Technology

submitted by Michael Kraft

by Christopher Joyce - npr.org - August 31, 2011

Two women check their cellphones as they hawk their wares on a bridge over the Artibonite River, whose waters are believed to be the source of Haiti's 2010 cholera outbreak.  Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

The year 2010 was a very bad one for Haiti. It started with an earthquake that killed over 300,000 people, mostly in the crowded capital of Port-au-Prince. After that, cholera originating in a U.N. camp broke out in a northern province and eventually spread to the city.

But public health researchers learned something useful from the tragedy: Cellphones can help stem an unfolding epidemic and funnel aid to the needy.

CNN - August 11, 2011

Suspected rioter David O'Neill leaves court Thursday in London after posting bail on charges, including aggravated violence.

British Prime Minister David Cameron thinks he's found some culprits to blame in the recent riots that have rocked London and other cities -- Facebook and Twitter.

Saying the "free flow of information" can sometimes be a problem, Cameron's government has summoned those two social-networking sites, as well as Research In Motion, makers of the BlackBerry, for a meeting to discuss their roles during the violent outbreaks.

"Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organized via social media," Cameron said Thursday during an address to Parliament. "Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence, we need to stop them."

Cameron said that government officials are working with authorities "to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality."

submitted by Luis Kun

The Wall Street Journal - August 19, 2011

NEW DELHI – A little-known, privately held company Friday launched a tablet computer for $99 in India, adding to competition in a market where local players are bringing in low-cost versions of the device to take on the likes of Apple Inc.'s iPad and Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy Tab.

Industry experts expect many Indians, especially in rural areas, to buy tablets instead of laptop and desktop computers to access the Internet, just the way they embraced mobile phones over fixed-line phones.

Internet penetration is still very low in the world's fastest-growing telecom market where more than half the population of 1.2 billion people has access to mobile phones.