Beltel / WorkNet (Pre-Internet Networks)

Our Friend the Computer

The girls discuss how South Africa’s videotex network Beltel fell into the hands of an oppressive government during apartheid. Although the police department grew stronger due to data storage accessibility via this videotex network, activists were also using technology for much better motives in opposition to the regime.
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And Instagram @ourfriendthecomputer
Main research for the episode was done by Ana who also audio edited.
Music by Nelson Guay (SoundCloud: fluxlinkages)
References
- http://www.networkmuseum.net/2011/08/beltel.html
- https://www.theregister.com/2019/04/26/on-call/
- CS Students “The Use of Computers to Support Oppression” Stanford University, http://www-cs-students.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.comp.html
- NARMIC/American Friends Service Committee, “Automating Apartheid - U.S. Computer exports to South Africa and the Arms Embargo” Omega Press, Philadelphia, 1982
- Slob, Gert. “Computerizing Apartheid: export of computer hardware to South Africa” Amsterdam, May 1990
- Lewis, David Robert. “The Electronic Struggle” Cape Town, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I15TVFl_G_k, https://pt.slideshare.net/ubuntupunk/the-electronic-struggle-63558367
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apartheid-lawsuit-idUKKBN0GS2P120140828