Comments on: Apple Fighting AIDS in Africa With an iPod?

By: Swoosh

Swoosh — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 14:56:55 +0000

once bono and oprah get involved I immediately disregard it…

By: JKE

JKE — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 08:00:27 +0000

I would prefer it if they could open up a factory on the continent instead of just fighting the symptoms of poverty and poor education. Instead they are just using this to market some more machines. If they really want to set a signal, they should shut down their chinese factories or at least tell their Chinese manufacturers to insist on sustainable product design and clean production methods. Now what’s worse? Killing the environment in Asia and donating 10 $ of which only 2$ make it to the grassroot level? Or buying a player from Creative who are just as bad?

What a sick world.

By: John Powers

John Powers — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 20:37:31 +0000

What I would like to see is Apple donating lots of iPods to organizations in Africa. Digital media players are an excellent way to create content in local languages.

Bridging the digital divide is a useful metaphor, at least pointing to an important opportunity. But one problem with the metaphor is the presumption that the way things are on both sides of the divide are the same. To make make digital information and to share it in many places in Africa means paying attention to differences.

Inveneo http://www.inveneo.org/ gets it and so does Green Wifi http://www.green-wifi.org/ I read an interesting essay today http://www.exmosis.net/node.SocialInterfaces not directly related to digital culture in Africa, but I think relevant to it. In that essay is a link to the Dynamo Project http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/interact/projects/dynamo.htm It’s worth thinking about offline networks in Africa.

Digital media players like iPods can create networks in ways that are very useful in places where electricity, Internet access and computers are scarce. I’d be pleased if Apple gave their proceeds from this Red Ad campaign in the form of iPods to organizations working to prevent AIDS and treating people living with HIV.

By: kenyaninside

kenyaninside — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 20:09:20 +0000

I might actually consider getting one of those now. At least I would know that I’m not COMPLETELY wasting my money.

By: AfroM

AfroM — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 17:41:41 +0000

'...isnâ€t one of those that uses 80% of their income to pay for westerners salaries, but actually gets something done on the ground in Africa. ' I hope so too Gap is doing something similar with clothing... good idea nonetheless