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The Googlization of Everything ... by Siva Vidyanathan]
by alice wanjira 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

How one company is disrupting culture, commerce and commerce ... and why we should worry! This blog, the result of a collaboration between myself and the Institute for the Future of the Book, is dedicated to exploring the process of writing a critical interpretation of the actions and intentions behind the cultural behemoth that is Google, Inc. The book will answer three key questions: What does the world look like through the lens of Google?; How is Google's ubiquity affecting the production and dissemination of knowledge?; and how has the corporation altered the rules and practices that govern other companies, institutions, and states? [more] * * * Hi. Welcome to my book. Hi. Welcome to my new book. Well, it's not a book yet. In fact, it will not be a real book for a long time. As you can tell from the title of this blog, the book will be about Google and all they ways that Google is shaking up the world. Google is a transformative and revolutionary company. I hesitate to use terms like that. We live in an era of hyperbole. So I try my best to discount claims of historical transformation or communicative revolutions. But in the case of Google, I am confident it is both. Now, I am approaching this book as both a fan and a critic. I am in awe of all that Google has done and all it hopes to do. I am also wary of its ambition and power. As I use this site to compose the manuscript (an archaic word that I love too much to discard) for the book The Googlization of Everything, I hope to do so with your help. This is the latest in a series of "open book" experiments hosted and guided by The Institute for the Future of the Book. The Institute has been supportive of my work for years -- long before I became affiliated with it as a fellow and certainly long before we thought up this project together. As with the other projects by Ken Wark and Mitch Stephens, this one will depend on reader criticism and feedback to work right. So this is an appeal for help. If you know something about Google, hip me to it. If you have an observation about how it works or how it affects our lives, write to me about it. On occasion, I will post an open question on this blog. Please help me answer it. I have never tried to write a book this way. Few have. Writing has been a lonely, selfish pursuit for me so far. I tend to wall myself off from the world (and my loved ones) for days at a time in fits and spurts when I get into a writing groove. I don't shave. I order pizza. I grumble. I ignore emails from my mother. I tend to comb through and revise every sentence five or six times (although I am not sure that actually shows up in the quality of my prose). Only when I am sure that I have not embarrassed myself (or when the editor calls to threaten me with a canceled contract – whichever comes first) do I show anyone what I have written. Now, this is not an uncommon process. Closed composition is the default among writers. We go to great lengths to develop trusted networks of readers and other writers with whom we can workshop – or as I prefer to call it because it's what the jazz musicians do, woodshed our work. Well, I am going to do my best to woodshed in public. As I compose bits and pieces of work, I will post them here. They might be very brief bits. They might never make it into the manuscript. But they will be up here for you to rip up or smooth over. That's the thing. For a number of years now I have made my bones in the intellectual world trumpeting the virtues of openness and the values of connectivity. I was an early proponent of applying "open source" models to scholarship, journalism, and lots of other things. And, more to the point: One of my key concerns with Google is that it is a black box. Something that means so much to us reveals so little of itself. So I would be a hypocrite if I wrote this book any other way. This book will not be a black box. Of course, it could get ugly in here. I could make tremendous mistakes. I could shoot something out there that shuts all doors at Google. I could undermine my ultimate market (but I seriously doubt that I could). I could just write myself into a corner. In my next post I will share a rough chapter outline. And I will give some sense of the basic questions and major issues that I hope to tackle in this work. Ok. As Sgt. Phil used to say, "Let's roll. And let's be careful out there." Send me links, questions and ideas: siva [at] googlizationofeverything [dot] com http://www.googlizationofeverything.com/2007/09/hi_welcome_to_my_book.php * * * Like the Mind of God (6 posts) All the World's Information (5 posts) What If Big Ads Don't Work (4 posts) Don't Be Evil (3 posts) Is Google a Library? (15 posts) Challenging Big Media (11 posts) The Dossier (3 posts) Global Google (1 post) Google Earth (no posts) A Public Utility? (7 posts) About this Book (7 post Siva Vaidhyanathan (how do you pronounce that?) Siva Vaidhyanathan I am a cultural historian and media scholar at the University of Virginia. I have written two previous books: Copyrights and Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How it Threatens Creativity (New York University Press, 2001) and The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash between Freedom and Control is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System (Basic Books, 2004). Most recently I edited (with Carolyn de la Pena) the collection, Rewiring the Nation: The Place of Technology in American Studies (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007). I've written for many periodicals, including American Scholar, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The New York Times Magazine, MSNBC.COM, Salon.com, openDemocracy.net, Columbia Journalism Review, and The Nation. I also blog at SIVACRACY.NET. After five years as a professional journalist, I earned a Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. I've taught at Wesleyan University, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Columbia University, New York University, and is this fall began as an associate professor of Media Studies and Law at the University of Virginia. I'm also a fellow at the New York Institute for the Humanities and the Institute for the Future of the Book.

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[Fwd: Balancing Act: African Broadcast and Film Markets Report is out now]
by alice 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

Dear all Interesting report but for a whopping GBP500/US$1,000....making it out of reach for most. Affordable local content? And it is indeed encouraging that organizations like IDRC taking up the challenge to narrow the knowledge/information gap with initiatives like the BPO Research study. best alice African Broadcast and Film Markets Report's content <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/131/0/> Other reports <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/2/0/> Consultancy <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/58/0/> In a world of converging media, telcos and ISPs are increasingly having to pay attention to what their counterparts in the broadcast and film industry are doing. Africas first genuine triple play offers will be launched shortly and mobile operators and broadcasters are trialling mobile TV. Therefore the world of programme rights and production costs may be a mystery that you will need to know more about. Increasingly, SMS and the Internet are being used as media. To reverse Marshall McLuhans well known phrase: the message is now the medium. There were 4.5 million downloads from Africa of material from the second series of Big Brother. Increasingly, SMS and the Internet are becoming media and will compete for advertising with the broadcast industry: there are shifting patterns for advertising in different media. For anyone interested in how the broadcast and film industry has and will develop and its converge with the telecoms industry, there has been a frustrating lack of data up until now. Balancing Acts African Broadcast and Film Markets, published in association with Intermedia, is over 340 pages long and has 132 charts, 41 tables of statistical data and 12 graphic maps. It is probably the most detailed data source on both industry and audience information for the sector in Africa. The report includes: *Part 1 *provides an analysis of the developing industry (based on a survey of 40 countries) and has the following sections: African industry overview Slow but steady liberalisation: This looks at the state of liberalisation, for radio and TV; the international players in the market; the scale of broadcast advertising; and the battle for Pay-TV subscribers. The beginning of the end for Mr President TV looks at the difficult commercial position of public broadcasters and ways they might get out the trap they are in. Other areas covered include: The costs of local and international programming; Digitilisation and High Definition Slow progress but it is on its way; Africas film industry Low output but big changes afoot; Africa goes triple-play the early pioneers roll-out; The potential market size for Pay Television; Reaching African diaspora audiences competing for eyeballs away from home; and Mobile TV a technology for Africa? *Part 2* looks at Africas rapidly shifting landscape through audience research from 17 key markets: Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Each survey involves a large sample size, and is conducted through face-to-face interview, usually in the home of the respondent. The result is an unusually rich, single source for data on how Africans are interacting with traditional and emerging broadcasters and platforms, new technologies and modes of mass and inter-personal communication. It is sufficiently standardised to allow cross-comparison between countries and trend analysis across the timeframe data has been collected. For the first time, there is now data on SMS and Internet use that enables a sizing of the current market and the basic socio-demographic data to allow a serious examination of the potential future markets. For a full list of the contents: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/broadcast_markets.html <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/131/0/> The report is priced as follows: Full price (Africa) GBP500/US$1,000; Full price (Rest of the World) GBP750/US$1,500; Reduced price for universities and NGOs GBP375/US$700. Click below to order: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profiles/order/order_form.php <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/226/0/> You may also want to order one of the following: African Telecoms and Internet Markets Part 1: West Africa African Voice and Data Bandwidth Forecasts (2006-2011) CLICK HERE TO ORDER <http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/927/235533/2/0/> M-Money - Finances, Banking and Payments through mobile phones African VoIP Markets * Contact one of our analysts <mailto:[email protected]> Graphic maps showing significant patterns at a glance The report contains essential socio-demographic data with clear metrics for defining levels of affordability. The graphic map above shows the percentage of people able to afford certain kinds of high-value consumer goods in each of the 17 countries covered. The report also includes comparisons of levels of people defined as middle class against levels of television and PC ownership. Tables with up-to-date key industry data The tables and boxes provide data on: satellite, IP-TV and cable subscribers; advertising spend in selected African countries as a percentage of GDP; Top 15 African countries by ad spend and radio and TV ownership; Government broadcasting sources of financing; advertising spend by TV channel in Kenya and Tanzania; outdoor mobile cinema attendance in Kenya, box office and audience attendance for 100 South African films; the DVD and Video market in South Africa by value; diaspora populations and subscriber levels to diaspora services; and countries offering 3G services. Charts illustrating listening viewing habits for leading TV and radio broadcasters The report includes audience data for all 17 countries on: daily audiences for leading TV and radio broadcasters; viewing and listening levels at different times of the day; trust in information provided by leading broadcaster, both radio and television; interest in different types of programming (news, sports, fashion, etc); newspaper readership; media equipment ownership (radio, TV, satellite, PC and mobile); and media equipment used yesterday. All data is cross-comparable across countries and the report contains a pan-African summary and individual sub-regional summaries for East, North, South and West Africa. Use of convergence media (SMS, Mobile TV, IP-TV and Internet) For the first time, the report provides detailed use figures for converged media, both in terms of equipment ownership and use yesterday. Although Internet figures remain low in some countries, a critical mass of users clearly exists in other countries. It tracks the percentage of respondents who use SMS as a source of information and the figures are consistently higher than might be expected. Key statistics overview Each of the 17 audience country profiles has a detailed summary panel providing: socio-demographics; media ownership and daily use; top radio and TV channel by listening or viewing daily and daily Internet use; regulatory bodies; and the approximate number of domestic TV and radio channels.

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Re: [kictanet] TEAMs to switch into Private Hands
by robert yawe 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

Hi, Welcome to the beginning of the end, the cable is going private and it will remain private exactly as happened in West Africa. Can those of you who where changing your business plans to reflect lower internet access instead increase the cost of that component. As I keep saying the solution is to concentrate on creating local content and keeping local traffic local, let the rest of the world beat a path to us and not the reverse. The article in the Nation last week about outsourcing confirmed my fears our outsourcing model is a reverse pyramid as opposed to the rest of the world. Our outsourcing companies have 30% local provision and 70% off shore yet the countries we are competing against have the reverse. Time reveals all. Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 ----- Original Message ---- From: "bitange(a)jambo.co.ke" <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> To: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Monday, 17 March, 2008 11:00:02 AM Subject: [kictanet] TEAMs to switch into Private Hands Dear Walubengo, Q: Will the eventual majority shareholders - essentially the private sector - operate the cable on Open Access principles? Specifically, the following questions arise. A: Competition alone will drive the cost low and if that fails, Government can intervene using the capacity it holds and if that fails, the regulator will have to intervene. Q: 1. Will the cable be open for direct connectivity (at thesource in MSA) to other future telco players? A: Yes indeed. See Q3 responses below. Q: 2. Will the price of connecting to the international fiber be driven by profit-motives or will it be based on the 'cost-of-operating-the-fiber' basis. A: Price of connecting to the International fibre remaims cost of operating the fibre but retail price will have an element of profit. What we shall guard agaist is exploitative prices. Q: 3. What modalities exist for future investors who may wish to own part of the fiber maybe 2 or 5years after the cable is operational- or will this thing be a closed-club to the original financiers once the cable becomes operational?(remember the consortium approach of EASSy?) A: The Government of Kenya would continue to dilute its shares in order to ensure healthy competion exist. The model therefore is not a closed shop. Q: 4. What are the steps involved in transparently transferring this public resource into private sector? A: You cannot force anyone to buy into Teams. There are clear deadlines by the financial arranger for making commitments. The Standard Chatered Bank were procured to make financial arrangements for the cable. Although sometimes Media misses the point here and there, it has done a wonderful job keeping us on our toes. Ndemo. ---------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. --------------------------------------------- "easy access to the world" _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/robertyawe%40yahoo.co.… ___________________________________________________________ Rise to the challenge for Sport Relief with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/

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Re: [kictanet] kictanet Digest, Vol 10, Issue 12
by godera＠skyweb.co.ke 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

Ndegwa and All, I believe some of you may have heard that IDRC here in Nairobi is embarking on a market study that is not limited to Kenyan operations. Edith if you are reading this, can you shed any light on this at this moment or is it premature to talk about it? Gilda Quoting kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke: > Send kictanet mailing list submissions to > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > You can reach the person managing the list at > kictanet-owner(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of kictanet digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: South African Intelligence Networking on Kenyan BPOSector > (MediaSpeak Africa) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2008 15:50:47 +0300 > From: "MediaSpeak Africa" <mesafric(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] South African Intelligence Networking on > Kenyan BPOSector > To: "Eric Osiakwan" <eric(a)afrispa.org> > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Message-ID: > <9007a8bd0803090550k48b2010en75a9f33245c41c50(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Good people, > > Sure we are now talking big like we are supposed to. First, I wish to > support the suggestion that we should involve local players in such > initiatives. At least at the level of partnership so that we can have skills > transfer. > > But we also have to be serious so that what we do not tell the market out > there that we have lions in the parks only for them to come and see domestic > cats. We need to back strategy with infrastructure - which simply means that > we have to invest in the sector if we really want to be in the big league. > Ama? > > Ndegwa > > > On 07/03/2008, Eric Osiakwan <eric(a)afrispa.org> wrote: > > > > Peres, > > > > Better still there are good enough kenyan research enterprises who can do > > this so can we consider giving them a chance. This is with nothing against > > Frost and Sullivan but if u can get the expertise here then give it a > > chance, is the principle. > > > > Eric here > > > > > > On 6 Mar 2008, at 20:22, Peres Were wrote: > > > > > > > > Peres Were > > Dr Ndemo, > > > > Kenya can do this. It is just a matter of obtaining the necessary budget > > to > > engage companies such as Frost and Sullivan, to conduct a Competitor > > Analysis for us. > > > > We at the Kenya BPO & Contact Centre Society are currently working with > > development partners in order to engage reputable international > > organisations that are specialists in research, to carry out such > > intelligence and research that can assist in the growth and development > > of > > the BPO Sector in Kenya. > > > > Regards > > > > Peres Were > > Kenya BPO & Contact Centre Society > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: kictanet-bounces+pwere=cascadegl.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > [mailto:kictanet-bounces <kictanet-bounces>+pwere= > > cascadegl.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf > > Of bitange(a)jambo.co.ke > > Sent: 06 March 2008 19:25 > > To: pwere(a)cascadegl.com > > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions > > Subject: [kictanet] South African Intelligence Networking on Kenyan > > BPOSector > > > > Dear All, > > The article below was picked from Business Wire in SA. My wish is that we > > could one day start such intelligence networking on countries we perceive > > as competitors. > > > > Regards > > > > Ndemo. > > > > > > > > Kenya Calling - The Rise of the Kenyan Call Centre Market > > 372 words > > 5 March 2008 > > 02:38 AM > > Business Wire > > English > > (c) 2008 Business Wire. All Rights Reserved. > > > > > > CAPE TOWN, South Africa - (BUSINESS WIRE) - The ICT group at Frost & > > Sullivan ( http://www.ict.frost.com/ ) is pleased to announce that it will > > be hosting its first quarter analyst briefing on the Kenyan call centre > > market on 13 March 2008 at 2pm GMT / 4pm CAT. > > Kenya is a late-comer to offering call centre services in Africa, however > > the market is set to experience significant growth in the next seven > > years. > > "Kenya is well positioned to become a noteworthy call centre market," > > notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Spiwe Chireka. "The country has > > implemented unique initiatives that, together with the cost attractiveness > > of the market, are likely to see Kenya becoming a formidable participant > > in the global call centre outsourcing arena." > > Highlights of this briefing will include an analysis of the current status > > of the market and the factors expected to fuel growth. The briefing will > > also offer a discussion on the opportunities available to equipment > > vendors and investors. > > The briefing will benefit current and potential market participants, BPO > > industry organisations and call centre equipment and technology suppliers. > > Operators in other markets will also be able to benchmark their market's > > performance and practices against those of the Kenyan market. > > Those interested in participating in this interactive teleconference > > should send an email to Patrick Cairns - Corporate Communications at > > patrick.cairns(a)frost.com with the following information: full name, > > company name, title, telephone number, e-mail address, city, state and > > country. The registration details will be emailed to you upon receipt of > > the above information. > > Frost & Sullivan, the Global Growth Consulting Company, partners with > > clients to accelerate their growth. The company's Growth Partnership > > Services, Growth Consulting and Career Best Practices empower clients to > > create a growth focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements > > effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of > > experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses > > and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. > > For more information about Frost & Sullivan's Growth Partnerships, visit > > http://www.frost.com . > > Frost & Sullivan Corporate Communications - Africa: Patrick Cairns, +27 83 > > 258 4219 patrick.cairns(a)frost.com > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > > This message has been scanned for viruses and > > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > > believed to be clean. > > --------------------------------------------- > > "easy access to the world" > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: pwere(a)cascadegl.com > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pwere%40cascadegl.com > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: eric(a)afrispa.org > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/eric%40afrispa.org > > > > > > Eric M.K Osiakwan > > Executive Secretary > > AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) > > Tel: + 233.21.258800 ext 2031 > > Fax: + 233.21.258811 > > Cell: + 233.244.386792 > > Handle: eosiakwan > > Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North > > Office: BusyInternet - 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North > > Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/eric/ > > Slang: "Tomorrow Now" > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: mesafric(a)gmail.com > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mesafric%40gmail.com > > > > > > > -- > Stephen Ndegwa Mwangi > Executive Director > MediaSpeak Africa > P. O. Box 18154-00100 > Nairobi GPO > Tel.: +254-20-2098 548 > Cell: +254-724-376 883 > Kenya. >

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TEAMs to switch into Private Hands
by bitange＠jambo.co.ke 17 Mar '08

17 Mar '08

Dear Walubengo, Q: Will the eventual majority shareholders - essentially the private sector - operate the cable on Open Access principles? Specifically, the following questions arise. A: Competition alone will drive the cost low and if that fails, Government can intervene using the capacity it holds and if that fails, the regulator will have to intervene. Q: 1. Will the cable be open for direct connectivity (at thesource in MSA) to other future telco players? A: Yes indeed. See Q3 responses below. Q: 2. Will the price of connecting to the international fiber be driven by profit-motives or will it be based on the 'cost-of-operating-the-fiber' basis. A: Price of connecting to the International fibre remaims cost of operating the fibre but retail price will have an element of profit. What we shall guard agaist is exploitative prices. Q: 3. What modalities exist for future investors who may wish to own part of the fiber maybe 2 or 5years after the cable is operational- or will this thing be a closed-club to the original financiers once the cable becomes operational?(remember the consortium approach of EASSy?) A: The Government of Kenya would continue to dilute its shares in order to ensure healthy competion exist. The model therefore is not a closed shop. Q: 4. What are the steps involved in transparently transferring this public resource into private sector? A: You cannot force anyone to buy into Teams. There are clear deadlines by the financial arranger for making commitments. The Standard Chatered Bank were procured to make financial arrangements for the cable. Although sometimes Media misses the point here and there, it has done a wonderful job keeping us on our toes. Ndemo. ---------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. --------------------------------------------- "easy access to the world"

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Why Microsoft Swahili Version Failed
by alice 15 Mar '08

15 Mar '08

Kenya: Why Microsoft Swahili Version Failed Business Daily (Nairobi) http://www.bdafrica.com/ <http://www.bdafrica.com/> OPINION 11 March 2008 Posted to the web 11 March 2008 Beatrice Gachenge When Microsoft announced in 2003 that it had launched a Kiswahili version of their Microsoft Office applications, linguists saw it as a big triumph for the language - and a chance to make its speakers have a feel of the emerging technology and in their own language. However, five years later, the roar has turned into a whimper. Microsoft is not forthcoming with answers, but a debate is shaping up on what may have gone wrong. "It failed miserably on the roll out process because Microsoft never pushed the product," says Mr Patrick Opiyo, managing director of Rivotex Kenya, a consulting dealer for Microsoft Technologies, who was then Microsoft's localisation manager. Mr Isaiah Okoth, who was at the time the general manager of Microsoft East Africa, said the new Kiswahili office application, if marketed well, would have allowed many Kiswahili speakers to experience personal computing in their home language. It had taken close to two years to develop the programme at a cost of Sh8 million, drawing linguistic experts from East and Central Africa. The programme was headed by Prof Kulikoyela Kahigi of the University of Dar- es- Salaam. Kiswahili experts translated over 700,000 words in Windows and Office software while close to 70,000 words were translated in the help manuals. The final product was targeted at about 150 million speakers of the language in the world. But three years down the line, analysts now deem the product a major letdown. "Technology should find itself into the language. Microsoft invented words that did not exist to fit the technology, and the problem with this is that people don't understand the Kiswahili used in the Microsoft Office applications, " explains Mr Alex Gakuru, director of ICT Consumer Association. Mr Gakuru told the Business Daily that technology is all about the people and not the gizmos or software; a concept Microsoft failed to consider. Another major issue was the methodology used to develop the application. Peter Mugambi, Dean of Humanities at Kenyatta University, says the project was more of a 'private affair' than an institutional one. In his view, the project did not integrate the wider community and also failed to educate people on the usage of the product either through seminars and workshops. Although the process of changing to Kiswahili version is simple , the software has not been utilised in Kiswahili departments in major universities including Kenyatta University and the University of Nairobi. By simply downloading a Language Interface Pack ( LIP), from the Internet, free of charge, users of genuine versions of Microsoft Office 2003, can localize their interface by installing the LIP. It then turns Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint from English into Kiswahili. The beauty of the product is that one can switch back to the language of choice with ease. "With the Kiswahili LIP, computer users are able to instal a Kiswahili desktop version as a 'skin' on top of existing installations of Windows and standard Microsoft Office applications," said the consulting dealer for Microsoft Technologies. Currently, the Kiswahili LIP is also available to Windows XP. Analysts say the biggest issue that made the hefty exercise a major fiasco was the lack of promotion for the product. University of Nairobi linguist and prolific author, Prof Kithaka wa Mberia, doubts whether he would have known about the project had he not been part of it; casting more doubt if the programme was marketed well. There was also a conflict of policy between open source and proprietorship. Mr Gakuru says the approach Microsoft took was academic instead of looking at the programme as a community based issue, a move that would have resulted to community ownership of the product. "If the company considered making it a community project where the East Africans who were the recipients of the product, then fund it, the ownership aspect would automatically lead to identifying with the product," said the IT analyst. "What is the essence of a good product that people don't know about? At the end of the day, who will use it?" The idea could have been a turning point not only for the East African region but other parts of the world because several years back, it was unthinkable that computer software products and solutions could be made in local languages, of which some risk extinction due to dominance of English and other European languages. There are 100 million Kiswahili-speakers in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and parts of the Horn of Africa, Great Lakes, Malawi, Mozambique and the Indian Ocean islands. Dr Clare Momanyi, a Kiswahili lecturer at Kenyatta University, who was also part of the task force that created the Kiswahili version, blames deep rooted problems and negative attitude of Kenyans towards the language, which they consider inferior to the English language. "Language is developed through communication as well as through the education system. The syllabus does not favour Kiswahili. Little has been done since it was made an examinable subject in 1995 to help Kenyans tie economic gains to Kiswahili," said Dr Momanyi. English, she added was the preferred language to enhance economic activities while Kiswahili on the other hand was viewed as a language for the masses, or the poor. "Kenyans need to wake up and smell the coffee. Kiswahili is gaining international acceptance, with more than 70 universities teaching it in the United States alone. If we do not change our attitude, we shall not go far," says Dr Momanyi. But still, one of the programmes that would have connected people failed to gain foothold in its own turf. She explained that the Kenyans historic background also played a major part in degenerating the liking of the language among Kenyans. While it is the national language, Dr. Momanyi said that there lacked any functions, institutions or policies attached to the growth of Kiswahili. The localization programme is a project under the Microsoft's Local language Program (LLP), which was formally launched by the company in 2004. Copyright C 2008 Business Daily. All rights reserved. **************************** Disclaimer ****************************** Copyright: In accordance with Title 17, United States Code Section 107, this material is distributed without profit for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material posted to this list for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Content: The sender does not vouch for the veracity nor the accuracy of the contents of this message, which are the sole responsibility of the copyright owner. Also, the sender does not necessarily agree or disagree with any opinions that are expressed in this message. ********************************************************************** __._,_.___ Messages in this topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/message/6806;_ylc=X3oDMTM0ODc3NGJ1B…> (1) Reply (via web post) <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJwc2RkZWczBF9TAzk3M…> | Start a new topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJlM29uZzZvBF9TAzk3M…> Messages <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZWhsY2FtBF9TA…> | Links <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/links;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZjBvc3ZoBF9TAzk3…> | Polls <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/polls;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdXFuMG4zBF9TAzk3…> Dig Africa site welcomes you to join us at

4 3

eDiscussion Report:-Impact of Post-election Violence on ICT organisations
by John Walubengo 14 Mar '08

14 Mar '08

The dawn of the Year 2008 caught many Kenyan organisations unprepared for the unprecedented post-election violence. As the chaos escalated beyond their original domains, KICTAnet felt duty bound to get involved in a small way in the search for peace and mitigating interventions. This Online Discussion was therefore commissioned with the dual purpose of kickstarting positive dialogue about the crisis while sharing experiences and intervention methods being employed by members. The discussion had three key themes:- establishing the challenges posed by the Post-election violence, exploring various mitigating interventions and Quantifying the Impact of the Post-election violence. >>>>snip>>>> The story continues in the attached report. walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

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Re: [kictanet] [AfrISPA.Discuss] Head of WTO's oped on telecom in Africa
by Eric Osiakwan 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

Dear William, Thanks for bringing this to the fore as it is a welcome development for Lamy to recognise the strides being made in Africa. Haven said that i think it is important for the WTO to reckon that the conditions and terms underwhich the GATS was negotiated and establish have changed, so given that Africa has grown despite the fact that the detailing of the GATS was not favourable to us, can one argue support Lamy's call for "Committing to further open trade in these sectors will be investing in the future". I think it is fair to argue that though the GATS terms has not favoured Africa, some sectors have grown and could do far better if the terms were favourable (or at worse be revisted) and here i dont blame anybody but we as Africans must be better prepared and go to these negotiations to gain more mileage that we have done in the past. Am not a trade expert and i dont profess to be one but i think our country trade negotiators must engage internally with some of the sectoral business fronts and work with them in some of the far reaching negotiations that turn in some ways to undo the efforts of the private sector. Eric here On 12 Mar 2008, at 22:28, William Foster wrote: > by Pascal Lamy, WTO > In the last 10 years Internet use has increased by 1,500 per cent. > Mobile phone subscribers have increased 20 fold and world > teledensity has moved from below 15 per cent to over 60 per cent. > The rapid evolution of the telecommunication sector, both from > regulatory and technological perspective, has brought about lasting > changes to our economies and societies at large and is one reason > that this sector merits our special attention today. > > The dedicated negotiations on basic telecommunications - whose 10th > anniversary we had last month - were born out of an initiative > taken during the final year of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral > Trade Negotiations. > At the time, there was a very real prospect that basic > telecommunications might be carved out of the new agreement then > taking shape, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). > Very few governments had offered commitments on these services, > deterred by what appeared to be a yawning gap between the openness > of some markets and long-entrenched restrictions to trade in many > others. Though a number of major players were contemplating opening > trade in this sector at the time, these were still surrounded by a > considerable degree of uncertainty. > The momentum has continued since. At present, over 100 WTO Members > have commitments to open markets in some or all telecommunication > services. The commitments normally entitle new entrants to supply > the most essential services, such as fixed and mobile telephony, > Internet and leased-line capacity. > A great many Members have also committed to telecom-specific > regulatory obligations. These market access and regulatory > commitments permit global networks and facilitate the emergence of > global markets for the benefit of all WTO Members, and their > businesses and consumers alike. > Telecommunications are emblematic of the highly integrated nature > of modern economies: while the sector's own economic momentum > depends on the existence of dynamic user industries, world-class > communication links are today a sine qua non for a wide range of > economic activities within services and beyond. > The benefits from opening trade in telecoms cuts across developed > and developing countries. > Relevant Links > Economy, Business and Finance > Capital Flows > ICT and Telecom > Industry and Infrastructure > International Organizations and Africa > Sustainable Development > Trade > Urban Issues and Habitation > In recent years, information and communication technologies have > enabled economies from India to Ireland to develop and rapidly > expand international outsourcing. > Committing to further open trade in these sectors will be investing > in the future. > Lamy is director general, WTO. > > > William Foster, PhD > Faculty Associate > Social and Behavioral Sciences > Arizona State University Polytechnic > http://www.FosterandBrahm.com > 520-440-0807 > wfoster8560 (Skype) > blog: www.oresearch.net > > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. Eric M.K Osiakwan Executive Secretary AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) Tel: + 233.21.258800 ext 2031 Fax: + 233.21.258811 Cell: + 233.244.386792 Handle: eosiakwan Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North Office: BusyInternet - 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/eric/ Slang: "Tomorrow Now"

1 0

Road Map to SME Symposium, March 22, 2008
by carthy 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

Dear All, Please find attached road map to SME symposium courtesy of Kimathi Information Centre. Carthy --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

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Writing for Change
by Edith Adera 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

This resource may be of interest to you and your partners. "Writing for Change" is an interactive, self-learning tool (guide) to effective writing, writing for science and writing for advocacy. It was developed, designed, and published by Fahamu, in collaboration with Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The CD is freely available online at http://www.idrc.ca/IMAGES/books/WFC_English/WFC_English/ In Writing for Change, you will learn the core skills of effective writing, how to write for scientific publication, and how to write for advocacy. Writing for Change will enhance your capacity to write in ways that promote action from your target audience. It is full of practical exercises and examples from the field of international development. A resource centre contains training materials and links to many useful websites. Site maps and a printed users' guide make it simple to follow. Writing for Change will prove useful to researchers, campaigners, scientists, fundraisers, project managers, social activists, and especially trainers in writing and communication skills. Edith

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KENYA ICT FEDERATION - KENYA ICT BOARD LUNCHEON 18/03/2008
by nancy bosire 12 Mar '08

12 Mar '08

Kenya ICT Federation * * 12th March 2008 Dear Members and Partners, RE: KENYA ICT FEDERATION - KENYA ICT BOARD LUNCHEON 18/03/2008 This is to invite you to the second of a series of luncheons that KIF will be organizing in partnership with The Kenya ICT Board. The Luncheon will take place next week on Tuesday, 18th of March 2008. The venue is *THE NAIROBI SAFARI CLUB, LILIAN TOWERS, on University Way *from 12.30pm to 2.30pm. Charges: Ksh. 2,000 for Members and Ksh.3, 000 for non-members. We will have a session on Progress made by KICTB in their strategic plan implementation process (part of the PowerPoint presentation at the first luncheon by Mr. Paul Kukubo) and an update on CEBIT (World´s largest Annual trade show for information and telecommunications technology). The final agenda will be distributed by Thursday end of business. Book early to avoid disappointment (seats will remain reserved for those who had made early bookings and paid in advance). Contact details are below for early reservations and any queries. PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY. Sincerely yours, Nancy Bosire *Secretariat Manager* *Kenya** ICT Federation * *Tel: 020 4440102* *Mobile**: 0721907995* *secretariat(a)kif.or.ke, info(a)kif.or.ke* *http://www.kif.or.ke* <http://www.kif.or.ke/>** "Whatever your mind expects and demands, it will find a way to produce it." - Napoleon Hill

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Yet another chance to have your say: Say No to OOXML
by Judy Okite 11 Mar '08

11 Mar '08

Check out the latest development as concerns this matter.....You have yet another chance...Use it wisely. http://www.noooxml.org/start Kind Regards, -- Judy Ann Okite, +254-721237507,+254-734252336 P.O. BOX 2228 00100, NAIROBI,KENYA. 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. ' Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Verisign's Domain names brief report
by alice 11 Mar '08

11 Mar '08

Dear all Attached Domain Name industry brief from VeriSign best alice _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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[Fwd: [AfriNIC-rpd] Call for Volunteer: 2008 Board election Nomination Committee AFRINIC
by alice 11 Mar '08

11 Mar '08

Dear colleagues, This year, during the upcoming Members Meeting in Morocco, 4th June 2008, we will have the renewal of seats 5 (Central Africa sub-region) and 6 (Indian Ocean sub-region) of the AfriNIC board of Directors. According to our election policy, the election process must be supervised by an Election/nomination committee composed of: o 1 Member appointed by the board (the CEO or one elected from the board - From an non-open seat) o 2 Member volunteers from the community (from two different sub-regions other than the opened seat's one). We are hereby calling for two volunteers to seat on the 2008 nomination committee. If you are interested, please send your details with the following information: Full Name: Full Address: e-mail: to members-contact(a)afrinic.net by 13th March 2008 at 18:00 UTC. Kind regards. ______________________________________________________________________ Adiel A. Akplogan Tel. +230 466 66 16 Chief Executive Officer, AfriNIC Fax: +230 466 67 58 adiel(a)afrinic.net - www.afrinic.net sip: adiel(a)voip.afrinic.net _______________________________________________ rpd mailing list rpd(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/rpd

1 0

FW: search for new Executive Director, Global e-Schools and Communities Initiative (GeSCI)
by Edith Adera 11 Mar '08

11 Mar '08

In case it might be of interest to you or someone you know ... (See attached file: ED profile.doc)

1 0

Re: [kictanet] Fears About Safaricom (was M-PESA for E-Commerce)
by Michael Joseph 09 Mar '08

09 Mar '08

One very important correction - I am apparently a Board Member of the KCCT not CCK. Please correct this. I did not ask for this. We are helping with the ICT development and I guess this is why I was appointed.. It is most unfair to continue to bring up the sms and sms connection to TKL. We refunded all who we charged incorrectly and we explained the lack of connectivity. I think debating issues this way when one can blatantly say things which are misleading does not encourage real debate about real issues. I will say no more on this list Michael Joseph CEO Safaricom Limited BlackBerry powered by Safaricom ----- Original Message ----- From: kictanet-bounces+mjoseph=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <kictanet-bounces+mjoseph=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: Michael Joseph Cc: skunkworks(a)my.co.ke <skunkworks(a)my.co.ke>; kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>; ke-users <ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net> Sent: Fri Mar 07 12:17:13 2008 Subject: [kictanet] Fears About Safaricom (was M-PESA for E-Commerce) Indeed Washington you listened and captured my response correctly. However, Michael Joseph has asked a new very worthy question to respond to "Alex: Why are you afraid?" 1. Michael Joseph, among other big Telco faces successfully made baby steps into government and so you will now be getting income and emoluments from taxpayers kitty! Nation cartoonist last year had an "MJ for President" cartoon and in retrospect I wonder how much of a joke that really was. You are now Board member appointed under State Corporations Act through Kenya of Gazette dated Friday, 29 February, 2008. He will be a colleague serving in a Board chaired by his "independent" market regulator CCK. Should not any right thinking person have reasons to be afraid? 2. Today, CCK in Kenya Gazette of 7th March 2008 notice, publishes by two companies ( Cykim Limited and Intelligent Contacts Solutions) applying for the protested VAS license. Why did CCK not wait for the issue to be first resolved before publishing this notice, unless it had already been decided? 3. Current CCK annual report says that the commission received just 17 consumer complaints in their last reporting year of which they were able to resolve only four. Perhaps its only me but, I find 17 complaints statistically abnormal considering the industry had over 10 million mobile phone users and 2.7 million internet users. Would anyone know if CCK were ISO 10002 compliant? I would appreciate that information very much. > > Why is everything we do bad? Just because we are big? We got that way by > > listening to our customers and delivering products and services that > > they wanted and would use. > > 4. There have been very dark clouds over your past path. These include Mobitelea (and others whose fate now hangs in the balance without an opposition and now you in government now...), charging for undelivered services (such as sms) blocking access to other networks' services etc.. I have a couple... The problem is that Safaricom morphed into a scary uncaring giant fish swallowing anything on its way and CCK sits watching. Proposed solution: The continued loss of faith and now confidence in CCK demonstrated through above few examples is sufficiently compelling to warrant its disbandment and to be replaced by another Board made up of persons with consumer, public, wider industry, business, and particularly encouraging to SMEs. A new board that will prove beyond a shadow of doubt that they represent the new Kenya we need where genuine Fair Play is practiced, everyone small and big have access to prosperity. The current CCK Board endorsed Michael Joseph to serve with them.... i.e. Regulator and regulated merged. I shall not be afraid for consumers and myself thereafter. Alex On Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 8:19 AM, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > On Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 6:46 AM, Michael Joseph <MJoseph(a)safaricom.co.ke> > wrote: > > Alex: > > > > Why are you afraid? Bill asked a question and we answered it. We could > > have ignored it but we felt it was good to contribute. We are continuing > > to develop M-Pesa and this functionality has been in development for > > some time. We even see a direct connection to the internet for customers > > to pay on-line just by clicking a link to M-Pesa. > > > > Why is everything we do bad? Just because we are big? We got that way by > > listening to our customers and delivering products and services that > > they wanted and would use. > > > > Regards, > > > > Michael > > > > CEO > > Safaricom Limited > > > > > > > > > > Hello MJ, > > I think you slightly missed the point there. Gakuru is obviously right. It's > only you who may not admit the facts regarding his fears, but I want to > believe his fears are well founded. > I am not playing Alex Gakuru's advocate but what I believe he meant to say > was the fact that Safaricom would not be willing to let entities like the > original poster of this thread to take advantage of a service like M-PESA in > a way that Safaricom would feel is in direct competition with it. > When I initially responded to Harrison Karanja Kairo, the OP, and mentioned > that he could consult with the product's R&D team at Safaricom, I did say, > in my initial response something like "I am not sure they are > allowed/willing to work with you on this as I already see securityissues > coming up". I was expressing the same fears as Alex in a "diplomatic" > manner. Perhaps you can prove me wrong, but what Harrison Karanja had wanted > was something akin to grabbing that magic code that accompies an M-PESA > transaction and use it to validate a transaction. So, if only to prove > Gakuru wrong, could you kindly ask Pauline Vaughan to help the OP (one, > Harrison Karanja) with the necessary advise regarding his query? I don't > think that will be easy for you, as you are likely to let go of something > you see already as a great business product, no? > > Gakuru did not at all say Safaricom is bad. Well, Safaricom is big, for sure > as you say, and since you know it, let me also tell you that it's so big > that it's getting out of control as you are no longer quite capable of > efficiently "listening to the large number of clientele whenever they have > problems". This has come up before during a discussion on outsourcing. So > when you talk of "big", please also consider being "big" in serving the > customers, and potential competitors like Harrison. > > Just my 2 cents, which you can credit to my M-PESA account below:-) > > > > > -- > Best regards, > Odhiambo WASHINGTON, > Nairobi,KE > +254733744121/+254722743223 > _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ > > "Oh My God! They killed init! You Bastards!" > --from a /. post > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alexgakuru.lists%40gma… > > _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: mjoseph(a)safaricom.co.ke Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mjoseph%40safaricom.co… The information in this email and any attachments is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended only for the use of the named addressee. Emails are susceptible to alteration and their integrity cannot be guaranteed. Safaricom Limited does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this email if the same is found to have been altered or manipulated. The contents and opinions expressed in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Safaricom Limited. Safaricom Limited disclaims any liability to the fullest extent permissible by law for any consequences that may arise from the contents of this email including but not limited to personal opinions, malicious and/or defamatory information and data/codes that may compromise or damage the integrity of the recipient's information technology systems. If you are not the intended recipient please notify the sender and immediately delete this email from your system.

4 3

M-PESA for E-Commerce
by H. Karanja Kairo 09 Mar '08

09 Mar '08

I'm trying to use M-PESA for settling online purchases but I haven't yet found a way to do it through a one-step process. My best attempt so far is to: 1. Have someone M-PESA a certain amount to my phone. 2. Ask them to SMS the first 7 characters of the response they receive from M-PESA for verification (this is to get their phone number as M-PESA does not provide this) 3. Credit their online account (identified through their phone number) with the funds. With Kind Regards, Harrison Karanja Kairo * Director * SoftLaw Limited * Genius Executive Centre * 15th Floor View Park Towers * Utalii Lane * Nairobi CBD * Tel: +254-20-342225 This email (including any attachments) is confidential and intended only for the use of the addressee. It may contain information covered by legal, professional or other privilege, which privilege is not lost or waived by reason of mistaken transmission thereof. Any representation or opinions expressed are those of the individual sender and not necessarily those of SoftLaw Limited. If you are not the addressee, please inform the sender immediately and destroy this e-mail

9 13

Fears About Safaricom (was M-PESA for E-Commerce)
by Alex Gakuru 08 Mar '08

08 Mar '08

Indeed Washington you listened and captured my response correctly. However, Michael Joseph has asked a new very worthy question to respond to "Alex: Why are you afraid?" 1. Michael Joseph, among other big Telco faces successfully made baby steps into government and so you will now be getting income and emoluments from taxpayers kitty! Nation cartoonist last year had an "MJ for President" cartoon and in retrospect I wonder how much of a joke that really was. You are now Board member appointed under State Corporations Act through Kenya of Gazette dated Friday, 29 February, 2008. He will be a colleague serving in a Board chaired by his "independent" market regulator CCK. Should not any right thinking person have reasons to be afraid? 2. Today, CCK in Kenya Gazette of 7th March 2008 notice, publishes by two companies ( Cykim Limited and Intelligent Contacts Solutions) applying for the protested VAS license. Why did CCK not wait for the issue to be first resolved before publishing this notice, unless it had already been decided? 3. Current CCK annual report says that the commission received just 17 consumer complaints in their last reporting year of which they were able to resolve only four. Perhaps its only me but, I find 17 complaints statistically abnormal considering the industry had over 10 million mobile phone users and 2.7 million internet users. Would anyone know if CCK were ISO 10002 compliant? I would appreciate that information very much. > > Why is everything we do bad? Just because we are big? We got that way by > > listening to our customers and delivering products and services that > > they wanted and would use. > > 4. There have been very dark clouds over your past path. These include Mobitelea (and others whose fate now hangs in the balance without an opposition and now you in government now...), charging for undelivered services (such as sms) blocking access to other networks' services etc.. I have a couple... The problem is that Safaricom morphed into a scary uncaring giant fish swallowing anything on its way and CCK sits watching. Proposed solution: The continued loss of faith and now confidence in CCK demonstrated through above few examples is sufficiently compelling to warrant its disbandment and to be replaced by another Board made up of persons with consumer, public, wider industry, business, and particularly encouraging to SMEs. A new board that will prove beyond a shadow of doubt that they represent the new Kenya we need where genuine Fair Play is practiced, everyone small and big have access to prosperity. The current CCK Board endorsed Michael Joseph to serve with them.... i.e. Regulator and regulated merged. I shall not be afraid for consumers and myself thereafter. Alex On Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 8:19 AM, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > On Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 6:46 AM, Michael Joseph <MJoseph(a)safaricom.co.ke> > wrote: > > Alex: > > > > Why are you afraid? Bill asked a question and we answered it. We could > > have ignored it but we felt it was good to contribute. We are continuing > > to develop M-Pesa and this functionality has been in development for > > some time. We even see a direct connection to the internet for customers > > to pay on-line just by clicking a link to M-Pesa. > > > > Why is everything we do bad? Just because we are big? We got that way by > > listening to our customers and delivering products and services that > > they wanted and would use. > > > > Regards, > > > > Michael > > > > CEO > > Safaricom Limited > > > > > > > > > > Hello MJ, > > I think you slightly missed the point there. Gakuru is obviously right. It's > only you who may not admit the facts regarding his fears, but I want to > believe his fears are well founded. > I am not playing Alex Gakuru's advocate but what I believe he meant to say > was the fact that Safaricom would not be willing to let entities like the > original poster of this thread to take advantage of a service like M-PESA in > a way that Safaricom would feel is in direct competition with it. > When I initially responded to Harrison Karanja Kairo, the OP, and mentioned > that he could consult with the product's R&D team at Safaricom, I did say, > in my initial response something like "I am not sure they are > allowed/willing to work with you on this as I already see securityissues > coming up". I was expressing the same fears as Alex in a "diplomatic" > manner. Perhaps you can prove me wrong, but what Harrison Karanja had wanted > was something akin to grabbing that magic code that accompies an M-PESA > transaction and use it to validate a transaction. So, if only to prove > Gakuru wrong, could you kindly ask Pauline Vaughan to help the OP (one, > Harrison Karanja) with the necessary advise regarding his query? I don't > think that will be easy for you, as you are likely to let go of something > you see already as a great business product, no? > > Gakuru did not at all say Safaricom is bad. Well, Safaricom is big, for sure > as you say, and since you know it, let me also tell you that it's so big > that it's getting out of control as you are no longer quite capable of > efficiently "listening to the large number of clientele whenever they have > problems". This has come up before during a discussion on outsourcing. So > when you talk of "big", please also consider being "big" in serving the > customers, and potential competitors like Harrison. > > Just my 2 cents, which you can credit to my M-PESA account below:-) > > > > > -- > Best regards, > Odhiambo WASHINGTON, > Nairobi,KE > +254733744121/+254722743223 > _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ > > "Oh My God! They killed init! You Bastards!" > --from a /. post > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alexgakuru.lists%40gma… > >

2 1

application developers.
by Moses Kemibaro 06 Mar '08

06 Mar '08

Dotsavvy is looking for Application Developers with the following competencies: i. 2+ years experience in internet application development. ii. A portfolio of functional personal work that includes the following examples: a. Web sites/pages that utilize database-driven concepts. b. Web sites/pages that demonstrate the ability to work from a project specification. c. Web sites/pages that show implementation of a standardized user interface. iii. Experience with Macromedia, Java, CSS, PERL, Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP (LAMP) is required. iv. Additional experience with AJAX, Ruby on Rails, .NET and others would be a bonus. If you meet these criteria, or know someone who does, please send CVs to jobs(a)dotsavvyafrica.com by the 15th March 2008. Thanks, Moses

1 0

Scholarships for ICT4D Masters in Manchester
by alice 05 Mar '08

05 Mar '08

The one-year MSc ICTs for Development degree focuses on effective > application of ICTs within poor communities. It aims to > create "ICT4D champions" who combine technical competencies in > information systems and project management with an understanding of > development context and practice: > http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/courses/06237/in > d > ex.asp > > Applicants who have applied, received and accepted a formal offer > by 30 June 2008 will be considered for two scholarship > opportunities. One of these is a full scholarship of £21,000 > available on a competitive basis for applicants from developing > countries to any of IDPM's Masters degrees. One is a partial > fee-waiver scholarship worth £5,500, available exclusively for > developing country applicants to the MSc ICT4D programme. > > Details on other funding sources and on part-time employment > opportunities while studying in Manchester can be found at: > http://www.sed.manchester.ac.uk/idpm/postgraduate/taught/funding/ > > Richard Heeks (richard.heeks(a)manchester.ac.uk) > Development Informatics Group, IDPM, SED, University of Manchester, > UK _______________________________________________ incom-l mailing list incom-l(a)incommunicado.info http://mail.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/incom-l ------- End of forwarded message ------- _______________________________________________ AAW-Network mailing list AAW-Network(a)lists.apcwomen.org http://lists.apcwomen.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaw-network

1 0

KDN new partner to inject Sh1.4bn for expansion
by Eric Osiakwan 05 Mar '08

05 Mar '08

http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=6232&Itemid=5847 Eric M.K Osiakwan Executive Secretary AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) Tel: + 233.21.258800 ext 2031 Fax: + 233.21.258811 Cell: + 233.244.386792 Handle: eosiakwan Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North Office: BusyInternet - 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/eric/ Slang: "Tomorrow Now"

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proposed new license fees for Application/Content Service Providers
by Marcel Werner 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

Attention Colleagues, Are you aware that the Communications Commission of Kenya has issued an important consultative document on the proposed Unified License framework? Comments are welcomed by CCK, due by deadline of 29 February 2008 at close of business. The market segments categorised in the CCK paper Applications Service Providers (ASPs) and Content Service Providers (CSP) (include all Value Added Service (VAS) Providers and Web-based Public Commercial Information Service Providers can provide economic opportunities to Micro and Small Enterprises (SME) as well as Small and Medium Sized companies (MSE). Note that all these services proposedly attract a KES100,000 registration fee + KES100,000 or 0.5% of turn-over charge. That will keep many players out of the market. How many higher education graduates are working to create a niche for themselves in the market? They should be encouraged and supported! The new regulatory framework should not place any obstacles to new investors and market entrants, especially not to SME's. Therefore, the proposedlicense fees for these two categories should be replaced by a general license. Normally, such licensees does not pay license fees but register with the regulatory body and subsequently receive a certificate endorsing their operations in the sector. MARCEL WERNER Kenya ICT Federation

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Re: [kictanet] Fwd: SA Government Goes Open Source
by James Kagwe 03 Mar '08

03 Mar '08

Can someone recommend to me some of the best websites for open-source software? Best Regards, James Kagwe ********************************************************************* Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis Bishops Garden Towers Bishops Road P.O. Box 56445 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: (254) 20 2719933, 2719934, 2714714, 2714715 Fax: (254) 20 2719951 Confidentiality Warning ======================= The contents of this e-mail and any accompanying documentation are confidential and any use thereof, in what ever form, by anyone other than the addressee is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify admin(a)kippra.or.ke and delete it immediately from your system. Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis accepts no responsibility for losses or damage as a result of any viruses and it is your responsibility to check attachments (if any) for viruses. -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+jkagwe=kippra.or.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alex Gakuru Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 10:27 AM To: James Kagwe Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: SA Government Goes Open Source Thanks to the policy space already provided. On December 14, the Dutch Government gave a "soft deadline" to all their government agencies to "Adopt FOSS or Explain Why Not?" I'd written a newspaper article on this but, we all know, things happened:( /Alex ------ "Dutch government moves ahead with plans to promote use of open-source software" December 14, 2007 The Dutch government has set a soft deadline of April 2008 for agencies at the national level to adopt open-source software such as free word processing programs and Internet browsers, the Economic Affairs Ministry said Thursday. Under the policy, approved Wednesday, government organizations will still be able to use proprietary software and formats, but will have to justify that decision under the principle of "adopt or explain" why not, ministry spokesman Edwin van Scherrenburg said. Van Scherrenburg said the plan had been approved unanimously at a meeting of two parliamentary commissions Wednesday. ... <http://news.theage.com.au/dutch-government-moves-ahead-with-plans-to-pr omote-use-of-opensource-software/20071214-1gzj.html> --- John Kariuki <ngethe.kariuki2007(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > Dear all, > Good idea. > The ICT Policy contemplated the use of open source > as a component of encouraging growth of local > software industry in order to increase > competition,access,diversity of choice and to enable > users to develop solutions. > > John. > > Gakiria <gakiria(a)gmail.com> wrote: ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: jkagwe(a)kippra.or.ke Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jkagwe%40kippra.or. ke

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Re: [kictanet] Fwd: SA Government Goes Open Source
by Dorcas Muthoni 03 Mar '08

03 Mar '08

Sure.. great software there too! On Mon, Mar 3, 2008 at 1:07 PM, Joseph Mucheru <jmucheru(a)google.com> wrote: > Also http://www.code.google.com :-) > > --Joe Mucheru +254722522135 > Google > Sent from my iPhone > > On Mar 3, 2008, at 12:22 PM, "Dorcas Muthoni" <dmuthoni(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Some great references for open source software; > > <http://sourceforge.net/>http://sourceforge.net/ and > <http://freshmeat.net>http://freshmeat.net > > Both are the largest repositories of open source software. Browse through > categories or search using strings. > > > On Mon, Mar 3, 2008 at 11:27 AM, James Kagwe < <jkagwe(a)kippra.or.ke> > jkagwe(a)kippra.or.ke> wrote: > > > Can someone recommend to me some of the best websites for open-source > > software? > > > > Best Regards, > > James Kagwe > > ********************************************************************* > > Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis > > Bishops Garden Towers > > Bishops Road > > P.O. Box 56445 > > Nairobi, Kenya > > Tel: (254) 20 2719933, 2719934, 2714714, 2714715 > > Fax: (254) 20 2719951 > > Confidentiality Warning > > ======================= > > The contents of this e-mail and any accompanying documentation are > > confidential and any use thereof, in what ever form, by anyone other > > than the addressee is strictly prohibited. > > > > If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify > > <admin(a)kippra.or.ke>admin(a)kippra.or.ke and delete it immediately from > > your system. > > Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis accepts no > > responsibility for losses or damage as a result of any viruses and it is > > your responsibility to check attachments (if any) for viruses. > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: kictanet-bounces+jkagwe= <kippra.or.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > > kippra.or.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > [mailto:kictanet-bounces+jkagwe=<kictanet-bounces+jkagwe=kippra.or.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > > kippra.or.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke] On > > Behalf Of Alex Gakuru > > Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 10:27 AM > > To: James Kagwe > > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions > > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: SA Government Goes Open Source > > > > Thanks to the policy space already provided. > > > > On December 14, the Dutch Government gave a "soft > > deadline" to all their government agencies to "Adopt > > FOSS or Explain Why Not?" I'd written a newspaper > > article on this but, we all know, things happened:( > > > > /Alex > > ------ > > > > "Dutch government moves ahead with plans to promote > > use of open-source software" > > December 14, 2007 > > > > The Dutch government has set a soft deadline of April > > 2008 for agencies at the national level to adopt > > open-source software such as free word processing > > programs and Internet browsers, the Economic Affairs > > Ministry said Thursday. > > > > Under the policy, approved Wednesday, government > > organizations will still be able to use proprietary > > software and formats, but will have to justify that > > decision under the principle of "adopt or explain" why > > not, ministry spokesman Edwin van Scherrenburg said. > > > > Van Scherrenburg said the plan had been approved > > unanimously at a meeting of two parliamentary > > commissions Wednesday. > > ... > > > > <<http://news.theage.com.au/dutch-government-moves-ahead-with-plans-to-pr> > > http://news.theage.com.au/dutch-government-moves-ahead-with-plans-to-pr > > omote-use-of-opensource-software/20071214-1gzj.html> > > > > > > --- John Kariuki < <ngethe.kariuki2007(a)yahoo.co.uk> > > ngethe.kariuki2007(a)yahoo.co.uk> > > wrote: > > > > > Dear all, > > > Good idea. > > > The ICT Policy contemplated the use of open source > > > as a component of encouraging growth of local > > > software industry in order to increase > > > competition,access,diversity of choice and to enable > > > users to develop solutions. > > > > > > John. > > > > > > Gakiria < <gakiria(a)gmail.com>gakiria(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________________ > > ____________ > > Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. > > <http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs>http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > <http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet> > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: <jkagwe(a)kippra.or.ke>jkagwe(a)kippra.or.ke > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > <http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jkagwe%40kippra.or> > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jkagwe%40kippra.or. > > ke > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > <http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet> > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: <dmuthoni(a)gmail.com>dmuthoni(a)gmail.com > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > <http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/dmuthoni%40gmail.com> > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/dmuthoni%40gmail.com > > > > > > -- > Muthoni > > My Blog: <http://rugongo.blogspot.com/>http://rugongo.blogspot.com/ > -------------------------------------------- > Mahatma Gandhi once said:- > > First they ignore you, > Then they laugh at you, > Then they fight you, > AND THEN YOU WIN!!! > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: <mucheru(a)google.com>mucheru(a)google.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > <http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mucheru%40google.com> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mucheru%40google.com > > -- Muthoni My Blog: http://rugongo.blogspot.com/ -------------------------------------------- Mahatma Gandhi once said:- First they ignore you, Then they laugh at you, Then they fight you, AND THEN YOU WIN!!!

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Fwd: SA Government Goes Open Source
by Gakiria 03 Mar '08

03 Mar '08

Dear All, Came across the info below and thought it might be of interest to us. Regards Andrew ->>> SA Government Goes Open Source>>>>>> Sumayya Ismail and Sapa | Johannesburg, South Africa>>> 27 February 2007 09:32>>> >>> South Africa is joining countries such as Brazil, India and Uganda in >>> implementing open-source software in all government departments -- and >>> getting rid of widely used Microsoft Windows desktop programmes that >>> come with expensive licences. >>> >>> Open-source software can be shared by many users without a need for >>> licences. The actual code can be accessed by anyone to make changes and >>> adapt it to different situations. >>> >>> A Cabinet-approved policy and strategy to implement such software will >>> lower administration costs and enhance local IT skills, Themba Maseko, >>> head of the Government Communication and Information System, said last >>> week. >>> >>> "All new software developed for or by the government will be based on >>> open >>> standards, and government will itself migrate current software to Foss >>> [free and open-source software]," he told a media briefing at >>> Parliament. >>> >>> By April, a project office will be set up by the Department of Science >>> and >>> Technology, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and the >>> State Information Technology Agency to ensure the smooth implementation >>> of >>> the new strategy. >>> >>> Karl Fischer, the government's open-source project manager, says some >>> government departments have already been using open-source software for >>> "back-end" processes such as mail servers. >>> >>> He said the new strategy will place open-source software in all areas of >>> government. From mail servers to desktop applications such as word >>> processors, there will be a move towards Linux-operated open-source >>> software. >>> >>> Petition >>> Last year, Sangonet and other NGOs petitioned the government and >>> Minister >>> of Public Service and Administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi to adopt >>> an >>> open-source software policy following a declaration signed at the 2005 >>> Go >>> Open Source conference at the Sandton Convention Centre. >>> >>> The petition was endorsed by the Centre for Policy Studies, the Freedom >>> of >>> Expression Institute and the Institute for Security Studies, among >>> others. >>> >>> It urged the government "to take a stronger, direct leadership role to >>> the >>> benefit of all". The government accounts for more than 50% of the >>> country's ICT use and should set a precedent that favours open source >>> and >>> its underlying principles, it added. >>> >>> "As a developing country, South Africa, along with all the countries on >>> the African continent, needs you and our government to act as agents of >>> positive change in our society and trigger shifts in the ICT market >>> dynamics, in order to favour the supply of local ICT content, support, >>> skills and service providers, and to reduce our long-standing dependence >>> on imports and the negative effects created by this dependence," the >>> petition stated. >>> >>> It further held that in the spirit of broad-based black economic >>> empowerment, the government had a responsibility to implement >>> open-source >>> software and make it easier for other, smaller ICT users to access the >>> hardware and technical skills needed to sustain it. >>> >>> David Barnard, director of Sangonet, says it is possible the petition >>> prompted the government to implement open-source software. However, the >>> decision had been "brewing within government" for a while, he said. >>> >>> Fischer confirms that it was an internal government decision to >>> implement >>> open-source software fully. But, he added: "Obviously we do listen to >>> what >>> [civil society] have to say." >>> >>> Benefits >>> Government personnel will be trained to use the new software at the >>> Meraka >>> Institute's training centres throughout the country. Open-source >>> training >>> materials are also freely available, making them more affordable and >>> accessible to users. >>> >>> Despite these training requirements and other initial costs, Fischer >>> says >>> open-source software will be more affordable in the long term. "Our >>> hardware won't need upgrading Â… but it would have needed upgrading if >>> we >>> switched to Windows Vista. Linux will work out cheaper." >>> >>> The cost of Linux is significantly less than that of the Microsoft >>> licences the government has been paying, he says, although he declined >>> to >>> give the actual cost of the new operating system, as it will only be >>> implemented fully by December this year. >>> >>> "Because the whole open-source community is backing us, we can harness >>> the >>> whole community to help us," Fischer says. "People are very keen to help >>> out where they can Â… and where they can't, we will have to get the >>> necessary skills, and we have the funds for it." >>> >>> Pfungwa Serima, MD of Microsoft South Africa, says the software giant >>> fully supports the standards on which open-source software is based, as >>> it >>> is "in line with our software development strategy in enabling >>> interoperability between software from multiple vendors, thus allowing >>> customers to choose the application for their specific requirements". >>> >>> Judgement reserved >>> Though "on-the ground" institutions and training centres are already set >>> up, Sangonet's Barnard says he will reserve judgement until he sees the >>> initial roll-out plans. "This is a huge opportunity for South Africa to >>> make it work Â… but it may be one of those decisions that were >>> undertaken, >>> but the follow-through is just not there." >>> >>> Fischer says that along with a cut in costs, the open-source strategy >>> will >>> also foster inter-community development, transparency and sharing, and >>> build local skills to enhance and support the new software. "And, >>> instead >>> of giving money away to multinationals, we are keeping it and putting it >>> to use internally." >>> >>> However, Barnard says a major challenge is the lack of public >>> understanding of the principles of open-source software. >>> >>> "The important thing is for people to understand the economic, social >>> and >>> other values we could derive from it Â… and in the bigger mindset is the >>> creation of an information society in the country. [We need] proper >>> understanding Â… the capacity, expertise and political will to do >>> something >>> to implement it." >>> >>> However, the strategy does "look good on paper", he adds, and its >>> implementation will "say to the world that South Africa is -- in a >>> national, political and strategic way -- committed to open source". >>> >>> SAPA. >>> -- >>> >>> >> > >

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