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the digital divide refers to social stratification due to unequalability to access, adapt, and create knowledge via use of information andcommunication technologies (ICT).The idea of the "digital divide" refers to the growing gap between the underprivileged members of society, especially the poor, rural, elderly, and handicapped portion of the population who do not have access to computers or the internet; and the wealthy, middle-class, and young Americans living in urban and suburban areas who have access. Widening levels of education seem to magnify the digital divide; households with higher levels of education are increasingly more likely to use computers and the Internet. It has been observed that those with college degrees or higher are 10 times more likely to have internet access at work as than those with only a high school education. A study conducted by the NTIA from 1997 to 1998 determined that the gap in computer usage and Internet access widened 7.8% and 25% respectively, between those with the most and the least education. Studies show that over 40 per cent of the world population does not have the opportunity to learn how to use a computer. This is the hardest issue to address, as it implies changes in both education and mentality, as well as investments in e-services. E-governance should play the leading role in creating usable e-government tools, regardless of the level of education. Some governmental websites are very complicated and unfriendly both in access and content. Adopting an integrated and citizen-oriented approach may lead Governments to increase equal opportunities in the use of ICTs. Cooperation between relevant stakeholders in the e-government field, such as central governments, local public authorities, the private sector, academia, civil society, and international organizations is a key factor. These stakeholders should act upon the guidelines within the commitments taken at the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society.1 The information and communication technologies (ICT )applications and the implementation of egovernment strategies, promoting transparency in public administrations and democratic processes, are an important part of the common vision and guiding principles. International collaboration, together with provision of means of implementation, would take us one step further in bridging the digital divide. Those factors include: age, health, living conditions, employment, culture, background, gender, education, and income. Lack of education combined with a low-income compounds the issue and increases the likely hood of the lack of digitization. Further significant factors include physical location such as rural vs. urban, remoteness of area and whether the individuals are located in a developed or developing country.

Under the digital literacy umbrella are numerous interrelated skills that range from basic awareness and training to foster informed citizens and to build consumer and user confidence, to highly sophisticated and more complex creative and critical literacies and outcomes. Given the constantly evolving nature of technology, acquisition of digital literacy skills represents a process of life long learning.
In an information and Internet-driven age, where information, services, and resources are increasingly available only online, people without access to a computer or the Internet are at a considerable disadvantage. They may lack the ability to access information resources, or the knowledge to use these resources effectively. This lack of ability or knowledge is likely to have a negative impact on their ability to succeed by limiting their access to employment and Egovernment resources, educational achievement, as well as informational and recreational resources. Public libraries play a vital role in providing people with both access to computers and Internet and instruction in the use of resources, helping to bridge these gaps QUSTN-10

SolarNetOne is a collaborative effort spanning several continents, organizations, and technical

disciplines. The goal of the effort is to develop a feasible, sustainable solution to bring the internet to places that have no connectivity, no phone service and no electricity. Developed by Florida based , GNUveau ,the system is a solar-powered Internet hub (running Ubuntu GNU/Linux). The terminals includes access to web browsing, email, voip, office, multimedia, software development and web development tools as well as 15,000 other applications. Wifi coverage spans a 2-mile radius, with no fuel costs, no polluting emissions and a long lifespan of up to 20 years with proper maintenance. The entire system, in fact, operates on about the same amount of power as a 100-watt light bulb, GNUveau says

The SolarNetOne ICT terminal network was conceived and designed to solve the challenging problem of how to provide Internet access and services to rural and developing areas where there is no existing power or communications infrastructure. This problem is solved by combining several powerful technologies: Photovoltaic solar electrical systems, GNU/Linux, 802.11a/b/g packet radio, commonly known as wifi, Power over Ethernet, and the MIT X11 windowing system. It has been described as an ISP in a box, for reasons detailed below. SERVER The SolarNetOne system incorporates a powerful server in a small form factor that acts as the core of the communications system. It provides mid to long range wireless internet coverage up to a 2 mile radius through its integrated high power 802.11a/b/g wireless access point and high gain omni-directional antenna. This configuration can be used to provide full internet access, including Voice over IP telephone service, to the immediate coverage area, which can be extended to longer ranges through the use of wireless repeater devices. Also integrated into the server is the capability for full end-to-end internet communications by means of its HTTP (web), SMTP (email), DNS (domain name system), and SSH (secure shell) server software. Additional internet services can easily be added to the network by use of the APT (advanced package tool) repositories of GNU/Linux software available worldwide. This is an integral part of the underlying Ubuntu operating system. APT automates the often difficult task of installing and updating software, making system administration tasks of installation and maintenance easy, particularly when critical updates effecting network security are concerned. The server itself can also be used as a network console for administration or dayto-day operator use through its integrated monitor, keyboard, and mouse. TERMINALS Another key feature of the SolarNetOne system is its network attached terminals, which provide traditional desktop services one would normally associate with using a computer, with several powerful, attractive, and popular desktop environments to choose from. It comes pre-installed with web browsing, email, office, multimedia, software development and web development applications, as well as a choice of over 15000 other applications to suit most any computing need that are free for download through the APT system. The terminals themselves connect to the systems Ethernet hub, which provides both network connection and electrical power to the terminals and their LCD monitors over a single CAT6 Ethernet wire. This eliminates wire clutter and the need for extra power wiring costs. They operate as thin clients with the majority of the workload being handled by the servers higher capacity processors, enabling superior performance per over than a standalone PC architecture and significantly lower maintenance workload than a similar solution of several personal computers. Also available is full sound support through integrated audio jacks, 104 key keyboard, laser scroll mouse and the ability to plug USB memory sticks into the terminals, allowing users to take their data with them round out the terminals ability to provide a complete and rich user experience. SolarNetOne comes standard with 5 terminals, and can expand to as many as 48 terminals per server node. As an option in areas where allowed by law, an ATA phone adapter provides Voice over IP telephone service through a standard telephone handset.

POWER SYSTEM The entire SolarNetOne system is powered by 12VDC electrical current supplied through the systems elegant solar power generation and storage subsystem. Using an array of photovoltaic solar panels, an advanced charge controller, ample battery storage, and a design focusing on safety, the power subsystem provides for all of the electrical needs associated with 24/7 server operation and 8 hours per day of terminal access. Integrated circuit breakers on every segment of the power sub-system provide the safest possible implementation. In addition to its excellent performance, the use of solar power means no fuel costs, no polluting emissions, and a long lifespan of up to 20 years of use at listed power ratings with proper maintenance. USER APPLICATIONS The SolarNetOne system comes pre-installed with a wide variety of user applications. For the user, these include:

Mozilla Firefox suite for web browsing and email Evolution for email and calendering OpenOffice? for office applications GIMP and InkScape? for bitmap and vector graphics, respectively Xmms, Xine, and Mplayer for multimedia playback X-chat and Gaim for chat/instant messaging Xaos fractal explorer Bluefish html editor and, a wide variety of games, and a choice of Enlightenment 17, Gnome, and Fluxbox desktops environments.

Security and feature updates to these packages are available, as well as access to over 15000 other pre-compiled software packages in the Ubuntu repositories available via the integrated APT packaging system. Ubuntu comes GUI tools like the Synaptic Package Manager to add or remove applications, as well as the underlying apt-get, apt-cache, and apt-file command line tools, which Synaptic makes use of. The system also includes python, perl, and shell interpreters, as well as gcc and its family of compilers, libraries, debuggers and linkers for C and C++ development. CONCLUSION The SolarNetOne integrated communications system provides modern, efficient, powerful and easily maintainable internet services and access infrastructure specifically designed to overcome the challenges inherent in off-grid and remote location scenarios. By combining several cutting edge technologies, the SolarNetOne system stands head and shoulders above other methods of addressing the aforementioned problems of providing internet services and connectivity in some of the most challenging circumstances. Designed for safety, longevity, elegance, and ecological friendliness, the SolarNetOne system can effectively solve the problems facing anyone seeking to deploy internet communications to developing areas for many years to come.