October 2009 - skunkworks - Skunkworks Site

Re: [Skunkworks] A Kenyan OS
by David Kago 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

Guys, ever heard of easier said than done...? I bet you all have.. Apart from funding which is vital in running such a huge project, an OS is a monster project, which is not something we can do in our spare time, I suggest if anyone has to go in this direction, start small like writing an embedded OS for a small device, only then can the complexity of building a market ready OS be appreciated, otherwise for now, it's a pipe dream, count me OUT :-) ________________________________ From: Odhiambo Washington [mailto:odhiambo@gmail.com] Sent: 19 October 2009 15:47 To: Skunkworks Forum Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] A Kenyan OS On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 2:53 PM, Rahim Kara <skunkingrahim(a)gmail.com> wrote: A note of something that was said. I agree that there is S/Ware out there that does everything. MS, Linux, Mac OS. All are international competitors. Far fetched from what a realist sees, but what about us being real competitors in this rat race? Even that aside, having a localized operating system from ground up, and being able to make applications that are compatible with all "real world" softwares, and build on that to make the operating system a local standard. the incentives are numerous. By me, for now, just getting this done would be a start. @Rahim, Let me be the pessimist here, but I still have to say, like others have already, that an OS Project is such a big monster to manage. Well, I am not in any way doubting your capability to manage a project, but, as nature puts in, you have to crawl before getting on your two feet. The crawling aspect has not been seen in skunkworks as yet. No suggested group "project" has ever taken off, or is there any? The smallest, and perhaps the first one ever, was to get the list archives into a Db. That isn't completed to date. There are others that have been proposed, discussed and "count me in" responses have been many but where are they? Has that been due to the lack of a project manager? Lack on funding? Enthusiasm? Let me throw you a challenge: Pick any three of those already proposed projects and see them to completion as the Project Manager. Please pick the most challenging ones. After that, re-evaluate yourself, and the team, and see if they are ready to handle a project of the magnitude of an OS (even a branch), and take a look at FreeBSD <http://bit.ly/Zfimw> Project. Perhaps it will give you an idea of what you'll ultimately face, if you ever get round to assembling a team for the project. Let me quote McDonald again. "There are many local problems that require our expertise and can make an impact...an OS isnt one of them." -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube

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Who is the Winner/Loser?
by Odhiambo Washington 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

hello skunks, With the introduction by M$ of their Security Essentials, and free for that matter, I am left wondering who are the winners and the losers in this case? Is the Desktop user truly a winner here? Isn't it like trusting the witch to turn around and offer you treatment? (Where I come from, the theory of bewitching is so strong so allow me to use that analogy, for lack of a better one). Are other Desktop AV vendors likely to become 'lUsers'? Let's see: How many of you have opted to deploy M$ Security Essentials on their Desktops as their AV of choice? A few friends have asked me about a good AV and I've always bent towards Kaspersky, but when they freak at the cost (<2k), I tell them that Microsoft now has a free AV for windows, but I still don't quite trust that advise, yet I really can't justify this mistrust given some reviews I am seeing about Security Essentials. Bail me out! -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube

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The Haiku Operating System.
by Martin Chiteri 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

Hello, I wanted to bring to your attention some interesting operating system that is coming up. It is called Haiku, perhaps you have heard about it. It is based on (backward compatible with) the BeOS Release 6, another operating system that came up in the early nineties that was written from scratch in C++. What is more interesting about it is that it actually has a Microkernel design - more strictly it is a hybrid kernel - and has been known to have the most responsive GUI ever. It was designed to be primarily a "Multimedia platform" thus fully desktop-oriented. The makers of the system claim it is the "Linux of Desktop operating systems" ...... In fact Apple had keen interests on it (BeOS), they actually wanted to use it as a ground for the Macintosh (Version 8 onwards) but because of the pricing made for the system by Be Inc, they decided to acquire NeXT and base the Mac on its variant of B.S.D UNIX a.k.a Darwin (NB: Sir Tim Berners-Lee wrote the Web and run the first Web server on a NEXTStep Machine [info.cern.ch]). All the same Haiku is POSIX compliant, "pervasively multithreaded", has an advanced database-like (journaling) file-system among other things. I have been partly running the alpha-one version and it really feels snappy, quite usable. It can decompress mp3s and MPEG videos nicely, render images including SVGs beautifully and for those of you with strong geek appeals, it has PERL 5 and Python 2.6 for scripting, subversion 1.6 and C++ compilers + gdb to debug applications in case they crash in mid-execution. You can also dis/engage processors & processing cores on the fly by clicking on a button(s) and the kernel will distribute the loads to the available resources splendidly!! You can have a look at it from its site [ http://www.haiku-os.org/ ], the bootable image is about 389 Mb, 145 Mb compressed, and can also boot to the desktop. I thought I would let individuals in these groups know about it because I believe we have a number of strong developers hanging around. Haiku still needs some bug fixes for it to become fully stable. You can watch a video on the systems demo at google from here [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=236331448076587879#] Have a nice time. I would really like to hear the opinions of those of you who get to use the thing. --- BeOS Part I [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggCODBIfWKY&feature=PlayList&p=17075EF3FA655… ] BeOS Part II [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwqi9HnN17w&feature=PlayList&p=17075EF3FA655…] Regards, Chiteri. P.S: For those of you who want copies of the C.D with Haiku, you can contact me off the list we meet. Am in the City of Nairobi, KENYA.

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Interesting Discovery
by David Kiania | Asentric Consulting Ltd 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

I applaud any company or entrepreneur who has the courage to create a business out of directory listings. I came across one company and donnow what's your take? http://www.mocality.co.ke/ can you montize directory listings into profitability and are there any successful case studies that we may know of? Aren't the barriers to entry too low and not defensible? Rgds -- [Asentric Consulting Ltd] If a man has in himself the soul of a slave will he not become one no matter what his birth .... -Richest Man in Babylon

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A Kenyan OS
by Martin Mucheke 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

Hi Skunkers, I was just wondering why we can't make our own OS. Preferably we could call it Kenix. It should be POSIX compliant so that it would get global acceptance. For the shel l BASH would be ok but another shell which is object oriented that can compete with microsofts powershell should be considered.The kernel is what should be 100% kenyan contributed by local developers. The rationale 4 a Kenyan os is one that can give the user a kenyan look & feel thro its gui . Anyway these r just my 2 cents worth of thoughts. Any takes. . Regards, Martin Mucheke

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Digital Media [WDTv HD Media Player]
by James Wachira 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

Hey guys,Anyone knows where I can get this Device/Box locally - WD TV HD Media Player ( WDAVN00 )<http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=572> ? Follow the link for details about the product. Am sure there are many on this list who would appreciate it!!! Thank You, -- Best Regards James Wachira Nairobi .ke tel:+254 728 024 897 | twitter: jwaciira | yahoo: jwaciira | gtalk: jwaciira

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The East African and Google Chrome
by Gakuru Alex 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

Hi Chris@google, It don't display right on my browser. What to do? Your early fix awaiting internet consumer :-) Cheers, Alex

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J2ME link problem
by Geoffrey Mimano 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

Hi all, I am writing a small j2me app to display links to users. Now, some of the links are very long and so I need an API or service that can help me shorten the link from within j2me. Any ideas? -- Mimano G. Muthondu, Software Developer, Datadyne.org skype : gmimano Mobile : +254 723 615 206

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Uruguay becomes first nation to provide a laptop for every primary school student
by Gichingiri Kuria 19 Oct '09

19 Oct '09

http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/18/uruguay-becomes-first-nation-to-provide-… -- Gichingiri Kuria _________________________________________ www.gichingiri.com / www.sokoletu.co.ke / www.website.co.ke / www.buyanzi.com

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Can i get these on any free to air satellite?
by Areba Collins 18 Oct '09

18 Oct '09

Hi guys, with plans to relocate away from nairobi complete, and with virtually no terrestrial tv to have, i am just wondering if i can get any of the following tv stations on any band. Please include dish size and any contact if possible. BBC news. deutsche welle. KTN, NTV, CITIZEN, FAMILY al jazeera. I remember seeing something about family media having something like that but i think it got discontinued. Thanks in advance.

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