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Real-world Firefly example: hi-tech w/lo-tech
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Posted by: Ladd Morse

Lots of folks (not necessarily those here) had problems with the premise that the Firefly universe was high-tech here, low-tech there, and the mixture of both everywhere.

This article appears in today's NY Times (via BoingBoing) which to me, is a perfect example of how the "outer moon colonies" would work -- high-tech in an area that doesn't even have electricity.

Cambodian hybrid motorcycle/WiFi network
http://boingboing.net/2004_01_01_ar...509608099280757

"In Cambodia, WiFi-equipped motorcyclists pull up to schools, download all the email, drive to the next village, and dump off copies of locally-destined mail, picking up that community's load and delivering it along to the next town.

It is a digital pony express: five Motomen ride their routes five days a week, downloading and uploading e-mail. The system, developed by a Boston company, First Mile Solutions, uses a receiver box powered by the motorcycle's battery. The driver need only roll slowly past the school to download all the village's outgoing e-mail and deliver incoming e-mail. The school's computer system and antenna are powered by solar panels. Newly collected data is stored for the day in a computer strapped to the back of the motorcycle. At dusk, the motorcycles converge on the provincial capital, Ban Lung, where an advanced school is equipped with a satellite dish, allowing a bulk e-mail exchange with the outside world. "

I'll post a link to the full text when it appears on Google News or AltaVista news where a NY Times log-in isn't required.

Posted by: sieglinde

Earth is hi-tech lo-tech.

Posted by: dcheesi

I never had a problem with outlying areas being low-tech, or a mixture of both. What bugs me is that Mal & crew could afford the fuel to fly around between worlds, yet the people who were paying them couldn't afford decent rations, or the energy to run a mechanical harvester? It doesn't add up.

Posted by: sieglinde

I have been to Egypt. You see people working fields on the banks of the Nile. There are mud huts in the scene. It looks just like it would have 4000 years ago. Then you set the sat dish on the house. :)

Posted by: jfjellstad

quote:
Originally posted by dcheesi
I never had a problem with outlying areas being low-tech, or a mixture of both. What bugs me is that Mal & crew could afford the fuel to fly around between worlds, yet the people who were paying them couldn't afford decent rations, or the energy to run a mechanical harvester? It doesn't add up.

When that fancy mechanical harvester breaks down, where do you get the parts to fix it?

Posted by: MarkofT

"Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway." — Andrew Tannenbaum

Posted by: tgr131

Yeah,

Heinlein's Farmer in the Sky was a good example of this. Some tech, but mostly barn raisings and breaking rocks the old fashioned way. Kind of hard to get those hi tech parts on Ganymede.

I viewed Firefly the same way. Pay to ship a couple horses to another planet, you've got self replicating farm machinery right there. Pay to ship a tractor, and something breaks, it's a couple of years before you get the part you need.