Just off chatting with White Africa, A.K.A. Hash, blog master of AfriGadget.com who lives in the US. I thought I’d take another look at AfriGadget and see if I can find anything which sparks my interest.

Step onto the scene a Sugar & Yeast Powered Generator

This invention(by Dr. Cedrick Ngalande’s) has massive implications for South Africa, not only directly related to the problem of charging of mobile phones in rural settings but in general, for the energy crisis we are experiencing locally.

This shows that Africans are very much innovating and working towards solutions to some of the most crucial problems mankind will be facing in the very near future.

“The rotor moves slowly most of the times but does pick up at certain intervals. This process continues for many hours. Since the rotor is quite heavy (and hence more inertia) a small geared DC motor can be connected to the rotor to generate power for cell phones, $100 laptops, and other things in Africa. People can leave this thing to charge their phones/$100 laptops overnight.”

The blog post where I found this little invention has a hot commenting debate about the actual viability of the invention, but like “Hash” the blog author responded, we need to be talking about what people are doing and maybe by spreading the word others can contribute and help build on these ideas.

Anyone out there know of any other cool low tech energy solutions? All I can say is Go Africa, Go!!

My new partners Synerlogix Consulting are running a cool special on Lenovo ThinkPad R61i Notebooks. As far as I know their pricing is very competitive for these models and to encourage further interest they are giving away an iPod shuffle when purchasing 2 of these machines.

Lenovo South Africa has taken over the ThinkPad from IBM and they’ve maintained the highest quality and technological advancement.

The notebooks on offer have enough power and features to suite just about any type of business user. These machines stronger than the majority of notebooks on the market, something which I know I am currently in need of, running up & down with a notebook from home to coffee shops and anywhere else where business calls. What’s on offer here are brilliant notebooks with brilliant pricing and the iPod thrown in just to add to the value.

Synerlogix, unlike other dealers, have kept the prices as low as possible so they can provide this fantastic product at an affordable price which makes business sense to me as I think they’ll sell more of them that way.

If you know anyone with a ThinkPad, then you’ll realize that these machines are built to last and just keep on working.

The ThinkPads on offer have the following specifications:

Lenovo R61i Notebook NG18BZA 7650-8BG

• Centrino Duo • Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.50GHz) • 2x512MB
• 120GB/5400rpm • DVD±RW DL • Intel X3100 • 256MB shared
• 15.4″ WXGA TFT(1280×800) • Modem • Gigabit Ethernet
• Intel 802.11a/b/g • Bluetooth • Security Chip • FPR
• 6 Cell Battery • Card reader 4-in-1 • Vista Business 32
• No touchpad, no docking station connection and no fingerprint reader

R7 040.00 ex VAT
R8 025.60 incl VAT

Lenovo R61i Notebook NF09ZZA 8932-9ZG

• Centrino Duo • Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.50GHz) • 2x512MB • 160GB/5400rpm • DVD±RW DL
• Intel X3100 • 256MB shared • 15.4″ WXGA TFT(1280×800) • Modem • Gigabit Ethernet
• Intel 802.11a/b/g • Bluetooth • Security Chip • FPR • 6 Cell Battery • Card reader 4-in-1
• Vista Business 32

R7 700.00 ex VAT
R8 778.00 incl VAT

I hope to grab one of these in the near future as my current notebook is slowing me down a bit and I need something a little more durable. if you’re interested in taking advantage of this fantastic offer drop me a mail.

There are a range of other even more powerful notebooks also available outside of the above special through Synerlogix, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for here, visit the Synerlogix Consulting website to view the rest of the range.

Offer valid from 15 January 2008, while stocks last. E & OE. Prices are subject to the Rate of Exchange ruling at the time of invoice

I especially loved the videos which we were shown explaining some key web 2.0 concepts. I’ve seen this one before but mixed in with the rest of what we focussed on Yesterday it had a much greater impact and I just have to share this with those of you who may not have seen this yet.

Now, think about the impact this is going to have on you, your career, your business or organisation, your family and your relationships in only the next 2 – 5 years. We can’t afford to hide anymore. Fear of technology is something you just have to get over unless you’re prepared to be cut off from a huge percentage of the worlds population. Developments are going digital and any strategy which does not include some aspect of these developments could be missing an essential ingredient to its success.

Part of getting to know what’s new and who’s who in the new media industry and web 2.0 scene is attending events. The upcoming Podcamp event is one I’m very sad to be missing since I’ll be out of Cape Town on the day. I hope to be able to link up the the event remotely somehow so I can get a scope of the happenings and meet a few of the attendees.

If you’re attending this cool event be sure to let me know and fill me in on your experiences so i can do a bit of a writeup on the days happenings. If anyone attending will be linking up with a web-cam I’d like to project myself virtual to the event and chat with a few attendees. go visit www.podcampcapetown.com

Jeff Han at ETech, 7 Mar 2006

Consulting research scientist at NYU’s department of Computer Science. This stuff is literally just coming out of the lab right now. You’re amongst the first to see it out of the lab. I think this is going to change the way we interact with computers.

I want one of these right now! Any sponsors out there ?

�It’s an education project, not a laptop project.�

� Nicholas Negroponte

Our goal: To provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment and express themselves.
The project’s origins go back more than four decades to the early days of computing, when most machines were still the size of small dinosaurs, and almost no one dreamed they would ever be suitable for children. But pioneering thinkers like Seymour Papert disagreed sharply, and over time led the long march from radical theory to reality proving the immense power of the personal computer as a learning tool for children.

The project is open to involvement on all levels if you are someone who has skills or knowledge which can be of benefit. They have comprehensive wiki which keeps us up-to-date on developments as they take place. As someone who is very interested in e-learning and using new technologies to benefit those who are in need, this project ranks up there in the top ten for me. I hope to be working on projects of similar nature in not too distant future. I’ve signed up to volunteer my services with “The One Laptop” project.

Pay them a visit and find out more, or, if you’re up to the task offer some assistance toward brightening the future of the next generation.

The Appropriate Technology Library contains the complete text and images from over 1,050 of the best books on all areas of village-level and do-it-yourself technologies…over 150,000 pages! In use in over 130 countries by Peace Corps Volunteers, development and relief organizations, engineers, and missionaries, the Appropriate Technology library is the most comprehensive, compact, and cost effective information resource in the world!

A brief overview of the contents of this invaluable resource:

I’m definitely gonna try to get my hands one a set of these. The website has a nice overview section which gives a summary on each book, so check it out and let me know what you think.

Happy village building!