[Nettime-bold] Re: <nettime> Internet in Cambodian village

[McKenzie Wark <mwark {AT} laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au>]

If a network comes to a Cambodian village, and the New York
Times is not there to cover it, does it make a sound?

One of the ironies of the internet's supposedly decentralising
effects is how much the metropolian media shapes perceptions
of decentralisation itself.

many thanks to Andrew for the memory...

k


__________________________________________
"We no longer have roots, we have aerials."
http://www.mcs.mq.edu.au/~mwark
 -- McKenzie Wark 

On Tue, 8 Aug 2000, andrew garton [c2o] wrote:

> >From the net-archives:
> 
> A email and conferencing network hub was up and running in Cambodia as
> early as 1994. There were no press releases, no international
> spokespersons, no newspapers, no television. 
> 
> The hub utilised the rigorous features of FidoNet, which I believe is
> still popular in Russia and other parts of Eastern Europe. 
> 
> This humble computer polled another computer in Sydney a couple of times a
> day. The Sydney hub (Pactok) would then transfer email and news postings
> to another computer in Brisbane (Pegasus Networks) which in turn sent the
> message out to their respective destinations on the Internet. 
> 
> An even earlier email hub, using WAFFLE, was performing remarkably well in
> Phnom Penh. This was established sometime around 93. This same hub is
> still operational, although no longer based on WAFFLE, and is almost
> exclusively used by NGOs and not-for-profits in Phnom Penh. 
> 
> Of course, the UN had an exceptional network established throughout
> Cambodia when it monitored the elections there quite some years back now.
> I recall this being an optical network which, despite its physical
> presence, could not and has not been made available for public use. 
> 
> -andrew. 
> 
> c2o
>  - Community Communications Online       | Andrew Garton
>  - PO Box 304                            | agarton {AT} c2o.org
>  - Richmond 3121 Victoria AUSTRALIA      | http://www.c2o.org
> 
> 
> 
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