How To Bridge The Digital Divide

Written by J. Nayer Hardin


How To Bridge The Digital Divide GIVE THE GIFT OF COMPUTERIZATION START A COMPUTER CLUB AT YOUR BANK TODAY

The digital divide isrepparttar space in our society betweenrepparttar 133555 computerized andrepparttar 133556 non-computerized. The digital divide is dangerous, yet can be made safe if we all just work together to build a bridge to cyber freedom.

Whenrepparttar 133557 problem is a lack of adequate computerization,repparttar 133558 solution is simply to adequately computerize. Web conferencing, computer enriched literacy programs and organizational participation can dramatically help transformrepparttar 133559 digital divide into opportunities wide.

We live in a world of technology haves and have-nots. Like A Tale Of Two Cities, failure to addressrepparttar 133560 issues can result in creating a future resembling The Time Machine. Since we never know who’s life experience will holdrepparttar 133561 key to solvingrepparttar 133562 problems of disease, environmental destruction, economic empowerment, or our next really good laugh, we can’t afford to leave anybody behind who wants to participate inrepparttar 133563 Information Age Evolution.

The evidence is too precise to ignore. Maximizing cyber opportunities is critical torepparttar 133564 success of any economy. Make no mistake about it. Second hand information inrepparttar 133565 information age is trulyrepparttar 133566 new slavery. If you have to go to another for your daily data, byrepparttar 133567 time you get it, if you get it, it’s old news. Many companies only have additional product information onrepparttar 133568 web. Talk about second-class status.

The solution involves access to both equipment and education. For example, internet access withoutrepparttar 133569 confidence and ability to effectively userepparttar 133570 technology, is like having a microphone and not know how to turn it on or what to say. Though I’ve trained thousands how to use a computer at no financial cost, I’m still astounded atrepparttar 133571 number of people who don’t have a clue how to use a computer. What’s even more amazing to me arerepparttar 133572 people who have gone to traditional computer classes and still don’t have a grasp on how to benefit from computer use. My training notes are posted at http://www.compurest.com. Click on Free MS Training.

Multi-level involvement of government, organizations and individuals is imperative. Computers arerepparttar 133573 keys out of Babylon,repparttar 133574 next day inrepparttar 133575 genesis of our freedom asrepparttar 133576 human race. I have a theory that during WWII enough people chose good over evil so that we were givenrepparttar 133577 power of computers. The Enigma Machine, an early computer, was developed byrepparttar 133578 Allies and used to break Hitler’s code, thereby turningrepparttar 133579 tide ofrepparttar 133580 war. The power of our modern Enigma Machines, computers, has changedrepparttar 133581 tide in many lives in no less a dramatic fashion.

According to Genesis, duringrepparttar 133582 time of Babylon’s ego, our language was confounded. With computers and their language translation capabilities, people from all overrepparttar 133583 world can speak and be understood. I’ll never be able to conveyrepparttar 133584 joy onrepparttar 133585 face of a young man in Harlemrepparttar 133586 first time he communicated with a soul from Japan about a mutual artistic passion. Orrepparttar 133587 peace of senior Miss. Ruth who was able to communicate with younger members of her family in another state through a computer, which translated into them becoming even closer. Orrepparttar 133588 accomplishment of a young father building stronger communications bridges with his six-year-old daughter during conversations they would have while together atrepparttar 133589 computer screen. It no longer matters what one learned or did not learn in school. The information,repparttar 133590 commodity of kings, is available to all who know how to use a computer,repparttar 133591 Internet and an assortment of educational tools. As Anthony Robbins says in his book AWAKEN THE GIANT WITHIN…”I can’t overemphasizerepparttar 133592 power and value of gaining even one, single distinction – a sole piece of information – that can be used to changerepparttar 133593 course of your life. Information is power when it is acted upon, and one thing is that you never know when you’re going to get it.”

The difference between a computerized and non-computerized life is likerepparttar 133594 difference between a Mercedes and a mule. Take insurance. Viarepparttar 133595 web, one can quickly gain access to tools that compare up torepparttar 133596 second insurance rates offered by a multitude of companies. Withoutrepparttar 133597 web, one usually relies on whatever print or phone information is available. Anyone can be a salesman with Yahoo Classified, a free product advertising service that gets around 12 million hits a day. Driving instructions, medical treatments, food information http://www.foodstop.com, breaking news, spirituality, sports, humor, art, http://www.audart.com, it’s all there.

I’ve been a computer diva for a quarter of a century. Back inrepparttar 133598 late ‘80’s Harlem’s great community service diva, Mother Clara Hale, told me that there was something going on with computers and I needed to come uptown to help people become computerized. I won’t repeat what she said about Harlem’s politicians onrepparttar 133599 issues.

It is time for effective leadership. I’m not dissin’repparttar 133600 folks in charge, just requesting they use computers to solverepparttar 133601 problemsrepparttar 133602 community is facing. Truthful information is a key. Inrepparttar 133603 80’s I was told by Harlem’s leadership that AIDS was not a Black problem. They saidrepparttar 133604 best way to handle AIDS was to not talk about it. They’d put on another record, rather than have on Niro Markoff Asistent who’s book WHY I SURVIVE AIDS tells how she healed herself of HIV with ARC (aids related complex). Inrepparttar 133605 90’s,repparttar 133606 politicians did little aboutrepparttar 133607 5 open sewers that surround Harlem,repparttar 133608 location ofrepparttar 133609 majority of Manhattan’s bus depots in Harlem,repparttar 133610 threat ofrepparttar 133611 Hanta Virus or plague fromrepparttar 133612 large rodent population, inadequate disaster relief programs or information available on how to deal withrepparttar 133613 dramas on hand. The Internet has some answers, but you have to know how to do a search or type in an address to find them.

When I lived in mid-town Manhattan inrepparttar 133614 80’s and early-mid 90’s, I had many computer stores in walking distance of my apartments. When I went to Harlem in ’94, there was not one computer store…a place where you could “kickrepparttar 133615 tires”, try new technologies, and take a test drive of new software.

When I left Harlem in ’98, despite pleas to elected and appointed officials, Harlem still did not have a computer super store. Not even allrepparttar 133616 time spent onrepparttar 133617 Empowerment Zone helped. Instead, I was told that most people had no interest in computers or that computers were ofrepparttar 133618 devil.

When I’d conduct ‘computer buying groups’, we had one Radio Shack in Harlem, close to Columbia University, which had an extremely limited computer selection and programs were minimal. We ended up having to go down town. When I came to Los Angeles in ’98repparttar 133619 same was true for Watts and Compton. My sister, Robin Hardin, reportsrepparttar 133620 same is true in her city, Detroit. Are there many computers in Afghanistan? I doubt it with their reported 80% illiteracy rate.

Access to technology is meaningless until we learn how to use it to empower our lives.

The http://www.compurest.com training notes I mentioned earlier, plus one more class that I haven’t posted yet, were given to all who came to me to learn how to compute. I stopped counting at 3,000 people over a four-year period, 1994-1998. I read that millions of dollars were raised for education during that time. I had to accomplish what I did on a $10,000 grant, plus whatever I earned and resources I had. More and better allocated financial and educational resources need to be committed to this issue. “Based on results” needs to be factored into funding and training qualification.

Choosing a Long Distance Plan

Written by Alyice Edrich


Long Distance rates are onrepparttar rise! Have you ever said to yourself, "Some companies charge a monthly usage fee and I don't have to pay a monthly usage fee with my ten cents a minute plan. Why would I want to switch?"

Let's break this down a bit for you:

.10 cents a minute times 200 minutes per month = $20.00 a month .045 cents per minute times 200 minutes per month = $9.00 a month. Even if you add inrepparttar 133554 $2 monthly usage fee,repparttar 133555 total for your long distance bill is only $11.00! That is a savings of $9 per month or $108 per year. Why not take that $108 per year and invest it in a single share stock option and watch that money grow, instead of just throwing it away? So how does one chooserepparttar 133556 right Long Distance Plan?

Are your long distance calls for pleasure or business? When do you makerepparttar 133557 most calls -- time of day/day of week? What area do you callrepparttar 133558 most? How long do your calls last? Do you need a plan that allows you to call all overrepparttar 133559 world, at any given moment, offeringrepparttar 133560 best rates 24/7 or do you need a plan that allows you to call one particular area forrepparttar 133561 best rate? Are there time restrictions on when you can call forrepparttar 133562 best rates and if so, will those restraints work out for your calling needs? Carefully evaluate package deals. Sometimes, you can get cheaper deals by making your own package. In other words, pick and choose individual plans versus taking a "package" full of unnecessary items simply becauserepparttar 133563 amount of hours you use your long distance complies withrepparttar 133564 minutes inrepparttar 133565 package. Readrepparttar 133566 fine print to any plan before you sign on. Know what you are getting, so that there are no surprises. What is a Dial-Around Service and are they better than havingrepparttar 133567 standard long distance plans?

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