It's easy for me (and, I'm sure, most people reading this) to forget that the vast benefits of computers and the Internet are not yet accessible to the majority of the world's population. That's a lot of people who don't have easy access to the world's knowledge and people in the form of encyclopedias, science and math books, news, music, art, novels, forums, instant communication, and more.
So, I'm always inspired to see projects aimed at narrowing the gap.
San Francisco start-up Endless have designed a computer made to be affordable for emerging markets that saves cost by re-using a TV as a display (which are relatively wide-spread even where computers are not) and using best-of-breed open source software. And they've built the software specifically to work for the developing world which has different challenges than the developed world, such as unreliable Internet connectivity.
Please see the videos on their website that explain much better than I have the importance of bringing computers to the rest of the world.
I'm proud to say that my colleagues at Collabora have helped develop software platform that Endless will be shipping on these computers and have contributed to their Kickstarter campaign.
As I write this, there's just a little time left to contribute to Endless's Kickstarter campaign. Please consider a donation because every bit helps.
