Marco Figueiredo's Page

The Symbiotic Computer and the End of Poverty

By eliminating the mouse they made famous and hiding the keyboard, Apple brought us to the age of the real personal computer. Let’s call it the Symbiotic Computer for its symbiosis with us humans... Apple gave us the new technology, but it was Google who steered it towards an open-source model, quickly grabbing market share with the Android platform while delivering free- to low-cost applications in a server-based technology management…

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When Barack Obama took office as President of the United States of America, he found the country in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. He was elected president thanks to a grassroots movement of American citizens unsatisfied with the direction the country had taken in the last decade or so. The geniality of his campaign team in defeating the favorites from both the Democratic and Republican parties was in great part demonstrated in their differentiated strategy… Continue

Telecenters are public spaces used to promote the understanding and use of cyberspace tools to empower people to improve their lives and the lives of their communities.

I am playing around with a concept I am calling Reverse Franchising Telecenter. Despite the intriguing name, the idea is very simple: any organization managing a network of telecenters, be it for-profit, not-for-profit or government owned, shall operate in the same dimension of a traditional franchising organization, however franchisees do not pay royalties to the franchiser. Much on the contrary, the franchisee receives a percentage of the network services the franchiser offers to outside… Continue