News
Access to 4G services and the internet is likely to improve the lives and livelihoods of 20 tribal groups that live inside Similipal Tiger Reserve. Here’s how
2+ hour, 11+ min ago (551+ words) It's a watershed moment for people living in three gram panchayats of Similipal Tiger Reserve area as the Honourable President launched BSNL 4G mobile service and internet connectivity," Barna Baibhaba Panda, a development professional associated with Odisha's community conservation movement for…...
India’s digital thirst: A booming data centre corridor in Uttar Pradesh’s GB Nagar is running on empty wells
3+ mon, 2+ day ago (986+ words) Down To Earth investigates how Gautam Buddha Nagar's rapid data centre expansion is deepening groundwater stress. Residents of industrial colonies near Adani and Sify facilities pay for tanker water as borewells plunge to 600 feet. Uttar Pradesh's Data Centre Policy promises…...
An Amazon outage has rattled the internet. A computer scientist explains why the ‘cloud’ needs to change
3+ mon, 2+ week ago (680+ words) The recent AWS outage, affecting banks and social media platforms, reveals the profound risks of centralized cloud computing. With AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud dominating the market, a single point of failure can lead to widespread disruptions. To counter…...
The world wide web was meant to unite us but is tearing us apart instead. Is there another way?
3+ mon, 3+ week ago (879+ words) The world wide web, initially envisioned as a unifying force, is now contributing to societal division through online echo chambers and polarizing content. To counter this, a structural change involving government intervention and a shift in platform economics is necessary…...
How the internet and its bots are sabotaging scientific research
6+ mon, 1+ week ago (699+ words) There was a time, just a couple of decades ago, when researchers in psychology and health always had to engage with people face-to-face or using the telephone. The worst-case scenario was sending questionnaire packs out to postal addresses and waiting…...
Wire nests too close for comfort in Old Delhi
6+ mon, 2+ week ago (185+ words) In the bustling lanes of Old Delhi's Chandni Chowk, tangled nests of electrical, internet, and cable wires pose significant risks, including short circuits and fires. The Delhi Government has proposed a scheme, 'Taaron Ke Jaal Se Mukti,' with a budget…...