July 2009 - skunkworks - Skunkworks Site

Better Service on Vodacom/Safaricom Roaming
by David Mugo 26 Jul '09

26 Jul '09

Hi Guys, I dont know if its my last complaint that got somewhere or its the fiber, I am getting true 3g service on my safaricom line in dar! Keep up the good work whoever is responsible. David. -- Got any life problems? visit www.dearkenya.com

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Seacom. Could it have been just been...??
by Gakuru Alex 26 Jul '09

26 Jul '09

ok, this is just a gut feeling.. "SEACOM has completed and commissioned its 1,28 terabits per second (Tb/s), 17, 000 kilometres" yet at launch "Attendees at all launch events experienced the high-speed capabalities took place through a one-gigabit-per-second live international connection at all locations." http://www.seacom.socialmediarelease.co.za/ see also: http://whiteafrican.com/2009/07/23/reactions-to-seacom-going-live-today/ Questions: 1) Why was it that only 1 GB/s at all launch location if they had 1.28 Tb/s capacity? 2) Could they have just purchased some temporary 1 GB/s from satellites, pumped it to completed segments for the launch? 3) Were we taken for a ride thus you guys that stayed up all night pinging... pinging.. and pinging... you were fell for it? oh no, I hope I am wrong... Alex

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Re: [Skunkworks] [Security Forum] Writing Professional Engagement Contracts
by Arthur Simiyu 26 Jul '09

26 Jul '09

Hi Thomas, Thanks for the info, its all very enlightening. Not many freelancers like us understand how important the contract is. Do you have a sample contract doc that we can use to tailor our own? been researching about it for some time now. Simiyu --- On Thu, 7/9/09, Thomas Kibui <thomas.kibui(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Thomas Kibui <thomas.kibui(a)gmail.com> Subject: [Security Forum] Writing Professional Engagement Contracts To: security(a)lists.my.co.ke, skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke Date: Thursday, July 9, 2009, 6:48 AM Hello People, 2 cents ... For quite some time now I have come across technical proposal contracts, consultancy engagement contracts, Service level agreements and Statement of Works documents that are very poorly written. They normally leave the the provider or consultant or consultancy firm in a massive material and/or financial exposure because of the unlimited liability that is created in the agreement on the document. Badly written contracts can also result in one having his or her professional indemnity insurance policy getting nullified. First, let me talk about some of the legal buzz words that appear on contract documents ... “Damages” – are compensation for loss suffered owing to a breach of contract, a tort (civil wrong as opposed to a criminal wrong), or breach of some duty or responsibility that is mandated by a statute or act of parliament (e.g. product liability to a consumer) committed by some person or company. Different points of view may arise as to how much damages for a certain case can be but generally the principle is to put the innocent party, to the extent that money can achieve it, in the position as if it had not been subjected to the loss. Damages can also be general, nominal, special or exemplary (as a punishment) depending on jurisdiction.. (geographical , functional etc etc) “Warranties, conditions, obligations, liabilities and covenants” are simply provisions which when breached give rise to a claim for damages or compensation. These are normally subject to legal rules relating to damages such as mitigating (reducing) your losses “Indemnities and guarantees” – are promises to do something (usually pay money) on the happening of a specified event.These are meant to hold a party harmless from all risk associated with the specified event. Indemnities are therefore much wider and involve more risk for the consultant. "Direct v/s Indirect losses" - We often hear talk about direct and indirect or consequential losses or damages. These are widely misunderstood (even among our learned friends - the lawyers cum politicians) and have different meanings in different jurisdictions. Commonly (but incorrectly), there is a tendency to differentiate the two types in terms of the cost of re-instatement or fixing the part that has failed as against purely financial losses such as lost revenues or profits that the customer could have earned had, if for example, the defective software continued to work properly. However, this is often not the correct distinction legally. Under Common law, which was adapted in Kenya, for example, purely financial losses (such as lost profits) can still be classed as “direct” losses so long as they result or “flow” directly from the breach”. Having said that ... a professional should try to limit his /her liability as much as possible. Many jurisdictions prohibit the total exclusion of certain types of liability on the grounds of public policy (e.g. liability for death or personal injury which is as a result of the professional's negligence). It is usual to acknowledge liability for these injuries ... BUT liability for loss of profits, revenue, business and data (“indirect”) should be excluded in the contracts at all times. This is because large claims/losses are very possible here. The customer can always mitigate against such losses by for example paying for redundancy or backing -up or seeking alternative services.Including indirect liability is almost like underwriting/insuring the customer’s business. All remaining liability (“direct”) should be capped. eg.. capping the losses to the value of the consultancy fees or a % of it.The amount of the cap is normally a variable for negotiation. I am not a lawyer but I believe that a professionally written agreement document should follow the below basic principles.. Cover Page .. with a clear title that indicates what the document is all about, customer name, provider's name , logos are optional, Date is optional, one could include a professional picture to make it colorful.. General Information .. Here put in customer details, the customer SPOC contact details, the provider's SPOC contact details, date, document version, contract reference number or codeFinancial Proposal .. here include the prices, clearly indicating the currency, the assumed exchange rate and the payment model, eg One time payment, recurring payment, payment by milestone, or whatever mode u want. Always separate the professional fees from the other charges that are incurred in the engagement. EG "Security consultancy fees = 200,000 ,, Internet access fees = 12,000, travel and accommodation = 30,000. Consultants who incur travel and accommodation expenses should always include a clause indicating that any unforeseen extra expenses that may be incurred in the cause of engagement will be charged to the customer .. something like The foregoing travel and accommodation fees reflects an estimate of activities required to perform the work under this contract, which may vary from the actual time spent, and travel expenses incurred . Unless expressly agreed otherwise, charges shall be incurred on the basis of actual time spent and travel and will be charged to the customer at cost. Description of Product / Service.. Here start with an executive summary of what the deal is all about then describe the product or service as you normally do.Contractual Terms and Conditions .. this is where most of us get a D minus ... This section is the "legal" part of the document if you could call it so .. This section should have the following... A general section with clauses that talk about how payment will be done, the effective date of the contract (eg this contact is effective upon signature), change management and its impact on charges, , assumptions and references to other binding documents if they exist... a previous contract A section on limited liability that completely absolves the provider from liability from in-direct losses and capping liability from direct losses.A confidentiality clause that protects both parties from disclosure of confidential information to third parties .. this is self explanatory .. A clause stating the governing law, the language to be used and the place of arbitration that will be used in case of a dispute This becomes important when u are doing a deal in a foreign country ..eg lets say you were contracted to inspect the UN firewalls in Addis Ababa .. and somehow y'all disagreed .. you will be in more trouble if you had not on the onset argued that you would sign the agreement in Kenya, use Kenya laws, use the English language in a Kenyan court to resolve the dispute ... Can you imagine a Kenyan trying to describe an exploit in Amharic .... :-) (no offense to the Ethiopians) Lastly a signature section saying something like "by signing below, Customer confirms that Provider may commence the work detailed in this agreement and that all its internal requirements for authorizations have been complied with" __________ (customer name, date etc) ___________________ (provider name, date). Thats my 2 cents .. i hope it helps .. feel free to add your thoughts too .. -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Security mailing list Security(a)lists.my.co.ke http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/security

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HP PRO BOOK 4510S
by Alvin Jason Ochieng 25 Jul '09

25 Jul '09

New!! HP ProBook 4510s Intel Core 2 Duo T6570 (2.1GHz ◊ FSB-800MHz ◊ 2 MB L2 cache) Processor; 3GB DDR2 Memory; 320GB HDD; SuperMulti Dual Layer (fixed) DVD+/-RW; 15.6" LED HD Bright View display; WEBCAM 2.0MP; Intel WLAN 802.11a/b/g/draft-n; Bluetooth 2.0; 10/100/1000 NIC; Windows Vista Business (Windows XP Pro Downgradable); Office Ready (Trial Version), 1 year warranty + Free HP drop in box Carrycase with HP USB Optical Travel Mini Mouse @ 64,000/= Ex-stock - Offer Valid till 31st July or While Stocks LAST !!! Get in touch for any other Laptop / Brand. Contacts Below. We deliver !!!! I do hope you find this information helpful. Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Alvin Ochieng Corporate Account Manager Greenline Technology Limited IT Hardware and Software Solutions 2nd Floor, Odyssey Plaza, Mukoma Road. Email :info@greenline.co.ke +254 20 651755 / 552086 +254 20 2425225 / 2429743 +254 20 559841 +254 722-219938/733-610758 -

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Re: [Skunkworks] make your own broadband building solution orestate network
by nurkey.hussein＠gmail.com 25 Jul '09

25 Jul '09

I think that would mean having regional POPs with alternative path into each POP and build MPLS solution ------Original Message------ From: Gakuru Alex To: nurkey.hussein(a)gmail.com To: Skunkworks forum Sent: 25 Jul 2009 15:18 Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] make your own broadband building solution orestate network They do not have *the infrastructure* - that's what we intend to build.. our own, we lease it to them and they *pay us* the commissions:-) On Sat, Jul 25, 2009 at 3:19 PM, <nurkey.hussein(a)gmail.com> wrote: > I would advice you to enter some kind of dealership with leadin ISP's. > > That way you will ride on their infrastructure and u get commisions. > > Sent from my BlackBerry® > > -----Original Message----- > From: aki <aki275(a)googlemail.com> > > Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:46:37 > To: Skunkworks forum<skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke> > Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] make your own broadband building solution or > estate network > > >_______________________________________________ > Skunkworks mailing list > Skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke > http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks > 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 >_______________________________________________ > Skunkworks mailing list > Skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke > http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks > 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 > Sent from my BlackBerry®

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Mick Wilson/UNEP/NBO/UNO is on mission
by Mick Wilson 25 Jul '09

25 Jul '09

I will be out of the office starting Fri 07/24/2009 and will not return until Fri 07/31/2009. I am away on mission to Nigeria and will rarely be checking this mail. If you need an intelligent reply before I get back then please contact caroline.mureithi(a)unep.org or, for POW 2010 matters, norberto.fernandez(a)unep.org

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make your own broadband building solution or estate network
by aki 25 Jul '09

25 Jul '09

Create you own broadband network. Did you know you can connect the WAN port of a broadband router to the another? Its too simple........... domestic solution........... ( INTERNET on WIRELESS Eth port ) ! ! ! Port1LAN ETH Port !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ETH ! WAN !----------------------! Client 1 ! PORT ! Router ! ----- !ROUTER !-------------------CLIENT1 LAN ( private ips ) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Port2 LAN ! ! !-------------!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! Client 2 !------------------CLIENT2 LAN ( private ips ) ! Router ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Subnet addressing : On WAN Router Public ethernet port 41.0.0.1 etc Public ethernet ports ( LAN side ) subnet 41.1.0.1 to 41.1.0.4 etc On Client 1 Router Public ethernet port port ( pick 1 ip address from Wan router lan ip block 41.1.0.1 ) On Client 2 Router Public ethernet port port ( pick 1 ip address from Wan router lan ip block 41.1.0.2 ) Simply remember WAN router can allow stub networks and allow static/dynamic routing. Enjoy. :-)

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AutoCAD / AutoDesk Inventor
by Areba Collins 25 Jul '09

25 Jul '09

Any skunk with this nice piece of software? Not genuine for evaluation and educational purposes only. -- Its Possible! http://www.itspossible.afraha.com Collins Areba Omwoyo +254 735 824872 / +254 720 516758 arebacollins[at]gmail[dot]com

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If we have any Business Daily writer on the list
by aki 24 Jul '09

24 Jul '09

If we do and it seems to me there is a big story to be told about the Seacom aftermath , my points to you are these : - Take it from me, there is nothing like " it takes time ". Networks simply do not operate in this manner. Contact Seacom office and find out how long does it take to connect a provider. Contact the national fiber operator eg TKL, KDN and see how long it takes to deliver the connection from mombasa to say Nairobi. The assumption is that Seacom would already have notified providers, fiber operators of its intended launch date ( including earlier tests ). So all network operators, providers must have been aware atleast 14 days prior to date of launch. Network operators, service providers do not need any special interface equipment to terminate into Seacom network. The chain of connections is as follows : *Seacom station : National Fiber operator : Network Operator : Service provider : End User*. So a service provider like an ISP does not need to lay their own network to mombasa. - Service providers, network operators must be queried as to why they have not switched over. - Do a survey of public cyber operators and see what they have been told about the fiber and its service availability? Most of them I assume are on TKL connections. I've putting this info on this list for anyone to take it deeper. Sorry, the gravity of this event cannot cannot be left to speculations and assumptions. facts would correct everything. Over and Out!

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Benchmarking Seacom
by aki 24 Jul '09

24 Jul '09

Whoever will be first lucky to get the first low latency network, pls share you download and upload benchmarks and latencies. Eg, Currently via vsat 1Mbyte file takes upto 5 minutes to download and vice versa. Many thanks in advance. :-)

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