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Fwd: Anita Borg Change Agent Awards 2012 nominations now open – Deadline is May 15, 2012
by Alice Munyua 12 Apr '12

12 Apr '12

Dear All, Thousands of women throughout the world are leading technological innovation. They often go unnoticed and unrewarded. The Anita Borg Institute <http://anitaborg.org/> has created a set of awards to honor these distinguished women and those who are working towards the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in technology. *Please review this brief summary of the awards currently open and nominate a deserving team or candidate or forward this information to someone who might be interested.* Anita Borg Change Agent Awards <http://anitaborg.org/initiatives/awards/change-agent-awards/> *2012 nominations now open ? Deadline is May 15, 2012* /The Change Agent Awards honor technical women that live and work outside the United States. They are change agents in their community ? working to attract and support women in technology in their region. Recipients are recognized for their technical leadership and advocacy work. The award recipients will be honored at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Baltimore, Maryland in October 2012./ /Please let me know if you have questions about the /Anita Borg Change Agent Awards <http://anitaborg.org/initiatives/awards/change-agent-awards/>. /Thank you,/ /Muthoni /

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Opendata dataset access
by David Lemayian 12 Apr '12

12 Apr '12

Hello Robert, I've been working with the Opendata platform for a while now and I could be of assistance. Kind regards, David Lemayian. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> To: Kictanet Mail list <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2012 05:57:14 +0100 (BST) Subject: [kictanet] Opendata dataset access Hi, I requested for a data set on the Opendata platform and received an email confirming that the dataset was now available unfortunately no instructions where given on how to access it and I have finally given in. Is there anyone out there who is familiar with accessing specific data sets, any assistance at this stage will definitely reduce my hair loss. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 -- David Lemayian E: dlemayian(a)gmail.com | T: +254721107650 | Skype: David.Lemayian | Twitter: @DavidLemayian <http://twitter.com/DavidLemayian> | W: www.davidlemayian.com Techpreneur . Hiker . Photographer . Tech Consultant . Developer . Winner Google ADC Sub-Saharan Africa

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Re: [kictanet] Opendata dataset access
by robert yawe 12 Apr '12

12 Apr '12

Hi Linet, Here is a link to the request that we made on Opendata https://kenya.socrata.com/nominate/197 Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 ________________________________ From: Linet Kwamboka <lkwamboka(a)ict.go.ke> To: Paul Kukubo <pkukubo(a)ict.go.ke> Cc: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, 12 April 2012, 10:01 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Opendata dataset access Robert, Please let me know which datasets you are looking for and i will be of assistance. Thanks On Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 10:41 PM, Paul Kukubo <pkukubo(a)ict.go.ke> wrote: Robert > > >Linet Kwamboka the open data coordinator will be in touch with you about this shortly. Normally the data sets you see on the site at www.opendata.go.ke are all that's available online for download. > > >Let us know if the issue is unresolved. > > >Paul Kukubo >CEO, Kenya ICT Board > >On Thursday, April 12, 2012, robert yawe wrote: > >Hi, >> >> >>I requested for a data set on the Opendata platform and received an email confirming that the dataset was now available unfortunately no instructions where given on how to access it and I have finally given in. >> >> >>Is there anyone out there who is familiar with accessing specific data sets, any assistance at this stage will definitely reduce my hair loss. >> >> >>Regards >> >>Robert Yawe >>KAY System Technologies Ltd >>Phoenix House, 6th Floor >>P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 >>Kenya >> >> >>Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 > >-- >Paul Kukubo >Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board >PO Box 27150 - 00100 >Nairobi, Kenya > >12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street > >Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 >Fax: +254 20 2211962 >website: www.ict.go.ke >local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya >twitter:@tandaaKENYA >BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke >Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke > > >personal contacts >_______________ > >Cell: + 254 717 180001 > > >skype: kukubopaul >googletalk: pkukubo >personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke >personal twitter: @pkukubo > > >____________________ >Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub > >Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment > -- -- Linet Kenya Open Data Initiative. Open Government Partnership. Kenya ICT Board

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Opendata dataset access
by robert yawe 12 Apr '12

12 Apr '12

Hi, I requested for a data set on the Opendata platform and received an email confirming that the dataset was now available unfortunately no instructions where given on how to access it and I have finally given in. Is there anyone out there who is familiar with accessing specific data sets, any assistance at this stage will definitely reduce my hair loss. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Startup Genome Project
by robert yawe 12 Apr '12

12 Apr '12

Hi, I have just finished using the startupcompass benchmarking tool for an incubatee that I also mentor and the results are just mind blowing. This tool is what all those agencies running around giving away money and awards to technology startups need to use to separate the chuff from the grain. The report is critical for the country as a whole to ascertain if we have the right ecosystem for the nurturing of technology startups. Here is the link to the report http://blog.startupcompass.co/pages/startup-genome-report-1, the link to the survey tool is https://www.startupcompass.co/survey. I strongly recommend that everyone out there working on a startup or providing services to the sector should carry out the survey for the organisations. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Media and Local Content
by Barrack Otieno 11 Apr '12

11 Apr '12

Guys, I think media houses are doing a good job promoting local content, today i actually watched a translated Kikuyu Sitcom featuring one Githendu on Kiss TV from start to finish, despite a few grammatical errors the message was quite clear, natulenge juu. Best Regards -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/

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Fw: [Apcwomen-meet] GRANTS FOR HACKER SCHOOL
by Florence Etta 11 Apr '12

11 Apr '12

FYI Sorry for cross posting! --------------------------------------------- Women, want to sharpen your computer & internet skills? Etsy offering 20 grants to "Hacker School" for women: http://d.pr/3KYC Today, in conjunction withHacker School, Etsy is announcing a new scholarship and sponsorship program for women in technology: we’ll be hosting the summer 2012 session of Hacker School in the Etsy headquarters, and we’re providing ten Etsy Hacker Grants of $5,000 each — a total of $50,000 — to women who want to join but need financial support to do so. Our goal is to bring 20 women to New York to participate, and we hope this will be the first of many steps to encourage more women into engineering at Etsy and across the industry. Hacker School Hacker School is a New York-based project described by its founders (David Albert, Nicholas Bergson-Shilcock, and Sonali Sridhar) as “a three-month, immersive school for becoming a better programmer. It’s like a writers’ retreat for hackers.” I love their focus on open-source software, on coding over building a startup, and especially on having a productive classroom environment that’s free from the negative conversational habits that all nerds sometimes fall into. They establish rules such as, “No feigning surprise — ‘You don’t know who RICHARD STALLMAN is!?’” Working to make a comfortable and supportive classroom environment is a great example of their educational insight and approach, and helps to address one of the big points of dissatisfaction female computer science students tend to experience. In Hacker School’s current batch, however, there is only one female student out of 20 (and yes, I am working on hiring her). Talking with them, they said all the same things I Read more at link: http://d.pr/3KYC _______________________________________________ Apcwomen-meet mailing list Apcwomen-meet(a)lists.apcwomen.org http://lists.apcwomen.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/apcwomen-meet

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AfriNIC is now hiring an IP Number Analyst (Hostmaster) .
by Alice Munyua 11 Apr '12

11 Apr '12

This might be of interest to some. Best Alice http://www.afrinic.net/job/jobs2012/afjob_ia201204.htm About AfriNIC AfriNIC is the Registry for Internet Number Resources for Africa, and the Indian Ocean region. AfriNIC is a non-governmental, and not for profit organisation registered in Mauritius to provide Internet number resource management and some coordination services to ISP in Africa and Indian Ocean. AfriNIC also develops and operates user services for its members across the continent, and serves the Internet community as a whole by providing registration services for number resources allocated in its service region.

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Re: [kictanet] [Skunkworks] Even Safaricom these days thinks KIXP is non-existent!
by Michuki Mwangi 11 Apr '12

11 Apr '12

Hi Prof, Very good points you raise. Please see my comments inline. On 4/11/12 6:35 AM, Meoli Kashorda wrote: > Dear John G and Michuki, > > Why are we not using traffic statistics to answer all these questions? > How much traffic are the different ASes at KIXP generating or picking? > Give us the statistics in the last one month then we shall know if they > are really at KIXP! How much of the traffic is due to Google or Akamai > caches? > Majority of the networks connected at KIXP are eyeball networks. The only content based networks being KRA and KENIC. By extension Google Cache is available via KDN. Of these the Google cache is responsible for at least 80% of the aggregate traffic at KIXP. The rest of the traffic is split across http and email access between the different ASN's with KRA being the largest generator of http traffic. Akamai traffic is not yet finalized therefore no measurements are available at the moment. We however estimate that it will equal to the current 600 - 800mbps of traffic generated by the Google cache. > The real problem in Kenya is not at the KIXP, it is in the ASes and user > network that are not hosting or generating much local traffic. Well observed. The challenge is attracting International content providers by leveraging the large eyeball network at KIXP. > Who is > really promoting local content and local hosting? That is the area that > needs to be regulated not IXP - read about I-Node in Japan to see how to > support the SMEs that will generate content. I predict that the Kenyan > data centers will soon start offering IXP services without further > regulation. > This is where KIXP plans to be at every carrier neutral data center in Kenya. However, as your rightfully observe content development and hosting is something that needs strategic engagement. The bit i like is that hosting has acquired a new buzz word aka "cloud". If only all those taking the cloud services would settle for Kenyan based cloud solutions. FYI, Africa has an estimated 84,000 square meters of raised floor data center capacity or 39% of London’s capacity is 215,000 square meters (by end 2011). Most of the space/capacity being located in South Africa. This means that we need to look at hosting from a strategic point of view if we are remain competitive in the region. The probable place to start is by repatriating the "local content" thats hosted abroad. But this will require incentives for the content owners to consider the option. > By the way, the Gambia is very far and it is very expensive to get > there! Start by visiting the 10 top ASes or the ASes that seem to be > having problems - not hard since over 90% of Internet traffic generated > by mobile operators according to CCK. > This is an ongoing process and we are in constant communications with the members. For instance, what we observed is that the routing issues experienced are as a result of the changes implemented during the submarine cable cuts. It is evident that training needs to be done to resolve the technical issues. For the next phase, the issue is how to grow content and that is not just a policy issue but a business consideration as well. Regards, Michuki.

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Re: [kictanet] [Skunkworks] Even Safaricom these days thinks KIXP is non-existent!
by Michuki Mwangi 10 Apr '12

10 Apr '12

Hi Brian, et al, See my comments inline. On 4/10/12 2:32 PM, Brian Munyao Longwe wrote: > 1. Tom Omariba (MTN Business)- Chairman > > 2. Chris Senanu (Access Kenya)– Vice Chairman > > 3. Kenneth Munyi (Iway Africa)- Treasurer > > 4. Michuki Mwangi (Internet Society) – Chief Technical Officer > > 5. Tejpal Bedi (Chair,Kenya IT and Outsourcing Society)- Director > > 6. Michael Terik (Kenyaweb.Com)- Director > > 7. Beatrice Mudhune (Internet Solutions)- Director > > 8. Abduaziz Osman (Sahannet Ltd.)- Director > > 9. Laurnet Giraud (Orange Kenya)– Director > > > > This is the crux of the matter. Anyone familiar with company law knows > that the directors and shareholders of the company can elect at any time > to amend the articles and memorandum (within the confines of the Company > Act). If TESPOK really wanted KIXP Ltd to be independent they would have > taken this action ages ago. Which brings me back to my original point - > KIXP Ltd is captive to TESPOK whims. It might be difficult to unentangle > the two now that their fortunes have been so closely mixed up. All of > KIXPs income is paid into TESPOK accounts, and thereby subject to > discretionary use by TESPOK. Is there a governance problem here? I think > so... for years the dust has been swept under the carpet, can we grow up > and make sure that our institutions, especially those as critical as > KIXP have the right structures in place? > > Brian, considering that you were involved in the process of setting up TESPOK and KIXP, and in understanding of the list of members (that connect to or get services from KIXP) help me understand the following. 1. What was the objective of TESPOK at setup?. 2. Why was TESPOK involved in the setup of KIXP - what was the objective then. Does it mean that if CCK did not pose a license requirement then KIXP Ltd would not have been setup? 3. What would be the objective of changing this TESPOK/KIXP model today - what has changed?. 4. What would be different about the board of the KIXP from the current TESPOK board. (see 2 above). 5. In your earlier post you referred to KIXP as "weak KIXP that cannot seem to consistently engage newcomers to the industry with the benefits of local traffic exchange." Could you please substantiate your comments. In your earlier post "how many of the TEAMs/SEACOM/EASSY bandwidth-holders are peering at KIXP?". I think a more appropriate question would be what percentage of Kenyan Networks (ASN's according to AfriNIC) are visible at KIXP. To this i can answer. We have over 80% of Kenya's ASNs. 52 of the 62 allocated by AfriNIC are visible at KIXP (as at Jan 2011). Though its 90% since some of the ASNs are of companies that have been acquired, closed shop or using satellite only, etc. In addition, there were 55 ASN's from outside Kenya visible from the KIXP of which >30 were from East African countries and 13 from US. In summary there are 107 ASNs from 17 countries reachable via KIXP. Therefore and selectively quoting your earlier email "KIXP would become the de-facto facility for providing industry actors with data interconnection and interchange." and i will add "not just for Kenya but the entire African Region." quoting your earlier post "KIXP be given full autonomy ....be run as a business, similar to LINX in the UK, and other successful IXPs around the world." You will be surprised to know the extent at which the TESPOK Board has gone to learn from LINX, AMSIX and other IXPs in the world. For your information, KIXP is a member of the European-IXP Association - https://www.euro-ix.net/news-and-events and the objective is to learn. In this regard, we are well aware of the models used by LINX and others. The fundamental components being that; 1. They all remain non-for-profit entities like TESPOK/KIXP 2. They opened their IXPs to non-ISPs for services. Same for KIXP. 3. They have a business model which bills on port speed. Same for KIXP 4. They are virtual IXPs located in more than one site - KIXP has started this as well (few carrier-neutral data centers in Nairobi). 5. Routers not required at IXP locations (remote peering) - Started since Jan 2012 to reduce entry and operating overheads. 6. LINX has a policy engagement model with Govt. A role played by TESPOK 7. etc. I believe this gives a good overview of the Governance of TESPOK/KIXP in comparison with others. Remember the IXPs and ccTLDs alike are very contentious on governance model since one size doesnt fit all. It is however clear that a successful governance model is what works best for the local Internet community. Our current model is inherent of legacy issues that are still present to date i.e a license from CCK amongst others. However, it has not restrained us from growth, ability to collaborate with stakeholders or deliver on the objective compared to other IXPs setup at the same time in the region. We are the 2nd largest IXP in Sub-sahara Africa after JINX. So my question and its of particular interest to me since am on the board. 1. What would you like to see different with respect to the Governance of TESPOK/KIXP?. 2. What would be the objective and goals of the proposed model? my 2 cents. Regards, Michuki.

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