I was in Africa since the whole continent is "failed". If you now think that the blimps should be over the beaches (and shanty-towns...) of Cape Town, but not the red dots in the conflict zones, then you've changed your mind about that.
The nearest red dot looks like it's over 2000 km from Cape Town. Nothing within 1000s of km of all of Nigeria. There are huge markets there. etc. etc.