Chapter 7 - Internet availability and Digital divide

Estonian internet availability is good. There has been many talks over opening wifi all over the country for free. Basically it is possible to use wireless internet all over the country. Mobile phone operators, Estonian Electrical company all offer somekind of possibility. Farms and faraway places in the middle of forest can have radio internet.
Estonia is a small country. Of course we have borderland as well, where fewer and poorer people live and where things are not so easily taken as in and near bigger cities. But I think actually getting internet access is not a big problem. If one wants to have it then they will get it.
There is a difference that in the city I can choose from which provider I get my internet, but in the countryside I might have to take the only one available even if it costs twice as much as quicker internet in the city.
I stayed in USA for 3 months 4 years ago and I felt in there what actually means not getting internet so easily. I was surprised to see offices where several rooms did not have internet connection (but had people working behind computers). Then I thought “and they think that I have not seen a true civilization?”
Basically I can use internet everywhere in Estonia. Because of my work I also have KÕU – a small mobile device that can be connected to my laptop and I can get to internet everywhere NMT network works. Currently I only know one place in Estonia where KÕU didn’t gave any internet connection even with car antenna. I know that this is the place I have to go to get some rest from work and technological devices :P

Chapter 1 - Himanen talks

Himanen talks about the society the way it is today. If the title of the article might sound kind of abstract – „Challenges of Global information Society“, then actually this is where we are today and what we will see in couple of years.

The paper is written 4 years ago at 2004, probably today Himmanend has other great ideas to add to his theory.

The challenges that world has to face touch all the fields of human life, starting from social, educational fields. People grow older, it is an ecomonimical problem, medical challenge and continues problem that we have to face. Europe nad even USA are loosing their „number 1“ status as especially China and India jhave such a big people base that they will just override Europe and USA at some point. The more people you have the more you will have the possibilitities to find new ideas and develop them.

Economically companies find it really useful to outsource their production to China or India. But not only production is outsourced but also calling centers, knowledge, development departments. It all means that west gives voluntarily away some of the most important things that we have. Different countries have always had race to be the first to discover something, to be the first to be somewhere, but now money comes from „the west“, product goes to „the west“ but knowledge and basics are worked out and probably stay in Asia.

Himanen talks about „information society“ never forgetting the human in it. He has a theory that brings together economist, sociologist, techinican, psychologists and many other field representatives point of views. And this is the most important part about his work probably that he can understand the „problem“ from different point of view and bring it together to one theory that can even help most of the countries in the world to deal with coming problems.