KalahariLog

It has been three months to the day since we arrived in Botswana and I am writing this post on my laptop which is connected to the one and only wireless network at the University of Botswana. Yes, we have a wireless network at the Computer Science Department! My department in Arizona donated the old wireless network to the Computer Science Department at the University of Botswana. It is a 5-6 years old setup that provides very reasonable wireless coverage with only a handful of Access Points. A Master's student here, Kamogelo Isaac, took the wireless network as her project. With Tom's help (our Networks expert at Arizona) she was able to set up a functional network prototype. Currently the network is secured with WEP but she is planning a more serious security protocol for next semester as well deploying the full network.

One of the three suitcases that came with us contained all the hardware (seven Access Points, a dozen Wireless cards, four Wireless PDAs, two laptops, many transformers, adapters and so on). We bought a special suitcase to transport all that: it is our first "hard-case" Samsonite which weathered the trip to Botswana well. Now we have a spare suitcase to take back all the baskets, pots, masks, weavings, and paintings that we have acquired here.

Now, before one thinks that this might be a great accomplishment on my part, or on the part of the student, I have to admit that there are already a few wireless networks around. There is one at the local coffee shop, another one at another coffee shop at the newest mall, and yet another one at one of the local B&B's. However, I haven't been able to use any of them yet; they always seem to be "down", or somebody is "just fixing" them. So, I could say that the wireless network that we have put together at the University one of the first "reliable" ones. With only three of the available seven access points we have covered the entire building! True, the Computer Science department is not a very large building, but with the remaining 4 Access Points we can do more: maybe we can put them in the library, or provide coverage for the popular "hang-out" spot in front of the library.

To get the current system going, I had to buy three switches, one for each of the Access Points. This one is in my office, there is another one in another Professor's office and the third one is in the Chief Technician's office. We still have to figure out a way to place the Access Points better (maybe put them in the ceiling) but we have to take theft and vandalism into account too. Luckily, the Chief Technician is interested in the project, so after the student has graduated and after I have left, hopefully, the system will continue to function.

Of course, the University's connection to the internet is not very good to start with. It is not uncommon for the connection to slow down to 1 bit per second and from time to time it goes away altogether. Most of the time the connection is available but just very slow. BBC still has a "no graphics" version of their website with text-only news stories. However, not many of the other websites I visit have this option and front pages loaded with graphics, video and scrolling text make access difficult. Websites like Google (or "The Google" as Bush refers to it) and Reddit are quite good as they present their information as simple lists. However, what follows is the painful "click-dilemma": to click or not to click, that is the question. Clicking a link may mean waiting a long time for the page to load. And after loading it may turn out that the page contains a video, which could take hours to download. I've gained new appreciation for people that clearly specify what one expects to find at the other end (images, movies, or just text). Here WWW still means World Wide Wait. A cold beer at the nearby NewsCafe is a good cure for internet-wait frustration.