Stories about Technology from December, 2008
Israel: LivniBoy Gives ObamaGirl a Run For Her Money
Check out LivniBoy, Israel's answer to ObamaGirl. His YouTube video, “Love Song to Tzipi Livni,” has received over 6,350 views this week alone. Tzipi Livni is the Kadima Party candidate for prime minister in the upcoming winter elections. You'll be able to enjoy the feel of the video even if...
South Africa: World’s First Locative Documentary for Mobile
World's first locative documentary for mobile phones is about youth culture in Soweto: “Today is a big day on the Grid – we’ve just launched a 25-episode documentary about youth culture in Soweto, the famous South African township. The documentary, called Mobikasi, is the first to be delivered exclusively by...
Adgator: Africa's First Advertising Network for Bloggers
Adgator is the first ad network for African bloggers created by Afrigator, a social media search engine and blog directory. The network is currently being tested in South Africa. Plans are underway to launch the network in Kenya and Nigeria next year.
Republic of Congo: BarCamp Congo
The first BarCamp in Central Africa will take place in Brazzaville on December 23, 2008: “BarCamp Congo is organized by the Committee for the Promotion of Information Technology in Congo (COPTIC), of which I am a member. The committee comprises officials and enterprises of the ICT sector.”
Japan: Digital mech art
Edo from Pink Tentacle has a collection on digital illustrations of mechs, droids and borgs.
Indonesia: Solving cybercrime
Police authorities in Jakarta have a proposal on how to eliminate cybercrime: Internet cafes would be requested to record their customers’ IDs in a guest book to prevent cyber crime.
Media Re:public report released
Media Re:public, a project of the The Berkman Center for Internet and Society, today released their long-awaited report on the state of networked digital media. The report, “Media Re:public, News and Information as Digital Media Come of Age,” analyzes the challenges and opportunities of networked digital media. While United States...
Abu Hadeed: Egypt's first Computer Game
Abu Hadeed is Egypt's first original computer game. Zeinobia writes about the copyrights issues and the concept saying:”It is the first game to be based upon an Egyptian cinematic character. Originally it was based on Boha, the hero of comedian Mohamed Saad’s film “Boha”. It is an odd choice to me...
Cameroon: Internet scams
George Esunge Fominyen lists a few internet scams that are becoming increasingly popular in Cameroon, competing with more famous ones in neighboring Nigeria.
Cuba: The Crowing Rooster
In response to Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez's question, Mariela Castro calls her the equivalent of a “cocky hen”, prompting Sanchez to ask: “Does she believe that I do the work of a man because I demand rights and claim respect for political preferences? If to be a very delicate hen...
Community Maps For Pakistan
Dinakar writes on the community map making efforts in Pakistan: “Surprisingly Pakistan cities are being rapidly updated by the community, how on earth can we imagine that we have an accurate digital map of a Pakistan city; this was only possible through the community initiative.”
Kazakhstan: National Search Engine Debated by the Bloggers
On December 11, 2008, Kazakhstani blogger Nurlan wrote in his blog, dedicated to IT development issues, about a possibility that so-called KazNet (a Kazakhstani segment of the world wide web) soon may have its own search engine and quotes an advertisement placed on the official website of the Governmental Agency...
Congo: A new aggregator and a Barcamp
Africa 2.0 [Fr] reports on the launch last week of Akouaba, a news aggregator created by 22 year old Congolese blogger from Verone Mankou from Brazzaville, including an interview with him. Mankou is also the organizer of Barcamp Congo, the first Barcamp in Central Africa that will take place in...
Kenya: Media protests communication bill
During Kenya’s 45th independence celebrations on December 12th, the media protested against the government's proposted Communication Amendment bill, a law that if passed will give them rights to regulate the content of electronic media. Bloggers react to the confrontations between the media and the government.
North Korea: A New Mobile Network
The latest news from North Korea is the launch of a new high speed mobile network by an Egyptian mobile giant. We have reactions from the bloggers commenting on the launch.
Central & Eastern Europe: Trademark on ;-) and Other Internet News
Below is a selection of recent posts by bloggers from around Central and Eastern Europe on social networking, participatory media, online activism and other related issues.
Israel: Innovation in First Aid Technology
Dr. Eran Shenkar has developed a remote medical vehicle that can deliver first aid in place of human first responders. Israelity reports: “It’s smaller, cheaper, and more compact than a helicopter – meaning it can go places a helicopter can’t, and, in times of war, there’s nobody to shoot down…...
Israel: New Arrivals by Style and Mile
“And so the race is on. Which will arrive first – an H&M store or an express train from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv?” inquires Rebecca of Israeli blog The Big Felafel. “It’s a tough call, but I think we may be sporting some trendy yet affordable dresses before being able...
Bahrain: Letter to a stalker
Bahraini blogger Hamad Balucci writes a letter to a ‘stalker’ who has accused him of writing purely for self-promotion: “I write this blog and my other writings as a self promotion. Yes, there is no lying here. … Do I care if I am hated by other people? No. Do...
Guyana: Blog Proud
“There's no doubt about it. The Guyanablogoshere has seen a surge of new bloggers within the past year or so,” writes Signifyin’ Guyana, adding: “I couldn't be prouder of them if I'd given birth to each and every one of them myself.”
Ecuador: Two Years After Correa's Meeting With Stallman
It's been two years since Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa personally met with Richard Stallman [es], free software activist. Rafael Bonifaz reflects back on the meeting and what has happened since.
