Stories about Technology from July, 2010
Qatar: Residents survive change to eight-digit phone numbers
In an effort to meet future demand, Qatar changes most mobile and landline numbers from seven to eight digits. Residents complain, but find the transition to be easier than expected.
Japan: Abandoned Building Clock
@MaripoGoda crowd sourced Flickr photos to build Haikyo Tokei, which shows a different photo of broken clocks in abandoned buildings to tell the time every minute. @mazzo shared [ja] his...
Nicaragua: 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media in Managua
On August 12 and 13 the event 2.0 Meeting of Blogs and New Media (2.0 Encuentro de Blogs & Nuevos Medios) will take place in Managua, with the participation of communication and new media experts from various countries in the region, including some Global Voices authors.
OneVietnam Network
The OneVietnam.org social network was launched this month to connect Vietnamese expats and young migrants to the culture and history of Vietnam.
Russia: The First Case of YouTube Ban
Alexey Sidorenko writes about the Russian authorities' first attempt to ban YouTube.
Cuba: Economic Effects
“The unemployment phenomenon, which is vehemently denied by high officials in the government, is nothing new”: Iváns File Cabinet uses the example of Cuba's only telecommunications company to illustrate its...
Kenya: Mobile Payment Revolution
Erik looks at mobile payment services in Kenya: “Kenya is quickly gaining a competitive advantage in the mobile payments space. Led by mobile operator giant Safaricom with their Mpesa product,...
Russia Tops Aggressive Internet Traffic Rating
Habrahabr users discuss [RUS] the latest Akamai‘s “State of the Internet” report. According to the research, 12 percent of all the Internet-attacks in the first quarter of 2010 were carried...
Russia: Prosecutor That Banned Youtube Gives Interview
Marker.ru publishes an interview with Vladimir Pakhomov, city prosecutor that obliged the local Internet provider to block Youtube, Web.archive.org and other websites [EN]. Pakhomov expressed Chinese-government-style philosophy on Internet-filtering: “Provider...
Taiwan: Threatened by Microsoft
Tetralet complains about his recent experience with Microsoft [zht] about how the software giant emailed and called to threaten that if Tetralet does not welcome Microsoft to “help his company on...
Russia: Merging SVR and FSB; “Another Sexy Spy”
RFE/RL's The Power Vertical reports on the alleged plans to merge Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service with the Federal Security Service. Scraps of Moscow writes about the newest “sexy Russian spy”...
Italy: NO to Restrictions on Online Free Speech
A newly revised Media and Wiretapping bill before the Italian parliament today could introduce a threatening "liability risk" for all bloggers and online media.
Dominica: Going Virtual
“The Commonwealth of Dominica has gone virtual with great alacrity” in order to promote tourism; Repeating Islands has the details.
Indonesia: Spreading migrant issues through internet
EngageMedia uploads a short video clip featuring Community Technology Center in Indonesia, an access point to receive and spread out migrant issues through the internet.
China: Social media as political subversion tool
This past month has been an interesting one in the cat-and-mouse game between Chinese Internet censorship and its non-conformists. Microblogs in the People's Republic had begun to feel the weight...
Russia: LiveJournal Under Fire Of Criticism for “Innovations”
LiveJournal, Russia's still most popular blog platform, recently fell under severe criticism for several “innovations”: purging suspended and “inactive” accounts [EN] and closing OpenID registration [RUS] (allowed LJ-users to comment in other...
Ecuador: Leader of Citizen's Revolution Has an Economics Blog
Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa has been known for promoting Open Source Software. To prove this, he has created a blog where he explains economic matters didactically, so that people can...
Venezuela: Allies in Technology, Women Who are Not Afraid of Mice
Venezuelan NGO Aliadas en Cadena (Allies in Chains) created the group Aliadas en Tecnología (Allies in Technology) to promote the use of technology to empower women affected by poverty. Through classes and workshops, many women who saw computers as strange and intimidating objects now find in them a tool for work, learning and self-fulfillment.
Russia: Reginal Court Blocks YouTube for Extremist Content
Komsomolosk-on-Amur [ENG] city court, at the Russian Far East, ordered local Internet provider “Rosnet” to block access to Youtube and four other websites (including web.archive.org), Cnews reported [RUS]. The decision...
China: Computer magazine curses at Tencent
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated a debate between a magazine, China Computer World, and a giant Internet company, Tencent.
Mexico: Mexone, the Most Advanced Humanoid Robot in Latin America
Hugo Torres writes [es] about a story that he says the Mexican mainstream media is not paying attention to: Mexico has the most advanced humanoid robot in Latin America, and...
