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In the medical area is all the equipment needed to run a small field clinic, including a cooler for vaccines, testing equipment for analysis of blood and other biological samples, a small medical library and training materials. Also vital to this clinic is a powerful medical computer system, which has its own database reference as well as a connection to worldwide resources through the Web. And the video teleconferencing system allows a physician in Greenstar to consult with experts in sites anywhere in the world with compatible equipment, so that the doctors can see and hear each other and patients, and work on diagnoses and procedures together. The ecommerce area has two main computers: a standard office and research workstation, and a touchscreen with full multimedia capabilities. The touchscreen runs special Web browser software that makes the user interface extremely easy to use for anyone, without training, simply by touching objects on the screen; it also easily supports multiple languages. The Web server used for ecommerce transactions, and hosting the village website, is located in a commercial facility in the United States or Europe, and easily reached and controlled using FTPm and database tools from the village workstation. Technical training materials allow people with modest literacy qualifications to be trained within two weeks in the basics of Web page creation, graphics and design, as well as in server configuration, email administration, LAN operation and monitoring. With ongoing interactive training materials onsite, with education available through universities and technical traiing institutes over the Web, and with remote automated administration resources to handle troubleshooting, Greenstar is intended to be technologically independent, and online 24 hours a day. In the education area there is space four four small unitized desk/chair combinations, a blackboard and a computer whiteboard for projection of presentations, and for distance learning, allowing people in Greenstar to participate in class sessions anywhere in the world. |
Inside, the 8-ft. x 20-ft. floor
of Greenstar is packed with equipment. Vents to the outside,
with a convection fan, keep the insulated structure at an even
temperature. Two retractable room dividers allow division of
the interior into three semi-private areas as needed: an office
and ecommerce area at one end, a small classroom in the middle,
and a health clinic at the other end.