016.15 ELECTRONIC MATATU: FIDONET IN AFRICA by Bob Barad Baobab Communications, Washington, DC Visitors and residents of Africa know about the ubiquitous "matatu" or "group taxis" that link urban neighborhoods and rural areas across the continent. These include a wide array of vehicles - cars, vans, buses, and pickup trucks - all specially modified to accommodate the maximum number of passengers and mechanically adapted to cope with some of the world's most difficult road conditions. There are no written schedules or guide books for using this transportation system, but for budget conscious travelers who are willing to observe and ask questions (and perhaps give up some comfort and speed in reaching their destination), the matatu network presents an affordable alternative to hiring a private vehicle. Individually operated and informally organized, the matatus are quite simply the cheapest way to get wherever it is you want to go. Similarly, FidoNet technology offers budget conscious travelers on Africa's information highways a transportation alternative that can be locally maintained and repaired, is open to cost sharing arrangements, and uses readily available equipment to move message traffic across ordinary phone lines. FidoNet technology functions through dial-up links, storing "in transit" mail until a quantity has been collected and can be forwarded to the next stop in a single phone call. The protocols built into FidoNet-compatible software incorporate compression, error correction, and error recovery capabilities that automatically adjust for line noise and squeeze as much data as possible into the shortest transmission time. FidoNet.Org is a registered domain and FidoNet to UUCP gateway software enables FidoNet systems to exchange e-mail with Internet-style addresses and to participate in Usenet newsgroups. For both the matatus and their electronic counterparts, the speed and type of the vehicle chosen depends on what is most appropriate and cost effective for a given road. A high volume FidoNet "hub" system with an overseas link, for example, could make good use of a high-speed modem, a dedicated computer and phone lines, and a full-time system operator. Other systems in the same area as the hub could arrange to call in periodically to drop off outgoing and pick up incoming mail, thereby reducing the unit cost of long-distance message traffic and freeing up their computers and phone lines for other uses throughout most of the day. The widest application of FidoNet technology is the amateur FidoNet network itself, comprising over 10,000 officially listed nodes in countries around the world, including six African countries. The actual number of African countries where FidoNet technology is in use or has been successfully tested is more than double that number and promises to increase substantially in the very near future. FidoNet-compatible software has been written for DOS, Macintosh, and other leading microcomputer platforms. Most programs are available in free versions for hobbyist use or as shareware (try before you buy) and can be obtained from public bulletin board systems. With the software and a recent copy of the FidoNet node list in hand, all you need to get started is a microcomputer, a few megabytes of hard disk space, a modem, a phone line, and perhaps most importantly, some time to observe and ask questions. If you want to learn more about FidoNet technology initiatives in Africa and what you can do to participate, please send me an e-mail message or call "The Baobab" bulletin board in Washington, DC direct via modem at (202) 296-9790 (8n1).