Blog 5

Digital divide is a common term used today that has been used more times than it has been around, coined by the Clinton administration in the mid 1990’s. According to www.webopedia.com, digital divide means: “a term used to describe the discrepancy between people who have access to and the resources to use new information and communication tools, such as the Internet, and people who do not have the resources and access to the technology.” Not only is the digital divide described as the gap between those who have access versus those who do not, the term is also classified as the people who possess the technological skills and knowledge and those who don’t.

Digital divide is not only a national concern, but it has become a global one as well. With limited access to technology in the United States and countries worldwide; economic, social and educational concerns are brought to the surface. “Computers and the Internet have become basic tools determining the pace of economic and social growth. We are witnessing the establishment of an information-based civilization, where the future of the society depends on the speed with which knowledge is developed and used” (Wielinska). Citizens who are “technologically-challenged”, in the sense that they have no access or knowledge of technology, can be left in the dark. Today, there are several ways to stop this and people and major companies are attempting in doing so.
One of the ways that the closing of the gap is being approached is the introduction of the OLPC, or One Laptop Per Child, which is selling and distributing low-priced laptops to those in need; mainly children in Africa. Another such campaign in bridging the digital divide is the 50x15 initiative. 50x15 is a goal set out by AMD to have 50 percent of the world’s population accessible to the internet by 2015. By the use of the OLPC distributed laptops as well as others techniques, such as PIC (Personal Internet Communicator), AMD is hoping they can accomplish this task. Another program aiding in the demise of digital divide is the VIA pc-1 initiative. VIA has designed several products that are affordable and reliable in order to allow those currently without access to the internet to gain access on one of their own computers. For example, VIA has introduced the VIA pc-1 notebook, VIA pc-1 mini-PC and the VIA pc-1 power saving PC, which is “a scalable PC system optimized for emerging markets, providing robust desktop performance and a rich digital media experience at accessible price points” (via.com).
With large corporations contributing their ideas and products, the digital divide can be closed one day. Continuing supply of Information and Communication Technology may someday lead to a world where everyone is connected and no one person or country is left out.