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Fwd: Promotion for registration of .africa at 200 KES
by Barrack Otieno 06 Feb '19

06 Feb '19

Listers, There is an offer for .Africa Domains for Kes 200. This is your chance to take your business beyond the borders. Kindly note that the renewal fee will be different. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Afriregister Kenya <admin(a)afriregister.co.ke> Date: Mon, Feb 4, 2019 at 4:07 PM Subject: Promotion for registration of .africa at 200 KES To: <otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com> <https://afriregister.co.ke> Dear Client, I hope this email finds you well. We would like to inform you that from February 1st to March 31, 2019, there is a promotion for .africa registration. The price is 200 KES / year for each registration. Please note that the promotion is only for registrations and not renewals and that it is a registration for one year. Link: https://afriregister.co.ke/ Thank You Best regards Afriregister Kenya -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Re: [kictanet] [Skunkworks] Fwd: Promotion for registration of .africa at 200 KES
by Barrack Otieno 06 Feb '19

06 Feb '19

@ Allan, the renewal fee depends on the Registrar. Please check Marks email ( just over US$22) Mark is a Registrar. Because Kenyan Registars are not responding i will become one. @ Ali Hussein you forgot to add Terms and Conditions apply ama namna gani ndugu? @Wash with the amount of Nyama Choma that is consumed over the weekend Kenyans are no longer living under a dollar, maybe 50 dollars. I understand Inflation has gone gone down. Tunatoka analog tunaenda digital. Regards On Wed, Feb 6, 2019 at 2:32 PM Allan Oware <lumtegis(a)gmail.com> wrote: > So, how much is the renewal fee ? > > On Tue, Feb 5, 2019 at 1:45 PM Barrack Otieno via skunkworks < > skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke> wrote: > >> Listers, >> >> There is an offer for .Africa Domains for Kes 200. This is your chance to >> take your business beyond the borders. Kindly note that the renewal fee >> will be different. >> >> Regards >> >> ---------- Forwarded message --------- >> From: Afriregister Kenya <admin(a)afriregister.co.ke> >> Date: Mon, Feb 4, 2019 at 4:07 PM >> Subject: Promotion for registration of .africa at 200 KES >> To: <otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com> >> >> >> <https://afriregister.co.ke> >> >> Dear Client, >> >> I hope this email finds you well. >> We would like to inform you that from February 1st to March 31, 2019, >> there is a promotion for .africa registration. The price is 200 KES / year >> for each registration. Please note that the promotion is only for >> registrations and not renewals and that it is a registration for one year. >> >> Link: https://afriregister.co.ke/ >> >> Thank You >> Best regards >> Afriregister Kenya >> >> >> -- >> Barrack O. Otieno >> +254721325277 >> +254733206359 >> Skype: barrack.otieno >> PGP ID: 0x2611D86A >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> skunkworks mailing list >> skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke >> ------------ >> List info, subscribe/unsubscribe >> http://lists.my.co.ke/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks >> ------------ >> >> Skunkworks Rules >> http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 >> ------------ >> Other services @ http://my.co.ke >> > > > -- > Allan Oware > > -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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[legitimized quackery harms the economy] Kenya should suspend the issuing of academic PhDs in ICT and Engineering
by Patrick A. M. Maina 06 Feb '19

06 Feb '19

The most dangerous form of quackery is institutionalized quackery. This happens when the following practices become pervasive: 1. Grades for sale / barter; 2. A culture of academic cheating / plagiarism / cronyism; 3. Academic Sophistry (using twisted sentences, jargon and fallacies to obfuscate useless garbage in fake dissertations); 4. Disconnect between choice of research topics (or academic focus) v/s the real-world needs of the country; 5. A pervasive belief that a certificate (not real-world practice) is the indisputable authority on level of competence and/or ability; 6. Due to 5, a pervasive belief in academia, and society, that the main goal of education is to "get the papers"; 7. The likelihood that thesis supervisors themselves are products of a broken system - thus (un)wittingly spreading institutionalized quackery;8. Lack of commitment to solving real-world problems which are perceived as lacking "academic flavor";9. Mindless pedantry. Visit KIPI and check the number of approved patents - then compare against the number of claimed inventions in our universities. Our universities don't seem capable of challenging ridiculous claims of novelty (despite the implications on institutional credibility) and this has led to a total mockery of words like "invention" and/or "innovation". One may argue that perhaps the universities don't want to patent their inventions in favor of academic progress - but that would be a major indictment on their real-world judgment/reasoning - given their well publicized cash strapped condition and heavy dependency on taxpayer subsidies. There are many types of conditional releases that allow for realization of IP revenues without stifling academic research. If our universities have a real IP resource, why are they not monetizing it???? This is intellectual madness. Contrast with Stanford, for example, which earns > Ksh, 4.5 Billion annually from licensing royalties (>800 patents). Their Alumini have helped created high value global companies - which have transformed the world and achieved staggering valuations (e.g. Google, Linkedin, eBay, Cisco, Dolby, HP, Instagram, NVIDIA, Sun, Yahoo! etc - with a cumulative value in excess of Ksh. 1,000 Trillion (yes, Ksh. 1 Sextillon) - enough value to run our country tax free on >Ksh 6 Trillion budget for ~150 years!). Intellectual Property can generate more value (while being far easier to commercialize) than oil / gas / minerals. Why is our government not obsessed with commercializing indigenous IP? The people in charge of Kenya's tertiary education don't seem to have an idea of the scale of economic potential that they are sitting on (and how to unlock it). Observe the ongoing US v/s China technology dominance "war" for example - these countries understand the link between indigenous innovation and economic progress and it is no surprise that they are world's top two economies. Instead of Academic PhDs Kenya should issue Honorary PhDs for real-world achievements in advancing the nation - and the prestige of such doctorates should be higher than that of academic PhDs. This will help shift mindsets from abstract academic activity to real world solutions. Meanwhile, the government should suspend academic PhDs to allow for reallocation of scarce resources more productive areas e.g. developing market structures for rapid commercialization of indigenous innovations. For the PhDs have already been issued, there needs to be a mechanism for revocation when:1. the holder repeatedly fails to demonstrate reasoning skills in public discussions (especially around their field of expertise) that justify a doctorate status2. the holder's track record of achievement in the real world is no different than (or far surpassed by) an undergrad or college dropout (not personal achievement - but value addition to the country or society) 3. the holder lacks self awareness and does not seem to know the bounds of his/her competence (heavily relies on "academic rank" to support unsound claims or reject rebuttals) If we don't urgently contextualize our tertiary education system to focus on local real world challenges (i.e. how to grow a tiny, low income African nation that is plagued by poverty, corruption and incompetence - despite having a "highly educated" population) we will continue to be plagued by the same repeating problems for yet another generation and this article (among others) will be proof, for our children and their descendants, that we neglected our duty willingly - in full knowledge of the consequences. I am open to (and happily invite) sensible rebuttals on this topic. Brgds,Patrick A. M. Maina(Independent Public Policy Analyst - Indigenous Innovations)

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Cyber crimes | Legal Fees
by S.M. Muraya 05 Feb '19

05 Feb '19

Listers, How come there is money for legal fees but not for technology implementation and maintenance? What happens if/when the DPP charges county officials for Cyber crimes? Aiding terrorists by neglecting surveillance technology? 2015 audit >> https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/11/22/nairobi-spent-sh1-billion-in-leg… The Nairobi government gobbled up Sh1.1 billion in legal fees, the 2014-15 Auditor General’s report says. 2017 audit >> https://www.nation.co.ke/counties/nairobi/Nairobi-on-the-spot-over-Sh318m-l… City Hall has once again been put on the spot over the Sh318.4 million in questionable payments to 12 law firms representing Nairobi. The legal department is said to have made the payment without adequate documentary evidence. During the 2016/17 financial year, the department’s legal costs totalled Sh645.3 million despite an approved budgetary allocation of just Sh105 million. The cost was Sh540.26 million higher, 515 percent above the allocation for that year. https://www.nation.co.ke/counties/nairobi/Why-half-of-Nairobi-CCTV-cameras-… In September 2012, the then Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development awarded the contract to M/s Nanjing LES Information Technology Limited, a Chinese firm. The project was conceptualised as a security project which would involve installation of security cameras, vehicle number plate recognition cameras, rehabilitation of signalised junctions and construction of one main control centre at Nairobi area police headquarters at Milimani and the redundant control centre at City Hall Annex. Six years later, the chief officer confirmed that the project is still under the Chinese firm’s control, making it impossible to repair and maintain the cameras. SH7.2M REPAIRS Mr Karanja said the company wants to be paid Sh7.2 million to repair the cameras and hand over the project to the county government. “We had pledged to pay before the contractor could resume maintenance works and subsequent handover of the project to us but we are yet to settle the bill and that is why the contractor has not resumed the project maintenance,” said Mr Karanja. But the PAC Chairman Wilfred Odalo faulted the City Hall for assuming responsibility for damages they did not cause. In response, Mr Karanja said the pledge was made because of security is a priority given recent terror attack in the city at the Dusit hotel complex. In May 2018, it was revealed that 26 of the CCTV cameras — installed in major roads such as Moi Avenue, Uhuru Highway, Kenyatta Avenue and Tom Mboya Street — were not working. Those installed along University Way and at Lusaka Roundabout have also stopped working after they were damaged by students and a contractor respectively. The committee resolved to invite the contractor in its next sitting to shed more light on the issue.

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Piloting the Use of TV White Space for Community Network in Rural Tanzania
by Barrack Otieno 05 Feb '19

05 Feb '19

Listers, For TV white space enthusiasts, your support will be appreciated. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Matogoro Jabera <jaberamatogoro(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Feb 4, 2019 at 4:19 PM Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] Piloting the Use of TV White Space for Community Network in Rural Tanzania To: africann <africann(a)afrinic.net>, <afnog(a)afnog.org> Dear Colleagues, It is my hope that this email will find you doing fine. I am happy to inform you that our project titled "Piloting the Use of TV White Space for Community Network in Rural Tanzania" has been nominated for WSIS Prizes 2019 by International Telecommunication Union. For this project to be considered among the winning project for the prize, we would appreciate your vote and if possible also helping us sharing this news in your network so that we could receive more votes for our project. I am also including details on how to vote below: 1. Visit this link: https://www.itu.int/net4/wsis/stocktaking/Account/Login?ReturnUrl=%2Fnet4%2… 2. Create an account using your email to the voting system. 3. A confirmation email will be sent to your email, click a link sent in your email to activate the account. 4. Login to the voting system using your email address and password provided during account creation. 5. Once logged in, you will be presented a list of project for category 1. You MUST vote at least one project from category 1. 6. Vote for any project in category 2 and category 3. 7. Our project is listed in category 4 project. Please search project name titled "Piloting the use of TV White Space for Community Network in Rural Tanzania". Vote for this project in category 4. 8. Vote for one project from the remaining categories, 5-18. 9. Once voting is completed, a list of the voted project will be displayed as attached. Regards, MATOGORO Jabhera Assistant Lecturer College of Informatics and Virtual Education The University of Dodoma P.O Box 490, Dodoma. Website: www.udom.ac.tz *IEEE Membership ID: 93934185* _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Recent blogs
by Barrack Otieno 05 Feb '19

05 Feb '19

Listers, Might be of interest to some. Best Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Yaovi Atohoun <yaovi.atohoun(a)icann.org> Date: Tue, Feb 5, 2019 at 12:27 PM Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] Recent blogs To: AfrICANN Community List <africann(a)afrinic.net> Hello everyone / bonjour à tous *ICANN64 Prep Week: *https://www.icann.org/news/blog/icann64-prep-week *Technical Study Group Makes Progress at First Face-to-Face Meeting: * https://www.icann.org/news/blog/technical-study-group-makes-progress-at-fir… Thanks -- Yaovi Atohoun Stakeholder Engagement and Operations Manager- Africa; ICANN Tel. +229 66015649/65209067 www.icann.org _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Fwd: BOTSWANA to host the 7th Africa Domain Name System Forum
by Barrack Otieno 05 Feb '19

05 Feb '19

Listers, This might be of interest to some of you. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, Feb 5, 2019 at 11:44 AM Subject: Re: BOTSWANA to host the 7th Africa Domain Name System Forum To: AfrICANN Community List <africann(a)afrinic.net> Cc: Afri-Discuss <afri-discuss(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org>, aftld-members < aftld-members(a)aftld.org> Nairobi, 5th February 2019 The 7th edition of the Africa Domain Name System Forum (AFDNS) will be held in Gaborone Botswana from 22nd to 24th July 2019. The forum will be hosted by the Botswana Communication and Regulatory Authority (BOCRA). The Africa Domain Name System Forum is an annual open event for stakeholders in the Domain Name Industry in Africa, organized by Africa Top Level Domains Organization (AFTLD), the African Registrars Association, and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The objective of the three-day event is to help the Africa Domain Name Industry grow at a competitive rate; and ensure that the continent is on par with the rest of the world. Over the years, the AFDNS forum has lived up to its expectations, identifying key national and cross-border issues that continue to challenge the growth of the industry The Africa DNS Forum brings together Top-Level Domain registries, registrars, and stakeholders from Africa and around the world to share, learn, interact and discuss ways of how the African Domain Name Space can be improved, by sharing experiences and best practices in the domain name industry at a global level, and of the emerging business opportunities. The forum is open to anyone interested in issues pertaining to the domain name industry and the business opportunities it can provide, and engage with key players and experts in the field. We expect participation from over 200 participants representing government, private sector, civil society, media and the technical community from the region and globally, interested in investing in the Africa Domain Name industry. Discussions will cover the state of the domain name industry in Africa, opportunities and challenges faced by businesses, entrepreneurs and Internet users across Africa. This will be the seventh forum following events in Durban, South Africa (2013), Abuja, Nigeria (2014), Nairobi, Kenya (2015), Marrakech, Morocco (2016), Dar Es Salam, Tanzania (2017) and Cotonou, Benin (2018). Stakeholders from Africa and beyond interested and involved in the domain name industry are welcome to contribute and participate in the event. *About AFTLD* AfTLD is recognized as the representative of country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) managers from Africa. It is an active participant in the ICANN ccNSO, and also actively participates in various Internet governance fora with the African continent and beyond, including the IGF, where it has run a number of workshops. With collaboration in Internet governance and development a cornerstone of the bottom up policy development processes that make the Internet truly a multi-stakeholder phenomenon, AfTLD works in collaboration and partnership with other Regional Top-Level Domain Organizations (RTLDOs), these being APTLD, CENTR and LACTLD. www.aftld.org *About AfRegistrar* AFREGISTRAR association includes all ICANN Accredited Registrars based in the African Continent, The AfRegistrars shall fulfill the role, responsibilities and functions of the AFREGISTRARS as defined within the ICANN Bylaws as referenced at [ICANN-BYLAWS]. www.afregistar.org *About ICANN* ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure, and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or other device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with a community of participants from all over the world. https://www.icann.org/get-started BOCRA was established through the Communications Regulatory Authority Act, 2012 (CRA Act) to regulate the communications sector in Botswana, comprising telecommunications, Internet and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), radio communications, broadcasting, postal services and related matters. BOCRA is also designated to: · To manage and operate the .BW ccTLD in an efficient and non-discriminatory manner to ensure fairness in the use and allocation of the .bw name space; · To accredit agencies to provide secure electronic signatures as per the Electronic Communications and Transaction Act (No. 14 of 2014); · To establish, as Certifying Authority, an approved process for the production and certification of electronic documents records systems for purpose of integrity. https:www.bocra.org.bw Contacts: secretariat(a)aftld.org -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Global Legal Hackathon - Call for Participation
by Linda Bonyo 05 Feb '19

05 Feb '19

The Global Legal Hackathon 2019 organizes law schools, law firms and in-house departments, legal technology companies, governments, developers, and service providers to innovation in the legal industry – across the globe. It brings together the best thinkers, doers and practitioners in law in support of a unified vision: rapid development of solutions to improve the legal industry, world-wide. Are you a lawyer, developer, IT professional, entrepreneur or IT or law student? If so, we would love to have your participation in the Global Legal Hackathon 2019 in Nairobi! The Global Legal Hackathon in Nairobi will be hosted by the Lawyers Hub on 22nd-24th February 2019 with support from the Law Society of Kenya. Join us by registering as a participant on www.glh.hivebrite.com Feel Free to email me for any clarifications. Sincerely, _______________________________________________________ *Linda Bonyo* (Ms.) | Co-Founder, *Lawyers Hub * Tech for Justice ACK Garden House| Block D, 6th Floor | Email: bonyo(a)*lawyershub.ke* <bonyo(a)lawyershub.ke> | Skype*:* lawyershubke Tel: +254(0)207840228 Mobile : +2547840840228 *_**_____________________________________________________________________* *DISCLAIMER: The information contained in or accompanying this e-mail is for the use of the stated recipient only. It may contain confidential, proprietary or legally privileged information. No confidentiality or privilege is waived or lost by any mistransmission. If you receive this message in error, please immediately delete it and all copies of it from your system, destroy any hard copies of it and notify the sender. You must not, directly or indirectly, use, disclose, distribute, print, or copy any part of this message if you are not the intended recipient. Any views or opinions presented herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those **Lawyers Hub*

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How to raise money for your startup
by Eric Osiakwan 05 Feb '19

05 Feb '19

Eric here Sent from my iPhone

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[cybercrime] hidden cost of commoditizing IT Talent
by Patrick A. M. Maina 01 Feb '19

01 Feb '19

There's a funny corporate culture that I have observed in Kenya that could shed some light on why local IT systems appear so vulnerable: TALENT COMMODITIZATION. Take the banking industry for example, I recall a while back seeing some chatter on twitter about how big brands UNDERPAY key IT staff (I.e. the hands on technical staff like sysadmins / app admins / dbadmins & devs) in order to "save" on manpower costs. In this day and age that is not an intelligent thing to do. Others assume that outsourcing to India will magically solve for costs, quality and security. I have worked on projects with "world-class" offshore teams and what I saw was a minefield of HIDDEN COSTS if you don't have your own savvy supervisory / QC team. Then there is the "contract fixes everything" fanatics. Contracts mean nothing if you can't detect shoddy work - and if going to court after the fact is almost impossible given risks of PR blowback (in image sensitive industries). In many cases such contracts are just for CYA (avoiding blame or passing audit reviews). Some tradition-heavy institutions still put IT under Finance directors / VPs or GMs instead of having IT representation at board level. This makes it hard for IT to push back on top-down "spreadsheet inspired" directives. You don't increase shareholder value by setting up your critical functions for downstream failure (or putting the entire org or at risk just to hit annual growth targets). Beefing up the Infosec unit is pointless if the underlying architecture is full of holes. There is only so much duct taping that can be done. Worse if that team is underpaid as well. It's also interesting that many local companies don't have a "specialist path" for technical talent advancement. This limits the political/decision making clout for technical talent as well as limiting their personal growth. Hopping / side hustling / track switching (e.g. to management) is the end result. These mistakes have cost the financial industry (for example) a whopping 17BILLION in potentially avoidable losses (and still counting). So much for HR "cost savings". :-/ I think the Infosec crisis in Kenya is just a SYMPTOM of bigger "organisation and culture" issues - and short term thinking is right at the heart of it. "Financial institutions in Kenya have recently become a soft target for cybercriminals, with police records showing that they lost about Sh17 billion to the fraudsters in 2016, up from Sh14 billion in 2015." https://mobile.nation.co.ke/business/Police-probe-130-bank-cyber-fraud-susp…

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