Computers and Internet

Greetings Pramod and friends of Sarkuwa!
I will begin by addressing the issue of Internet connectivity here, as I think you may have the wrong impression of the situation here. Janata Higher Secondary School does not in fact have any Internet capability. Only recently have they even gained access to electricity, and this is not solidly available on a regular basis. Over the 15-day break of Dashain, we have been conducting computer classes for the teaching staff. Several days classes have had to be abandoned however, due to a lack of electricity. Although the operators know that the school has requested the electricity, for some reason they do not provide any on certain days.
This has been somewhat frustrating, as well as the fact that we only have two functional computers right now to teach with. I will briefly list the problems facing us.

1. HP Windows ME – BIOS password has been set and we’re not sure how this happened or what the password is. This is a huge problem as this is the second best computer in terms of capabilities and age.
2. Dell Latitude Windows 2000 – Hard drive is not found upon booting up, possibly due to the drive having a loose connection. At this point we do not have an appropriate screwdriver to open the casing.
3. Dell Latitude Windows 98 and Toshiba Windows 98 – Hard drives have fatal disk errors and cannot be recovered through reformatting, disk checking, or erasing.
4. Dell Something Windows 95? – Has no operating system and only a floppy disk drive for input.

These are the problems facing us currently in terms of computer hardware. Apparently Megh Raj Dhakal has ordered an appropriate modern antenna for the school’s CDMA phone that will hopefully provide reliable connectivity. Currently the phone has to be walked up to a higher point on the hill to receive a signal. The antenna that Megh has ordered is similar to the one he has at his house, so you may assume that the connectivity and reliability will be roughly on par with his house, although this of course is not a given due to the difference in location and topology of the school. Previously a more basic antenna has been tried with no success, although it seemed like a home built type of device.
Our communications have all been conducted at Megh Raj Dhakal’s house. We have streamlined the process as much as possible to reduce Internet usage, so it usually takes at least a day to respond to any message in detail. The Internet connection is through the CDMA phone, which has a built-in modem that connects to the COM port on the computer. It offers speeds of up to 115 kb/s, which is excruciatingly slow when connecting to broadband dependent websites. Primarily we have resorted to only using this for email and communication. We apologize for not touching the blog site set up, but due to the fact that it takes around 8-10 minutes to access our e-mail which usually must go through 2-3 pages of loading to check, we have neglected the blog.
The rate that the Internet is charged at is 8 rupees a minute, which is very reasonable given the phone rates here. I believe it is 25 rs/m to call Kathmandu. The CDMA phone operates on a charge card, so it is similar to a pay-as-you-go phone. As you may know, the CDMA phone operates via Nepal Telecom broadcasting towers and has no direct line. This means that frequently due to weather or equipment the connection is not available at all, both for phone calls and Internet. The phone runs on a battery that is charged when there is electricity, and the electricity usually only runs from 6-12 pm.
The hydroelectric generator that powers Mahdi seems to be having problems as well, as during the last few weeks power has been infrequent and inconsistent. The problem seems to have been fixed in the last few days, but its reliability leaves a lot to be desired, especially when you are powering computers.
We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the new antenna for the school, but we have no idea when this will happen. It is a source of some frustration that we have not been able to set up an Internet email account for the school or teach the teachers how to use the Internet. The antenna was ordered around a month ago perhaps, the actual time is unclear.
I am glad the Himalayan Heartbeat event went well, and that Tom and Donna made an excellent presentation! Everyone here asks after you and wants to know when Donna Lea is coming to Sarkuwa. We have tried to explain that it may not be possible but they all want to see you anyway! The people here are also very interested in the next set of teachers to come, whom we have told them are of Nepali descent. This is correct right?
We will try to provide some of the statistics you asked for at a later date. We hope everyone is well and happy.

David