Geekcorps Mali’s LMI Blog

Over the past few days many aspects of the Cybertigi began to take shape. We have received both of our projectors now, the inFocus LP120 and the Hasbro Zoombox, and will begin testing them later today to gauge how they will handle in the field. On this note, we are pleasantly surprised so far with the Hasbro Zoombox’s performance. Although sold as a children’s toy for around $300 USD the quality of the image ppears more than suitable to meet our needs. The exceptionally attractive aspect of the Zoombox is the $4 replacements bulbs. Over the next week or so we will write a more comprehensive review of the Zoombox to post, seeing as there is comparatively little information currently available on the machine.

After several revisions and careful deliberation Matt finalized the Cybertigi logo last night. Here is the logo we will use to build the Cybertigi brand:

Maimouna and I met with 2 local graphic designers today to discuss how we can put the Cybertigi logo on t-shirts, signs, hats, stickers and so forth for our opening lancement ceremony and the project in general. Early next week we will make our decision on how many of each we need to order.

We have also begun looking for the field agent we hope to use as a liaison between our bureau here in Bamako and the kiosk sites. This person would act as a Jack-of-all-trades for the project and be involved in training the kiosk entrepreneurs, assisting with logistics, providing technical assistance to the kiosks, and acting as a middleperson between our office and the project sites. Employment vacancy announcements have been posted in Ouelessebougou and Bamako. We interviewed our first candidate yesterday and will continue until May 12^th when we plan on making our final decision.

Renaud has nearly finished the bulk of the news via email subscription service and has been working on the email transfer mechanism and interface. Already he’s made some excellent decisions on how to better streamline the interface and make it easier for beginners to operate. After working on the email component, one of the most crucial aspects of the overall system, Renaud will be moving on to incorporate scanning, attachments, and a multitude of other features.

Today we are also testing the lifespan of the projectors when attached to a 12V car battery. Since we will not have a standard power source at our sites we need to know how long we can use each of the components when they are running off a solar charged battery. Today we are testing the Zoombox. We’ve just passed the 2.5 hour mark, the critical amount of time to show a movie and public service announcement, and likely have some time to go before losing power.

We are looking at having a kiosk with limited functions in operation by May 16^th to begin training the field agent with. Between now and then we will formalize all arrangements with our partners, finish our pricing and payment models, itemize our training curriculum, order collateral, more site visits, carry out our interview process and select and assistant, and begin implementing the photo and projector components of the project. Busy few weeks ahead for the GCM team.