I applaud the contribution of Mr. Rowe and The Shuttleworth Foundation’s support of his work.

Damage based on ignorance and miss-comunication spans known human history; and is at an epoch right now. We need only look back a few decades to behold the positive results when individuals gain access to accurate information.

As a young adult could you comprehend a unified Germany? I could no more envision this outcome than predict a Mcartney concert in Red Square. Is there any question as to why this positive outcome ocurred?

Information access, period!

I predict a simple project called the ‘Mesh Potato” will cause a paradigm shift in what was once the Telecommunication industry.

Those who diminish the value of gracious acts of charity for all humanity by debating one possible benefit, do not understand. Scope and breadth of impact is on-par with industrial age advancements.

I hold 30-years experience in software design, communication and most recently 999986% reliable hosted VoIP provider (sold in ’07).

My respect and admiration goes out to all who seek to make this a better world.

Robert Larsen
Orange County, CA
Salt LakeCity, UT

I can see the logic in the statement, though – it doesn’t take a genius to realise that ready access to giant amounts of knowledge via modern communication will help – from finding out what sickness someone has, to where the nearest facility is that can treat it. I just assumed malaria was being used as an example as it seems to be the #1 killer in Africa.

Telecommunication doesn’t prevent malaria. Knowledge does. And I don’t think one can argue that there’s no better way to spread knowledge than via better communication!

So Mr Song, what you have done, is taken a fact that rich people who live in areas with telecoms infrastructure get malaria less often than poor people who live in the bush, and made it sound like telecommunications can cure/prevent malaria.

Rolling out a telco network to a village in the middle of nowhere will do little/nothing to curb the spread of malaria, or even uplift the people of said village, unless you tie your project in with something that actually can help those people build a sustainable existence.