February 2012 - KICTANet

Wezesha Laptop initiative, was it a trial run?
by Barrack Otieno 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

Listers, Anyone with an idea as to whether this initiative is still on, seem like the portal went down. Best Regards -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/

2 2

Kenya being exploited by unscrupulous "aid organisations"
by Brian Munyao Longwe 04 Feb '12

04 Feb '12

An interesting article on how one organisation plans to make millions of dollars from so called aid to Western Kenya. http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/thirty_million_dollars_a_little_bit_of_… Should we have some kind of mechanism in place to control, regulate or at least oversee projects that intend to use carbon credits generated in/from this country? Best regards, Brian -- Brian Munyao Longwe e-mail: blongwe(a)gmail.com cell: +254715964281 blog : http://zinjlog.blogspot.com meta-blog: http://mashilingi.blogspot.com

3 2

why safaricom has no competition
by robert yawe 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

Hi, We are always giving Safaricom flack on all issues including the lack of rain but today I have realised that they are still the better option. I read on the Airtel website, http://africa.airtel.com/kenya/choose-your-number-148, about a service that allows you to choose your own number directly from your phone. So I dashed to the nearest Airtel Shop to purchase a SIM card, I asked the attendants whether this service is available and they said I should go to one of the customer service centres. This already indicates that the information on the web site is obsolete, how much does it cost to update a website, I wonder. So off I went to Kimathi Street service centre and for a minute I thought it was a classroom as there where rows of chairs facing the front, of the class. Any customer service centre that has more chairs than a post Michuku Matatu definitely has serious problems. As I had 10 minutes to kill I decided to pick a ticket just to go through the menu and there was no option for SIM card services so it seems that stopped offering this service and since there where more than 14 people already seated in the queue I decided that this was an exercise in futility. I decided to humour myself by buying an Airtel SIM card and try following the instructions on the web site, alas to no avail. The instructions do not correspond to the menus on the phone, then after cycling through a few options I get the correct one just to get the message that I cannot change the number because i have a pending "Kopa Kredo" balance and that I need to clear it before proceeding. Note that this is a brand new SIM card so does it mean that on purchase the SIM card already has a debit balance? I then go to the "Kopa Kredo" menu option and receive the message "dear customer the kopa kreda system is currently unavailable". After spending 30 valuable minutes on this exercise I got a flash of brilliance and instantly went into a trans. I felt an inner force in me remove the SIM card from the phone, fit it on my thumb and flick it into the direction of the bin where it bounced off the edge and went straight in, what a feeling of relief. I then put back my old trusted Safaricom SIM card and continued with my day. Now I understand why Safaricom had no issues with number portability as they say in Harlem "Once you go "green" they is no going back". Enjoy a connected weekend Regards Disclaimer: This post reflects the feelings of the writer and has been done without any monetary or other kind of incentive from the mentioned organisations. The tests where done under an impartial and controlled environment, you are free to try the same at home. Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

3 2

Can technology enhance musical experience and creativity? free lecture
by Paul Kukubo 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

Event Details *[image: Tech on Music with Roger Dannenberg]* * * *Can technology enhance musical experience and creativity? * *Speaker: Roger B. Dannenberg, Associate Research Professor at the Schools of Computer Science, Art, and Music | Carnegie Mellon University speaking at the Micheal Joseph Centre, Safaricom House, Monday 6 Feb at 6pm.* ** *register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/register?orderid=68164151813&ebtv=C&eid=25560532… * Roger's research work in music and technology has earned him three patents. On Monday February 6, he will speak about his experience in using software engineering to create products that make music more accessible and interactive. Tech on Music will also feature Kenyan musicians speaking about their experience and use of technology and, of course, Kenya's best in a lively jam session. Who should attend? - Musicians interested in technology trends - Techies and software developers interested in music - Anyone interested in both music and tech *Join us, Monday February 6, 2012 at the Michael Joseph Centre* Paul Kukubo Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 Fax: +254 20 2211962 website: www.ict.go.ke local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya twitter:@tandaaKENYA BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke personal contacts _______________ Cell: + 254 717 180001 skype: kukubopaul googletalk: pkukubo personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke personal twitter: @pkukubo ____________________ Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment

1 0

lecture by Randal Bryant, Dean, Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science
by Paul Kukubo 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

[image: Chipuka Lecture Series 01.2012] *An exclusive lecture by Randal Bryant, Dean, Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science at Strathmore University 5th Floor Student Centre Friday Feb 3rd from 5-7pm. * ** *Register here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2873142647/efblike* For the first time in Africa, software engineer Professor Randal Bryant will give a lecture on computer systems. Bryant will go over the underlying principles by which programs are executed on a computer with broad coverage of processor operation, compilers, operating systems, and networking. Whereas most lectures on computer systems focus on material from the perspective of one who designs or implements part of the system, Bryant will presents the view of a system visible to application programmers. *Participants will learn how, by understanding aspects of the underlying system, they can make their programs faster and more reliable. *This approach provides immediate benefits for all computer science and engineering students and also prepares them for more advanced systems courses. - This lecture is based on the Carnegie Mellon University course '*Introduction to Computer Systems*', which has been taught every semester since Fall, 1998 with enthusiastic responses by the students, the instructors, and the instructors of subsequent systems courses. ------------------------------ *About Randal Bryan * Randal Bryant is an Americancomputer scientist and academic noted for his research on formally verifying digital hardware, and more recently some forms of software. More recently, he has become interested in the opportunities and challenges presented by computer systems working with very large data sets. He is also Dean of Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, where he has taught since 1984. *About Carnegie Mellon University* Carnegie Mellon (www.cmu.edu) is a private, internationally ranked research university with programs in areas ranging from science, technology and business, to public policy, the humanities and the arts. More than 11,000 students in the university’s seven schools and colleges benefit from a small student-to-faculty ratio and an education characterized by its focus on creating and implementing solutions for real problems, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. *About Software in Excellence Lecture Series* This lecture series is hosted by the Kenya ICT Board's softwrare certification initiative that seeks to establish an authentic software developer certification for Kenya. The Certification Project dubbed 'Chipuka', which stands for "to emerge", is being designed in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University.The certification will help employers to easily identify software developers that have the skills necessary to carry out IT jobs to a professional and world class standard. Paul Kukubo Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 Fax: +254 20 2211962 website: www.ict.go.ke local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya twitter:@tandaaKENYA BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke personal contacts _______________ Cell: + 254 717 180001 skype: kukubopaul googletalk: pkukubo personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke personal twitter: @pkukubo ____________________ Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment

1 0

Crops growable per region
by Dennis Kioko 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

I remember there's a time that Dr. Ndemo said that there was a way we could tell what crops were viable in an area by looking up the place's geo co-ordinates. I was in Ukambani recently, where farmers keep planting crops and checking if they would grow and are watered from a borehole containing salty water. Is the data on crops that are viable in such areas openly available, as this would be quite helpful in assisting the farmers decide on what to grow. -- with Regards: blog.denniskioko.com <http://www.denniskioko.com/>

2 2

Fw: Grants for open applications development
by Bitange Ndemo 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

Listers, I attended an Open Data conference in Abu Dhabi on 8th of this month. There are opportunities emerging out of that conference that I want to bring to your attention. I will give a brief of the conference but in the meantime we need our application developers to check this. Please read e-mail below and the attachments. Ndemo. Sent from my BlackBerry® -----Original Message----- From: Duncan Edwards <D.Edwards(a)ids.ac.uk> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:12:29 To: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke<bitange(a)jambo.co.ke>; ps(a)information.go.ke<ps(a)information.go.ke> Subject: Grants for open applications development Dear Bitange, It was really good to meet you at the Linked Open Data workshop organized by REEEP in Abu Dhabi. I wanted to follow up with you in relation to the conversation we had regarding supporting better links between research and policy. At the Institute of Development Studies (UK) we have been involved in the provision of services, such as www.eldis.org<http://www.eldis.org> and www.bridge.ids.ac.uk<http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk>, to support evidence based decision-making through making the findings of research more accessible to policymakers and practitioners. As I explained when we met in Abu Dhabi, we have developed an Open API to allow other organizations make use of the datasets of development research we host. We are running a call for proposals for the development of applications to make use of this content (see below), and I wondered whether you might be able to forward this to any contacts of yours who you might feel would be interested in the call? The deadline for this call for proposals is quite tight but we will be running more of these later in the year. In addition to this I wonder whether there might be other ways in which IDS Knowledge Services might be able to support your work in strengthening the links between research and policymaking? Would it be worth having a follow up phone call to discuss further? Best wishes, Duncan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Duncan Edwards Information Systems Innovation Manager Institute of Development Studies, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK Charitable Company No. 877338 email: d.edwards(a)ids.ac.uk<mailto:d.edwards@ids.ac.uk> tel: +44 (0)1273 915797 fax: +44 (0)1273 621202 Skype: duncan_ed1 Twitter: duncan_ids<http://twitter.com/duncan_ids> Eldis Community: http://community.eldis.org/duncan Knowledge Services at IDS:http://www.ids.ac.uk/go/knowledge-services ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- IDS Knowledge Services have some technical grants available to create applications that make use of their datasets on academic research on development issues. These grants are available to application developers in developing countries wishing to use information and communication technologies to repurpose, and contextualise research on development issues and so inform evidence based policy making. Please see the call for proposals below and documents attached and contact api(a)ids.ac.uk<mailto:api@ids.ac.uk> if you are interested. And please do forward to technical staff within your organisations if relevant. Call for Proposals The IDS Knowledge Services Open Application Programming Interface (API) provides easy programmatic access to tens of thousands of thematically organised resources, primarily academic research, on development issues that are freely available online. IDS Knowledge Services invites your organisation to apply for a small technical grant. These grants are available to application developers in developing countries wishing to use information and communication technologies to repurpose, and contextualise research on development issues and so inform evidence based policy making. Individual grant maximum: GBP £3000 Implementation period: 5 weeks Application deadline: 13 February 2012 We are currently offering two types of grant: 1) Plug in grants These grants are allocated to design and build plug-ins/modules/add ons to existing content management systems and web platforms. The plug-ins will import or display a user defined selection of data from the KS data sets. There are two grants currently available, for developing a Wordpress plug-in and an HTML embeddable "widget". 2) Innovation grants These grants are allocated to design and build applications or services that use innovative ways of combining data and information from different sources, to create new tools, applications and systems which are useful, meaningful and relevant for informing development policy and practice. Preference will be given to proposals that focus on the programme's key thematic or technological areas, as follows: THEMES * Climate Change * Food and Agriculture * Health * Governance * Gender TECHNOLOGY * Mobile * Mapping * Applications supporting people in areas of limited connectivity Full details can be found in the attached documents, or online http://api.ids.ac.uk/about/grants.shtml Simon Colmer Information Projects Officer Knowledge Service Department Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex Brighton BN1 9RE, UK +44 (0) 1273 915771 http://api.ids.ac.uk<http://www.ids.ac.uk> api(a)ids.ac.uk<mailto:api@ids.ac.uk> | Twitter: ids_api This message is for the addressee only and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender immediately and delete the original. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of IDS. Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE Tel: +44 (0)1273 606261; Fax: +44 (0)1273 621202 IDS, a charitable company limited by guarantee: Registered Charity No. 306371; Registered in England 877338; VAT No. GB 350 899914

1 0

Grants for open applications: call for proposals
by alice＠apc.org 01 Feb '12

01 Feb '12

*Grants for open applications developmentfrom ** IDS Knowledge Services* *Call for Proposals* The IDS Knowledge Services Open Application Programming Interface (API) provides easy programmatic access to tens of thousands of thematically organised resources, primarily academic research, on development issues that are freely available online. IDS Knowledge Services invites your organisation to apply for a small technical grant. These grants are available to application developers in developing countries wishing to use information and communication technologies to repurpose, and contextualise research on development issues and so inform evidence based policy making. *Individual grant maximum*: GBP £3000 *Implementation period*: 5 weeks *Application deadline*: 13 February 2012 We are currently offering two types of grant: *1) Plug in grants* These grants are allocated to design and build plug-ins/modules/add ons to existing content management systems and web platforms. The plug-ins will import or display a user defined selection of data from the KS data sets. There are two grants currently available, for developing a Wordpress plug-in and an HTML embeddable "widget". *2) Innovation grants * These grants are allocated to design and build applications or services that use innovative ways of combining data and information from different sources, to create new tools, applications and systems which are useful, meaningful and relevant for informing development policy and practice. Preference will be given to proposals that focus on the programme’s key thematic or technological areas, as follows: *THEMES* • Climate Change • Food and Agriculture • Health • Governance • Gender *TECHNOLOGY* • Mobile • Mapping • Applications supporting people in areas of limited connectivity Full details can be found in the attached documents, or online http://api.ids.ac.uk/about/grants.shtml development from ** IDS Knowledge Services* *Call for Proposals* The IDS Knowledge Services Open Application Programming Interface (API) provides easy programmatic access to tens of thousands of thematically organised resources, primarily academic research, on development issues that are freely available online. IDS Knowledge Services invites your organisation to apply for a small technical grant. These grants are available to application developers in developing countries wishing to use information and communication technologies to repurpose, and contextualise research on development issues and so inform evidence based policy making. *Individual grant maximum*: GBP £3000 *Implementation period*: 5 weeks *Application deadline*: 13 February 2012 We are currently offering two types of grant: *1) Plug in grants* These grants are allocated to design and build plug-ins/modules/add ons to existing content management systems and web platforms. The plug-ins will import or display a user defined selection of data from the KS data sets. There are two grants currently available, for developing a Wordpress plug-in and an HTML embeddable "widget". *2) Innovation grants * These grants are allocated to design and build applications or services that use innovative ways of combining data and information from different sources, to create new tools, applications and systems which are useful, meaningful and relevant for informing development policy and practice. Preference will be given to proposals that focus on the programme’s key thematic or technological areas, as follows: *THEMES* • Climate Change • Food and Agriculture • Health • Governance • Gender *TECHNOLOGY* • Mobile • Mapping • Applications supporting people in areas of limited connectivity Full details can be found in the attached documents, or online http://api.ids.ac.uk/about/grants.shtml

1 0

Technology or food
by robert yawe 01 Feb '12

01 Feb '12

Hi, I was searching for information about the wheat and rice production in Kenya and came across the following information which is very worrying about our food security. http://www.indexmundi.com/agriculture/?country=ke&commodity=milled-rice&gra… http://www.indexmundi.com/agriculture/?country=ke&commodity=wheat&graph=pro… We are producing less and less of our staple food yet the population is growing. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

4 4

Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US
by Grace Githaiga 01 Feb '12

01 Feb '12

31 January 2012 Last updated at 12:51 GMT Caution on Twitter urged as tourists barred from US Post-9/11 USA is highly cautious of any perceived threat, Abta said Holidaymakers have been warned to watch their words after two friends were refused entry to the US on security grounds after a tweet. Before his trip, Leigh Van Bryan wrote that he was going to "destroy America". He insisted he was referring to simply having a good time - but was sent home. Trade association Abta told the BBC that the case highlighted that holidaymakers should never do anything to raise "concern or suspicion in any way". The US Department for Homeland Security picked up Mr Bryan's messages ahead of his holiday in Los Angeles. The 26-year-old bar manager wrote a message to a friend on the micro-blogging service, saying: "Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America." The Irish national told the Sun newspaper that he and his friend Emily Bunting were apprehended on arrival at Los Angeles International Airport before being sent home. "The Homeland Security agents were treating me like some kind of terrorist," Mr Bryan said. "I kept saying they had got the wrong meaning from my tweet." No joke Abta, which represents travel companies in the UK, said holidaymakers need to learn to be ultra-cautious when it comes to talking about forthcoming trips, particularly after 9/11. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote Airport security staff do not have a sense of humour when it comes to potential risk” Abta "Posting statements in a public forum which could be construed as threatening - in this case saying they are going to "destroy" somewhere - will not be viewed sympathetically by US authorities," it told the BBC. "In the past we have seen holidaymakers stopped at airport security for 'joking' that they have a bomb in their bag, thoroughly questioned and ending up missing their flights, demonstrating that airport security staff do not have a sense of humour when it comes to potential risk." In another tweet, Mr Bryan made reference to comedy show Family Guy saying that he would be in LA in three weeks, annoying people "and diggin' Marilyn Monroe up". Mr Bryan told the newspaper that he was questioned for five hours about his Twitter messages. 'Tweeter account' After the interview, Homeland Security's reported: "Mr Bryan confirmed that he had posted on his Tweeter website account that he was coming to the United States to dig up the grave of Marilyn Monroe. "Also on his tweeter account Mr Bryan posted he was coming to destroy America." Paul Chambers was fined after posting a message about Robin Hood Airport The US Customs and Border Protection agency said in a statement that it tried to maintain a balance between "securing our borders while facilitating the high volume of legitimate trade and travel that crosses our borders every day". It added: "We strive to achieve that balance and show the world that the United States is a welcoming nation." Mr Bryan is not the only person to suffer from a misjudged tweet. In January 2010, Paul Chambers tweeted that he would blow snow-affected Robin Hood Airport in Doncaster "sky high!" if it was not reopened in time for him to see his girlfriend. He was fined £385 plus £2,600 in costs - a sum which actor Stephen Fry offered to pay on Mr Chambers' behalf.

2 1