Meanwhile, back home, the .KE govt shut down a local broadcasting station in a move reminiscent to the old days of a former Kenyan regime. The station is assured that they will be back on air AFTER the crucial referendum vote on a proposed National constitution scheduled for early next week... mhhhh...very interesting and contentious development on the local ICT scene. walu.

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<alice@apc.org> 11/17/05 07:06am >>> US RETAINS INTERNET CONTROL 17.11.2005. 10:36:34

Control of the domain name system that governs internet traffic will remain in US hands under an agreement adopted at a United Nations technology summit in Tunisia. Under the eleventh- hour deal the California-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), which answers to the US government, will remain in control of the daily management of the internet. The European Union says the agreement will lead to "further internationalisation of Internet governance, and enhanced intergovernmental cooperation to this end". But despite EU pressure, there is no mechanism forcing United States to share oversight of the domain name system. US Ambassador David Mr Gross, who is the head of the US delegation at the meeting, says the deal essentially endorsed the status quo. "There's nothing new in this document that wasn't already out there before," Ambassador Gross said. Nations such as China and Iran had been pushing for an international body under UN auspices to oversee the net. Widening the web The three-day meeting, convened by more than 170 countries, aims to find ways to use information communication technologies to help improve living standards in some of the world's poorest nations. Opening the event, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called on the world to do more to narrow the technology gap between rich and poor. But worldwide only 14% of the population is online, compared with 62% in the US. In his address to the meeting, Mr Annan said that "for far too many people, the gains remain out of reach". "There is a tremendous yearning, not for technology per se, but for what technology can make possible," he said, urging delegates to take action. "The hurdles are more of a political than financial nature," he added. "It is possible to lower the costs of connectivity, computers and mobile phones." But money remains a key issue. A voluntary Digital Solidarity Fund intended to help finance technology projects in developing countries has so far only raised $9 million in cash and pledges. "The challenge to the developing world is now to make sure they have the infrastructure, rules, legal processes and the market systems to attract the investment of the technologies that we see on display at the summit," said US Assistant Secretary for Commerce Michael Gallagher. Wind-up Computer At the conference, team of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) unveiled a wind-up laptop computer that can be bought for as little as $130- a price tag low enough to offer bring the benefits of the Internet to many people living in developing countries. The relatively basic machine uses a 500 MHz processor and is installed with the reliable and free Linux operating system. Other features include wireless Internet connectivity and a small, 1 Gigabyte memory space, still enough to allow users to access the Internet. The most outstanding feature is a crank-handle fitted on one side of the machine that allows its battery to be recharged by manual winding - a precious asset where access to electrical power is scarce. The model, which is scheduled to go into production in 2006, will not be available for sale but will be distributed to schools directly through large government initiatives. A new, non-profit association, One Laptop per Child (OLPC), has been created to co-ordinate the computer's distribution. The aim is to produce some five million units a year, with the first models destined for distribution in Brazil, China, Egypt, South Africa and Thailand. SOURCE: World News Dig Africa site welcomes you to join us at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/Digafrica Also if you are interested to join a Swahili/English discussion group click http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/kiswahili -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS a.. Visit your group "DigAfrica" on the web. b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: DigAfrica-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet