Giving A Human Face To Internet Kiosks

from the hi-there dept

Mon, Oct 27th 2003 10:15am — Mike Masnick

We've had stories in the past about mobile phone owners in rural villages who basically act as the communications hub for their village, walking around the village and selling small amounts of time on the mobile phone. Does the same concept work in a big city as well? A grad student decided to test out the idea with internet access. She made an "internet in a box" device and walked around trying to get people to use it. It sounds like a tablet PC disguised in a box, with a wireless connection, and the ability to attach it to a person (a shoulder strap?). There are a few things I don't quite understand about the article. I'm not really sure how this is any different than an internet kiosk - besides being slightly mobile and having a person standing over you while you use the machine. Maybe some people like to use the internet while someone is staring at them, but it would probably be annoying or disconcerting to many (inlcuding me). Also, I'm not sure why a special "box" was created for this. What's wrong with just using a laptop or a tablet PC? I guess, the point is that it's more of an experiment/art project than a look into how such a system is useful.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

2 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

dorpus, 27 Oct 2003 @ 10:59am

Orange Ladies
In Cambodia, there are women who "sell oranges" on the sidewalk. But the expectation is that you will peel a lot more than just the orange.

So it could be with human computer kiosks, if she's got floppy drives open. Perhaps in a few years, feminists will be leading Smash-Your-Computer campaigns.

[ link to this | view in thread ]
Joe Schmoe, 27 Oct 2003 @ 12:00pm

Re: Orange Ladies
At first read, this'd be another great off the wall response from the dorpster, but there is a tangential correlation here. Either way, one would risk exposure to a virus...
[ link to this | view in thread ]