Internet Info 1994 March/Internet Info CD-ROM (Walnut Creek) (March 1994).iso/inet/isoc/isoc_news/issue1-2/n-1-2-016.15a

Text File | 1993-03-01 | 4KB | 73 lines

016.15  ELECTRONIC MATATU:  FIDONET IN AFRICA
by Bob Barad <[e-mail]>
Baobab Communications, Washington, DC

Visitors and residents of Africa know about the ubiquitous
"matatu" or "group taxis" that link urban neighborhoods and rural
areas across the continent.  These include a wide array of
vehicles - cars, vans, buses, and pickup trucks - all specially
modified to accommodate the maximum number of passengers and
mechanically adapted to cope with some of the world's most
difficult road conditions.

There are no written schedules or guide books for using this
transportation system, but for budget conscious travelers who are
willing to observe and ask questions (and perhaps give up some
comfort and speed in reaching their destination), the matatu
network presents an affordable alternative to hiring a private
vehicle.  Individually operated and informally organized, the
matatus are quite simply the cheapest way to get wherever it is
you want to go.

Similarly, FidoNet technology offers budget conscious travelers
on Africa's information highways a transportation alternative
that can be locally maintained and repaired, is open to cost
sharing arrangements, and uses readily available equipment to
move message traffic across ordinary phone lines.  FidoNet
technology functions through dial-up links, storing "in transit"
mail until a quantity has been collected and can be forwarded to
the next stop in a single phone call.

The protocols built into FidoNet-compatible software incorporate
compression, error correction, and error recovery capabilities
that automatically adjust for line noise and squeeze as much data
as possible into the shortest transmission time.  FidoNet.Org is
a registered domain and FidoNet to UUCP gateway software enables
FidoNet systems to exchange e-mail with Internet-style addresses
and to participate in Usenet newsgroups.

For both the matatus and their electronic counterparts, the speed
and type of the vehicle chosen depends on what is most
appropriate and cost effective for a given road.  A high volume
FidoNet "hub" system with an overseas link, for example, could
make good use of a high-speed modem, a dedicated computer and
phone lines, and a full-time system operator.  Other systems in
the same area as the hub could arrange to call in periodically to
drop off outgoing and pick up incoming mail, thereby reducing the
unit cost of long-distance message traffic and freeing up their
computers and phone lines for other uses throughout most of the
day.

The widest application of FidoNet technology is the amateur
FidoNet network itself, comprising over 10,000 officially listed
nodes in countries around the world, including six African
countries.  The actual number of African countries where FidoNet
technology is in use or has been successfully tested is more than
double that number and promises to increase substantially in the
very near future.

FidoNet-compatible software has been written for DOS, Macintosh,
and other leading microcomputer platforms.  Most programs are
available in free versions for hobbyist use or as shareware (try
before you buy) and can be obtained from public bulletin board
systems.  With the software and a recent copy of the FidoNet node
list in hand, all you need to get started is a microcomputer, a
few megabytes of hard disk space, a modem, a phone line, and
perhaps most importantly, some time to observe and ask questions.

If you want to learn more about FidoNet technology initiatives in
Africa and what you can do to participate, please send me an
e-mail message or call "The Baobab" bulletin board in Washington,
DC direct via modem at [phone] (8n1).