Knight News Challenge

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged.

http://www.knightfoundation.org/


The Knight News Challenge accelerates media innovation by funding breakthrough ideas in news and information.

https://www.newschallenge.org/

We recently entered the HOPE project in the Knight News Challenge. We are very excited to learn that the project was chosen as one of the 47 finalists from a total of 620 projects.

A Digital Library Solution for the 4.3 Billion People Who Don't Have Access to the Internet

The HOPE Project is a device that can serve digital content to hundreds of users within a 100-foot radius. No internet connection required.

The Hope project is a solution to the problem of access for the 4.3 Billion people in the world who don't have access to the internet. While the long-term solution to this problem is obviously to grow the internet infrastructure so more people have full access to the internet, this is a very costly and long-range endeavor. The Hope project offers an extremely efficient and cost-effective interim step for providing access to the majority of the world that doesn't have stable access to the internet.

The Hope Project can be loaded with web-based content and deployed to areas where the internet is either inaccessible or unstable. The device creates a 100' radius, walled garden network that can be accessed by anyone with a device that can utilize a wifi connection. These users can then browse, read, and play the content via the internet browser on their device.

The device itself is powered by a combination of battery and solar making it 100% self-sufficient. Content on the device can be updated via a mobile data connection, a locally wifi connected device, or a USB flash drive, making it extremely versatile.

There are two existing solutions to this problem, as detailed below, each with their own challenges.

For one, some programs have attempted to address this problem by creating devices that can only be used by one person, requiring each individual they are serving to have a device with a full version of the digital library loaded. These programs have only had limited success due to the extremely cumbersome process for maintaining and updating content and software (if there is a lab of 30 devices, each one needs to be updated individually). The other issue is that the devices are expensive resulting in them being secured inside a computer lab that is seldom open or accessible.

Secondly, you have traditional paper books. You might think that traditional paper books and local libraries would be the most economical solution to the world's education gap, however, the cost of buying the books, getting them to remote areas, building a library to house them, training local people to manage the library and keep track of the library inventory, is much more costly and difficult than you would expect.

Our solution has one device that holds all of the software and digital content and can be updated and maintained remotely. Anyone with a smartphone or tablet can connect and consume content. Smartphones and tablets are available on the market for $25-$50 each making the program very affordable even if all devices are being provided through the program. The Hope Project device will cost somewhere between $100 and $200.

You can read more about the HOPE project and our entry at:

https://www.newschallenge.org/challenge/how-might-libraries-serve-21st-century-information-needs/submissions/a-digital-library-solution-for-the-4-3-billion-people-who-don-t-have-access-to-the-internet

Missed a flight - After 35 years

I was to fly to Mumbai, India on April 15. I was scheduled to fly on UA 48, United's non-stop 15+ hour flight from Newark to Mumbai. And I had just finished handing over my Wilton home to the realtor of the new owner, bringing to a close an extremely interesting phase of our stay in the beautiful town of Wilton, Connecticut. But that's a whole new story.

I finished handing over the keys at around 3 and had plenty of time to reach the airport. Frank, my brother was dropping me off and I accepted. That was the first mistake, considering that he was super busy and had already changed plans 3 times, the final being to drive to his house from where we would drive to the airport.

In the meanwhile Freia wanted to meet me and say Bye and was already on the train from New York to Stamford. Not knowing how long Frank would take, we didn't know where to meet. And to make things worse, Metro North, the CT rail company was experiencing a rare event. They were having major problems and several trains were cancelled and others were running late. so I asked her to stay at Stamford and we would meet her there. That was my second mistake.

The flight was at 8.15 and being a long flight they typically stopped check-in 75 - 90 minutes before the flight. Which meant I had to get to the airport by 7. This was my third mistake. I didn't account for the earlier closure.

I reached Frank's house at 3.30. Frank finished his work at 4.30. And we set off. For Stanford. I don't want Freia to go back without saying Bye, considering she had traveled 2 hours to meet me and would have to travel another 2 hours to get back. This was my fourth mistake.

The traffic to Stamford was quite heavy. We finally reached Stamford around 5. And I said a quick Hi and Bye. But not before picking up a sandwich for Frank and a coffee for me. And we then set out for the Newark airport. The traffic was unbelievable. What I hadn't taken into account was that it was a Friday. And people leave offices earlier. This was my fifth mistake.

In the meanwhile Frank continued to work in the car. And I was driving. I'm neither an above average driver. Like Frank. Or a fast, rash driver. Like Frank. This was my sixth mistake. We used Google to get us there as quick as we could. But even Google wasn't good enough for us to make it on time. We finally pulled into the airport at 7.15. One hour before the flight. But they had already closed the flight for check-in.

And so I had to go check if a ticket would be available in the next few days. And how much it would cost. It was a busy time and it could be an extremely expensive mistake. Actually multiple mistakes that added up. I go to the back of a long line of people wanting help. Most seem to have missed flights due to their first leg flights being delayed, and hence would be the airline's responsibility. Mine was entirely my fault. I finally get to the counter, around the time I should have been boarding.

I check if they can put me on a flight to Mumbai via Delhi, since the Delhi flight takes off in over an hour. They agree, but only if I'm willing to make my own arrangements from Delhi to Mumbai. Or pay around $1000+ if they re-book me. This is because they would cancel the current ticket, apply the cancellation charge of $ 200 and then re-book on a new fare, which is $ 800 more expensive than the fare I had originally booked. I ask for the options I have. There's 1 seat on the next day's flight to Mumbai. And they agree to book me on it, at no cost. I can't believe it. An airline doing something without a fee. Who says Miracles don't happen.

On the drive back, I realize that I've been flying with reasonable frequency for over 35 years. And of the several hundreds of flights I've taken, this was the first flight I missed. It seemed inevitable that I'd miss a flight and I'm glad that the outcome was pretty good.

And the best part of all was my wife and kids. They refused to believe that I had missed a flight. So much so that they called again in a few hours. To confirm that I wasn't pulling a fast one and was actually on the flight.

Philly Cheese Steak

Earlier this week I drove Mabel to Baltimore to spend a couple of days with a friend. They were going to visit Washington D.C. Since we were driving, we decided to stop by Philadelphia which was on the way and didn't require much of a detour.

Deepa, Mabel's friend had suggested we reach her hospital in Baltimore before 4, so they could avoid traffic going home. And I could head back to Connecticut before the peak rush. This meant that we would only get a couple of hours in Philly.

We headed to the main tourist center in Philly, the Independence Visitor Center. Ideally we'd have liked to do the touristy city tour,but we didn't have sufficient time. And so decided to do the 1 thing that every visitor to Philly should do. Take Independence Hall Tour. This is where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed. We were fortunate to get tickets.

https://www.nps.gov/inde/planyourvisit/independencehall.htm

The Park Ranger conducting the tour was unbelievably good. She made the tour interesting and fascinating. We were left in awe and wondering why history isn't always taught this way. It would make kids love the subject.

No trip to Philly would be complete without having a Philly Cheese Steak. And so we went to the place the local experts suggested. Joe's. It was a small outlet on the outskirts of the city. And the cheese steak lived up to its reputation.

You can also watch Philly Cheesesteak 101 to learn how to order the all important Cheesesteak on your next trip to Philly.

A fitting end to an amazing trip to the city of brotherly love.

April Fool's Day

I wanted to write about the best 5 April Fool's Day pranks. Until Freia showed me the Google April Fools pranks. Which were better than most. So here's my top 5 Google April Fool Day pranks.

The Guardian goes galactic with Android and Google Play

Experience YouTube in #SnoopaVision

Introducing realBooks

Introducing new delivery technology from Google Express

and my favorite
Google Cardboard Plastic

And the 1 major disaster:
Gmail Mic Drop