THE RURBAN FRINGE

Cattle-Powered Computers?

Cattle have been put to a variety of uses, but a new research paper suggests that they could be the key to powering the next wave of computer innovation. 
“While not immediately intuitive, the idea plays on two trends:  the building of computing centres in more rural locales, and dairy farmers’ efforts to deal with cattle [...]

Going Hyper … Local, That Is

That’s “hyper” as in “linked” and “local” as in “location” … in short, it’s information created by and for local communities.
I’m currently involved in a neat online rural community platform project.  A what, you ask?!  Yeah, it’s a mouthful, isn’t it?  An online site.  For rural communities.  Based on Web 2.0 concepts of connectivity and [...]

Still A Need for Rural Internet Connections

Following the initial rush of information and communication technologies in rural areas, interest seems to be dying down.  And while mobile phones certainly have had a great impact in many rural spots, there is still a need for high-quality, affordable internet connections to serve rural and niche markets the way larger companies cannot.
This article highlights why.

Industry Canada Connectivity Funding

How timely … just when rural connectivity was on my mind, the federal government announces a call-for-applications for their Broadband Canada:  Connecting Rural Canadians program. 
This program is looking for applications that will provide service to as many unserved and underserved Canadians as possible, allowing them to more fully participate in the digital economy by encouraging [...]

Rural Connectivity: Gap Analysis Project & A Rural Success Story

Information has long been promoted as the backbone of development. 
And although internet/broadband/telecommunications access in rural and rurban areas has steadily increased within the past several years, various groups continue to identify the lack of internet access in rural areas as a problem for economic growth and continued prosperity of many communities. 
To determine how widespread this issue is within Alberta, for instance, a [...]

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