July 2010 - skunkworks - Skunkworks Site

Safaricom WiMAX Services
by Odhiambo Washington 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

Does anyone here know how one can contact Safaricom when a WiMAX link is down without going through the bureaucratic system where (a) you have to call Customer Care, leave them with your details so that you are called back, OR (b) you are asked to call a non-existent number - 0722 00 22 22 (c) calling 42 73 272 and being put on hold for eons while they try to find who you need to talk to? I've just gone through such a process, just to find someone to help me troubleshoot a WiMAX link which is currently down. -- 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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PHP development comes to Google Android
by aki 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

Spanish open source venture provides tools and documentation for PHP developers who want to create Android apps Developers at an open source company in Spain are leading an effort to boost PHP application development for Android-based phones. Called PHP for Android (PFA), the project supports Google's Scripting Layer for Android (SL4A) project, formerly called Android Scripting Environment (ASE). PFA aims to make PHP development in Android not only possible but also feasible [by] providing tools and documentation," said PFA founder and developer Ivan Mosquera Paulo, a software engineer at Irontec, near Bilbao, Spain, in an email on Friday. More information and releases are found at PFA's website. PHP support would follow the availability of Android interpreters for Python, Lua, and JavaScript, Mosquera Paulo said. "I thought that there was no reason why PHP support couldn't be added, so I started to work on it with my team at Irontec. We were really interested in achieving this because we had already worked in Android development (in a project for Vodafone) but our favorite tool is PHP," said Mosquera Paulo. "We thought that it would be great having PHP available. "We thought that this project would be really interesting for any PHP developer. And we have had far more than 10,000 unique visits, so this proves that we were right. We want this project to be a chance for a lot of people for whom there was a huge development wall: Java," Mosquera Paulo said. The Java language is the primary means of authoring Android applications. http://www.infoworld.com/d/developer-world/php-development-comes-google-and…

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Increased latencies on AK
by Dennis Kioko 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

Seems AK have routing traffic via South Africa . Latencies are on the higher side this morning and streaming is a No. Anyone else experiencing difficulties on their ISP? [kioko@laptop Downloads]$ traceroute www.yahoo.com traceroute to www.yahoo.com (67.195.160.76), 30 hops max, 60 byte packets 1 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1) 14.042 ms 14.346 ms 15.288 ms 2 41.215.42.33.accesskenya.com (41.215.42.33) 6.908 ms 7.217 ms 7.534 ms 3 ge-1-0-0-bp_core01.accesskenya.com (196.207.31.33) 9.356 ms 9.378 ms 9.741 ms 4 TenGE-2-1-BP_EDGE01.accesskenya.com (196.207.31.145) 11.553 ms 11.586 ms 11.905 ms 5 * * if-0-0-0-101.core1.2N1-Nairobi.as6453.net (41.206.163.21) 18.136 ms 6 * if-9-0-3.bb1.JSO-Johannesburg.as6453.net (216.6.55.25) 320.278 ms * 7 if-2-2-0.har1.KLT-CapeTown.as6453.net (41.206.164.1) 97.279 ms * * 8 195.219.214.33 (195.219.214.33) 395.457 ms 393.849 ms * 9 if-6-0-0-1761.mcore3.NJY-Newark.as6453.net (216.6.57.21) 310.648 ms 310.361 ms 310.143 ms 10 * * * 11 ix-6-0-4.core4.AEQ-Ashburn.as6453.net (209.58.27.38) 320.707 ms * * 12 ae-6.pat2.dce.yahoo.com (216.115.102.176) 320.509 ms 322.098 ms 323.029 ms 13 xe-3-0-0.msr1.ac2.yahoo.com (216.115.108.131) 321.226 ms xe-8-0-0.msr1.ac2.yahoo.com (216.115.108.133) 320.186 ms * 14 * xe-8-2-0.clr3.ac4.yahoo.com (76.13.0.105) 320.085 ms * 15 * * te-9-1.bas-a2.ac4.yahoo.com (76.13.0.179) 321.627 ms 16 * * * 17 * * * 18 * * * 19 * * * 20 * * * 21 * * * 22 * * * 23 * * * 24 * * * 25 * * * 26 * * * 27 * * * 28 * * * 29 * * * 30 * * * -- with Regards:

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What differentiates an attractive website from a repulsive one?
by aki 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

In a world where businesses are adopting quickly to information technology, websites have become the universal compass — pointing people to data that suits their specific needs in a sea of information. However, not all websites are worthy revisiting. What makes the difference between an attractive site and one the puts off surfers? According to Denis Karema of Authentic Global, a Kenyan web design company, the name of a website must match the industry of the company (host). It should be short and easy to remember. This ensures that the visitors refer the site to other prospective visitors easily. This also means that the client’s needs have been met and the website is easier to use, hence repeat visits. This also enables search engines such as Yahoo, Google, and Binge — among others — to easily pick up the site during a search. The quality of a good website is determined by the number of repeat visits and referrals it gets. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/What%20differentiates%20an%20attractive%…

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Microsoft Warns of Zero-Day Windows Hole
by aki 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

Microsoft is warning that attackers are exploiting a critical unpatched Windows vulnerability using infected USB flash drives. The bug admission is the first that affects Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) since Microsoft retired the edition from support , researchers said. When Microsoft does fix the flaw, it will not be providing a patch for machines still running XP SP2. In a security advisory, Microsoft confirmed what other researchers had been saying for almost a month: Hackers have been exploiting a bug in Windows "shortcut" files, the placeholders typically dropped on the desktop or into the Start menu to represent links to actual files or programs.(See also "The Ultimate Guide to Windows 7 Security.") "In the wild, this vulnerability has been found operating in conjunction with the Stuxnet malware," Dave Forstrom, a director in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, said in a post Friday to a company blog . Stuxnet is a clan of malware that includes a Trojan horse that downloads further attack code, including a rootkit that hides evidence of the attack. Forstrom characterized the threat as "limited, targeted attacks," but the Microsoft group responsible for crafting antivirus signatures said it had tracked 6,000 attempts to infect Windows PCs as of July 15. On Friday, Siemens alerted customers of its Simatic WinCC management software that attacks using the Windows vulnerability were targeting computers used to manage large-scale industrial control systems used by major manufacturing and utility companies. http://www.pcworld.com/article/201347/microsoft_warns_of_zero_day_windows_h…

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Security Secrets the Bad Guys Don't Want You to Know
by aki 19 Jul '10

19 Jul '10

Rogue scripts, fake antivirus programs, and infected PDFs: Defend yourself against the Web's most insidious threats. Robert McMillan, PC World You already know the basics of internet security, right? You know to keep your antivirus program and patches up to date, to be careful where you go on the Internet, and to exercise online street-smarts to resist being tricked into visiting a phishing site or downloading a Trojan horse. But when you've got the basics covered, but you still don't feel secure, what can you do? Here are a few advanced security tips to help you thwart some of today's most common attacks. Remember, however, that security is all about trade-offs. With most of these tips, what you gain in security, you lose in convenience. But hey, it's your computer. Be as paranoid as you want to be. Avoid Scripting This may be the one piece of advice that will do most to keep you the safe on the Web: Steer clear of JavaScript, especially on sites you don't trust. JavaScript is very popular, and for good reason. It works in almost all browsers, and it makes the Web a lot more dynamic. But it also enables bad guys to trick your browser more easily into doing something that it shouldn't. The deception could be something as simple as telling the browser to load an element from another Web page. Or it could involve something more complicated, like a cross-site scripting attack, which gives the attacker a way to impersonate the victim on a legitimate Web page. JavaScipt attacks are everywhere. If you use Facebook, you may have seen one of the latest. Lately, scammers have set up illegitimate Facebook pages offering things like a free $500 gift card if you cut and paste some code into your browser's address bar. http://www.pcworld.com/article/201309/fix_serious_security_issues.html?tk=r…

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Invitation to the 2010 Kenya IGF Meeting Panafric hotel Nairobi 29.07.2010
by Judy Okite 17 Jul '10

17 Jul '10

FYI, Kind Regards, Dear All, The Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC), the Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) and other participating organisations wish to invite you to the 2010 Kenya IGF to be held at the Panafric hotel in Nairobi, on the 29th of July 2010 7.00 am to 1:00 Pm The 2010 Kenya IGF is a follow up to the 2009 national IGF and theregional East Africa Intrenet Governance Forum 2009 (EA-IGF2009), as well as preparation for the EA-IGF 2010. The national and the regional forums aim at creating awareness, instituting a consensus building process to develop a common understanding of local IG issues as well as building capacity in order to enable meaningful participation in global Internet policy, governance anddevelopment processes and initiatives. The Kenya IGF will therefore provide Kenyan Internet stakeholders with an opportunity to increase understanding of Internet governance issues and the links with socio-economic, political and cultural development and strengthen the internet governance community of practise evolving in the East Africa region. Further, Kenya has expressed interest in hosting the 2011 global United Nations Intrenet Governnace Forum (UN-IGF) the Kenya and EA IGF will support the goals of the IGF and the continued evolution of the open,multi-stakeholder internet. The outcomes of the K-IGF will be submitted and presented at the 2010 East Africa Internet Governance Forum (EA-IGF 2010) to be held in Kampala,Uganda from the 11th to the 13th of August 2010 and subsequently to the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meeting to be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 14-17 September 2010. On behalf of all participating organizations, it is my pleasure to invite you to the Kenya IGF. More information can be found on the National IGFwebsite http://www.eaigf.or.ke/nigfs/kigf.html. we hope you will be able to participate as per the attached proposed programme. For planning purposes, kindly send an email to kenya(a)eaigf.or.ke<http://us.mc578.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=kenya@eaigf.or.ke><mailto: kenya(a)eaigf.or.ke<http://us.mc578.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=kenya@eaigf.or.ke> > confirming your attendance. Kind Regards, Joe Kiragu Administrative Manger Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) kiragu(a)kenic.or.ke<http://us.mc578.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=kiragu@kenic.or.ke> -- Barrack O. Otieno +41767892272 Skype: barrack.otieno _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: judyokite(a)gmail.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/judyokite%40gmail.com -- “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.” Kofi Annan

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Web Design Question
by Eva Kimathi 17 Jul '10

17 Jul '10

Hi, I hope that this is not inappropriate. I am not a webdev person but i have to design a webquiz that works in the same fashion as the personality exams where a certain array of answers put the person being quizzed in one of a couple of categories. I wonder whether you could point me to a resource preferably with samples that I could learn from. any language is ok, but ASP and javascript would be most preferable. kind regards, Eva.

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Re: [Skunkworks] Web Design Question
by Steve Obbayi 17 Jul '10

17 Jul '10

You should start by prototyping what you need to do and define your categories right from the database. If you like the wire frame then you can go ahead and build the actual quiz Steve Obbayi http://blog.sobbayi.com

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Re: [Skunkworks] MS Office Document Scanning Issue (Simon Mbuthia)
by Martin Mutugi 17 Jul '10

17 Jul '10

Hi Simon, You need to give more details in-order to get help.E.g Which platform are you installing the printer in?Are you installing from the OEM CD or is it downloaded drivers?This printer is particularly problematic as i have dealt with it before. Regards, Martin. --- On Fri, 16/7/10, skunkworks-request(a)lists.my.co.ke <skunkworks-request(a)lists.my.co.ke> wrote: From: skunkworks-request(a)lists.my.co.ke <skunkworks-request(a)lists.my.co.ke> Subject: Skunkworks Digest, Vol 5, Issue 264 To: skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke Date: Friday, 16 July, 2010, 22:45 Send Skunkworks mailing list submissions to skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to skunkworks-request(a)lists.my.co.ke You can reach the person managing the list at skunkworks-owner(a)lists.my.co.ke When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Skunkworks digest..." Today's Topics: 1. MS Office Document Scanning Issue (Simon Mbuthia) 2. Re: 4 G in Kenya?? (Vincent Wayodi) 3. Re: Local Cisco Vendors (John Gitau) 4. Re: Motorola Droid X - is it a replace ment for the troubled iphone 4 (Dennis Kioko) 5. Re: Regulating Skunkworks. (Solomon Mburu Kamau) 6. Re: .co.ke domains (Daudi Were) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:00:17 +0300 From: Simon Mbuthia <simon.mbuthia(a)gmail.com> To: Skunkworks forum <skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke> Subject: [Skunkworks] MS Office Document Scanning Issue Message-ID: <AANLkTikwnVlca4KYj6-eoKyA_-jhMHLskXHDkWewqR1r(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Hi guys, I am running Office 2003 on a certain computer with a HP Laserjet M1319f MFP Printer/Copier/Scanner with the latest drivers installed. When I run the Document Scanner Application and click on the *Scanner...* button, the dialog box that follows has a drop down that ought to list detected scanners, but lists nothing. I have Googled, I have thought, I have racked my brains and now I am asking for help. Saidia tafadhali somebody... Me

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