³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

Hello Outriders!

This week on the podcast ÌýI have been learning about the re-creation of arguably one of the world's most important machines, I've been chatting about the parallels between our real lives and digital habits and found out how part of the internet may in fact be just as nice in book form.

First up, news from the . The engineers there have been toiling hard to recreate the Tunny machine. For those of you who are cypher freaks you'll already know that it was one of the machines that helped to decipher coded messages during World War Two. So what's it like to try and build one from scratch? Well, who better to ask than one of the chaps who did this - John Whetter.

From recreating the past to recreating our physical habits in our digital lives. Are you fond of salvaging things that others throw away, maybe you're a Womble, or maybe you can see treasure in another person's trash? Well what about your computer's recycling bin?
Justin Blinder has created a way to trade your digital trash can contents with others and has some surprising results. He told me all about

Dumpster diving can clearly cross the boundaries between the physical and the digital worlds, but does the social web work as well on paper? The creators of Ìýthink so. They provide a way for you to summarise your Facebook activity, in a real papery book. I talked to Juergen Motz about the project.

If you have something to share about your web habits or you're working on something we should all know about, then you know what to do. Drop me a line at Outriders at ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ dot co dot uk, tweet at us on twitter where we are ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ underscore Outriders, or do a little search for Outriders on Facebook and you can find updates to add to your weekly facebook feed.

Until next week! ~ Jamillah

Hello Outriders,

This week on the podcast we have a couple of ways of thinking about light, a look at producing voices in Libya online and an app that leaves no excuses for not getting out and doing good.

Ìý

First up, a Libyan woman living in the UK has been helping to produce, translate and update voices of people in Libya but helping to transfer their video and comment online. As part of the uprising in some countries across North Africa and the Middle East, there are very sophisticated ways of presenting information. Some people have created channels and branding so that information is recognisable, but what is it like to receive these videos from your home country and then produce them for the web when the messages are often ones of violence and protest?

Ìý

Ìý

More ways to collate data, this time in India. I had a chat with Ajay Kumar who is a social worker and technologist who often finds himself out in rural communities finding ways to use tech to do good. He also runs the website . The power outs and load shedding are familiar to many people living in India, and Ajay hopes that getting some data together when this happens might help to find ways to change the infrastructure of electricity in the country.

Ìý

Ìý

From a lack of electricity to how to handle that which we have. A greener way to think about the lighting in your home might mean connecting your light bulbs to the web. Somewhere between the internet of things and the Jetson's house of automated living, these nifty chips and bulbs from can be controlled on your mobile device. One step closer to our sci-fi future! Maybe.

Ìý

Ìý

When you are done monitoring your lighting consumption at home and playing with your mobile automated bulbs, it might be time to go outside, especially if you are young enough to volunteer. Most people in their teens and early twenties carry a mobile or smart phone so Made by Many has been working with organisation to make sure that information about volunteering is available wherever you are. No more excuses, get out and do good!

Ìý

That's all we could squeeze in for this week, but a usual it's always better when I hear from you. If there is something you are up to that I should know about and we can share on Outriders then let me know. You can email me at Outriders at bbc dot co dot uk, search for Outriders and join us on Facebook or tweet in my direction, you can find us as @³ÉÈËÂÛ̳_Outriders

Ìý

Ìý

Until next week! ~ Jamillah

Hello Outriders!

This week on the podcast we have the usual look at people and technology but this time it's all in Nepal. I visited with mountain villagers, small town mobile phone shop owners and the number one mobile operator in the country to find out more about how Nepal explores communications.

First a stop in Surkhet in the West of Nepal. I had a chat with the owner of an electronics shop. Though he sold fans and televisions, watches and radios, his number one area of sales was mobile phone handsets. He had quite the array of models in his shop and noted that his best seller was Nokia. The phones are manufactured in other countries like India and China, travel in through Kathmandu and are then sold from Surkhet to people who live in the surrounding villages.

So the villagers have mobile phones but what do they do with them and how are they charged? I met with Christina Hobbs of the World Food Program. While music played out of the handset of one of the young villagers, we talked about getting credit on a phone in a place where there is barely food to eat and how to charge a phone when your power source is a solar panel.

Ìý

The also uses technology to connect from remote places. Bhanu Limbu was conducting field monitoring, asking villagers about their crops, food scarcity and requirements.

Ìý

Using a PDA with the questionnaire software loaded and a satellite phone, he can make sure that the data he collects face to face with the villagers is available in Kathmandu in real time so that vital decisions can be made about helping those who need it most.

Photo: Bhanu takes notes on his PDA and uplinks via the satellite phone.

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

Ìý

NCell is one of the companies working on getting broadband across Nepal too. It's no mean feat in a country that is prone to power failures and other issues of infrastructure and support. Being online also brings the usual problems of opinion and response. Shreedeep Rayamajhi has been an outspoken blogger on social matters in Nepal and he was physically attacked after receiving threats via email. ÌýI talked to him about safety online and how he hopes that Nepal's technology sector will grow in ways that will help the country's development.

Nepal has some familiar activities happening in Kathmandu. While in London or in America it might be hard to miss the constant updates from meet up groups, there are fewer in Nepal. Bhupal Sapkota, Bhuwan Pokharel and Bibek Raj Dhakal kindly met with me to talk about their freshly established and their hopes for a distinctly Nepal flavoured future for services and applications.
ÌýÌýÌý
Thanks to everyone who took time out to talk to me all over Nepal. It's been exciting to learn about a place where the web feels different and the issues related to getting online are so varied.
I'm back in London for next week's show so do drop a line and let me know if you are up to something we should be sharing in relation to your web life.

Until next week!
~ Jamillah

Hello Outriders!

This week for the podcast
I had a nice long chat with . Cyrus is a freelance journalist and a wanderlust geek who lives in the city of Bonn, Germany. He is also the science and technology editor for Deutsche Welle English and is the host of its internationally-syndicated radio program, "Spectrum."

When he's not doing all of this - he has been writing a book entitled The Internet of Elsewhere.
The book takes a closer look at web use and development in Senegal, South Korea, Estonia and Iran. Each has it's own flavour and story of growth and change, more importantly these locations also tell quite a different story to the one we hear about the development of the internet out of America.

Worth a read if you have ever wondered what life online might be like from a different point of view.

If you have been up to something brilliant web-wise, then let me know. You can email me at outriders at bbc dot co dot uk or find me on Twitter as @³ÉÈËÂÛ̳_Outriders

Until next week!
~ Jamillah

Hello Outriders!

This week on the podcast I got to chat with the amazing ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ department known as . The listening post that has an ear to the world, translating, recording and bringing us news from all over the globe.

Chris Greenway told me about how it works to monitor output worldwide in all languages and how we too can listen to local radio from afar or find out what's happening for ourselves without relying on our usual social network places.

Also this week, Jon Jacob, blogger and reporter went to T conference in Amsterdam. He did ask if I was going too and realising I could not make it, he very kindly gave up some of his networking and partying time to record the hackathon for us to share.

Thanks to Jon for his time and skills this week, it's been a pleasure to have the antics in Amsterdam sent back to London.

If you have something to share with us drop me a line. You can email me at Outriders at bbc dot co dot uk. I look forward to hearing about what you might be making online.

Until next week!
~ Jamillah