· April, 2008

Stories about Technology from April, 2008

Sri Lanka: Status Symbol

  30 April 2008

“Your degree of access to an air conditioned environment indicates how close (or far away) you are to the vast underclass of permanent poverty,” comments Cerno on third world’s biggest status symbol -Air Conditioning.

Sri Lanka: Status Symbol

  30 April 2008

“Your degree of access to an air conditioned environment indicates how close (or far away) you are to the vast underclass of permanent poverty,” comments Cerno on third world’s biggest status symbol -Air Conditioning.

Brazil: WordPress attorney blogs about the blocking

  30 April 2008

Marcel Leonardi [pt], the Brazilian attorney who is representing WordPress in the case of a possible ban on the platform in the country, blogs: “In the motion filled by the Automattic Inc. [on Monday], among other pieces of information, it has been highlighted the tremendous damage that the blanket ban...

Kenya: Mobile TV

  30 April 2008

Mobile TV arrives in Kenya: “Safaricom has partner with DSTV to provide Mobile TV to their subscribers. Mobile TV is a technology that allows people to view regular live television content on their mobile phones or other mobile devices that they get through traditional cable or pay TV subscriptions at...

Africa: Sleeping giants

  30 April 2008

Bankelele wonders whether Africa has to reform or develop: “Rwanda is on the fast path to being an ICT powerhouse. They may get there, but we have the beach, undersea cable etc. – all we have to do is wait to benefit from them. Uganda and Sudan have oil –...

South Africa: Announcing Tech Leader

  30 April 2008

The South African Mail&Guardian launches Tech Leader: “The Thought Leader concept is expanding over the next few months and the first incarnation is Tech Leader. Tech Leader is an edited group blog aimed at thinkers in the South African technology industry.”

South Africa: Serious blogging arrives

  30 April 2008

Serious blogging has arrived in South Africa: “The key moments for blogging included the launches of Afrigator, the continent’s first blogging aggregator; Amatomu, the first comprehensive tracking service for blogs and bloggers in South Africa; My Digital Life by ITWeb, which put solid commercial resources and interests behind blogging; and...

South Africa: Ideas for Muti 2.0

  30 April 2008

Wogan's ideas for Muti 2.0: “About a week ago, the ability to downvote articles on muti.co.za was removed. Apparently, responses were mixed, but most were in favour of not allowing people to forcibly bury articles. Now, someone’s gone and raised the question of whether or not downvoting should be brought...

Tanzania: Perils of an IT Geek

  30 April 2008

Jesp visits hardware geeks in Tanzania: “I then consult Dennis, a hardware geek of the kind that never even puts the cover on his computer because his head is more often inside the cabinet than in front of the screen. “It is not the graphic card” Dennis says “The RAM...

Kenya: ICT and democratic processes

  30 April 2008

ICT, democratic processes and empowerment in Kenya: “There were varied topics and speakers, but I was very impressed by the presentations of two Kenyan women who are at the forefront of impacting ICT policy and enhancing innovative ways of using the Internet for networking. They are Alice Munyua and Ory...

Nigeria: Mobile TV

  30 April 2008

Yomi writes about Mobile TV in Nigeria: “Subscribers on the MTN Nigeria network can now watch up to 10 DSTV television channels on mobile phones. The channels include: SuperSport, Channel O, Africa Magic, and Cartoon Network, among others.”

Uganda: Ugandans spend $18 million on Internet access

  30 April 2008

Scarlett Lion discusses the cost of Internet access in Uganda: “Internet in Uganda is prohibitively expensive. At a fast internet cafe, it will cost about Ush 3,000 per hour ($1.70). It may cost less per hour somewhere else, but the speed of the connection may be so slow that the...

Brazil: Orkut vs Facebook

  30 April 2008

Raquel Recuero [pt] has a long post explaining why Brazilians love Orkut so much that they have paid no attention whatsoever to facebook – at least so far.

Jordan: Mixed Signals

“Can the same facebook contact add an application called (The Latest Hunk) and within the same day join a group called (Proud to be a Muslim) ?” asks Hani Obaid from Jordan.

Armenia: Art School Online

  29 April 2008

Kyle’s Journey in Armenia, a Peace Corps Blog, proudly announces the launch of an Internet site for the Koghb Art School. The move is not only part of work to help gain the school exposure, but also part of a project to make rural communities self-sustainable.