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FW: Africa4all project platform live for online dialogue
by Edith Adera 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

FYI - maybe Eng. Rege or someone from Bunge can tell us how well this is working? ________________ Edith Ofwona Adera Senior Program Specialist ICT4D Program and Climate Change & Water Program International Development Research Centre | Centre de recherches pour le développement international Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa Tel: +254202713160 | Fax/Téléc: +254202711063 | Skype: edithadera eadera(a)idrc.or.ke<mailto:[email protected]> | www.idrc.ca<http://www.idrc.ca/> | www.crdi.ca<http://www.crdi.ca/> ________________________________ From: The Africa4all Consortium [info(a)africa4all-project.eu] Sent: 25 October 2010 15:59 To: Edith Adera Subject: Africa4all project platform live for online dialogue Dear all, Please find attached a press release regarding the Africa4all project's live platform operation which aims to facilitate an online dialogue between citizens and parliamentarians in African countries. We kindly ask you to publish as soon as possible. Best regards, The Africa4all Consortium info(a)gov2u.org<mailto:[email protected]>

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Price wars -cheap is expensive
by robert yawe 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

Hi, I have never participated in discussion on the calling tariffs mainly because when I bought my first mobile phone after using a pager for a long time my calling rate was 50/- so even at 8/- there had been a drop in my rate of calling. All that the price war has done is murky the waters, the cost of paying for the call has just been redistributed between the flasher and the flashee. My friend made a joke the other day that his askari told him he can flash him when he is on the way home. He took the askari on the offer and flashed him the following night when he was about to get home, the askari then called him back to ask exactly where he was. This seems like a way forward but the current level of support I am getting from my carrier makes we wish for the good old days of 8/- per minute. The customer service number that only rung 3 times at most sometimes goes unanswered, calls that stayed connected throughout the conversation however long and at whatever speed (sitting in the passenger seat) not any more. Even when the call to customer service goes through I have recently detected a coldness and on occasion feel rushed in the responses. With the number of support calls they need to handle now it is understandable. There is a good reason why Daimler has not dropped the price of the S class Mercedes to compete with the Marutu or Audi so I have an issue with Safaricom, please segment your market I would rather pay 8/- per minute if it means that I will receive better customer support. The effects of this lower rates is even affecting my Wimax service which as I raised before has a support desk that works 8 am to 5 pm I am sure because the staff are reassigned to handle support calls for 2/- callers. Michael, before leaving please migrate me to the 8/- per minute tariff and assign me the level of customer support I am used to, if I want to be treated like trash I will go to your competitors. Regards We might be born equal, but we are not equals Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Need to regulate trans-border data flow
by Ngũgĩ Kĩmani 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

As Kenya becomes more and more ICT-dependent, and personally identifiable information becomes more and more public, I think it is time we took seriously the importance to regulate trans-border data flow. Bodies like the UN take the flow of their employees information between countries very seriously in this time of border-less ICT communication. We as Kenyans also need to ensure our citizens' information remains here in Kenya as much as possible, and the first step towards that would be to have our own locally hosted ICT services similar to the likes of Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter etc. Guess what the impact of exposing such information would be in the long run, should the 'people' in possession of that information decide to make destructive use of it. My thoughts. -- Ngũgĩ Kĩmani | Fundi wa Mitambo | 0772 576846 | http://www.mafundi.co.ke/home

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ICT Information & Trends
by Matunda Nyanchama 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

Colleagues, I am looking for ICT information in Kenya; if you know where I can get this, please let me know. Examples: 1. The number of high speed Internet users in Kenya and projected growth rates. 2. The number of phone users and projected growth rates; and of these what % are smart phones (present and projected) 3. Usage: business vs personal Kind regards. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama, mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; www.aganoconsulting.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”- George Bernard Shaw ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail, including attachments, may be privileged and may contain confidential or proprietary information intended only for the addressee(s). Any other distribution, copying, use, or disclosure is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and permanently delete the message, including any attachments, without making a copy. Thank you.

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Fwd: Re: Kenya ICT Excellence Awards 2010 Nominations
by waudo siganga 23 Oct '10

23 Oct '10

----- Original message ----- From: mwambanga(a)cskonline.org To: KariukiAM(a)centralbank.go.ke, emailsignet(a)mailcan.com, challimakali(a)yahoo.com, Oketch10(a)yahoo.com, Cmamokaya56(a)yahoo.com, rmoruri(a)nairobiwater.co.ke, kimarujk(a)gmail.com, muthoka(a)cck.go.ke, rkilel(a)yahoo.com, jmbakaya(a)nairobiwater.co.ke, ccthika(a)localgovernment.go.ke, KariukiAM(a)centralbank.go.ke, KitturCC(a)centralbank.go.ke, bremack1(a)yahoo.com, chrispuspeter(a)yahoo.com Date: Fri, 22 Oct 2010 23:37:55 +0200 Subject: Re: Kenya ICT Excellence Awards 2010 Nominations The Independent Panel of Judges (IPJ) for this year's Kenya Annual ICT Awards is inviting you to participate in the nominations for this year's winners in various categories and, more importantly, nominate 2 individuals, a man and a woman, to be this year's inductees to the Kenya ICT Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have made long-term outstanding and exceptional contribution to ICT in the country. The hall of Fame was inaugurated by the Deputy Prime Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, in November 2009 and so far those inducted are Hon. James Rege, Njeri Rionge, the Late Juma Okech, George Okado and Crowther Pepela. The ICT Awards Gala Night, which also acts as the annual convocation for the ICT Community, will be held on November 25th at the Hilton Hotel. To nominate visit http://www.cskonline.org Mwambanga

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Inviting Applications for the 2011 Anita Borg Scholarship
by alice＠apc.org 23 Oct '10

23 Oct '10

Inviting Applications for the 2011 Anita Borg Scholarship<http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/OfficialGoogleAfricaBlog/%7E3/IjARElmpeoI/…> Posted: 22 Oct 2010 03:29 AM PDT As part of Google's ongoing commitment to encourage women to excel in computing, we are pleased to announce the 2011 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship: Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship <http://www.google.com/anitaborg-emea/>, established by Google in 2004, honors Dr. Anita Borg, a computer science pioneer who dedicated her life to changing the way we think about diversity and technology. In 2010, 350 students applied for the award, and among them, our first applicants and winners from Africa. Google awarded a total of two scholarships and two finalist positions to female sub-Saharan African students<http://google-africa.blogspot.com/2010/05/introducing-googles-2010-africa-a…>, from four universities in South Africa, Ghana and Uganda. You can find a complete list of all US, European, Middle Eastern and African scholars and finalists on the Official Google Blog<http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/introducing-googles-2010-anita-borg.…> . We hope to make the 2011 Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship as successful as it has been in the past. The scholarship is for female students studying Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Informatics or closely related technical fields. Every year scholarship finalists and recipients are invited to visit Googles Engineering Centre in Zurich for an all-expenses-paid retreat: check out the YouTube video<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsJbU2RHq2s>and web site <http://www.google.com/anitaborg/emea/retreat.html>. The deadline for applications is 1st February 2011. For more information about Anita Borg and the Memorial Scholarship, please visit our scholarship site<http://www.google.com/anitaborg/emea/>.

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African Leadership MBA Scholarship
by Atieno Sandra Aluoch 22 Oct '10

22 Oct '10

Hi: Kindly forward this opportunity to any interested relatives, friends or colleagues. Best,

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The big Kwaheri: reflecting on 10 years on the MJ 10 yr safari and his-tory - day 1
by muriuki mureithi 21 Oct '10

21 Oct '10

Hi Listers As you are aware , Michael Joseph (MJ) leaves the office of CEO on 31st of this month after a 10 year career at Safaricom. As is tradition, we at KICTAnet bid our members welcome/ farewell and certainly this list is the tool of choice supplemented by a bash when feasible . this is what we want to do starting now - from 10 hrs today the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10 year of the new century we wish to take just 10 days to reflect on the MJ's 10 year safari ---- . As usual we expect fair and candid thoughts from our hearts and mind and the daily prompting questions will provide a structure for our discussion we shall present your candid views in style to MJ at a suitable time shortly after the closure of the list discussion---- To kick-start discussion , first let's look back over your shoulder - just recall when he landed in Nairobi in June 2000 and went to work on/at Safaricom. At 17k customers , with barely 9 base stations , the operator was the smallest and in the eyes of the potential consumer, an appendage of the towering TKL of the day . that was then , it's no more . What still lingers in your mind of MJ early days at Safaricom, his interaction with you , the customers , the media, the regulator , competition etc? . What factors shaped MJ's and Safaricom's destiny - did he create the opportunities or was he just smart enough to take advantage of the situation? . In juggling between competing technologies, customer expectation, staff demands, government, market competition, what strikes you as MJ's character that produces the results we see . What do you think he could have done differently? . What actions did MJ take then that are still inexplicable and you would want MJ to explain now? cheers Muriuki Mureithi

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Re: [kictanet] University Education in Traditional Computer Science.
by Catherine Adeya 21 Oct '10

21 Oct '10

Perhaps...they could. But evidently we need the database developed as it will help many other people who are interested in the skills available . I do understand that the extent of a research depends on the resources available. The fact that we have the stats on degree holders is a huge step in the right direction. Nyaki --- On Wed, 10/20/10, ESTHER MUCHIRI <emuchiri(a)andestbites.com> wrote: >From: ESTHER MUCHIRI <emuchiri(a)andestbites.com> >Subject: RE: [kictanet] University Education in Traditional Computer Science. >To: "'Catherine Adeya'" <elizaslider(a)yahoo.com> >Cc: "'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions'" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >Date: Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 10:45 AM > > > >Nyaki > >Unfortunately the data collected by the Skills Taskforce with the help of Prof. >Waema mainly focused on the first degree not postgraduate. I however agree with >Tim that we have quite a number of postgraduates in IT and Engineering from all >our universities. It is unfortunate that such data is not easily available for >Collins and others who are interested in such information. Perhaps the Ministry >of Education, IDRC (or other donor) or KICTB need to explore funding for such a >study and the development of a National Skills database? > > >Esther > >From:[email protected] >[mailto:[email protected]] On >Behalf Of Catherine Adeya >Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 5:12 PM >To: emuchiri(a)andestbites.com >Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions >Subject: Re: [kictanet] University Education in Traditional Computer Science. > >Tim, > >But I also wonder do the Skills Taskforce team have any statistics that would >further help Collin's concern. There are many of these people out there in >Kenya. > > >Collins, that Registrar needs to go back to 'school'. > >Nyaki > > ________________________________ >From:Mwololo Tim <timwololo(a)gmail.com> >To: elizaslider(a)yahoo.com >Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >Sent: Mon, October 18, 2010 2:11:10 PM >Subject: Re: [kictanet] University Education in Traditional Computer Science. > >Collins, >This registrar must be very ignorant - one wonders how he became a registrar if >he does not know what happens in the few universities we have. We have had PhDs >in Computer Science/Informatics since the 1980s/90s in this country, largely >trained abroad. In our School of Computing and Informatics, we have a number >PhDs and we have produced a number through our PhD program. I am at the moment >supervising 4 PhD students and my colleagues are supervising others as well. In >addition, we have graduated tens of Masters and Postgraduate Diploma graduates >year on year since the 1980s. I have not done any research on the numbers in all >the universities but this was an alarming statement and hence the quick >reaction. Please be careful about your sources of information. tim waema >On Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 1:40 PM, [ Brainiac ] <arebacollins(a)gmail.com> wrote: >An interesting discussion i had this morning with one of the registrars in a >public university presents a very dire and wanting situation in education in >Computer Science. (Pure & applied) whose conclusion was pretty much that there >just arent postgraduates in computer science in the country. It came as a >shocker and since my background is in Engineering and IT, i am inclined to >ask... > > >What is the status of manpower in the country in the discipline? how many people >can qualify as lecturers, associate lecturers and professors in the science? > > >-- >Regards, > >Collins Areba. > >Strategic Operations. >Center for Renewable Alternatives >Old Ferry Road, off Msa Malindi Rd, | Kilifi, Kenya. +254 720 516758 /734 696821 >| skype/gtalk/twitter: arebacollins >Error! Filename not specified. > > >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >This message was sent to: timwololo(a)gmail.com >Unsubscribe or change your options at >http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/timwololo%40gmail.com > >

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University Education in Traditional Computer Science.
by [ Brainiac ] 20 Oct '10

20 Oct '10

An interesting discussion i had this morning with one of the registrars in a public university presents a very dire and wanting situation in education in Computer Science. (Pure & applied) whose conclusion was pretty much that there just arent postgraduates in computer science in the country. It came as a shocker and since my background is in Engineering and IT, i am inclined to ask... What is the status of manpower in the country in the discipline? how many people can qualify as lecturers, associate lecturers and professors in the science? -- Regards, Collins Areba. *Strategic Operations. * *Center for Renewable Alternatives* Old Ferry Road, off Msa Malindi Rd, | Kilifi, Kenya. +254 720 516758 /734 696821 | skype/gtalk/twitter: arebacollins **

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