January 1995 — Features

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Networks and CD-ROMs Aid Research, Development and Education in Zimbabwe

by TIM BUXTON University of Zimbabwe Harare, Zimbabwe Zimbabwe has sent a number of its citizens to be trained abroad, many of whom are reluctant to return and lose contact with colleagues. It has also seen a steady stream of outside experts coming in, who take months to acclimatize to our culture and to form professional contacts, then leave, taking their store of experience and acquaintance "network" with them. Zimbabwe has shortages of both teachers and up-to-date instructional materials for the tremendous number of students enrolled in its schools. The University of Zimbabwe has scant funds for journal subscriptions and those they can afford are delayed in delivery. Many university staff would like to collaborate with their counterparts in other countries of the region. But mail is slow and unreliable; faxes are garbled, go missing and are expensive in any case; phone discussions are impossible or prohibitively expensive; and travel budgets are extremely limited. A major ingredient in the solutions to all these problems is the use of computer-based information transfer via telephone network links and CD-ROMs. This paper briefly discusses the great promise of these technologies as applied to research, education and development in Zimbabwe. A proposal for rural agencies with e-mail to incorporate rural schools in worldwide education networks is also suggested. E-Mail: Connections & Possibilities Zimbabwe has e-mail-only connections to all surrounding countries -- South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia -- and others as well. E-mail service is provided by two separate systems. The first is a Fidonet network of Zimbabwean machines comprising MANGO, HEALTHNET and ESANET subnets. MANGO serves Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs); HEALTHNET serves health care workers; and ESANET is an academic network. This countrywide Fidonet is linked to an Internet provider in South Africa via a high-speed 14.4 bps modem dial-up several times per day.
The other provider is a UZ Computer Centre link (uucp) to the Internet via Rhodes University in South Africa, generally called Zimbix after the name of the mail machine. Zimbix has direct-access terminals on campus and three dial-in lines as well. Both the Fidonet and Zimbix networks are increasingly used. While the two systems currently can communicate with each other, ironically, only through long-distance telephone calls to South Africa, a direct gateway between them is planned.

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