Antique Modernity

I've always had a minor fascination with once old things becoming new again. Not so much in the sense of things being "retro," but more the idea of old concepts finding innovative applications in emerging contexts or technology.

I came across the perfect example today. Mail being delivered by motorcycle. Not that interesting? How about now: the mail is actually email, and the motorcycle is driving between villages in rural Cambodia to wirelessly relay email messages to the outside world.

It is a digital pony express: five Motomen ride their routes five days a week, downloading and uploading e-mail. The system, developed by a Boston company, First Mile Solutions, uses a receiver box powered by the motorcycle's battery. The driver need only roll slowly past the school to download all the village's outgoing e-mail and deliver incoming e-mail. The school's computer system and antenna are powered by solar panels. Newly collected data is stored for the day in a computer strapped to the back of the motorcycle. At dusk, the motorcycles converge on the provincial capital, Ban Lung, where an advanced school is equipped with a satellite dish, allowing a bulk e-mail exchange with the outside world.

You can read the whole article in the New York Times HERE.

Flown by mariposa at 10:53 AM on January 26, 2004