· June, 2007

Stories about Technology from June, 2007

Paraguay: Scarce Internet Use

  20 June 2007

Elyacare [ES] links to a recent report about internet use in Paraguay, which found that only 3 in 100 Paraguayans utilize the net and that the country found itself at the bottom in information technology in the region.

Nicaragua: Why Do So Few Blog?

  20 June 2007

Nicaragua Y Su Blog [ES] wonders why so few people blog in Nicaragua? Responses came from the Nicaraguan Facebook group where some of the existing bloggers gave their thoughts on the matter.

Sri Lanka: Then Sri Lankan Blogger

  19 June 2007

London, Lanka and Drums on what makes a Sri Lankan blogger. “My view on it is that the SL bloggers share an interest in Sri Lanka, whether that is because of nationality or location or heritage it doesn't matter.”

Japan: Video Art, Media and Zen

  19 June 2007

An interview with Montreal-born Japan-based video producer Michael Goldberg has been posted at gyaku. In the interview, Goldberg discusses his experience with media art movements in the 60s and 70s, as well as his recent documentary entitled “A ZEN LIFE” about Japanese author/translator D.T. Suzuki, widely credited as having introduced...

Brazil: From Legal Commons to Social Commons

  18 June 2007

Ronaldo Lemos published his paper “From Legal Commons to Social Commons: Brazil and the Cultural Industry” at iCommons.org, describing some of the current transformations regarding the processes by which information and culture are generated, from the point of view of developing countries.

Zimbabwe: The Interception of Communications Bill

  18 June 2007

Last week, Zimbabwean parliament passed “The Interception of Communications Bill” that will allow the government to monitor telephones, emails and the Internet. Zimbabwean ISPs are condemning this law, which is waiting the approval of the Senate, because it will require them to purchase expensive monitoring equipments they cannot afford. Transport...

Ghana: benefits of telecom liberalization

  18 June 2007

The benefits of Telecom liberalization in Ghana: “Prices have fallen drastically since, with some networks offering starter packs with very wide coverage for as low as 15,000 Ghanaian Cedis (less than $2). Junior Secondary School graduates can now access their high school placement on their mobile phones.:”

Iran:Censorship becomes worse for internet

  17 June 2007

Freekeyboard writes [Fa]that he discovered that a site like web resource that provides information about web related issues such as RSS, got filtered.The blogger says censorship becomes worse in Iran.

More on iSummit Dubrovnik 2007

  17 June 2007

Global Voices author Renata Avila adds another timely update to proceedings at the iCommons Summit in Croatia. There is commentary from non-English speaking sources, which has helped close the information gap for those whose first language is not English.

Japan: Confidential Police Files Leaked, Again

  16 June 2007

What do a group of sex crime victims, police informants, traffic violators, members of Japan's largest crime syndicate and a man being stalked by his girlfriend all have in common this week? They all had their personal information -- including names, addresses, photos, bank account numbers, private testimony, and interrogation reports -- leaked from a police officer's personal computer onto Japan's hugely popular bulletin board 2channel Tuesday morning. Japanese bloggers have responded to the leak with outrage and frustration.

Gabon: Libreville mermaid hoax (via St. Petersburg, Florida)

  15 June 2007

Association des gabonais d'Amiens dispels a mermaid hoax [Fr]. Photographs of a mermaid supposedly discovered dead on a beach in Libreville were actually downloaded from an eBay auction for a mermaid sighting in St. Petersburg, Florida. The St. Petersburg photographs sold for US$1500 to a French natural history museum.