September 2009 - skunkworks

Websites.co.ke
by Mbugua Njihia 04 Sep '09

04 Sep '09

I kinda liked the first look. This one has a lot of wasted real-estate symbiotic_logo Mbugua Njihia - CEO SYMBIOTIC MEDIA CONSORTIUM | Design:Develop:Deploy [a] Muringa Court - Suite B2:Kilimani- Junction of Kirichwa and Muringa Road [t] +254 20 359 6305 [e] mbugua(a)symbiotic.co.ke [w] www.symbiotic.co.ke [b] http://www.symbiotic.co.ke/blog/ This message may contain information, which is confidential, private or privileged in nature. If you are not the intended recipient of the message, you are notified that any distribution, use or copying of this message is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately

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splicing machine
by francis kamau 04 Sep '09

04 Sep '09

hi, I would like to get info on any splicing machine - model, features and cost Any ideas? regards frank

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a question of incentives...
by saidimu apale 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

Lately I've been wondering: if today I were to become a politician in Kenya, what incentive (besides an appeal to morality) would I have to "do things right"? Judging from the press and comments on this list, it appears that flouting the law (and occasionally flaunting it) are a better strategy. Better for me, I should add. To give a few examples: what incentives do ISPs in Nairobi have to act right? What incentives do telcos have to act right? What incentives does the govt. have to act right? What incentives does KACC have to act right? For banks/lenders to act right? For matatus to act right? For police to act right? ... ... you catch my drift? It is very logical to be corrupt (or cut corners) in Kenya because it is almost always guaranteed to work (even when you get caught!). To be sure, what is logical isn't always moral, but at the end of the day morality never put food on anyone's plate (or got you re-appointed to head anti-corruption authorities). What incentives, both positive and negative, have we given anyone to act right? just wondering aloud... saidi

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Cheap cctv solution
by Michael Omondi 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

I want to implementing a cheap cctv solution. Am thinking of having wireless webcams installed and having a software to take snapshots at regular intervals has anyone does this before. I need advice and guidance... Thanks

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Re: [Skunkworks] [kictanet] Idea
by wesley kirinya 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

Interesting! If KDN has an intergrated payment solution then that's great. I believe there are lots of great apps that would benefit from a payment platform with an API for developers to plug into, and a reasonable revenue share between the platform provider and the developer. That is the last mile for developers. Developers can now reach the increasing number of consumers getting online, thanks to the fibre and its good tidings, but they can't get money from the consumers! A platform that allows a consumer to click 'Buy Now' from a webpage, a computer application or a mobile application and the necessary money transfer is done would be indeed awesome. Hopefully KDN, Access Kenya or some large ICT company will set up such a payment platform. Developers (and businesses they serve) will worship you for months and years to come, and so will consumers (indirectly)! Kenyans from abroad can purchase local stuff for their loved ones in Kenya, ... I believe this is the next thing past the money transfer solutions offered by our Telcos. O_O --- On Thu, 9/3/09, kai wulff <kai.wulff(a)kdn.co.ke> wrote: From: kai wulff <kai.wulff(a)kdn.co.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Idea To: kiriinya2000(a)yahoo.com Cc: "'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions'" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 4:45 PM This portal exists. Please contact KDN. Kai From: kictanet-bounces+kai.wulff=kdn.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+kai.wulff=kdn.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Rad! Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2009 15:58 To: kai.wulff(a)kdn.co.ke Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Idea Here's a thought. Most Kenyans labour under the mistaken impression that to succeed you have to do it using the one-big-deal-that-sorts-you-out-for-life. Not true. I wonder if Safaricom, Orange , Zain & Yu would consider setting up application portals -- something like the apple app store. Local developers would submit applications that would be vetted and if approved, availed on the portals for download to their customers. There would then be revenue share between developers and the telcos. Everyone wins. Jobs created. Innovation fostered. Telcos make money. Pipe dream? -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: kiriinya2000(a)yahoo.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kiriinya2000%40yahoo.c…

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NCUC Press Release on Our Letter to ICANN
by Gakuru Alex 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

Dear all, As preparations for EA-IGF kicks off... I know Rod Beckstrom, the New President & CEO of ICANN listens to all Internet stakeholder thus I am inclined to believe that he will grant NCUC audience at Seoul, Korea Next month. He is conscious that the New gTLD Program - a substantial shift in the domain name system, requires very thorough consideration to ensure that all the sectors in the community participation, and all potential issues are understood and resolved before launch next year. The New gTLD are name-like, such as .coders, .network, .business, .kenya, .africa, etc. ICANN is further refining the next version of the Draft Applicant Guidebook that will explain how the New gTLD implementation will be done. I'll post a download link once it's ready. But most importantly, he is committed to the Internet community’s continuing participation to make the New gTLD Program enhance competition and choice for Internet users, broaden regional participation through the introduction of IDNs and community based TLDs, and protects the rights and interests of all. In view of the above, I am convinced that the below NCUC request will be granted a hearing. Sincerely, Alex Gakuru NCUC-Kenya, ICT Consumers Association of Kenya ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Robin Gross <robin(a)ipjustice.org> Date: Thu, Sep 3, 2009 at 3:39 PM Subject: NCUC Press Release on Our Letter to ICANN To: NCUC-DISCUSS(a)listserv.syr.edu Dear All, Below is NCUC's press release regarding our letter to the ICANN Board of Directors and CEO. It is also posted to the NCUC website here. Please feel free to re-distribute it, blog it, re-post, translate, etc. the press release so we can have the widest possible distribution of our letter and the concerns it relays. Thanks, Robin NCUC Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3 September 2009 Public Interest Groups in ICANN Appeal to New President For Fairer Treatment For Civil Society The organization that represents Non-Commercial Internet Users in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) issued an open letter to the Board this week, expressing concern about the possible failure of ICANN's attempt to balance the representation of commercial and noncommercial interests. California (United States) – ICANN’s Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC), a group of 152 non-commercial organizations and individuals from 52 countries who represent the noncommercial interests of Internet users in ICANN policy development, recently appealed to ICANN's Board of Directors and CEO to meet with them in Seoul to resolve serious problems with its current plans to alter the representation of noncommercial interests in its policy making process. Specifically, NCUC’s letter expressed concern over ICANN’s adoption of a flawed charter for noncommercial users that disregarded the vast majority of public comments and concerns expressed by noncommercial Internet users. In late July 2009 ICANN’s Board decided to approve the NCSG charter drafted by ICANN staff, rather than the charter drafted by civil society in a 7-month long consensus process that included a wide variety of noncommercial interests and was submitted to ICANN’s Board by the NCUC. ICANN’s staff did not provide its board with the competing charter submitted by NCUC in order to properly inform the board’s decision. The difference between staff’s charter and civil society’s charter is stark. Staff’s charter ties council representation and resources to arbitrary and more easily manipulated constituencies, while the NCUC charter calls for stakeholder group wide elections of its noncommercial representatives and other leaders. NCUC’s charter model encourages consensus building among constituencies, while staff’s charter model encourages divisiveness and favoritism among noncommercial interests. “ICANN’s decision has resulted in significant damage to ICANN’s credibility within global civil society and has fueled further distrust towards ICANN’s decision making process,” said NCUC Chair Robin Gross. “Its treatment of noncommercial users in this instance has significantly called into question ICANN’s legitimacy to govern and its ability to protect the global public interest,” said Gross, Executive Director of digital rights group IP Justice, a NCUC member since 2004. The board’s adoption of the stakeholder group charter is part of ICANN’s ongoing effort to re-organize its Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO), which currently consists of 5 commercial constituencies and 1 non-commercial constituency, the NCUC. ICANN’s GNSO is responsible for developing policy recommendations that relate to Generic Top-Level Domains (GTLDs) or those domain names that end in .com, .net, .edu, and .org. The GNSO plays an important role on Internet-related policy issues since its recommendations affect all who own or use GTLDs, including the way domain names can be registered, used, transferred, and any applicable fees and associated policies regarding the domain names. The process of changing the GNSO’s structure from 6 constituencies to 4 stakeholder groups is expected to be complete by the end of October 2009. In its letter the NCUC states that “there is a misunderstanding over non-commercial representation and participation in ICANN” and NCUC calls on ICANN to acknowledge that there has been significant growth among noncommercial participants at ICANN recently. NCUC’s membership has grown by 240% since 2008 and now includes 75 noncommercial organizations and 77 individuals. An independent study by the London School of Economics verified that NCUC has the highest number of different people on the GNSO Council of any ICANN constituency and that NCUC has the most geographical diversity among its membership with members now from 52 different countries. “NCUC represents an extremely broad range of noncommercial Internet users, including educational and academic institutions, human rights organizations, libraries, consumer groups, religious organizations, bloggers, open source software developers, development-oriented groups, arts organizations, and other noncommercial interests,” explained Dr. Milton Mueller, an Internet governance expert. Dr. Mueller, now a professor at Syracuse University School of Information Studies and Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, co-founded the constituency in 2002. "Nonprofits and public interest advocacy groups have an irreplaceable role to play in a self-regulatory scheme dominated by business interests. Someone has to look out for the public interest. If we handicap noncommercial voices and divide them into competing silos they simply won't be able to participate effectively. ICANN's legitimacy and the quality of its decisions will suffer," explained Dr. Mueller. In order to dispel pervasive myths about civil society’s role in ICANN, the NCUC published a “Top 10 Myths about Civil Society Participation in ICANN,” a document that explains why much of what ICANN staff and other constituencies have claimed about noncommercial participation is untrue. For additional information on NCUC and noncommercial participation in ICANN, please contact NCUC’s Chair Robin Gross or visit NCUC’s website at http://ncdnhc.org. Contact: Robin Gross, NCUC Chair Milton Mueller, NCUC Co-Founder Tel.: +1-415-553-6261 Tel: +1-315-443-5616 Email: robin – at - ipjustice.org Email: Mueller – at – syr.edu More Info: Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC): http://ncdnhc.org NCUC’s Letter to ICANN Board of Directors and CEO: http://ncdnhc.org/profiles/blogs/ncuc-letter-to-icann-board-of NCUC’s “Top 10 Myths About Civil Society Participation in ICANN”: http://ncdnhc.org/profiles/blogs/top-10-myths-about-civil About the Noncommercial Users Constituency: The NCUC is the home for civil society organizations and individuals in the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO). With real voting power in ICANN policy-making and Board selection, it develops and supports positions that favor non-commercial communication and activity on the Internet. The NCUC is open to non-commercial organizations and individuals involved in education, community networking, public policy advocacy, development, promotion of the arts, children's welfare, religion, consumer protection, scientific research, human rights and many other areas. NCUC maintains a public website at http://ncdnhc.org. ### IP JUSTICE Robin Gross, Executive Director 1192 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 USA p: +1-415-553-6261 f: +1-415-462-6451 w: http://www.ipjustice.org e: robin(a)ipjustice.org _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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Re: [Skunkworks] Craigslist Kenya
by Christopher Kiagiri 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

Shortly after Craigslist unveiled 140 new pages (including Kenya's) two weeks ago, Wired ran a cover story on "Why Craigslist Is Such a Mess<http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/magazine/17-09/ff_craigslist?curr…>." It's a provocative title and if you haven't read the article, it is well worth a few minutes of your day. Several counter-intuitive points and assumptions are raised, that perhaps can guide the "opining" ... Cheers, - Chris On Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 1:15 PM, Edward Obiko <edobie(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Opine... > > http://kenya.craigslist.org > > -- > OO > > Omingo Obiko > _______________________________________________ > 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 >

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Re: [Skunkworks] [kictanet] Idea
by Gakuru Alex 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

co-opetition? - a relationship between two companies involving competition in some segments and cooperation in others would change historical "winner takes all" culture. On Thu, Sep 3, 2009 at 4:09 PM, Inge Vervloesem<ivervloesem(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hi, > great thinking!! > > For such a thing to succeed, we need to create a spirit of > collaboration rather than competition. Let's see if our telcos are > ready for that! > > Blessings, > Inge > > > > 2009/9/3 Phares Kariuki <pkariuki(a)gmail.com>: >> I have a friend working on such an enterprise. M-Pesa is the payment >> platform for now, so it basically locks the deal to safcom :( >> >> On Thu, Sep 3, 2009 at 3:58 PM, Rad! <conradakunga(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> Here's a thought. >>> >>> Most Kenyans labour under the mistaken impression that to succeed you have >>> to do it using the one-big-deal-that-sorts-you-out-for-life. >>> >>> Not true. >>> >>> I wonder if Safaricom, Orange, Zain & Yu would consider setting up >>> application portals -- something like the apple app store. Local developers >>> would submit applications that would be vetted and if approved, availed on >>> the portals for download to their customers. There would then be revenue >>> share between developers and the telcos. Everyone wins. Jobs created. >>> Innovation fostered. Telcos make money. >>> >>> Pipe dream? >>> _______________________________________________ >>> kictanet mailing list >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>> >>> This message was sent to: pkariuki(a)gmail.com >>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pkariuki%40gmail.com >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> With Regards, >> >> Phares Kariuki >> >> | T: +254 734 810 802 | E: pkariuki(a)gmail.com | Twitter: kaboro | Skype: >> kariukiphares | >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> This message was sent to: ivervloesem(a)gmail.com >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ivervloesem%40gmail.com >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alexgakuru.lists%40gma… >

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Fwd: A Gathering for Curious Minds - Free, Saturday 5th September, 10am (for 10.30)-12noon, Silverbird Theater, Westgate Mall, Nairobi
by Rahim Kara 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

> Subject: A Gathering for Curious Minds - Free, Saturday 5th > September, 10am (for 10.30)-12noon, Silverbird Theater, Westgate > Mall, Nairobi > > A Gathering for Curious Minds > > Free, Saturday 5th September, 10am (for 10.30)-12noon, Silverbird > Theater, Westgate Mall, Nairobi > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > We believe in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and > ultimately the world. So we're building here a forum that offers > free knowledge from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a > community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other. > > TED is a community of people who have just two things in common: > they seek a deeper understanding of the world, and they hope to turn > that understanding into a better future for us all. Every so often > it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and > ascend to a 30,000-foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an > intricately interconnected whole1. > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Every Saturday we will be showing two 20 minute videos of talks by > the world’s most inspired thinkers from the renowned TED > conferences (www.TED.com) followed by a casual discussion. > > Saturday 5th September videos feature talks by: > > Barry Schwartz who makes a passionate call for "practical wisdom" as > an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy. He argues > powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and > practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world. > > > > Alain de Botton who examines our ideas of success and failure -- and > questions the assumptions underlying these two judgments. Is success > always earned? Is failure? He makes an eloquent, witty case to move > beyond snobbery to find true pleasure in our work. > > > > Entry free, 10am (for 1030) -12noon, Saturday 5th September at the > Silverbird Theatre, Westgate Mall (Westlands). For more information > contact: Salim_keshavjee(a)yahoo.com or Farida_sher(a)yahoo.co.uk > > For the past 6 weeks we have had between 30 to 50 people attending > our event each Saturday. Some of their comments: "Amazing mind > stretching exercise"; "The creation of this type of community in > kenya! very exciting!; "I liked the diversity of people attending > and intensity of discussion"; "A great place to explore and share > ideas"; "Great choice of talks and great quality of debate". “you > know you’re onto something good when these gathering lead to > concerted action!” > > Former TED talkers have included former U.S. President Bill Clinton, > Al Gore, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Andrew Mwenda, Hans Rosling, Rick > Warren, Malcolm Gladwell and many more. > > 1: Adapted from the www.TED.com website > > Co-ordinated in conjunction with Silverbird Theatres to whom we owe > many thanks for supporting this event. > Rahim Kara, Pro App's Specialist, Elite Digital Solutions Ltd.  Apple Premium Reseller Sarit Centre P.O.Box 75289, Nairobi – 00200 KENYA +254 (20) 374 5550 PHONE +254 (20) 375 3509 FAX +254 721 875 042 Safaricom MOBILE +254 734 334 074 Zain MOBILE +254 773 104 250 Orange MOBILE iChat rahim.kara(a)me.com Mailing List Subscription http://mail.wananchi.com/mailman/listinfo/elitedigitalsolutions

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Re: [Skunkworks] [kictanet] Idea
by Phares Kariuki 03 Sep '09

03 Sep '09

I have a friend working on such an enterprise. M-Pesa is the payment platform for now, so it basically locks the deal to safcom :( On Thu, Sep 3, 2009 at 3:58 PM, Rad! <conradakunga(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Here's a thought. > > Most Kenyans labour under the mistaken impression that to succeed you have > to do it using the one-big-deal-that-sorts-you-out-for-life. > > Not true. > > I wonder if Safaricom, Orange, Zain & Yu would consider setting up > application portals -- something like the apple app store. Local developers > would submit applications that would be vetted and if approved, availed on > the portals for download to their customers. There would then be revenue > share between developers and the telcos. Everyone wins. Jobs created. > Innovation fostered. Telcos make money. > > Pipe dream? > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: pkariuki(a)gmail.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pkariuki%40gmail.com > > -- With Regards, Phares Kariuki | T: +254 734 810 802 | E: pkariuki(a)gmail.com | Twitter: kaboro | Skype: kariukiphares |

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