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Fwd: [Idlelo2] FOSS & Business
by Judy Okite 22 Mar '08

22 Mar '08

FYI Kind Regards, ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dapo Ladimeji <dapo(a)ladimeji.co.uk> Date: Mar 22, 2008 3:04 AM Subject: [Idlelo2] FOSS & Business To: council(a)fossfa.net Cc: IDLELO <idlelo2(a)fossfa.net>, Fossfa <council(a)fossfa.net> Hi Folks Two matters: Firstly - hope you guys who went to Idlelo3 had a good time. (I would have loved to come but no ticket!.) Secondly - I have been researching FOSS in business and the market has really changed from the last time I looked. There are now several production ready FOSS erp solutions suitable for small and medium sized businesses. This could be real boon both for medium sized African businesses and for local African developers/consultants. I attach a review article from University of Vienna (2006) - only that I should add that much has even improved since its publication. The quality is such that I can readily recommend these solutions to my clients in the UK. (What a difference a few years can make!) If anyone has any comments let me know. regards Dapo

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Ghetto FM (Nairobi Kenya): Voice for Peace Needs Help to Spread its Messages
by Janet Feldman 21 Mar '08

21 Mar '08

Dear Friends, Last fall, a letter circulated asking for donations (funds and equipment) for Ghetto FM, a project of the development nonprofit, SIDAREC (www.sidarec.org) which works with youth and adults in depressed areas of Nairobi. Since that time, Ghetto FM has been an invaluable ally of the peace process in Kenya. Below please note some of their outstanding activities. Ghetto FM is still very much in need of funds, equipment, training, and other resources in kind, in fact anything helpful to advance the peace process. If anyone can donate, please contact George Onyango at geogias(a)yahoo.com or george(a)sidarec.or.ke. With greatest thanks and all best wishes, Janet Feldman (KAIPPG International, kaippg(a)earthlink.net) Ghetto FM (SIDAREC's radio project): What we did is to use Ghetto FM to gauge the mood of the people and at the same time asking well-wishers to contribute. People have managed to contribute various items like clothes and food, while SIDAREC has donated drugs and asked for help from volunteer doctors for treating people. We have been having peace meetings within the affected slums. We have had them since the violence erupted. These meetings have been successful because of Ghetto FM. Through the station, we have been able to mobilize assistance to the displaced, coordinated meetings between various communities, and preached peace and reconciliation. What has excited me most is the fact that we have our own people, from the areas where we operate, as presenters. These are people who have never went to college to learn journalism. What we did is just to give them an in-house training for a month, and that was it. Looking at some of the programs that they came up with, one will be tempted to think you are dealing with professionals. Therefore any support to help improve Ghetto FM will be a boost to the youth working with the station. In one meeting, we managed to bring in the Provincial Administration. One of our suggestions to the Provincial administration is to help integrate people. This means that any group who wants assistance from the government must show that other community members are involved. In other words, it must show diversity. George Onyango Project Administrator Slums Information Development & Resource Centres (SIDAREC) P.O.BOX 9687 00300 TEL.+254-20-246961/247356 MOBILE:+254-721986320 NAIROBI,KENYA. E-mail: george(a)sidarec.or.ke Website: www.sidarec.org Skype: george.onyango --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ YOU ARE IN KAZI AFRIKA GROUP UNSUBSCRIBE: kaziafrika-unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com http://groups.google.com/group/kaziafrika?hl=en www.kazi-africa.com FOR A VERY PEACEFUL KENYA -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

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Ghetto FM (Nairobi Kenya): Voice for Peace Needs Help to Spread its Messages
by Janet Feldman 21 Mar '08

21 Mar '08

Dear Friends, Last fall, a letter circulated asking for donations (funds and equipment) for Ghetto FM, a project of the development nonprofit, SIDAREC (www.sidarec.org) which works with youth and adults in depressed areas of Nairobi. Since that time, Ghetto FM has been an invaluable ally of the peace process in Kenya. Below please note some of their outstanding activities. Ghetto FM is still very much in need of funds, equipment, training, and other resources in kind, in fact anything helpful to advance the peace process. If anyone can donate, please contact George Onyango at geogias(a)yahoo.com or george(a)sidarec.or.ke. With greatest thanks and all best wishes, Janet Feldman (KAIPPG International, kaippg(a)earthlink.net) Ghetto FM (SIDAREC's radio project): What we did is to use Ghetto FM to gauge the mood of the people and at the same time asking well-wishers to contribute. People have managed to contribute various items like clothes and food, while SIDAREC has donated drugs and asked for help from volunteer doctors for treating people. We have been having peace meetings within the affected slums. We have had them since the violence erupted. These meetings have been successful because of Ghetto FM. Through the station, we have been able to mobilize assistance to the displaced, coordinated meetings between various communities, and preached peace and reconciliation. What has excited me most is the fact that we have our own people, from the areas where we operate, as presenters. These are people who have never went to college to learn journalism. What we did is just to give them an in-house training for a month, and that was it. Looking at some of the programs that they came up with, one will be tempted to think you are dealing with professionals. Therefore any support to help improve Ghetto FM will be a boost to the youth working with the station. In one meeting, we managed to bring in the Provincial Administration. One of our suggestions to the Provincial administration is to help integrate people. This means that any group who wants assistance from the government must show that other community members are involved. In other words, it must show diversity. George Onyango Project Administrator Slums Information Development & Resource Centres (SIDAREC) P.O.BOX 9687 00300 TEL.+254-20-246961/247356 MOBILE:+254-721986320 NAIROBI,KENYA. E-mail: george(a)sidarec.or.ke Website: www.sidarec.org Skype: george.onyango

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Fwd: [Idlelo2] Urgent Release - FOSSFA urges African governments to paticipate more effectively in Open Standards Debate
by Judy Okite 21 Mar '08

21 Mar '08

FYI Kind Regards, ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Nnenna <nne75(a)yahoo.com> Date: Mar 21, 2008 4:50 AM Subject: [Idlelo2] Urgent Release - FOSSFA urges African governments to paticipate more effectively in Open Standards Debate To: Fossfa <council(a)fossfa.net>, FAYE Ibrahima <fayiboul(a)yahoo.fr>, fsylla(a)gmail.com, Ken Lohento <klohento(a)panos-ao.org> Cc: ACSIS <africa(a)wsis-cs.org>, IDLELO <idlelo2(a)fossfa.net>, Edward Yeboah < edwardy(a)aiti-kace.com.gh>, Samer Azmy <samer.azmy(a)gmail.com> Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOSSFA URGES AFRICAN GOVERNMENTS TO PARTICIPATE MORE EFFECTIVELY IN THE DEBATE ON OPEN STANDARDS FOSSFA calls on African governments and Standards bodies to participate more effectively in the global debate on Open Standards by encouraging public involvement in the debate at the national level. DAKAR, SENEGAL – (March 20, 2008) The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) today called on African governments and Standards bodies to participate more effectively in the global debate on Open Standards, especially the Open Office Extended Markup Language (OOXML) standard. Following a five-day conference in Dakar, Senegal, with a theme, "Making the Knowledge Economy Work for Africa", participants agreed that open standards allow for interoperability (e.g. software packages from various sources can work together), promote innovation and economic growth, and help users avoid being locked-in to proprietary solutions. FOSSFA encourages African governments to facilitate the debate on Open Standards, and involve national experts in decisions regarding technology standards. The organization also urged African governments to seek a collective African voice prior to taking positions on Open Standards issues. Recalling that the last Ballot Re-count Meeting had very little representation from Africa, and that African countries voted in the affirmative without thorough and more inclusive discussions on the issues, FOSSFA strongly calls for more active public engagement of the issues in the future. Further, FOSSFA believes that governments should pay particular attention to procurement practices, especially software agreements between it and software companies. In this regard, FOSSFA noted that the practice of binding a sovereign country to agreements based on non-disclosable memorandums of understanding is not open, contravenes the principles and values of transparency in public procurement, and must be stopped. FOSSFA is closely following the open standards debate in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zimbabwe which have the right to vote in a decision on OOXML on March 29, 2008. FOSSFA strongly urges those of them that voted "YES" in the past to abstain in the next voting session to allow for greater national and continent-wide debate on the issue. ABOUT FOSSFA FOSSFA is the premier African FOSS organization, and was founded under the auspices of the Bamako Bureau of the African Information Society Initiative within the mandate given by African Governments in 1995 to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The Vision of FOSSFA is to promote the use of FOSS and the FOSS model in African development, and the organization supports the integration of FOSS in national policies. FOSSFA also coordinates, promotes, and adds value to African FOSS initiatives, creativity, industry, expertise, efforts and activities at all levels. FOSSFA partners with development organizations who share these goals towards a participatory and gender-mainstreamed sustainable development and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals in Africa. FOSSFA is governed by a Council elected during Idlelo, from which the Executive is chosen. FOSSFA members may be individuals, organizations, development agencies or government FOSS bureaus. The South African Minister of Public Service and Administration, Ms Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi is a FOSSFA present Patron. CONTACT: secretariat(a)fossfa.net nnenna(a)opensource.org www.fossfa.net www.idlelo.org ### ------------------------------ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs> _______________________________________________ Idlelo2 mailing list Idlelo2(a)fossfa.net http://mailman.dst.gov.za/mailman/listinfo/idlelo2 -- 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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COPYRIGHTS (AND WRONGS)]
by alice 21 Mar '08

21 Mar '08

Dear All Re-thinking copy right laws....interesting developments. best alice http://www.physorg.com/news125154432.html #PhysOrg News search COPYRIGHTS (AND WRONGS) Some of the most important copyright documents ever written are being made available online for the first time, reflecting growing public interest in authorial rights in the wake of the internet revolution. Original papers charting the contributions of thinkers such as Machiavelli, Martin Luther, John Locke, Daniel Defoe, Immanuel Kant, Wordsworth, Balzac and Victor Hugo to the development of copyright law will be available through the Primary Sources on Copyright History Project, which is being launched in London this week. The website, http://www.copyrighthistory.org <http://www.copyrighthistory.org/> , will offer users anywhere in the world the chance to examine more than 10,000 pages of rare legal papers, some of which date back to the invention of the printing press itself. It has been compiled by an international team of lawyers and historians, led by experts from the University of Cambridge and Bournemouth University. Many of the documents, which include writings by some of the greatest scholars of the past 500 years, have until now been stashed away in obscure libraries all over the world. The new digital resource will mean that for the first time anyone who wants to read them can do so at the click of a button. The website's creators say the resource reflects growing public concern about copyright issues raised, in particular, by the advent of the internet revolution. "Copyright law used to be a topic that only affected authors and the industries that exploited their works," Professor Lionel Bently, from the University Cambridge and one of the project's general editors, said. "Today, everyone who uses a computer, operates a web page, accesses online materials, or downloads music from the internet needs to be wary of copyright rules. While in the past copies were made by the exploiters - publishers, broadcasters or the film and record industries - now they are being made by individuals on computers, in their offices or at home." The documents in the collection will be available both as facsimile images and in transcribed and translated formats. The earliest is Johannes of Speyer's monopoly, awarded to the German craftsman by the Venetian Signoria in 1469, and the first known record of a printing privilege granted by a European government. From there, the history of copyright law in Britain, France, Italy, Germany and the United States is traced up to the 1886 Berne Convention - which broke through the national boundaries restricting copyright law. Notable among the British papers is the original parchment copy of the Statute of Anne of 1710, the world's first general copyright law, and a model for much subsequent legislation. The Statute granted authors and their publishers an exclusive term of 14 years (today the duration of copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years). In order to receive copyright protection, all books had to be registered at Stationers' Hall, London, the livery hall of the ancient guild of printers where the digital archive will be formally opened on Wednesday (19 March). Users can also examine Martin Luther's indignant Admonition To The Printers, written in 1525 after one of his manuscripts was stolen by a typesetter, who then reaped the profit of having it printed overseas. The father of Protestantism compares his actions to those of "highwaymen and thieves", adding: "God will see to it that the profit you make on this will just suffice for you to smear your shoes with it!" The archive also features prints and privileges by the German Renaissance artist Albrecht Drer, William Hogarth's intervention that led to the 1735 Engraver's Copyright Act, the philosopher Denis Diderot's letter on behalf of the Paris book trade (1763), and the constitutional clause of the United States (1789) that gave Congress the power to legislate in the fields of patents and copyright in order "to promote the progress of science and the useful arts". The editors hope the digital archive will not just prove useful to scholars and legal historians, but inform legislative debates, such as the Government's current review of exceptions to copyright law, and the push by record company executives to extend the European copyright term in sound recordings from 50 to 95 years. History suggests that legislators should be wary when industrial interests become concerned with the "natural right of authors over the products of their mental labour", as the publishers expressed their argument for the 1710 Statute, and in the subsequent "Battle of the Booksellers". More often than not, this argument has been shown to be a smokescreen for market control. "History provides useful insights into why copyright was thought to be desirable and how it has expanded," said general editor Professor Martin Kretschmer of Bournemouth University. "The primary sources in this collection show that there are many more ways to reconfigure copyright norms than surface in current debate. The regulation of an information society quite urgently needs a wider perspective." The archive can be pre-viewed at http://copyright-project.law.cam.ac.uk <http://copyright-project.law.cam.ac.uk/> . Its permanent web address is: http://www.copyrighthistory.org <http://www.copyrighthistory.org/> . ############################################### Corvallis Action on Globalization (CAG) has been formed to carry forward the energy generated in Seattle at the end of 1999 to generate a grassroots movement. It is our purpose to educate the local and regional community about trade globalization, and, in so doing, to provide a reasoned response to its governmental and business supporters. This list is not moderated, subscription is open, and anything posted by subscribers is mailed to the whole list. Posting is restricted to subscribers. - To SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE to the cag list send email to - majordomo(a)maillist.peak.org <mailto:majordomo@maillist.peak.org> - with the message - subscribe/unsubscribe cag - [No subject is needed.] ======================================= APC Forum is a meeting place for the APC community - people and institutions who are or have been involved in collaboration with APC, and share the APC vision - a world in which all people have easy, equal and affordable access to the creative potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve their lives and create more democratic and egalitarian societies. _______________________________________________ apc.forum mailing list apc.forum(a)lists.apc.org http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/apc.forum

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[Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Fellowship Opportunities: AFTLD 2nd African ccTLDs Event, Johannesburg - AfriNIC Community invited ..]
by alice 21 Mar '08

21 Mar '08

AfTLD would like to announce availability of fellowship opportunities to attend AfTLD 2nd African ccTLD event which will be held in Johannesburg from 7th-11th April 200h. Register and apply now : www.aftld.org . ------- About AfTLD 2008 : AfTLD in cooperation with South Africa's Department of Communications “DOC”, AfTLD is organizing the Second African ccTLD event ( Workshops, Training and AfTLD General Assembly meeting in Cape Town, South Africa from7th to 11th of April 2008. AFTLD workshops main objective is to offer advanced DNS training and exchange of best practices between African Country Code Top Level Domain operators/managers. Telecom, ISPs and Governments ICT Agencies, are invited to participate in AfTLD events inorder to be contribute to the process of developing and enhancing a national Internet infrastructure and provide assistance in building a strong local Internet services by promoting and utilizing country’s top level domain . Event Programme : http://www.aftld.org/SA2008/programme.html Previous AfTLD Events : Visit AfTLD 2007 Cairo Page ( materials, AGM Report, Photo Gallery, ..ect ) .. http://www.aftld.org/cairo2007/index.html Best Regards, Mohamed El Bashir VP Communications & Out-Reach AFTLD _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Fwd: WCIT 2008 Enewsletter Issue # 5
by waudo siganga 20 Mar '08

20 Mar '08

Some colleagues may be interested in attending the upcoming World Congres s on IT: If you cannot view the newsletter page properly, kindly click on [1]http://data.wcit2008.org/wcitdata/newsletter_mar/Newsletter_5_wcit08_s hort.html [2][nl_email_080319_01.jpg] [nl_email_080319_02.jpg] [nl_email_080319_03.jpg] [nl_email_080319_04.jpg] [3][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_05.jpg] [nl_email_080319_06.jpg] [4][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_07.jpg] [5][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_08.jpg] [6][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_09.jpg] [7][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_10.jpg] [8][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_11.jpg] [9][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_12.jpg] [nl_email_080319_13.jpg] [10][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_14.jpg] [11][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_15.jpg] [12][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_16.jpg] [nl_email_080319_17.jpg] [13][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_18.jpg] [nl_email_080319_19.jpg] [14][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_20.jpg] [nl_email_080319_21.jpg] [nl_email_080319_22.jpg] [15][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_23.jpg] [16][USEMAP:nl_email_080319_24.jpg] If you cannot view this page properly, kindly click on [17]http://data.wcit2008.org/wcitdata/newsletter_mar/Newsletter_5 _wcit08_short.html You are receiving this email from the newsletter subscription at www.wcit2008.org If you would like to discontinue receiving emails from WCIT 2008 simply reply to this email with the word unsubscribe in the subject line References 1. http://data.wcit2008.org/wcitdata/newsletter_mar/Newsletter_5_wcit08_short.… 2. http://www.wcit2008.org/ 3. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap0 4. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap1 5. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap5 6. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap2 7. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap3 8. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap10 9. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap4 10. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap6 11. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap11 12. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap7 13. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap8 14. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap9 15. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap13 16. LYNXIMGMAP:file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap12 17. http://data.wcit2008.org/wcitdata/newsletter_mar/Newsletter_5_wcit08_short.… [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap12 1. http://www.msc.com.my/ 2. http://www.mosti.gov.my/ [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap13 1. http://www.wcit2008.org/ [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap9 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-MjnTBO6zBYOpE%403175854-tOuigjBTj7RWY [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap8 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-0V1fctuqMpczg%403175854-7X5yaOGA34Lj2 2. http://www.kioskmedia.com.my/ 3. http://www.freenet.com.my/ 4. http://www.sarawak.gov.my/ [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap7 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-0V1fctuqMpczg%403175854-7X5yaOGA34Lj2 [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap11 1. http://www.witsa.org/ [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap6 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-0V1fctuqMpczg%403175854-7X5yaOGA34Lj2 [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap4 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-MjnTBO6zBYOpE%403175854-tOuigjBTj7RWY [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap10 1. http://travel.tourism.gov.my/consumer/about/default.asp 2. http://www.tourism.gov.my/ [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap3 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-MjnTBO6zBYOpE%403175854-tOuigjBTj7RWY [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap2 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-VCdzRv1eTdhhs%403175853-a73GqCEzaN3Gc 2. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-SlK1ZH7jWanVY%403175852-Z8P3YUhPZyAu%2e [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap5 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-MjnTBO6zBYOpE%403175854-tOuigjBTj7RWY [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap1 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-C6tKTwa6jL/0E%403175851-wMz.4A62x/B52 2. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-VCdzRv1eTdhhs%403175853-a73GqCEzaN3Gc [USEMAP] file://localhost/tmp/linkstmp/9TOxlZ2Ayd#FPMap0 1. http://m1e.net/c?78111151-aaUOWXvJ9WCxs%403175850-YGOvnEO3vNZU6 -- waudo siganga emailsignet(a)mailcan.com

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Public Servants and blogging
by Al Kags 20 Mar '08

20 Mar '08

http://davepress.net/2008/03/10/public-servants-must-blog/ I just came across the above article and I wonder what the thoughts of this groups. One would imagine beyond the official policy and regulations there is a social impediment to public servants blogging. What would need to happen to get us to a point where we have official public blogs? I also am reminded of an interesting article (below) by the CEO of Sun Microsystems that was published in a Havard Business Review a while back - If you want to Lead, Blog. If You Want to Lead, Blog *by* *Jonathan Schwartz<http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbrol/en/includes/sasearch.jh…> * Many senior executives at Sun, including me, have blogs that can be read by anyone, anywhere in the world. We discuss everything from business strategy to product development to company values. We host open letters from the outside, and we openly respond to them. We talk about our successes—and our mistakes. (If you don't believe me, go to www.blogs.sun.com/roller/page/jonathan?entry=dear_john.) That may seem risky. But it's riskier not to have a blog. Remember when, not long ago, CEOs would ask their assistants to print out their e-mails for them, and they'd dictate responses to be typewritten and sent via snail mail? Where are those leaders now? (The last of my contacts of that breed just retired.) In ten years, most of us will communicate directly with customers, employees, and the broader business community through blogs. For executives, having a blog is not going to be a matter of choice, any more than using e-mail is today. If you're not part of the conversation, others will speak on your behalf—and I'm not talking about your employees. Blogging lets you participate in communities you want to cultivate—whether it's your employees, potential employees, customers, or anyone else—and leverage your corporate culture competitively. Here's a good example: Sun, like every organization, receives e-mails from happy customers lauding one employee or another for good work. The idea came up that we should post these e-mails on a "wall of fame" on our intranet. But we realized that this venue would profoundly limit the number of readers, so someone suggested putting the wall of fame up on my external blog. Immediately, people raised the concern that by identifying our best employees, we'd make them recruitment targets. Well, of course that could happen. But it cuts both ways. The upside is the positive ripple effect on workers' morale and on the public's perception of the company. What's more, my competitors' employees could see what I'm saying about my team and could decide whether I'm more compelling than their own leaders. So rather than being a threat to Sun, blogging about my best employees can build loyalty and be a recruitment tool to boot. How do you get started on a blog? I suggest clearly defining a bloggingstrategy and guidelines. ( Or go ahead and use ours at www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/blogs/policy.html. Just make sure to change the company name.) Then find your voice. Be honest and open. Be respectful of your audiences. Don't treat blogging like advertising—it's not. Use humor. Link to those who interest and influence you. Once you get going, don't micromanage the process. Your legal and corporate communications teams do not have to be involved in every post—after all, they're not involved in every e-mail you send or telephone call you make. Once in a while, you may need to add some clarifying language. (For example, a 14A filing was required for my blog posting about acquisition intentions, just as it would be for many other forms of communication.) But the rule of thumb is simple: Know the guidelines, then let loose. If you 're unclear about your company's policy on something, ask around. Maybe it needs to be more carefully defined. Be sure to listen to feedback and respond to legitimate ideas—from inside and outside. And, most important, write the blog yourself. Authenticity is paramount. Some senior executives hire people to write their blogs. Don'tbother. It's like hiring someone to write your e-mail. It's not going to work. Trust me, your market and your employees are clamoring for executive engagement and insight. They will value and remember your candor. And you'll be surprised by how much you learn from them. Reprint: F0511J

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Malaysia to migrate to the OpenOffice.org open source productivity suite
by Dorcas Muthoni 20 Mar '08

20 Mar '08

Many countries are now saving lots of money and improving balance of trade by adopting Open Source software.. Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa. With the infrastructure/connectivity getting more under control and hardware prices going down tremendously, software will be the next frontier. What is the ICT Board strategy around software issues? I believe this would be a good time for us to begin working out clear strategies around software sub sector. I am curious to know how for example the ICT board will guide a ministry such as the Ministry of Education which apparently has an MOU with Microsoft, the Digital Villages project, Software Development Industry with relation to the outsourcing business opportunities.. Muthoni FYI, URL: http://www.oscc.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=189&Itemid… Putrajaya, 19th March 2008 - The Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU), today officially adopts a policy to migrate to the OpenOffice.org open source productivity suite. This is in line with the Malaysian Public Sector Open Source Master Plan, which calls for government agencies to reduce costs, increase freedom of choice and interoperability. >From April 1st, MAMPU will start adopting the OpenDocument Format (ODF), standard for all new documents created. ODF the ISO open standard for electronic documents is also the default format for OpenOffice.org. The agency will also uninstall all copies of Microsoft Office by end of 2008. To ensure a smooth migration, presently over 80 agency staff have been trained by the Open Source Competency Centre (OSCC). Additional staff will then be trained internally by the IT department, which will also provide support for OpenOffice.org. Related Documents: * Polisi Penggunaan OpenOffice.org MAMPU (in Malay) * Mengapa Bertukar Kepada OpenOffice.org (in Malay) -- 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: Crime rate up with cheap telephony in Uganda
by Mike Theuri 20 Mar '08

20 Mar '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Chifu <chifu2222(a)gmail.com> Date: Sun, Mar 16, 2008 at 2:01 AM Subject: [DigAfrica] Crime rate up with cheap telephony in Uganda To: DigAfrica(a)yahoogroups.com Crime rate up with cheap telephony Friday, 14th March, 2008 By Arthur Baguma IN Kampala it is easier to buy a mobile phone sim card than to buy chocolate. Sim cards are sold everywhere, even on streets and in taxi parks, and they cost as little as sh1,500, the price of a pineapple. On Thursday, a Saturday Vision reporter was able to buy sim cards from street vendors, alongside other vendors of items such socks, hankies, underwear and roasted coffee beans. The Police say this has led to an increase in phone-mediated crimes such as conning, threatening lives and insulting, which are committed using phones. "A person can buy a sim card just to abuse someone and after that they throw it away," says Simeo Nsubuga, Police spokesman for Kampala. In Kampala alone, Police records about 10 such cases every week, a sharp increase from 2-3 cases a week two years ago. But the majority are not reported. A makerere Uniiversity lecturer received a phone call from someone claiming to be his former student. The caller introduced a `juicy deal', namely an opportunity to sell machine bearings to a mzungu representative of a big oil company. He arranged a meeting between the mzungu and the lecturer, near Entebbe international airport. The mzungu came carrying a huge bag stuffed with cash bundles. He asked for samples of the bearings, which the lecturer brought and he endorsed. Meanwhile, in Kampala Industrial Area, someone was waiting to sell the bearings to the lecturer so he could sell it to the mzungu at 100% profit. But alas, after borrowing millions of shillings and buying the bearings, the lecturer returned to find both the mzungu and the broker gone and their phones switched off. Charity (not real name) almost walked out of her marital home over an anonymous text message. The message alleged that her husband of 10 years was involved in an extra marital affair. The sender signed off as a concerned friend. But when Charity tried to call the number of the `Good Samaritan', most times it was off and when it rang, she would not answer. The sender always claimed Charity's husband was with another woman, until one day, he made the same claim when Charity was with her husband at home. This is when Charity knew it was a hoax. This is just the tip of the iceberg. According to the Police, crimes committed using mobile phones have more than doubled in just two years. In Kampala alone, Police registers 10 such cases every week, yet a bigger number of incidents are not reported. This is an increase from 2-3 cases a week two years ago. These crimes include conning, threatening lives, insulting and blackmail. "A person can buy a SIM card just to abuse someone else and after that, they throw it away," says Simeo Nsubuga, Police spokesman for Kampala. Moreover, because they do not put the SIM card in their day-to-day phones, the Police find it hard to trace them. In some downtown areas, phones cost as little as sh20,000 and SIM cards cost a measly sh1,500. The conmen can, therefore, afford to throw away the phone with its SIM card to avoid being tracked. Worse still, SIM cards can be obtained just anywhere, even in taxi parks, without anyone keeping the buyer's details. This, says the Police, has been one of the main reasons for the increased phone-mediated crime. Many countries, including Germany, Switzerland and the US have legislation that requires pre-paid phone card users to register their identities when purchasing the SIM card. The law requires that telephone operators keep customer identity data and are required by law to make this data available under court order to authorised law enforcement and National Intelligence Center personnel in the respective countries. Phone Companies speak out Mobile phone companies claim that their subscribers are registered, but even under normal registration, the process has flaws which can be beaten. A subscriber is simply told to fill a form with their particulars. One is not asked to produce any identification to cross check the information they avail, after all, it is assumed that one is buying a personal belonging and would want a receipt in his or her genuine names. But Mark Kaheru, utl's public relation's officer, says even when customers are asked to register, some can use fictitious names. Kaheru says utl has received complaints from people with cases related to SIM card abuse. For example, some one getting a message that you have won a prize in a promotion. The message will proceed to indicate that if you are to redeem your prize, send air time to a certain number. "These are conmen men and we always put adverts in papers to warn the public over such cases," says Kaheru. Sheila Kangwagye the MTN Public relations officer says, all their SIM cards have registration forms including those sold on the streets by vendors. A SIM pack usually comes with a registration form. However, Saturday Vision was able to buy and activate a SIM card off the street without registration. Both utl and MTN receive complaints from subscribers who have been victims of phone-mediated crime such as threatening and black mail. But Kangwagye says they help only on court order. "We don't give out details for such queries to our sub-scribers. We only aid in police investigations if the case is of criminal nature." Police Advice The Police advises that any victim of a crime committed through a phone should report the case. Numbers that start with four and five after the first three digits are the most commonly used by con-men. The Police warns the public to be on the look out for anonymous calls and text messages from such numbers. In some cases the Police has foiled attempts to con people through mobile phones and arrested the culprits. According to Nsubuga, the conmen carry out thorough research about your personal life. Some one will call and accurately say things that are relevant to your life. They may mention names of your children or wife before duping you into the transactions. Government policy Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the telecommunications regulatory body says there is no policy per se in respect to regulation and acquisition of SIM cards. UCC says that in countries where acquisition of SIM cards is regulated; it's facilitated by the National identity cards. However, Uganda has no national identity cards. "A national ID is the only reference number that is pegged to a person and all the transactions they operate can be traced through that reference number. It is easy to trace a person," Fred Otunnu, the UCC Corporate Boss says. He adds that in Uganda, the process of regulating SIM cards is hard because it is easy for someone to use multiple IDs in the absence of a national ID. He says Uganda requires a national ID as a starting point with a reference number attached to each person. David Bahati, MP Ndorwa West county in Kabale, calls for urgent legislation. "We have a whole lot of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) bills pending. The Government should come out as soon as possible and make into law the current body of bills on ICT regulations which have not yet been passed," he said. It turns out that in Uganda, the telecommunications sector has grown rapidly without proper legislation. Whereas it is clear that phone companies should have records of their subscribers, there appears to be no law compelling them to do so. In the meantime, phone-mediated crime continues to grow rapidly. http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/616655

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