Stories about Technology from November, 2009
Africa: Google sponsors Kiswahili Wikipedia Challenge
Google is pushing for more content on Kiswahili Wikipedia through Kiswahili Wikipedia Challenge: We invite you to take part in this challenge to create Wikipedia articles in Kiswahili. We hope to make the online experience richer and more relevant for 100 million African users who speak Kiswahili.
Syria: Internet Woes Continue
Syrian blogger Rami wrote [ar] a post comparing internet speeds and costs in Syria with those in Romania. He was frustrated with having to struggle to obtain a 256Kbps connection in Syria in contrast with 100Mbps in Romania for roughly the same cost.
Poland: Creators of “Polish Rapidshare” Arrested
Earlier this month, the Polish police arrested creators and owners of OdSiebie.com service. The portal, which is currently down, was a clone of Rapidshare, and since its day one in 2007, it was continuously growing in traffic. Jakub Gornicki reviews the reactions from the Polish blogosphere.
Taiwan: Introducing Best English Blogs
David on Formosa publishes a series of posts introducing some of the best Taiwan blogs in English(bridge bloggers).
Russia: Medvedev's Speech and IT; Twitter and the Police
Profy writes about the IT dimension of president Medvedev's annual address: “The draft speech was initially published online as a lengthy article by the president and he invited all the citizens to voice their opinions out via the Kremlin official website – and people were definitely very willing to participate...
Russia: Forbes Website
Profy writes about the newly-launched ForbesRussia.ru website and “their obvious lack of interest in anything local and specific to the Russian market, in particular in the field of social media and social networking.”
Slovenia, Russia: Thoughts on Blogging
Dr. Filomena and Profy are musing on what it means to be a blogger.
Impact of ICT on Indigenous Cultures: Rejuvenation or Colonization?
Can ICT truly preserve and protect distinct identities and culture? The cultural debate surrounding deployment of ICT in the field of indigenous/ knowledge and culture simply refuses to die down.
Sierra Leone: Do you want to chat with Sierra Leonean students?
Do you want to chat with students from Sierra Leone?: “Sierra Leonean kids want to communicate but don’t have computer access. If you would like to chat with a student in the City of Bo, Sierra Leone let me know at pjfishing@yahoo.com and I’ll hook you up through Local Government...
Pakistan: Insurgency And IT
“It's true that Pakistan faces some serious challenges, but if, as a nation, it can keep providing a service for outsourcing IT skills internationally even while bullets are flying, that's a good sign for the future,” comments Alamzeb Khan.
Japan: In a World with Automatic Translation
In a post titled "I especially want to read 'trivial information", Japanese blogger Chikirin gives a fresh perspective on what's important or not and why in automated translation of the Web.
Thailand: Google logos
Thai 101 uploads custom logos of Google Thailand
Palestine: Twitter inspiried street
Eman at AquaCool comments on the first Twitter-inspired street name, in a West Bank Palestinian refugee camp.
Bloggers Remember TEDIndia: The Good, the Bad and the Quirky
When the legendary TED conference came down to India, Indian bloggers were understandably excited. Some of the bloggers participated in the event and Gaurav Mishra was one of them. In this post he compiles a roundup of bloggers reactions to the TEDIndia 2009 conference, which took place earlier this month in Mysore, India.
Singapore: Diminishing power of mainstream media
flaneurose notes that cable TV and the internet are now viable alternatives to mainstream media. The blogger ponders the impact of the diminishing power of mainstream media in Singapore.
Singapore: Monitoring New Media
It has been reported in Singapore that “government ministries and agencies have been seeking social media intelligence services for monitoring online sentiments related to their scope of work.”
Africa: PayPal alternatives for African entrepreneurs
Theresa lists PayPal alternatives for African entrepreneurs: “Although PayPal is ubiquitous in the States and Europe, there are many alternatives available online, most with far more relaxed policies about where and how money can be sent.”
South Africa: Bookmark Awards was a world class event
Mike writes about The Bookmark Awards in South Africa: “From the high quality of the judging panel, to the evening’s entertainment (1st Project and the Dirty Skirts) to the really funky awards themselves, it really was a world class event.”
Japan: I want my husband dead
Hideki Sakamoto (坂本 英樹)comments on the topic of the week: the bizarre results of the predictive search function of some Japanese search engines. “If you enter the word otto (夫, husband) in the Google search bar, and then press space, a few phrases are shown. But at the head of the...
USA: Photo of Immigration Data Wishlist
Spot.us shares a photo of an immigration data wishlist compiled on a white board at the California Data Camp.
Bahamas: Sister's Keeper
“We women survivors of violence of all kinds must break this collective silence…and we women who enjoy relative freedom and safety must extend our hands and voices to our sisters who do not, because we are not free until all are free”: The Bahamas’ Womanish Words calls on women to...
