November 2009 - skunkworks - Skunkworks Site

Digital voice recorder for Skunkworks meetings
by Peter Karunyu 06 Nov '09

06 Nov '09

Given my location and the location of skunkworks meetings, I will never be able to attend one, yet I am 100% sure they are awesome! As it is, Phares is most likely unable to take detailed minutes and should not because there is a better solution. Therefore, I am window shopping for a digital voice recorder for Phares so that I always hear what goes on. So, I found this one: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/9e59/ at USD$89.99 (about KSHs. 7000), Amazon has cheaper models<http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Voice-Recorders-Audio-Video/b?ie=UTF8&node=22…>, at USD$ 23.40, but they dont look as 'skunkie' as the one from ThinkGeek. Phares, if this is acceptable, do nothing :-) and I will be hitting each skunk I know personally for a contribution towards this, ETA: November 13. Regards, Peter.

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Huawei E160 modem: Software upgrade available
by Tony Likhanga 06 Nov '09

06 Nov '09

Folks, for those using the Huawei E160 modem, this software upgrade should be most welcome. Hopefully the bundle utilisation stats will now be open to better scrutiny. http://tinyurl.com/ybofrfn Quoting the included readme: Benefits of upgrading the modem; a) Bundle Purchase-Bundle purchase has been made easier for you and now you do not need to memorize the various short codes for activating various bundles. b) Balance Enquiry-Your account balance is automatically displayed everytime you select My Pre-pay icon. c) Bundle Balance-You can check your bundle balance by selecting Check Bundle Balance d) Improved User Experience-With the upgrade, you can now be able to send text messages while still connected to the internet. e) Macintosh users will now have the full Safaricom Broadband Interface that allows text messaging.

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satellites viewable from kenya - free to air tv
by benson orina 06 Nov '09

06 Nov '09

Greetings to all, I have been doing some research on free to air satellite tv and wanted to know if its possible to grab a beam that is aimed at europe for example http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/astra2a.html if i had a really big dish say 3.6m to 5m with a ku lnb Also Note the big red "box". What does the box symbolize? I was scrolling through the satellites available on my 90 cm dstv dish and it showed hotbird and astra1 and 2. Is it possible to get feeds off these satellites?

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iPhone + App store woes
by Brian Munyao Longwe 06 Nov '09

06 Nov '09

Hi all, Want to install a whole bunch of apps on the iPhone. Most of them are on the AppStore Current model requires you to have an iTunes Account to do this. All my efforts to setup this account require me to have an address outside of Kenya (UK, South Africa, USA etc) and/or a credit card number. Has anyone found a workaround to do with without either? Bryo

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Re: [Skunkworks] Google wave
by Joram Mwinamo 06 Nov '09

06 Nov '09

If i know someone (lets say a guy named Chris for example) who works in google, can my invite be pushed to the front of the queue? This wait is taking too long

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Re: [Skunkworks] (was Google Wave Invites 17 responses, 2 remaining, now is the cycle is complete)
by Solomon Mburu Kamau 06 Nov '09

06 Nov '09

On 05/11/2009, Solomon Mburu Kamau <solo.mburu(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Good people, > I have sent Google Wave invites to the following: > 1. danielmugambi(a)gmail.com > 2. ukanga(a)gmail.com > 3. edobie(a)gmail.com > 4. zackgithinji(a)gmail.com > 5. tyegon(a)gmail.com > 6. mcdonaldoj(a)gmail.com > 7. jaredkoyier(a)gmail.com > 8. ochere(a)gmail.com > 9. justinmochama(a)googlemail.com > 10. mwirigic(a)gmail.com > 11. bensonnjonjo08(a)gmail.com > 12. martow(a)gmail.com > 13. alex.ngatia(a)gmail.com > 14. andrewouko(a)gmail.com > 15. skmwenda(a)gmail.com > 16. njorogekamau(a)gmail.com > 17. bmwagiru(a)gmail.com > > I still need two more emails to complete my cycle of invites. > > @ mueni0(a)gmail.com, I couldn’t send an invite you because Josiah has > already sent an invitation to that email  No hard feelings! > > Regards, > > -- > Solomon Mburu > P.O. Box 19343 - 00202 Nairobi > Cell: (+254-0) 735 431041 > > Man is a gregarious animal and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all > the same way to the side of a hill! > > AND > > It is better to die in dignity than in the ignomity of ambiguous > generosity! > > > http://dawn-in-kenya.blogspot.com > https://smiley2.wordpress.com > Good people, Apart from the emails in my earlier post, I've added 18. evakimathi(a)gmail.com 19. steven.wainaina(a)gmail.com And my cycle is complete. Kindly don't send an invite to me as I have already exhausted my 'units' PS: If you get through, post it on the list so that we link as much guys as possible. Thanks -- Solomon Mburu P.O. Box 19343 - 00202 Nairobi Cell: (+254-0) 735 431041 Man is a gregarious animal and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all the same way to the side of a hill! AND It is better to die in dignity than in the ignomity of ambiguous generosity! http://dawn-in-kenya.blogspot.com https://smiley2.wordpress.com

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google wave invite
by jacques munene 06 Nov '09

06 Nov '09

forget to edit the subject. kind regards. On Fri, Nov 6, 2009 at 8:37 AM, jacques munene <mnjacques(a)gmail.com> wrote: > mnjacques(a)gmail.com > > > > > On Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 7:46 PM, Solomon Mburu Kamau <solo.mburu(a)gmail.com>wrote: > >> Good people, >> I have sent Google Wave invites to the following: >> 1. danielmugambi(a)gmail.com >> 2. ukanga(a)gmail.com >> 3. edobie(a)gmail.com >> 4. zackgithinji(a)gmail.com >> 5. tyegon(a)gmail.com >> 6. mcdonaldoj(a)gmail.com >> 7. jaredkoyier(a)gmail.com >> 8. ochere(a)gmail.com >> 9. justinmochama(a)googlemail.com >> 10. mwirigic(a)gmail.com >> 11. bensonnjonjo08(a)gmail.com >> 12. martow(a)gmail.com >> 13. alex.ngatia(a)gmail.com >> 14. andrewouko(a)gmail.com >> 15. skmwenda(a)gmail.com >> 16. njorogekamau(a)gmail.com >> 17. bmwagiru(a)gmail.com >> >> I still need two more emails to complete my cycle of invites. >> >> @ mueni0(a)gmail.com, I couldn’t send an invite you because Josiah has >> already sent an invitation to that email  No hard feelings! >> >> Regards, >> >> -- >> Solomon Mburu >> P.O. Box 19343 - 00202 Nairobi >> Cell: (+254-0) 735 431041 >> >> Man is a gregarious animal and enjoys agreement as cows will graze all >> the same way to the side of a hill! >> >> AND >> >> It is better to die in dignity than in the ignomity of ambiguous >> generosity! >> >> >> http://dawn-in-kenya.blogspot.com >> https://smiley2.wordpress.com >> _______________________________________________ >> Skunkworks mailing list >> Skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke >> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks >> ------------ >> Skunkworks Rules >> http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 >> ------------ >> Other services @ http://my.co.ke >> Other lists >> ------------- >> Announce: >> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce >> Science: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science >> kazi: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general >> > >

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Re: [Skunkworks] Will Open source make developing nations dumber and dependent on freeware to run economies?
by Steve Obbayi 05 Nov '09

05 Nov '09

I totally share @Aki's view on this thread. Now about @Emanuel's views on re-inventing the wheel? That's what the US motor industry had to do, literally rather than just reinvent the wheel, they had to reinvent the concept of the cars consumers "need" just to stay afloat in the long run. For decades cars have been designed and built around certain parameters stored in on some bookshelf. Unfortunately some of those parameters are continually becoming irrelevant in this day and age with the economic situation as it is coupled with rising energy costs. For these reasons reinventing the wheel becomes necessary. I think what @Aki is saying is, with attitudes of us kenyans nothing would change. Look at Kenya railways. It was a major force to reckon with as far as mechanical engineering was concerned back in the 70s and 80s but the same coaches and engines that where used back them have deceptively been sufficient up until today... (nothing has changed).. okay lets go to something nearer home. The drivers licenses booklet thingy. Those things should have been changed years ago. So it's the same mentality with us kenyan developers. As long as it can be downloaded and plugged in; we are content with it as it is. @Aki unfortunately this thing is everywhere. look at local radio. one station starts "Secret Sound" and the rest adopt the idea and so on. So tuning in to each radio station you find the same old "creativity". across the board. Anyway i could go on and on and on. I am working on a "Secret" Personal project which I don't want to divulge and info on at this time. All I can say is it is nothing new but I am just implementing the wheel from scratch in a different way. At 1st when I started it looked impossible with today's technology but the more i proceed i keep discovering ways to do it. yep, that's it for now. SKYPE: sobbayi US: +1 202 297 6831 +1 202 470 0525 KE: +254 722 627 691 http://blog.sobbayi.com http://sobbayi.blogspot.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "aki" <aki275(a)googlemail.com> To: "Skunkworks Forum" <skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke> Sent: Thursday, November 5, 2009 8:32:37 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] Will Open source make developing nations dumber and dependent on freeware to run economies? @Emmanuel, thnks. I think FreeBSD is something that holds a unified light for OS which will make development easier. Well, I hope to see something new from local OS people sometime next year worth many mentions and achievements. Something to change perceptions that exist. When I mention dumbness, it is not meant as an insult but as a wake up call that things should be moving or we easily become Open Source Robots who can only do one thing : download this or that. I've shared me thots... nice week to all. :-) _______________________________________________ Skunkworks mailing list Skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks ------------ Skunkworks Rules http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=94 ------------ Other services @ http://my.co.ke Other lists ------------- Announce: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce Science: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science kazi: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general

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Re: [Skunkworks] ICDL to be Gazetted: Is Open Office recognized?
by Peter Osotsi 05 Nov '09

05 Nov '09

M$ ICDL? Or is it the BA graduates (are they journalists?) at the media houses that are ill informed? Or is it a case of a native Window$ user aka minister communicating on a serious ICT affair? The US .gov is moving open source, Kenya with all its poverty is going the $$ way, tells me how we don't know how to make/save wealth. --- Don't wait for success; hunt it down like there's no tomorrow. --- This is great! Absolutely need similar "open" skill set standards model here-that was never the contention. Rather that the media house reportedly concluded /suggested that GoK was Gazetting M$ - NOT FUNNY, at all, or at the very least.

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KDN - 4x The Bandwidth!!
by Kevin K. Kamonye 05 Nov '09

05 Nov '09

In our continued efforts to annihilate those against progress in the industry by giving unfair prices to Kenyans, we are here with yet another unbelievable gift to all. PS: My intention is not to start a negative and critical debate about this - its purely FYI. This is real. Take it or leave it - thats your f*&#ing problem. -- K. K. Kamonye

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