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FW: announced: MacArthur Foundation Competition on Participatory Learning (US$2m in awards, international applicants now eligible)
by Edith Adera 18 Sep '08

18 Sep '08

FYI -----Original Message----- From: mtrucano(a)worldbank.org [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 18 September 2008 01:30 To: mtrucano(a)worldbank.org Subject: announced: MacArthur Foundation Competition on Participatory Learning (US$2m in awards, international applicants now eligible) INFORMATIONAL ONLY -- NO NEED TO RESPOND In case it might be of interest to you or someone you know ... -M http://www.dmlcompetition.net/ (Embedded (Embedded image image moved moved to file: to file: pic07950.jpg) pic27594.gif) (Embedded image moved to file: pic16343.gif) $2 Million Digital Media & Learning Competition The MacArthur Foundation, the University of California, Irvine, Duke University, and the virtual network HASTAC announced today a second $2 million competition that focuses on participatory learning, creates an award category for Young Innovators aged 18-25, and for the first time extends eligibility to international applicants. The competition is part of MacArthur's $50 million digital media and learning initiative that aims to help determine how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. Competition winners will join an existing community of awardees that convenes regularly online to participate in webinars on new technology, novel approaches to social networking, and other issues pertinent to participatory learning. They will be invited to showcase their work at an annual conference to include venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, educators, and new media experts seeking the best ideas about digital media and learning. Visit the competition's website for more information on how to apply. (Embedded image moved to file: pic00754.gif) (Embedded image moved to file: pic02481.jpg) (Embedded image moved to file: pic01012.gif) (Embedded image moved to file: pic11672.gif) (Embedded image moved to file: pic23439.jpg) www.macfound.org Connie Yowell Director, Education MacArthur Foundation www.spotlight.macfound.org

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Re: [kictanet] [Skunkworks] Big Bang Replay
by Mike Bullut 17 Sep '08

17 Sep '08

David et al., If I may ask you: *What is the significance of research? *Or more deeply: *What is the purpose of meaning?* I'll leave you to answer the latter question for yourselves. I'm a staunch advocate of research for the reason being most of mankind's greatest advancements wouldn't have seen the light of day if a certain man/woman hadn't taken the initiative to investigate better ways on how to execute certain/everyday tasks. Here are a few of them: - *Alexander Graham Bell & his invention of the telephone. [Communication] * - *Alexander Flemming & his discovery of penicillin. [Medicine]* - *Thomas Edison & his invention of the electric bulb. [Engineering?] * In the advancement of knowledge: - *Albert Einstein & his theory of relativity. [Physics] * - *Alfred Wegner & his theory of continental drift. [Geology, Geography]* - *Charles Darwin & his theory of evolution. [Biology] * - *Nicolaus Copernicus & his theory of heliocentric cosmology. [Astronomy] * Onto the subject of the experiments being conducted at the *Large Hadron Collider <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider>* situated at * CERN, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CERN>* their raison d'être is to scrutinize The Big Bang Theory. One of science's (& life's) greatest mysteries is the origin of everything (the universe, life itself etc). There are two schools of thought that try to illustrate this: Religion & Science. The former explains that the universe was created by a supreme being, God, at the beginning of time & took six days with our Heavenly Father resting on the seventh day. The latter explains that the universe was created in a cataclysmic explosion originating from the most infinitesimal particle of matter which has expanded (over the course of fifteen billion years & counting) to what we observe today through telescopes. Of course, these schools of thought have their respective weaknesses. Religion can't describe how God executed the creation process e.g. did he just snap his fingers when an idea came to mind or did he follow a procedure which culminated in an entity (star, planet, black hole etc)? Forgive me for offending/insulting my fellow Christians but what most of them don't understand is that the Bible is just a chronological series of events & not a biographical-like text. Picture this: the book of Genesis tells us the world was created in six days. How supremely confident are we that these are six *Earth days?* My quagmire is this: *Does time pass at the same rate between us & God?* My answer: *Time Dilation,* i.e. from the perspective of any observer within the same frame of reference & without reference to another frame of reference, time always passes at the same rate. *"According To The Evidence" * <http://www.legendarytimesbooks.com/product.php?productid=179> by Erich Von Daniken gives a good case of this. Science, on the other hand, explains how matter operates (from the atomic level) which answers questions as how the ozone layer is depleted, how the sun creates its energy that sustains life on Earth (though partly) etc though it can't explain who kick-started creation. My school of thought combines both religion & science to explain the origin of everything. My proposition is this: *Science explains how God created & Religion explains why God created.* God used science to create the universe & religion explains why we are here in the first place. Peter, understand why the physicists are conducting these experiments. They just want to find answers to questions that have plagued us since time immemorial. Whether or not they succeed, they'll definitely uncover knowledge that could be beneficial in our comprehension of the universe. Mike. *My blog: http://kipsang.wordpress.com/ * 2008/9/11 David Kago <kago(a)ultimate-security.net> > I have been watching the big bang experiment with interest and was amazed > when they finally announced on the media that they have been able get the > proton beam to go all the way into the supercooled (-273C) 27km tunnel. > While this is a scientific and engineering marvel, the sums spent to set up > the largest machine on earth together are stupendous, $10 billion is not > your everyday lump of cash, that's kenya's 2008/2009 budget; all in the name > of proving a theory... Of whose benefit will it be if they finally prove > that antimatter and dark energy exists... what will quark gluon plasma and > bosons mean to the everyday earthling. I believe science should be used for > the betterment of the human race, not to prove a theory that is infinitely > larger than us. I can see all those suffering masses in the third world who > would have benefited greatly from such funds... > > On a side note, the data produced in the experiment is being channeled > through the other internet (the Grid). Who wouldnt want to download > whole hard disks from halfway around the globe in a few seconds...!!! > > _______________________________________________ > skunkworks mailing list > skunkworks(a)my.co.ke > http://ole.kenic.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks > Blog http://skunkworks-ke.blogspot.com > Beta Blog http://blog.my.co.ke > Get Skunkworks RSS Feeds: http://www.jahazi.com/rss/ > * -- "The computer programmer . . . is a creator of universes for which he alone is the lawgiver. . . . No playwright, no stage director, no emperor, however powerful, has ever exercised such absolute authority to arrange a stage or a field of battle and to command such unswervingly dutiful actors or troops." ~ Joseph Weizenbaum... --*

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Contacts for mpesa / sokotele service
by Patrick Mburu 16 Sep '08

16 Sep '08

Dear good people, Would anyone have contacts for the developers of these services? Or perhaps they r part of this list? Best! Patrick Sent from my iPhone

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Fwd: United States Peace Corps looking for ICT trainer and others...
by waudo siganga 16 Sep '08

16 Sep '08

Hello All - Could interest someone. Sorry if any crosspost. On Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:14:33 +0300, "Othieno, Louis" <LOthieno(a)ke.peaceco rps.gov> said: Hello all, Pardon me for emailing without your consent. I need your assistance in getting the information in the attachment to people you might know that are qualified and interested in a short term assignment to train American ICT professionals -mostly context stuff related to application of ICT in developing country situations in general, and Kenya in particular. The job of these Volunteers numbering about 10 will be to locate in a rural setting and use their knowledge of ICT to bring the benefits of ICT to the population within which they are living. This requires them to understand intimately the barriers between people and information technology in rural developing country contexts - and appreciate how they can use their generic knowledge of the technology within our technical context to harness ICT for the benefit of the communities to which the Peace Corps will assign them. If you know someone who is able to engage effectively at these three levels i.e * Moving the technology to the people * Moving the people to the technology * Kenya's technical and policy context with regards to ICT Kindly encourage them to apply before the 24th of September, 2008. I appreciate it. Peruse also the e-leaflet I attach for a quick understanding of what these American Volunteers do. (The leaflet covers business Volunteers as well). If you know of any social-benefit projects needing programmers, computer graphics people, web designers, computer maintenance or plain IT teachers etc - to work for them while located away from Nairobi - send them to me... I appreciate it Cheers all Louis Othieno Associate Director Small Enterprise Development and ICT U.S. PEACE CORPS IN KENYA "The cost of everything has to be paid for somehow. Our human travails, most of the time, avail only in changing who pays, when and how" <<ICT TTF VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT 2008 Sept 09.doc>> <<PROMOTION FLYER.doc>> People make a plan work, a plan alone seldom makes people work (Confucius).

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Kenyan gov't sets up $39 million venture capital fund
by Rebecca Wanjiku 15 Sep '08

15 Sep '08

In case you are interested in daily roundups of tech news, please subscribe to the daily newsletter on the site. Its coming daily. http://computerworld.co.ke/articles/2008/09/15/kenyan-govt-sets-39-million-… Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/

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Software procurement in kenya
by Evans Ikua 14 Sep '08

14 Sep '08

Interesting what Google can come up with: http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2008/052308-kenya-linux-group-challenges-pro… We finally got to meet with the PPOA on Friday, 5th September. We had a very fruitful discussion on the Public Procurement and Disposal Act 2005, whose provisions are being ignored by Government procurement agents: https://ict-innovation.fossfa.net/taxonomy/blog-tags/kenya This good law stipulates that procuring agents should not mention any trade marks, companies or product names when requesting for quotations. They are required to just give the specs of what they need to accomplish. But how many times do we see these RFQs with brand names such as Microsoft *?. This has got to stop and nobody has any excuse to break the law with impunity. We will be putting details of the proceedings on our website soon, and also in the media. -- Evans Ikua Linux Professional Association of Kenya Tel: +254-20-2250381, Cell: +254-722 955 831 Eagle House, 2nd Floor Kimathi Street, Opp. Corner House www.lpakenya.org

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Re: [kictanet] Rwanda Gets Localls Made/Assemled Handset
by Dan Njiriri 12 Sep '08

12 Sep '08

Dear Dr Ndemo, We are pleased that you are leading the way in ensuring that our analogue TV sets do not become e-waste as we migrate to digital signals. Kenyas are very enterprising and many will pick up the assembling of the top box once it is out of the incubator. Thank you. Dan Njiriri --- On Wed, 9/10/08, bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> wrote: From: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Rwanda Gets Localls Made/Assemled Handset To: njiris2000(a)yahoo.com Cc: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke, "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>, "Robert Onyango-Alai" <alai.robert(a)gmail.com> Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 10:11 PM Dear Njiriri, Thanks for supporting Madaraka PC. We are just about to finish the prototype set top box for converting analogue signals to digital. This needs an entrepreneur to take it up from the incubator. You must have read yesterday how South Africa is planning their migration to digital by locally assembling the required set top boxes. Asante. Ndemo. > Dear Dr Ndemo, > > Thank you for your kind clarification on steps taken by Kenya on assembled > electronics in Kenya. > I am a strong bealiver in local industries and happy to let you know I > have bought twenty Madaraka PCs from JKUAT Enterprises for our Tracom > college teaching lab. They however need to develop local materials for the > industry as oppossed to assembly only. Anyone can do that. > > The Gilgil Telecommucations Industry should be nurtured and it is a pity > what you have explained on someone turning it to posts treatment. What a > shame and waste of developing industrial capacity! May the good Loard see > the case to logical conclusion. > > I fully agree with you that the private sector and the academia must > wake-up and create the necessary industries and hence wealth. > Once again thank you. > Dan Njiriri > > --- On Mon, 9/8/08, bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> wrote: > > From: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Rwanda Gets Localls Made/Assemled Handset > To: njiris2000(a)yahoo.com > Cc: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke, "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" > <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>, "Robert Onyango-Alai" > <alai.robert(a)gmail.com> > Date: Monday, September 8, 2008, 7:24 AM > > Dear Njiriri, > There is nothing wrong with policy and we should not benchmark Kenya with > Rwanda because the differences between the two countries are just too > many. Compared to Kenya, Rwanda is where Kenya was in the 80's, centrally > planned economy where the Government interferes with everything including > the private sector. Granted there is virtually no private sector in > Rwanda. We have spent most of the 90's privatizing that which was created > by Government. The economy and more specifically the communication sector > is fully liberalised. The opportunities for the private sector are > therefore enormous and we should not blame the Government. > > It is in this forum that we recently discussed Madaraka PC and it was > dismissed as unworkable. We did not bother to ask especially JKUAT where > they have reached in developing components locally for the PC. Kenya has > been in the forefront producing telephone equipment including switches at > the Gilgil plant for the region. Indeed we have several firms seeking to > start local production of mobile handsets at the facility but have been > frustrated by a nother Kenyan who wanted to manufacture poles at the plant > (The perils of Democracy). The case is still in court that we cannot > discuss it here. > > We must be proud of our human resources for what they have done in the > region. What we need to do now is to vigorously utilize this resources to > exploit the opportunities - this if Adam Smith was a life will tell you > that - let the private sector wake up. This is the pattern that the Newly > Industrialized Nations of Asia followed. The Indians are going home from > many countries to create real wealth. > > Regards > > > Ndemo. > > > > >> Thanks Dr Ochuodho for sharing this new development in Rwanda. >> Unfortunately, Kenya is once again beaten at our own game, not becaurse >> we >> lack, excellent technical manpower and facilities.., but becaurse we are >> too slow in policy development! Rwanda has carried the day, yet all the >> production parts pass through Kenya to Rwanda! >> We should learn to be fast in what we want to achieve, and not take >> years >> back and forth in board rooms. >> Dan Njiriri >> >> --- On Sat, 9/6/08, Shem Ochuodho <shemochuodho(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >> >> From: Shem Ochuodho <shemochuodho(a)yahoo.com> >> Subject: [kictanet] Rwanda Gets Localls Made/Assemled Handset >> To: njiris2000(a)yahoo.com >> Cc: "Robert Onyango-Alai" <alai.robert(a)gmail.com>, > "KICTAnet ICT Policy >> Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >> Date: Saturday, September 6, 2008, 6:08 AM >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Quoting: Rwanda ICT4D Community Network >> >> Rwanda get locally made handset -Network World 02/09/2008 >> >> A-Link Technologies, a Chinese electronics company, has unveiled its >> first >> mobile phone handsets manufactured in Rwanda. This makes Rwanda the >> first >> country in the region to sell locally manufactured mobile phones. >> >> The manufacturing of the handsets follows a memorandum of understanding >> signed in 2006 between A-Link and the Rwanda Information Technology >> Authority, the country's telecom regulator. >> Read the latest WhitePaper - Monitor the core and troubleshoot the >> access >> layer with integrated network analysis solutions >> >> The company plans to start selling the phones, called "Alira," > in the 21 >> countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern African after >> they >> are officially launched in October and once production is stepped up, >> said >> A-Link CEO Yin Quing Ri. >> >> "One of the phone models has been programmed with Kinyarwanda > software so >> the Rwandese who uses their mother language can communicate easily," > Ri >> said. >> >> So far, the company has produced three models -- the A100, A200 and A300 >> -- and promises that several other models are in the works. >> >> The phones feature color screens and radios, among other amenities. >> >> The plant is manufacturing 100 handsets per day, though it has the >> capacity to produce 700 phones per day. >> >> A-Link began operating in Rwanda last year, as the country is >> positioning >> itself to be an ICT hub in East Africa. >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> This message was sent to: njiris2000(a)yahoo.com >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/njiris2000%40yahoo.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: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bitange%40jambo.co.ke >> > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > believed to be clean. > --------------------------------------------- > "easy access to the world" > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > believed to be clean. > --------------------------------------------- > "easy access to the world" > > ---------------------------------------------- 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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Fwd: [ke-internetusers] For the Ladies in Business
by Gakuru Alex 12 Sep '08

12 Sep '08

Gilda? ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 9:07 AM Subject: [ke-internetusers] For the Ladies in Business To: ke-users <ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net> Diana, et. al.? ---forwarded message--- CNBC Africa has a daily newspaper review where we take a look at all the stories that are making news in the business world. We would like to add more value to this show by involving ladies who are good in business analysis and also has a good TV persona as well. I would like to request you if you could ask the members if there is anyone willing to be part of this show. Kindly let us know as soon as you have this details. Kind Regards, Rachel Munene Video Editor P:254 (20) 225 2150/1 M:+254 728 202 051 F: 254 (20) 225 2280 E: RachelMunene(a)cnbcafrica.com Physical Address: University Way AmBank House- 19th Floor. www.cnbcafrica.com _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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Re: [kictanet] Software procurement in kenya
by James Kagwe 12 Sep '08

12 Sep '08

I got the below from our PO and thought it fair to share. ________________________________ From: Peter Munene Sent: Friday, September 12, 2008 9:38 AM To: James Kagwe Subject: RE: [kictanet] Software procurement in kenya Thanks for your comments on whether you can procure using brand name or not. However seem to miss the point! Please refer to "The Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005" Section 34 paragraph 4 (a) and (b). Using brand name is not breaking the law (am assuming we are talking about Kenya law) as long as you follow the prescribed regulations in the Act. Thanks and study the Act! James, You may forward my comments to the origin. ________________________________ From: James Kagwe Sent: Friday, September 12, 2008 8:46 AM To: Peter Munene Subject: FW: [kictanet] Software procurement in kenya This might be of interest to you ________________________________ I had a chance to attend the presentations by Alex and Evans to PPOA and I think they did a very good job articulating issues faced in Government ICT Procurement. In addition to procuring agents not following the law (e.g. mentioning brands in tenders) it also appears that they are not aware of International Best Practices such as those advocated by WITSA (http://www.witsa.org/papers/BestPracticesWhitePaper-final.pdf) Those best practices are meant to ensure competition is not precluded. Maybe these IBPs require to be incorporated into the PPOA regulations. I reproduce a portion of the IBPs below: The Government ICT Procurement Process The procurement process consists of a number of steps: * Needs Definition / Requirements * Request for Information (RFI) * Request for Comments * Request for Proposal * Proposal * Live Test and Demonstration * Best and Final Offer * Award * Protest Procedures Depending on the size and complexity of the procurement, a given acquisition may contain some or all of these stages. Need The acquisition process begins with the recognition of a need by a governmental department for a capability or a service. This need must then be translated into a set of requirements so that eventually a Request for Proposal (RFP) may be issued. The scope of this effort is generally invisible to potential bidders. Request for Information (RFI) During this phase of the procurement, government actively pursues business input in the form of recommendations and presentations. The input is generally solicited by the means of an RFI that describes the government's needs and perceived requirements. If done in a manner other than an RFI, governments should be careful that their solicitation does not have the effect of precluding competition. Business thus has the opportunity to better understand the requirements and the true needs of the end user. During this stage, communication is open, and both industry and the government are exploring needs and possible relevant technologies. If it has not already done so, business is also beginning to assess potential partners. Request for Comments (RFC) An RFC on a draft Request for Proposals (RFP) is generally the next document that the government issues. It is based on the input that the government has gathered during the RFI stage and is based on a refinement of their needs and available technologies. Again, governments should ensure that the RFC is issued in an open and transparent manner so that it does not have the effect of precluding competition. In addition, if governments use a contractor to help in writing an RFC, or later the actual RFP, that contractor should be precluded from bidding either alone or as a partner in the actual procurement, Ideally the RFC is a complete document outlining not only the agency's needs but also the proposed terms and conditions for the contract. While it takes considerable effort for the governmental entity to produce a complete document at this stage, it ultimately saves considerable time and effort for both parties later on. In addition, a complete document sends a signal to industry that the government is serious and that the acquisition is for "real". Unavailability of information at this stage, and the inability to comment on it, often causes misunderstandings and delay later on in the procurement process. Request for Proposal (RFP) Ideally, the acquiring governmental entity will have indicated in the RFC a proposed schedule for the release of the RFP, and they will adhere to it. As the proposed release date draws near, potential bidders will firm up bidding partners and will begin to staff their proposal efforts. In order to keep ultimate costs down, government needs to adhere to their proposed timeframes because delays and/or extensions at this point become quite expensive for industry, and those costs are ultimately passed on to the government. It is important that governments allow ample time for firms to prepare their proposals and also take into consideration that foreign bidders may need additional time than would a national entity. Proposal The proposal contains the bidder's proposed technical solution, management approach, and cost. Proposals usually contain very sensitive, and often confidential, commercial information. It is important that proposals be treated carefully by governments to insure that this sensitive information is not released to competitors. While often delivery of the technical, management and cost proposals are requested simultaneously, government could save money, and often time, by requiring the cost proposal two to three weeks after the others. Late changes by bidders to their technical proposals are often not adequately incorporated into the cost proposal causing later disagreements and delays. As the government reviews the proposals, they may request clarifications or additional information from bidders. Due to the sensitivity of interactions with bidders at this stage, it is important that this be done formally in writing and with good documentation maintained. Live Test and Demonstration (LTD) On very large and/or complex procurements, the government may require that a Live Test and Demonstration or Operational Capability Demonstration (OCD) be performed to demonstrate and validate the proposed technologies. Governments should provide bidders selected for an LTD as much time as possible to prepare. Bidders must obtain appropriate space, bring in required hardware and equipment, assemble the right software and assemble staff for the LTD. LTDs and OCDs are very expensive efforts for the bidders and for the government that sometimes must assemble large, skilled evaluation teams. Thus they should be required sparingly and in very select situations. Best and Final Offer (BAFO) Once the proposal has been submitted and the LTD, if required has been performed, bidders begin to finalize the prices from their vendors, subcontractors and bidding partners and to fine-tune their own costs. The BAFO will also incorporate any changes indicated by the LTD and any clarifications that may have been requested from the government during their review of the technical and management proposal. Award The award process consists of informing the selected bidder of their success, and, more importantly, informing the losing bidders of the reasons they were not selected. Being open and sensitive during this process is important and can help avoid later problems and protests. Losing bidders want to understand in as much detail as possible areas where their proposals were deficient. Providing the information at this time will allow them to improve their processes for their next effort and also assures them that the process was transparent and fair. If bidders feel information is being withheld, it raises their suspicions about the entire process and may lead to a formal Protest simply as a means of acquiring more information. Protest A formal protest procedure to higher authority and ultimately to an independent authority is important to providing an open, accessible, fair, transparent and documented procurement process. This provides an opportunity for bidders to be heard and to receive an explanation of why a given bid was turned down. Protesting is a significant event that bidders do not take lightly. The process is expensive for both the bidder and the government, ties up critical resources, and potentially negatively impacts the image of the bidder in the eyes of the government. However, an effective protest process will help maintain competition in current and future procurements. On Thu, 11 Sep 2008 01:57:15 -0700 (PDT), "wesley kiriinya" <kiriinya2000(a)yahoo.com> said: I think there are two things in this argument. First when a company/gvmnt is buying the back end/base software e.g. a database/operating systems. I agree that "...procuring agents should not mention any trade marks, companies or product names when requesting for quotations..." Second when a company/gvmnt is buying middle level software that should operate with the back end software and in this case I think that the procuring agents should atleast mention what the back end software is. This is useful information to anyone willing to submit a quotation. Regards. 8~) I don't want to go to Hell, I don't want to stay on Earth, but what I'm I going to do in Heaven. --- On Wed, 9/10/08, Liko Agosta <likoa(a)verviant.com> wrote: From: Liko Agosta <likoa(a)verviant.com> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Software procurement in kenya To: kiriinya2000(a)yahoo.com Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 10:09 AM Evans ... We are a services company that provides both Closed Source and Open Source Consulting to clients .... We build on what clients have already paid for... We can discuss TCO ... Liko Agosta, CEO Verviant Consulting Services. www.verviant.com Phone : 1-919-341-1820 Fax : 1-978-268-8403 Toll Free: 1-866-551-4935 Pager: 9193891551(a)txt.att.net -----Original Message----- From: Evans Ikua [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 2:48 AM To: Liko Agosta Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: RE: [kictanet] Software procurement in kenya Liko, There is nothing wrong with the Law. It only needs to be followed. It actually has very good intentions of making sure that all (technology) suppliers get an equal opportunity to tender for a whatever it is. Mind you, once the tenders have been received and opened, the client is under no obligation to buy from anyone, not even the lowest price. Our argument is this; say a ministry wants to buy a SQL DB Server. They advertise this without mentioning MS SQL Server anywhere (that's what the law says). You quote your SQL Server at KSh 5.6m (you are a MS Gold Partner), and I quote my Open Source SQL server at 0.5m (I am only selling my services and not licenses). The tendering committee now has two options and the guys in IT can defend their choice of technology, and the TCO that goes with it, all the way from having to buy upgrade licenses a year later or so. Then the decision is made. At this point, nobody can come and tell them that they must buy this or that, its their decision. Important thing is that the management has seen all the options available. If this law is broken in your favour, I don't expect you to have a problem with it. You are happy. No? It is this that will raise management questions about the cost of license upgrades vis a vis the cost of migrating to FOSS products. A Ministry would save more by migrating to Scalix than upgrading to MS Exchange in the long term. But how does the accounting officer get to know this if the IT guy only requests a particular brand name, leaving out everyone else? For public institutions that are running on our taxes, we want to know that they are spending money prudently. They cant be given a blank cheque. -- Evans Ikua Linux Professional Association of Kenya Tel: +254-20-2250381, Cell: +254-722 955 831 Eagle House, 2nd Floor Kimathi Street, Opp. Corner House www.lpakenya.org Quoting Liko Agosta <likoa(a)verviant.com>: > Evans, > > That law should be changed :) > > If a government agency has already invested in some technology stack, they > should have the right to say they want a solution that ran's on that > technology stack ....lets says Microsoft SQL Server .. > > Why ... The license for SQL server will be a sunk cost at that point and > getting different technology is making a bigger financial commitment and > raising project risk .... also .. if the customers programmers/admins know > C# and SQL Server or Websphere and DB2, the client has the right to pick > that platform ... > > We have ran into this with our clients. Whenever we are doing project > discovery, we will find out which technologies they currently have/support > ... if a client has SQL Server, we will typical ask for usage reports for > that SQL server box and in most cases, we have been able to save money by > "adding to" their existing infrastructure ... or tuning their existing > infrastructure to take more load. > > Many organizations we have worked with tend to buy a servers/software > licenses for each project ... we advice against this and are usually for > consolidation and better management. That way a 4 CPU license for SQL Server > Enterprise Edition (approx USD 80,000) will be apportioned to the 20 systems > or projects that will use a well tuned 4CPU SQL server .... > > So .. good intentions... bad law ... why enforce or spend time on it > > My 2 cents > > Liko Agosta, CEO > Verviant Consulting Services. > > www.verviant.com > Phone : 1-919-341-1820 > Fax : 1-978-268-8403 > Toll Free: 1-866-551-4935 > Pager: 9193891551(a)txt.att.net > > > -----Original Message----- > From: kictanet-bounces+likoa=verviant.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf > Of Evans Ikua > Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 1:34 PM > To: Liko Agosta > Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > Subject: [kictanet] Software procurement in kenya > > Interesting what Google can come up with: > > http://www.linuxworld.com/news/2008/052308-kenya-linux-group-challenges- proc > urement.html?fsrc=rss-linux-news > > > We finally got to meet with the PPOA on Friday, 5th September. We had > a very fruitful discussion on the Public Procurement and Disposal Act > 2005, whose provisions are being ignored by Government procurement > agents: > > https://ict-innovation.fossfa.net/taxonomy/blog-tags/kenya > > This good law stipulates that procuring agents should not mention any > trade marks, companies or product names when requesting for > quotations. They are required to just give the specs of what they need > to accomplish. But how many times do we see these RFQs with brand > names such as Microsoft *?. This has got to stop and nobody has any > excuse to break the law with impunity. > > We will be putting details of the proceedings on our website soon, and > also in the media. > > > -- > Evans Ikua > Linux Professional Association of Kenya > Tel: +254-20-2250381, Cell: +254-722 955 831 > Eagle House, 2nd Floor > Kimathi Street, Opp. Corner House > www.lpakenya.org > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: likoa(a)verviant.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/likoa%40verviant.co m > > > _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: kiriinya2000(a)yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kiriinya2000%40yaho o.com People make a plan work, a plan alone seldom makes people work (Confucius).

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Re: [kictanet] The 21st Century Workplace; September 17th Leadership Forum (Reminder)] its Joe Mucheru of Google Kenya presenting
by John Maina 12 Sep '08

12 Sep '08

Alice How do I access the archive I have tried using my login without success Robert ----- Original Message ---- From: alice <alice(a)apc.org> To: j.maina(a)ymail.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 8:46:29 PM Subject: [kictanet] The 21st Century Workplace; September 17th Leadership Forum (Reminder)] its Joe Mucheru of Google Kenya presenting LEADERSHIP FORUM *‘The 21st Century Workplace’* With the world becoming a global village, the workplace is changing….. fast! Get to know how to make the best of it. * Date:* Wednesday 17th^th September 2008 *Presenter:** Mr. Joseph Mucheru**,** Business Lead East Africa (Google Kenya)* * Venue:* The Stanley Hotel- Ball Room Time: 6.00 pm *Charges:* Leadership Forum members – Free Non-Leadership Forum Members – Kshs 5,000 p.a. membership or Kshs 1000 per session Confirm your attendance by email to. _information(a)britishcouncil.or.ke_ <mailto:[email protected]> Please note that the Leadership forum membership and gate fees have been revised upwards effective from 1^st September 2008. If your membership expired in July or August 2008, you can renew annual membership at Ksh 3,000 only during the month of September. Attached is Mr. Mucheru’s bio-data.. The British Council is committed to promoting equality and eliminating discrimination in the areas of gender, race and disability. <<Joseph Mucheru.doc>> Best Regards, Linet Otibine Customer Service Officer British Council Upper Hill Road Pilot Line: 2836000 Fax No: 2836500 _Linet.otibine(a)britishcouncil.or.ke_ <mailto:[email protected]>__ *Organisational change for less than you think* This message is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete it. The British Council accepts no liability for loss or damage caused by software viruses and you are advised to carry out a virus check on any attachments contained in this message. The British Council is a registered charity 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). Our purpose is to build mutually beneficial relationships between people in the UK and other countries and to increase appreciation of the UK's creative ideas and achievements.

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