About the Author
Cyrus Farivar
سیروس فریور
English: [suh-ROOS FAR-ih-var]
Persian: [see-ROOS-eh fàr-ee-VÀR]
Freelance Technology Journalist
Freelance Radio Reporter/Producer
Author, "The Internet of Elsewhere"
cfarivar [at] cfarivar [dot] org
Current location: Oakland, CATwitter
Tech in Far-Off Lands Archive
-
Veljo’s new idea for Internet access
Posted on February 22, 2008 | 1 CommentFree access for everyone: We have service providers, our people have computers. Almost every Estonian has a cellphone — or two of them — and most have laptops. It’s already becoming impossible to work or to study without a laptop. But universal coverage is not... -
Estonian Embassy Opens in Second Life
Posted on February 22, 2008 | No CommentsNot surprisingly, Estonia has opened up an embassy in Second Life: Perhaps unlike other “embassies” in Second Life, Estonia’s is interesting because of its focus: they’re not here to show off the natural beauty of their lovely country and attract tourists. Instead they have settled... -
BBC: Estonia fines man for ‘cyber war’
Posted on January 28, 2008 | No CommentsIt appears there’s been an update to the Estonia cyberwarfare piece that I filed for The World on in August. In it, I interviewed Margus Kurm, Estonia’s chief prosecutor, who talked about a certain Dimitri — an ethnic Russian and Estonian citizen, who at that... -
The Economist: One clunky laptop per child
Posted on January 5, 2008 | 1 CommentThe Economist: Ultimately the OLPC initiative will be remembered less for what it produced than the products it spawned. The initiative is like running the four-minute mile: no one could do it, until someone actually did it. Then many people did. -
Capsule hotels
Posted on November 26, 2007 | 1 CommentOh yes, I’m back in The Economist. Capsule hotels Thinking small Nov 15th 2007 From The Economist print edition Hotels with tiny rooms, pioneered in Japan, are spreading and evolving WITH their tiny, cupboard-like rooms and prices as low as ¥2,000 ($18) a night, capsule... -
WSJ skewers OLPC
Posted on November 26, 2007 | 2 CommentsPaul Boutin links to this gem in this weekend’s WSJ: Some potential buyers are having second thoughts. Officials in Libya, who had planned to buy up to 1.2 million of the laptops, became concerned that the machines lacked Windows, and that service, teacher training and... -
France in the year 2000, as predicted in 1910
Posted on October 14, 2007 | No CommentsI came across these delights on Paleo-Future: The Electric Train from Paris to Beijing Flying police Hearing the newspaper (aka “radio”) Cars of war (aka “tanks) -
Atanu Dey on the $2,500 car
Posted on October 14, 2007 | No CommentsAfter the $100 laptop project, the fact that India’s building a $2,500 car got me interested. So I pinged Atanu Dey to see what his thoughts were on the subject, and here’s what he said: Cyrus: It scares me witless. Today oil touched $84 a... -
Still Waiting for That $100 Laptop?
Posted on September 24, 2007 | 2 CommentsSlate: by Cyrus Farivar It’s been nearly two years since MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte revealed his ambitious plan to provide kids in developing countries with $100 laptops. Today, the One Laptop per Child foundation has announced that its cheapo device (now officially dubbed the “XO laptop”)... -
President Ilves, on the Internet in Estonia
Posted on September 20, 2007 | 3 CommentsBaltic Times: [Estonian President Toomas Hendrik] Ilves also talked up Estonia’s reputation as a centre of hi-tech excellence, saying: “Estonia has some positive experiences, like digitalised public services, that deserve to be explored by the others. We have gone far in reducing paper bureaucracy –...
