- skunkworks - Skunkworks Site

Electronic Payment Systems:- M-Pesa logical flaw...
by Gakuru Alex 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

On Tue, May 12, 2009 at 1:05 PM, Phares Kariuki<pkariuki(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Talk starts at 6 pm. There will be some Journalists from CBC Canada, > who will be keen to meet participants. > Would anybody know when, or if, the CBC journalists published their M-Pesa story? They interviewed me on "the dark side of M-Pesa" apparently because they could not get critics of the safaricom service. Explained to them that it was ridiculous for the service not to allow users to pick the "send-to" number from the phone book as opposed to have to wwrite down the number on a piece of papers then re-type it. Alternatively to pre-confirm to the user whom they intend to send the cash to before hitting the "send" button. Why bother telling me to whom I sent when it's already too late? Otherwise, I am ever afraid to send large sums of money. Lately I am curious as to why so many still prefer to use "manual" payment methods for example, electricity bills when Zap M-Pesa exist? I suspect M-Pesa used in urgent situations, where one has no choice or the alternative would be too expensive. If a cheaper alternative existed , then it would be bye bye M-Pesas and Zaps...

6 6

Yes You Can! Monopolies and Prices Commission of Kenya and CCK
by Gakuru Alex 01 Sep '09

01 Sep '09

"Unlike Mr Nyarunda he differed on the pricing issue and is asking the Monopolies and Prices Commission of Kenya to protect small business who are fearful of cartel-like practices given the small number of players controlling the cables." ... http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/-/539550/647922/-/ite… Under sections 23 and 47 of the Kenya Communications Act of 1998, the Commission is required to ensure that communications services are provided throughout Kenya and that the interests of all users of these services are protected with respect to prices charged for and the quality and variety of those services among other responsibilities http://www.cck.go.ke/consumer_center/

1 0

Banks and other things in general represent the failure of a greedy self centered economy?
by aki 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

Our economy seems to be run and supportive of only large scale businesses. Though I've not done an indepth research into the sectors, it seems that business of volumes in never going to take place in kenya unless you have businesses that run turnovers of tens of millions to really benefit from anything economic that kenya has to offer. Our economy encourages "matope tupu" schemes and a conman system in place to encourage theft and exploitation. Banks : Openly tell you deposit maximum interest rates @ 6% while borrowing loan rates @ 14-17%!! Oil companies buy crude at different prices but will not pass it on to end users. LPG cooking gas has been on the rise ever since. There are too many sectors to pick on, including our neareast ones i.e Service Providers. So ever wonder why prices will never drop, here's a simple example. If you borrow Ksh 5 million over 5 years @ 14% borrowing rate, monthly repayment is about Ksh 110,000/-!! So as a business, which is no charity in the first place, will pass on this expense to customers. Customer end up paying a further cost of 10-15% of what the original costs are. 15% plus the usual heavy markups = 35-50%. Heavy markups because costs like hiked rent, electricity, security, transport are being passed on to end users. Will things ever become cheaper, hakuna. This is the state of almost fake economies. Those who are buying properties and going on mortages as business investments better watch out. Today an apartment rent can cost as much as 80,000/-. Who excatly is going to pay this when they can borrow and finance it themselves? Why do I say fake economy. Look at the poverty and the number of increasing slums. Infact soon we should be labelled slum city or informal settlements because there is hardly anything much being done about the settlements in terms of solutions. Wherever there is a small empty space, there will be a shack soon enough. Population boom, heavily taxed middle income sector........... I wonder how many businesses are running in the RED because of heavy borrowing with killer interest rates? Or businesses are not in the RED because they are charging very heavy markups on services/products? What excatly is the solution? If you must borrow, then hit on markups and everyone should stop complaining of things being expensive. Afterall, the banks exploit everyone yet no one has closed their bank accounts either. My thots...

11 19

Mick Wilson/UNEP/NBO/UNO is on mission
by Mick Wilson 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

I will be out of the office starting 31/08/2009 and will not return until 11/09/2009. I am on mission to Ethiopia 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

1 0

Reversing Mpesa Payments
by James Kagwe 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

Members, I made a payment his weekend using Mpesa to the wrong number. I tried to call the number and no one picked and it was a substantial amount of money. Fortunately I got some advice from someone to call number 234 and sure enough the transaction was reversed after I made the call. I was wondering how Mpesa will handle or handles some of the payment reversals especially in cases where I would buy and pay something using Mpesa and then after receiving the goods I just reverse the transaction and therefore get goods for free. Probably there is something else I do not know about this transaction reversal thing, but I have a feeling it might bring some problems in the future. Someone who knows about how it operates please shed some light on it please. regards, G. Kagwe

7 7

Unlocked Dongles
by ibtisam jamal 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

Hi, Does anyone know where i can buy cheap Unlocked dongles.

14 18

Reliable gaming laptop
by Peter Karunyu 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

Good people, I need some advice; a friend of mine recently got rid of his gaming desktop in favour or a gaming laptop, problem is, he can't find a powerful laptop (at least 3GB RAM, at least 250GB HDD, at least Core 2 Duo 2.0GHZ AND an Nvidia/Radeon/ATI graphics card) which doesn't cost a leg and will not succumb to the heavy use. He had initially narrowed down to the Hp Pavilion entertainment series, e.g. the 1170ei at around 65k but word on the wire is that those models, though powerful, were not meant for heavy duty use. He is willing to spend upto Kshs 80k. Any help is much appreciated.

7 8

Ubuntu 8.04 repo please! please!
by David Ndambuki 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

Can anyone please give me the above. Please contact me off-list. Regards, Ndambuki Muthoka David Phne: +254733476463;+254722316140 Addr: 2084 - 01000 Thika, Kenya.

4 3

Accessing blocked websites opps!!
by Benjamin 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

*Change the http into https* In this way, many firewalls will consider this connection a secure one and will allow you to access the blocked site ! Happy* Access*ing !

1 0

ITIL Course
by Le Chef 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

Hey Guys, Does anyone know of an educational institution in Kenya offering the ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library) course or where one can sit for the ITIL online exam? Cheers! Bon Weekend! John vlegrandchef(a)hotmail.co.uk

4 4

Re: [Skunkworks] Cool the heat in Skunkworks. Go Drupal, Wordpress or Vbulletin
by Josiah Mugambi 31 Aug '09

31 Aug '09

Hi Theus, There already a skunk works bulletin board online. J On Aug 21, 2009 5:50 PM, "Theus Owicho" <owichot(a)gmail.com> wrote: Ndugu If you go to Big Boards you will find things which work even for russians. We can speak sheng in it also. As long as we identify with it. Thats teh most important thing On Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 5:48 PM, ndungu stephen <ndungustephen(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > Very polite - the TZ one ... > > Reading the swahili has become > difficult for some of us as time... > > > _______________________________________________ > Skunkworks mailing list > > Skunkworks(a)lists.my.co... > _______________________________________________ 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

8 13

Re: [Skunkworks] Butterfly wifi down.
by kimutai koech 30 Aug '09

30 Aug '09

Apparently KDN shut down butterfly wifi in KU coz guyz were SQL injecting free accounts into the server.

9 9

developer
by david gathu 30 Aug '09

30 Aug '09

hi all . i am an oracle developer and good in linux servers i am looking for a place to futher my skills any help will be appreciated . contact me offlist dtzgathu(a)yahoo.com -- regards DAVID

3 2

Rwanda goes Digital Television
by David Kiania | Asentric Consulting Ltd 30 Aug '09

30 Aug '09

Inspite of having more broadcasting professionals, a larger market and more broadcasters Kenya's lagging behind as Rwanda goes DTT. ---- Thursday, 27th August 2009 E-mail article Print article Rwanda to have digital broadcasting by next year BY GERTRUDE MAJYAMBERE Rwanda will fully start digital broadcasting by March next year, five years earlier than the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) deadline for all countries to adopt the terrestrial digital broadcasting. This means that Office Rwandais d’Information - Orinfor, a state owned information agency will have the capacity to host eight different channels. The agency’s officials say that preparations are in high gear with the construction of Television and FM radio towers countrywide. Innocent Nkurunziza, Head of Technical Department at Orinfor said they signed a contract with HARRIS, an American company to manufacture, supply, deliver, install and train staff about digital transmitters. He said that according to the contract between the two parties, transmitters will be manufactured next week and after 90 days the equipment will be ready for shipment. With Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial (DVBT) digital broadcasting, top quality images and sound is telecast whereas analogue signals are subject to fade and interference. The trial for digital broadcast in Rwanda started in 2005 with different channels including CNN, TV5 and Rwanda Television. For some one to receive a digital signal, a set top box will be needed to convert digital signal to analogue to be watched on TV or posses a digital TV. According to Nkurunziza, a set top box costs about $100. “When we go digital broadcasting apart from quality images and sound, editing will be much easier, faster and safer compared to analogue,” Nkurunziza said. Ends -- [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

12 16

KENIC missing out on great funding opportunity
by Ashok Hariharan 29 Aug '09

29 Aug '09

there was a thread sometime back on high cost of .co.ke domains because of volumes / the money is used to fund KENIC etc ... here is an idea i hope someone at KENIC can make use of : presently it isnt possible to buy <my domain name>.ke (only <my domain>.co.ke ... or <my domain>.or.ke ...). if KENIC allowed purchase of secondary TLDs i.e. <my domain name>.ke they could actually ask for higher prices for certain domain names : e.g. --- http://mi.ke (i am sure there are many Mikes in the world willing to pay good money for that domain) --- http://clar.ke , http://broo.ke apart from names there are english words ending with ke ... : --- http://li.ke http://ba.ke (some bakery i guess ?) http://sna.ke Here is a time article from 1999 (about the nation of tonga who marketed the .to tld ..... by 1999 they had sold 17,000 domains at $100 / 2years ... thats already 17 million dollars back in 1999 ...when the dollar was actually worth something ) <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,26349,00.html>

8 11

3G, WiMax, Fibre optic WAN connections
by Tuma Barua 29 Aug '09

29 Aug '09

I cant resist sharing this with you. I came across GEDA Limited, a company that deals with the above solutions. I was impressed by their services in deploying WAN internet connections. More importantly by their willingness to offer other services on top of internet access at very reasonable costs. Should you be keen in buying 3G Modems, routers, wimax or fibre optic connections,you better deal with Justin, of GEDA Ltd. He is on 0722525242 or 0204441900, at SOIN arcade, westlands road. support kenyan, buy kenyan. Endelea ku- Tuma Barua.

6 5

open source POS
by Brian Lusiola 29 Aug '09

29 Aug '09

Hi fellow skunk(ette)s, I am looking for the subject mentioned, & before you tell me to JFGI, I already did. Hence my question, anyone has experience on any of the available options and what was preferable? Any advice is highly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Regards, -- Lusiola Brian Everyone has photographic memory, not everyone has film though.

3 2

chekelea.com is website of the week on Business Daily
by aki 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Page 17. Thanks to the writer for an open writeup with strong end user impressions. All points have been noted and will be worked upon to make it even more effective. Asante Sana. :-)

3 3

What REAL broadband costs out there...please don't shoot yourself?
by Gakuru Alex 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/18/31/41551958.xls

1 0

ISP SLA's
by Phares Kariuki 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Now yesterday, I had an interesting discussion with a Safaricom (Onecom) sales lady. She basically came to sell us their fibre offering at 69k monthly for non-contended 1mbs. They offered postpaid 3g in the event that we go down. Two problems; she touted the SLA's, then went on to mention that we were to pay our postpaid bill in the event that we went down... So basically, we pay Safaricom more when they go down. The incentive system is inappropriately skewed to their favor. They no longer have a need to be up. Even on the SLA, the fact that most ISP's say 99.99% Uptime guaranteed and don't provide it, meant that its' ok to go on saying that. My arguement is that if you can guarantee 98%, I will sign on 98% and expect 2% downtime. Don't tell me 99.99% then go on to tell me "but you know, shift (sic) happens". Guarantee what you know you can provide. Otherwise just tell us you guarantee 100%, save for employee incompetence, rain, anger of the almighty, supplier backlash etc... -- With Regards, Phares Kariuki | T: +254 734 810 802 | E: pkariuki(a)gmail.com | Twitter: kaboro | Skype: kariukiphares |

3 3

Power rationing and personal electricity generation
by aki 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

While the rationing is forecast, It reminds me of the last time we had this. At that time, I designed a 2KVA invertor system from scratch with power MOSFETS which ran on 2 lead acid batteries with an external charger ( 100ah ). This thing ran for 7 hours continuos powering a 30amp load. This time around, no need for that as many things are cheaply available. noise free minimum requirements, power delivery at least 8 hrs at 40% load : - Power 2 energy saving bulbs. These are the AC philips 8watt ( 40 watt output ). DC load on good quality cable : 0.5amps max each - Laptop and charger. DC load on good quality cable : 2 amps max - Printer ( inkjet, not laser ) . DC load on good quality cable : 4amps max - Wifi Router. DC load on good quality cable : 0.1 amp max cheap options available : - For lighting, I can use DC flourecent tube 8Watt. These run on 12 VDC. run a separate DC line from the batteries @ 0.2amp each. - Use an invertor or modify a 650VA UPS for AC supply. split the DC and AC circuits while good ventilation is important - Purchase 2 batteries ( 100ah each stacked in parallel, total 200ah ) sealed maintainence free type ( must be in ventilated area ) - purchase a single solar panel with line charger or incase of UPS, increase charging transformer size. Or AC charger upto 10amps. sketch : !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! charging !------------! Invertor/ !-----------------AC Output ( fused protection) !system+batt ! ! UPS ! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ! !-------------------------------------------------------------DC Output ( fused protection ) ( correct as necessary )

8 18

Mapping traffic conditions in nairobi
by Josiah Mugambi 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Any hope that we can do this... http://traffic.berkeley.edu/theproject.html <http://traffic.berkeley.edu/theproject.html> -- Josiah Mugambi Ogden Nash <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/o/ogden_nash.html> - "The trouble with a kitten is that when it grows up, it's always a cat."

3 2

Web Developers Required
by MM 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Hi, 2 permanently employed developers required to work on payment systems Basic Qualifications; 1. Linux 2. PHP 3. MySQL Expect practical demonstration during interview. Send resume to ninja(a)mobilepay.co.ke -- /"\ \ / ASCII Ribbon Campaign X against HTML email & vCards / \

1 0

FWIW: Kenya's image getting a severe beating in the Canadian Press
by saidimu apale 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

I don't know how much press the following story got in the local media, but here's a quick summary: A Somali-Canadian, Suaad, left Toronto to visit her mom in Nairobi. On her > way back, just before boarding at JKIA, she was stopped by a Kenyan employee > of KLM who doubted her identity. The Canadian High Commission in Nairobi > (the one in a swanky building in Gigiri) was contacted and officials there > told the Kenyan officials that Suaad was an impostor and that her passport > didn't belong to her. So, with the help of the High Commission, Kenyan > officials charged her with a variety of crimes and whisked her to remand in > Lang'ata Women's prison. She spent 8 days there before she was released on > bail. She had 11 pieces of other ID on her (driver's license, medical insurance > card, etc etc) but the Canadian officials wouldn't listen. She pleaded with > them to call her employer and her relatives in Toronto but they wouldn't > budge. Finally after 3 months, as part of her case in the Kenyan system, a > DNA test was conducted and matched with samples collected from her son in > Toronto. She was determined to be who she claimed to be and is now back in > Toronto. The worst of Kenya - corrupt officials, airports, prisons, (in)justice system - has been on display for the past 2-3 weeks, loud and clear. http://www.thestar.com/Article/682824 (on prison conditions in Lang'ata) http://bit.ly/l01zc (for more stories) And, as expected, the Kenyan High Commision officials in Canada have been... well, who knows where they've been.

2 2

The more things change...
by Glenn Sequeira 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

the more they stay the same... or so the saying goes. A friend just forwarded me a copy of an email received from his ISP announcing their new tariff plans: Dear Esteemed Client, Blah, blah, blah... landing of the submarine fibre cable... blah, blah, blah... Blah, blah, blah... Blah, blah, blah... Instead of limiting your access speeds, this new plan will see you enjoy the fibre experience i.e. high access speeds. High Speeds of upto 1 Mbps will allow transmission of all protocols, thus enable services like movie and music downloads, peer to peer applications, Skype and other Voice over IP service use, gaming and many others. Effective 1st September 2009 our service plans will be as follows: Pro 20GB 15,999 Classic 8GB 7,999 Eazy 4GB 4,999 Lite 2GB 3,500 Blah, blah, blah... Kind regards, John Doe General Manager ~~~ As a service to ISPs, I submit the template below that they can use to announce their new tariffs and plans. Dear Customer whom we've been @#$%ing for the last x [months|years], Thanks to the landing of the submarine fibre cable, you will now get @#$%ed much faster. Yours faithfully, Extreme @#$% Masters ~~~ gms

2 1

www.businesslicense.go.ke: Good move
by wesley kiriinya 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Seems like GOK has put info on business licenses online, and the website looks nice. Good move.

7 12

.NET User Group Meeting Silver Springs Sat August 28 10:00AM
by Rad! 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

If you're interested in development and .NET in particular join us tomorrow at Silver Springs hotel from 10.00 where we shall be having a few short sessions and presentations. If you'd like to slot yourself in for a 10-15 minute presentation on ANYTHING technology & development related, shoot me a mail. If there are any Java/Adobe AIR guys willing to speak it'd be cool to hear from you. Free entry. Bring your friends

2 1

Recession Budget laptop
by Mark Mwangi 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Hi guys I need a budget laptop that has at least the following specs. . . 160gb Hard drive, 3.0Ghz processor or AMD equivalent(if duo core or core2duo even better) ,1gb ram n a DVD writer. With those specs am sure second hand is the only way to go though shouldn't be in a sorry state. . . . . Working on a 20k budget. . . . . Anyone?. . . . -- Regards, Mark Mwangi http://mwangy.wordpress.com

10 25

Re: [Skunkworks] Skunkworks Digest, Vol 5, Issue 291
by Gideon Kirui 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Call Alfred of Bosam on 0733785220 > Hi, > Am looking for access control cards.Any one with an idea of where I can get > some? > > -- > James M. Muendo > Timsoft Technologies & Solutions Ltd. > P.O Box 28016 - 00200, > Nairobi. > Mobile: +254725567508 > skype:tim.rick >

1 0

ACCESS CONTROL CARDS.
by James Muendo 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Hi, Am looking for access control cards.Any one with an idea of where I can get some? -- James M. Muendo Timsoft Technologies & Solutions Ltd. P.O Box 28016 - 00200, Nairobi. Mobile: +254725567508 skype:tim.rick http://rickdeesadvantage.blogspot.com/

2 1

Iphone 3G Jailbreak
by Theus Owicho 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Anyone who can unlock an Iphone 3G running 3.0.1? Get in touch offlist. It was on Orange

5 12

New Look Kenya Police Website
by Odhiambo ワシントン 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Hello Skunks, I was looking for some contacts within the Kenya Police and decided to visit their new look website - on a Census Day!! -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube

7 8

Re: [Skunkworks] iPhones
by Rahim Kara 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Hi, Have 1 3G 8GB @ 50K, 3Gs 32GB @ 105K ( Neg ) and a 2G 16GB Used @ 35K. Please contact offlist. 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

5 5

Additions to the Skunkworks Bulletin Board
by Phares Kariuki 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Hi, A three categories have been added to the Skunkworks bulletin board. These categories are: 1. http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=22 - Job Hunting - You can post your CV etc here. 2. http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=21- Vacancies - You can advertise who you are looking to hire here. 3. http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=23 - Buy and Sell - Advertise what you want to buy/sell. This is not necessarily to reroute all the traffic away from the list but to ensure that there is a more permanent reference point, given the volume of emails we receive. -- With Regards, Phares Kariuki | T: +254 734 810 802 | E: pkariuki(a)gmail.com | Twitter: kaboro | Skype: kariukiphares |

2 1

Zain Kenya Incorporates new features on Zap Platform
by Solomon Mburu 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Zain Kenya has incorporated three new features in Zap Platform More you can have a look at the feature here<http://wirelessfederation.com/news/17929-zain-kenya-incorporates-new-featur…> While this is an innovative idea, I'm just wondering how secure it is and how efficient will it be in to counter M-pesa! -- 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! Sent from Nairobi, Kenya

1 0

Morning Quiz - Is it still vision 2030?
by Odhiambo ワシントン 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

Folks, Given that Kenya is currently wasting 3 days/wk because of power rationing, can someone help me calculate, using linear extrapolation, when Vision 2030 is likely to be achieved? We should then rename the vision appropriately. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube

2 1

WiFi Security - Time Up for WPA-TKIP
by Odhiambo ワシントン 28 Aug '09

28 Aug '09

http://tinyurl.com/nwsp9m -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube

1 0

Online Surveillance
by Tech List Kenya 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

If strange people are following you on twitter, can you report them to Maj. Gen Ali? How would the conversation with his boys go??

9 11

Programming.....the bumps and diversions, just like many tech things
by aki 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Well I discovered today something new, that most upper languages will not talk directly to hardware. So am now having to stop c# for a while, take a detour into something allows direct talking to computer hardware. No matter how complete they try to make it, something always lacks and big time. Eg, Since I'm trying to focus on c# and comms layers, this thing requires much more than classes built into the c# language. Any of you programmers come accross this or am I just talking a difficult route? Eg if you are writing an app to query a usb device? Rgds.

5 11

Government Official Business Licencing e_Regsitry
by saich 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Hey Skunkers did you see this in the Papers leo and Yesterday in the New.I gather it was a world bank funded project but the consultant designing it was a local firm webmaster kenya limited..anyone heard of them..the site is http://www.businesslicense.go.ke and see if you can search for requirement for a Driviling licence

4 3

www. Prefix
by Willie Ong'uti 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Y is it that when i type http://ku.ac.ke i get page not foung but http://www.ku.ac.ke works fine. Any logical explanation? -- http://www.onlineduka.com - Enhance Your Lifestyle!

8 9

USB Radio for laptop & Other
by Odhiambo ワシントン 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Hello Skunks, For those of you using Windows XP: 1. Where can I get a USB radio card for use with a laptop? 2. How do I make VCDs to autoplay? -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube

3 7

Zain Blocking of DTMF on their GSM Network??
by Odhiambo ワシントン 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Hello Skunks, I've been playing with an IP PBX with both analog and IP trunks.My analog lines are from telkom and my GSM units use lines from Zain and Safaricom. The GSMs use IP trunks into my PBX - Avaya IPO406. I am intergration VoiceMail Pro (from Avaya) with this PBX so that I can get an IVR with some added features - which is where DTMF comes in. Now, for 4 days I have been fighting to get this thing doing some specific call routing using DTMF with a Zain line. I even got to a point where I used an analog GSM (Fusin 100) when DTMF simply couldn't work - with a Zain line. The GSMs I use are 2N (www.2n.cz) and are super! When I was almost hitting my /etc (End of Thinking Capacity), I figured out I could try swapping the Zain line for a safaricom line, just a hunch. I did this and voila! DTMF worked. Now after much testing, I realize that DTMF works from Zain <->Safaricom, from Zain->Telkom *but NOT* from Zain->Zain. Could this just be a misconfiguration on Zain's systems or a security feature that they implemented and know about? Is there a reason a GSM operator would want to block DTMF on their systems? I am asking this because I have wasted almost 72 hours on this, only to come and realize this "anomaly" on Zain's network. I'm really pissed off with Zain. However the system I am implementing MUST work with Zain so I need some clues before I go knocking on their doors to enable DTMF. PS: Pinging.... Kennedy Nyarotho, or who was that on this list who knew so much about GSM? :-) -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube

10 21

Mastering Visual Basic 2008
by Benjamin 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

here you go - Understanding custom classes, controls, and other aspects of object-oriented programming - Processing strings, characters, events, lists, and dates - Designing forms with menus, and creating applications with multiple forms - Printing business reports with headers, footers, and page numbers - Exploring XML object serialization and XML Web services - Querying databases and presenting data to users - Programming basic objects of ADO.NET - Harnessing ASP.NET 3.5 and developing Web applications - Master the New Features in Visual Basic 2008, .NET Framework 3.5, and Visual Studio 2008 - Build a Custom, Practical Application from the Techniques in This Book - Test, Debug, and Deploy a Variety of Applications in Visual Studio 2008 - Explore the New Vista Interface and How It Affects VB Programming - Reinforce Your Programming Skills with Numerous Real-World Examples *Code:* Date: Mar 2008 Filesize: ~18,9 Mb Format: PDF Author: Evangelos Petroutsos Publisher: Sybex http://rapidshare.com/files/119517199/SMMVB2008.rar

2 1

.ke ccTLD statistics so faf
by kennedy waweru 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

greetings, Anyone with information on current number of domain names registered under .ke ccTLD?

3 4

Visual Basic 2008
by James Kagwe 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

I need some good literature on Visual Basic 2008 database applications development as what I'm finding on the Internet is far very detailed and not very useful for me. If you have some good basic materials on the subject advice me on the links or just email it to me. Kagwe

2 1

Visual Basic 2008
by James Kagwe 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

I need some good literature on Visual Basic 2008 database applications development as what I'm finding on the Internet is far very detailed and not very useful for me. If you have some good basic materials on the subject advice me on the links or just email it to me. Kagwe

1 0

Invitation from Al Kags
by Al Kags 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Al Kags invites you to join Listal : http://www.listal.com/signup/bb44555761819-1368801 Listal is a site which lets you compare Movie, tv, music (+more) tastes with your friends and meet other people with the same tastes, rate and review the stuff you love and discover new stuff to enjoy. -- You were sent this email because someone invited you, if you do not want to receive any more emails like this click here : http://www.listal.com/unsubscribe/skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke

1 0

Developers
by Garum 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Any Telecom/IT development companies interesting in outsource work.... Please send me you portfolios. GA

2 2

Invitation from Al Kags
by Al Kags 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Al Kags invites you to join Listal : http://www.listal.com/signup/bb44555761819-1368781 Listal is a site which lets you compare Movie, tv, music (+more) tastes with your friends and meet other people with the same tastes, rate and review the stuff you love and discover new stuff to enjoy. -- You were sent this email because someone invited you, if you do not want to receive any more emails like this click here : http://www.listal.com/unsubscribe/skunkworks@my.co.ke

1 0

Invitation: 2009 EA-IGF, 7-9 September 2009, Nairobi, Kenya
by Vincent Ngundi 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Dear Colleagues, The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet), the Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) in collaboration with other organisations are pleased to invite you to the second East African Internet Governance Forum (EA-IGF 2009) to be held at the Jacaranda hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, from 7th to 9th September 2009. The forums theme is: Advancing the Internet Governance Debate in East Africa: ³Thinking Globally; Acting Locally². The 2009 EA-IGF is a follow up to the inaugural EA-IGF that was held in November 2008 in Nairobi, which aimed at catalysing the internet governance debate in the East African sub region. With the increased access to broadband infrastructure in the East Africa region and the continued spread of sophisticated mobile services, understanding and addressing Internet policy issues has become a priority. The national and regional EA-IGF¹s will help prepare East African stakeholders to address the opportunities, strengths and challenges that arise, as well as ensuring that they have a voice in shaping Internet policy decisions at the global level. This year¹s EAIGF therefore seeks to continue to strengthen the national and regional dialogues on Internet Governance as well as; * Increase awareness of Internet Governance issues, including but not limited to local content and cyber security; * Continue to develop capacity and skills of various stakeholders and build regional consensus IG issues; and * Begin to discuss the development of a regional East African Communication policy, among others. The outcomes of the forum will be submitted to the East Africa Regulatory, Postal and Telecommunications Organization (EARPTO), the African Parliamentary Knowledge Network (APKN), as well as, the fourth United Nations Internet Governance Forum (UNIGF) taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2009. The EA-IGF will also set the stage for the 37th Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meeting to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, in March 2010. For planning purposes, please register for the meeting at http://www.eaigf.or.ke or send an email to meeting(a)eaigf.or.ke confirming your attendance; by 2nd September 2009. Kind Regards, ----------- Vincent Ngundi Administrative Manager KENIC - The Kenya Network Information Centre http://www.kenic.or.ke vincent(a)kenic.or.ke [T] +254 20 4450057/8 [C] +254 20 2398036 [M] +254 733 790073 [F] +254 20 4450087 ³dot KE for Every Name in Kenya!²

1 0

Re: [Skunkworks] Used Macbook's & Pro's
by Rahim Kara 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Hi, Let me know if anyone's interested in buying. 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

1 0

Linux-Powered Baby Rocker
by Nicholas Loki 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Baby Rocker inspired by Linux: http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/linux-powered-baby-rocker "Excellent people exceed expectations".

1 0

Re: [Skunkworks] Installing visual studio 2008
by lumtegis＠gmail.com 27 Aug '09

27 Aug '09

Hi Charles! For software installation and configuration Google is the ultimate resource, reason being someone has already experienced your problem and posted the solution somewhere. So,google it up.

1 0

Hardware Vendors and media consultants needed
by albert kamau 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Hi need costs for labour, hardware and software *1. HARDWARE Encoding PC + Soundcard + relevant software * We need a PC that fitted with windows media encoder and or any other encoding software. If the PC is installed with *nix OS , it should be configured and installed with the appropriate software. Please quote for both software, hardware and labour costs. The PC should have a good soundcard. * 2 * PC to run PC radio * *2. CONSULTATION* *- Installation of PC Radio with assistance from Broadcast Partners. *How much will cost and duration *Setup XML feed * - Set up XML feed with assistance from Broadcast Partners Please contact me offlist for more details or/and with quotes -- Kind regards Albert Kamau

2 1

Skunkworks exhibition
by Tech List Kenya 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Is it possible to have a skunk expo where skunks can showcase what they do to the rest of us? The target audience would be fellow skunks. My reasons for this is that I'd like to see guys like Chuks cracking into a machine by using a pdf exploit, Wash with DMTF (Which i stil dont knw what it means), web devs and all other devs doing their thing and of course Aki building ... What does he do? As in the bunch of skunkers just showing off! Good thing with this is that whatever we exhibit doesn't have to make financial/business sense. What do ya think?

3 2

Invitation to connect on LinkedIn
by ibtisaam jamal 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

LinkedIn ------------ ibtisaam jamal requested to add you as a connection on LinkedIn: ------------------------------------------ Mulutu, I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - ibtisaam View invitation from ibtisaam jamal http://www.linkedin.com/e/XqwhZ3Ffzi6Tax09giG2G5ucHu2sPa0/blk/I1386115540_2… ------ (c) 2009, LinkedIn Corporation

1 0

ASP.NET/MySQL Connector woes.
by Edwin Wambua 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Hi good people, I'm working with asp.net with a mysql database back-end.Im using the mysql connector/net version 6.1 .Iv installed it, changed the machine.config and web.config files as instructed here-----> http://www2.nl.freebsd.org/mysql/doc/refman/5.0/en/connector-net-programmin… The result is when I try to build my application this is the error message I get: Could not load file or assembly 'MySql.Web, Version=6.0.4.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=c5687fc88969c44d' or one of its dependencies Iv tried adding the references MySql.Data and MySql.Web which were added when I installed the connector but there's no change. I was previously using the ODBC 3.51 driver which was working well with me but the rest of my development team is using this .Connector/net and they've built working files with it so I cant backtrack. Please help. Regards --

2 3

Microsoft Apologizes for Photoshop Trainwreck
by Paul Njoroge 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

> > Earlier today, two screenshots of an ad from one of Microsoft’s sites began > circling internet forums and blogs: one depicted a conference table with a > couple of happy employees: an Asian man, a black man, and a white woman. The > other image was from the Polish version of the same site, and it’s identical > to the first one, except the head of the black man was replaced with a head > of a white man. > More <http://mashable.com/2009/08/26/microsoft-photoshop-trainwreck/> -- Best Regards, Paul Njoroge. Skype: njorogepaul

5 5

SLA on Submarine Fiber
by Odhiambo ワシントン 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Hello folks, My provider has said they are NOT giving any SLAs on clients connected to SEACOM. This decision did not even seem to take into consideration any factors about the "last mile". I wonder why this is so? Shall I go to court (or to hell)?? :-) -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "If you have nothing good to say about someone, just shut up!." -- Lucky Dube

7 19

OSI/CLNS over IP
by John Doe 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Hello skunkers, cisco guru's out there; is it possible to do OSI/CLNS tunnelling on cisco IOS? If yes, how do you go about setting it up? Thanks.

4 8

Blogging in Kenya
by Victor Ngeny 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

I have been doing a series of posts on KenyaImagine on the state of the blogosphere here, (like a collection of good and interesting blogs etc) It has now reached a point where it has necessitated a regular weekly post highlighting 1 to 5 blogs/blog posts. So be kind enough to share you weekly reading (blogwise) with me each and every week for highlighting. Each post goes live on Friday. Here is the most recent post: http://www.kenyaimagine.com/57-Latest-Blogs/Blogs-and-Diaries/Blogging-in-K… Cheers, PS. To so as not to clutter the list, I'd really apprecite if you'd send the links directly. n also pugging your own blog is totally accepted. -- Victor Ngeny Mobile +254718688999 GTalk: victormaritim Twitter: @ngeny Yahoo: vikngne Skype: victor.ngeny

1 0

Crystal Reports
by Ogure Obunga 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Hi all, I'm looking for crystal reports 7 or 8. Anyone who has, contact me off list. ::Crystal report 2005/2008 wont do me much good that is why I insist on versions 7 or 8. Obunga Ouya 0720 438 527 write2ogush(a)gmail.com

1 0

ISP support types
by ibtisam jamal 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Hi, I need info on the different types of support offered by ISP's..and how they provide the support. Regards,

4 3

Help...looking for the best webhosting solutins...and why is a .ke TLD Expensive?
by Simeon Oriko 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Hi I'm looking for a credible and reliable webhosting solutions provider and domain registration company. Which one would you suggest? Secondly, I just read on www.kenic.or.ke that a .ke TLD domain name costs like 4k a year! Why? Doesn't it discourage development of local content? Simeon Oriko.

2 1

Home-made drones - pxaRC
by Patrick Kariuki 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

A really cool robotics project for those in Uni or college. http://www.pabr.org/chromicro/doc/chromicro.en.html

2 1

Motorola Linux based gsm phones
by Patrick Kariuki 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

With the A5/1 cipher about to be cracked in the next few months, anyone with the Motorola A760, A768, EZX (A780, E680, E680i) models can have the setup ready to exploit the Huge GSM flaw (for educational purposes) http://events.ccc.de/congress/2005/fahrplan/attachments/677-FreeSoftwareGSM… Disclaimer: Suggestion is to be used for educational purposes ONLY, if you heard it from me FIRST. :-)

1 0

Affilliate marketing
by Ogure Obunga 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Hi all, Anyone who engages in, or knows something and or everything to do with affilliate marketing? My humble request to give me more insight on this. Best regards. Obunga Ouya 0720438527

1 0

UPS
by Simon Mburu 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Hi, I need quotes for 5 UPS preferably APC 650kva. Please contact me offlist -- Simon Gatonye 0722993642 P.O. Box 75232 Nairobi - 0200

3 2

Need help making a Paypal payment
by Daudi Were 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

Good morning people, I need to make a Paypal payment urgently however my account has been limited. If you can help me out please get in touch off-list we work it out! Thanks Daudi -- Pamoja e:daudi.were@gmail.com <e%3Adaudi.were(a)gmail.com> skype: d.were

1 0

If you deal with, or use, Enterprise 2.0 applications...
by saidimu apale 26 Aug '09

26 Aug '09

... I'm interested in your opinions: http://bit.ly/MdFcq Saidi

1 0

It sucks to be in Nairobi if you want a burger...
by saidimu apale 25 Aug '09

25 Aug '09

... from the Economist: http://bit.ly/kV9p6

7 8

The Techies Poem searching for an Internet Service
by Kevin Ouma 25 Aug '09

25 Aug '09

With the Landing of Fibre, The future's still not brighter Because zuku is a zuzu and zain is still a pain with Safaricom a price con and Orange is still a lemon and Africaonline has gone offline and need I mention Kenya Bitter Networks or Access Denied Kenya so where is hope for the Internet user with the many technical service seducers, maybe apple may should start an ISP Then u wont have to compare an apple with an ........................( fill in the blanks) Disclaimer :This is on a lighter note

5 4

Time for skunkworks and other online lists to really stand up and be counted.
by Areba Collins 25 Aug '09

25 Aug '09

Indulge me for a moment here friends. This list forms a big bulk of tech advisory in this market, this means many people in the list will be heard when decisions, like which ISP to choose are laid out in many companies across the country. I feel sad that that many issues raised here are not addressed as seriously by the multi nationals because they can get away with it. What if we made it impossible to get away with it? What if this group, and many similar groups played the watchdog role using purely empirical methods? For instance, engaging in an online analysis of which companies are offering value for money for users? Im thinkin a skunkworks list of shame / excellence for ISP'S published monthly, using pre determined criteria more or less like they rate phones, cars . . . Etc and using our in-group connections (media, business weekly, online lists and school bulletins . . . Etc ) try to have this reach as many as possible in the market. Wouldnt this at least make some companies re-think their bullying tactics? Or this is just utopia. . -- Its Possible! Collins Areba Omwoyo +254 735 824872 / +254 720 516758 arebacollins[at]gmail[dot]com

2 2

Ubuntu username and password
by Joshua Mwendwa 25 Aug '09

25 Aug '09

Good People, I forgot my Ubuntu login Username and Password.Any ideas of how to recover them? Thanks in advance.

13 24

Lookin for 4 day lease for Mac?-Paid
by wesley kiriinya 25 Aug '09

25 Aug '09

Hi good people, I would like to lease/rent/... a Mac for 4 days ASAP. The Mac should have the XCode development tools and iPhone SDK v. 2.2.1 setup. Contact me off list. 8~)

5 5

Secure ICT 2009 Conference, skunkworks, Security Forum and NSP members
by Gichuki John Chuksjonia 25 Aug '09

25 Aug '09

Hi guys. The prices for Skunkworks, Security Forums and NSP has been reduced to 10,000 per person by Secure ICT 2009 Conference Committee Registration instructions: 1. Go to http://secureict.co.ke/registration.aspx 2. Please fill in all the required information. 3. Please fill in either "skunkworks, student, security or NSP" for company/organization Great Holidays ./Chuks. -- -- Gichuki John Ndirangu, C.E.H , C.P.T.P, O.S.C.P I.T Security Analyst and Penetration Tester infosigmer(a)inbox.com {FORUM}http://lists.my.co.ke/pipermail/security/ http://nspkenya.blogspot.com/ http://chuksjonia.blogspot.com/

1 1

image upload
by Josphat 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

hi skunks am doing a project on an online curio shop and am using php and mysql. all files are hosted on the school's server. I want to upload a photo to my database in such a way that i can see it when using any computer in the school different from the one i used to upload. i also want to be able to edit the photo(i.e, replace it with another one). Currently, i can only see it when using the computer i used to upload the photo. If anyone knows how to do that, please help. Thanks in advance. +254726982020 or +254732982020

3 3

Taking The Linux Plunge
by Mark Mwangi 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Ave finally decided to take the plunge once and for all and dump windows for Linux. . . Ubuntu to be precise. . . .Windows costs money to obtain,maintain and retain. . . . .its become abit too much. . . . . .any advice out there to help me sail these new waters?. .. am sort of a total newbie. . . -- Regards, Mark Mwangi http://mwangy.wordpress.com

9 10

Census Night Security Tips
by Kevin Ouma 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Guys I know this is an IT forum but believe security info is beneficial to everyone. Security awareness on Census. 24 – 31 August 2009. As you are all aware the Kenya government will conduct National Population and Housing Census in Kenya . The enumerators will be counting Kenyan citizens only. Counting of people will start on the night of 24 August 2009 and continue upto the 31st August when counting is schedule to end. People will be counted with reference to where they spent the night of 24 August. It is expected that enumerators will take 30 minutes in each house although this may vary. Security agencies are fully involved and are part of the national and district census committees. The Police Commissioner has assured all Kenyans that there will be enough security during this exercise. The enumerators will be accompanied by at least two police officers. Enumerators will also be accompanied by village elders or headmen who are well known by the householders. Enumerators will have official ID cards and t-shirts for ease of identification. Also, they have been recruited from the locality where they live. Therefore, they are people who are known by the locals. If you have any questions about the census email: info(a)kenyacensus2009.go.ke or send an sms to 3225 (Zain or Safaricom). • Beware of Imposters During Census • Thieves will try and take advantage of people during the upcoming census. Before you open your door for the enumerators, ensure the following; • When your door is knocked, use your spy hole and gauge the demeanor of the people knocking. Check also whether they are accompanied by policemen. You can as well call your neighbor and confirm the presence of enumerators. • Both the enumerators and the police MUST positively identify themselves using their employment cards. • Do not open/permit anyone to access your house before they disclose their identity. You can ask them to slide the identity underneath the door if in doubt. • Make prior arrangements with your security guard or even a neighbor and ensure you are updated at all times. • The guard should also identify the enumerators and the police before allowing them access into the premises. • For security reasons, arrange to be in your house early enough and remain indoors overnight. Most policemen are engaged in escorting enumerators and police patrols will be diminished due to their engagement in the census and you do not need to be told what that means in relation to crime in general. • If in doubt about the identity of census takers that come to your property, alert your security service provider or call your local police station for assistance. Please exercise caution during these nights as scoundrels can take advantage of this exercise to perpetrate crime. all the best and get counted, safely ... :)

3 2

FIFA 2007
by Trey 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Hi guys anybody interested in the above for PC at a small cost can contact me offlist. Thanks Also anyone having FIFA 2009 for PC can contact me offlist.

6 8

Re: [Skunkworks] SLA on Submarine Fiber
by Riyaz Bachani 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Hi Aki, Where exactly is the internet backbone ? ;) Some of the major networks now all go through Mumbai. Not to mention 2 Indian companies now own the biggest submarine fiber networks in the world. Seacom offers an SLA, as I believe all their partners also do. But there's been like 4 outages now since Seacom went live on the Msa-Nbi route ... really need some redundancy there. Seacom gives the same price inland through a partnership agreement with KDN ie they sell at the same price anywhere, using KDN's backbone. They also sell directly to consumers. They do have a license to roll out long-distance terrestrial fiber if they need to as well. ----- Original Message ----- From: "aki" <aki275(a)googlemail.com> To: "Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks(a)lists.my.co.ke> Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 8:05:34 PM GMT +03:00 Iraq Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] SLA on Submarine Fiber Hi @Wash, they should be giving an SLA service, afterall you pay for a fixed charge each month on a 24/7/365 basis. If they cannot guarantee uptime, QOS or other factors on an SLA, including guaranteed latencies between Nairobi/Mombasa then we all are back to square zero. The duplex 512kbps that you intend to purchase should be a guaranteed circuit all the way to the internet backbone, not just mumbai, esle there will be dodgy business models at landing stations. KDN should have a tiered SLA between them and Seacom as carriers. That's why seacom also offer IPLC on their cable technology allows it. KDN is a positive serious hope in the overall fiber mess, hopefully we will get some positive feedback from Dan @ KDN. I also think Seacom should be pressured to deal inland and directly with end users. Eassy has a similar concept. To further this, I read last week that AK have bought 2.5Gps on seacom but say they will only double bandwidth to clients at existing pricing. Hmmm... why are SPs trying end user/consumer patience with misleading info about capacity costs and pricing? Lets see what Teams brings, the promise of redundancy and better rates. Exciting times ahead.....

1 0

Re: [Skunkworks] Google voice app for iphone War
by Bernard Mwagiru 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

For those of you who have been following the Google voice app developed for iphone, Apple blocked the app on the iphone and FCC sought answers: http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/legal-privacy/3825.html and Apple replied : http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/legal-privacy/4007.html I found this interesting: "In its response, AT&T denied participating in the decision .... The company also defended the right to veto any Internet telephony applications over its wireless service that threatened its own business interests." Question: Do we have such level of scrutiny by the CCK?

1 0

Mp3 tool
by James Muendo 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Hi, am looking for a tool that can download Mp3 files from gmail to my handset Nokia E65.Any ideas? Regards; -- Sent from my mobile device James M. Muendo Timsoft Technologies & Solutions Ltd. P.O Box 28016 - 00200, Nairobi. Mobile: +254725567508 skype:tim.rick http://rickdeesadvantage.blogspot.com/

5 10

PhpMYADMIN Decrypting
by Thuo Wilson 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Hi, How do i get a password say *jHxduwn6OyFnGvWeSchS1jJg09ofFI* in decrypted format using PHPMYADMIN. Thanks.

2 1

Re: [Skunkworks] Attn: KENIC - www.com.co.ke
by fyodor 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

hmmm Interesting......what mtu.com.co.ke returns..... -tyrus _IEEE Member

1 0

ITSP
by James Mutuku 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Hellos, I am looking for reliable international ITSPs. Recommendations are welcome. -- Best Regards, James Mutuku Ndeti Agile Systems Limited +254722490994 www.agile.co.ke mutuku.wordpress.com Has your organization implemented a customer relationship management (CRM)system? visit http://www.agile.co.ke/crm.php and find out how our CRM can help you achieve better customer satisfaction and sales

1 0

Attn: KENIC - www.com.co.ke
by Simon Mbuthia 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

There is this website www.com.co.ke, having one Edward Macharia responsible for it, according to Kenic whois records. I have just been wondering what intention its owners have because every once in a while, all pages in the .com TLD are redirected to an IP address of 216.14.114.188, which is owned by e-ofisi Solutions, and has about 4 other domains hosted on that server, including kenyainternetmarketing.com etc. Looks to me like some kind of DNS poisoning, though I'm not sure what it is exactly. I suspect that the owner of the site has some ulterior motive (I stand to be corrected), especially seeing that the homepage for all these sites have username and password fields, leaving users susceptible to phishing scams as they have their pages that they are viewing (ending with .com) redirected to com.co.ke. I have attached a screenshot of dns lookups for facebook and gmail, bot redirecting to that very IP.\ Therefore, KENIC admins, if it is within your powers, kindly do something about thismenace as it poses a security risk to internet users in Kenya. Thanks. -- שִׁמְעוֹן

6 10

Sony to unveil slimmer version of Playstation 3
by Kevin Ouma 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Sony has now officially confirmed the PlayStation 3 Slim will be on our shelves in just a few weeks. The eye-catching unit is 32 per cent smaller, 36 per cent lighter and uses 34 per cent less power than the original PS3 and is due out in the first week of September. There was no mention of any spec changes, so expect the Slim to boast a 120GB hard drive and the all-important Blu-ray drive. The new PS3 Slim will retail for 299USD,( assuming it enters the Kenyan market will possibly retail at 1000 USD) and comes with the new Playstation 3 3.00 firmware. The upgrade makes some changes to the user interface. Crucially, the PS3 Slim is also rumoured to be much quieter in operation than previous incarnations. Sony is also launching a video delivery service, via the PlayStation Network, to allow PS3 or PSP users to rent or buy films, in either standard or high definition. The service goes live in the UK this November. You can view the pics on this link http://www.flickr.com/photos/playstationblog/3833593107/in/set-721576219515…

6 8

On a lighter tone : Google's future
by ndungu stephen 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Google Search 2084 ___________________________________________________________ | | |___________________________________________________________| ______________ __________________ ____________________ / \ / \ / \ | Google Search | | I'm feeling Lucky | | I'm feeling Paranoid | \______________/ \__________________/ \____________________/ o Your Brain o Satellite Photos of People o Books You want to Spy on o Your Home o Movies o Family o Satellite Photos of o TV shows People Spying on You o Music o Friends o Medical Records o Pornography o Ex-friends o Credit Reports o Your Past o Relatives o Tax Records o Your Present o Co-workers o Phone Records o Your Future o Ex-spouses o Court Documents o Your Enemies o Other People's Conversations ========== Extract from New-york times cartoon - By Randy Siegel

2 1

Hotspot experts
by Space Engineering NOC 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

list Any hotspot experts please call 0722858418

4 6

Zain internet connection problem at Dar
by Gakuru Alex 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Zain onlist; I have a Kenyan colleague attending a conference there -their link is not working there - it was working just fine in Nairobi. Other attendees on Safaricom are able to connect. What should be done? Let me know on or off list thanks

1 0

imo.im
by Mr. Lawi 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

For those who'd like skype chat on browser (along with gmail, yahoo... protocols) this is it. Beats meebo, ebuddy hands down. IMO

1 0

Re: [Skunkworks] Your security on census day
by fyodor 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

In the same breath, there is a poll running on the forum, Kindly drop by and give your opinion. http://my.co.ke/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=92&p=213#p213 thanks -tyrus _IEEE Member

1 0

Your security on census day
by Tech List Kenya 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Today being census day, there may be incidents. In as much as this thread is off topic, i urge all to share insights of precautions to take tonight. Personally, i intend to download the questionnaire, fill it myself and stick it outside my door. That wil suffice, no?

8 8

Kenya District Boundaries GIS Layer
by jude mwenda 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Hi all, I am looking for a shapefile or any other form of GIS layer, GML,KML e.t.c , that represents Kenya's districts reflecting the new districts created. Or if you know where i can get such data please gimme the details. by the way, does google maps represent the districts and has the geo team at google have district boundaries data? -- Regards Jude Mwenda "Was ist mein Leben, wenn ich nicht mehr nützlich für andere." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

3 4

FTP issues
by Kevin Kimani 24 Aug '09

24 Aug '09

Hi all, Am having a squid proxy server in a CentOS environment. Am trying to configure it to allow FTP access to be allowed but to no avail. I have set the folowing acls' "acl ftp_port port 20 21, l ftp proto FTP HTTP, http_access allow ftp_port, http_access allow ftp" Any help would be highly appreciated. Regards Kevin

3 4

Skunkworks-ke Barcamp
by lumtegis＠gmail.com 23 Aug '09

23 Aug '09

Hi! I was wondering when this year's barcamp will be. Could anyone give me a clue? Is it in october or november.

1 0

Mpesa/Zap Contacts
by David Mugo 23 Aug '09

23 Aug '09

Hi, Anyone with a direct contact for someone in product development for MPESA and ZAP? I need it please, email or phone. David -- ------------- http://blog.majibu.com

2 1

do you lay bare your business plans?
by Gakuru Alex 23 Aug '09

23 Aug '09

If you are enticed by or often come across many 'prospective business partners' asking for your detailed business plans, ask them to first sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement - something like http://www.elance.com/p/help/supplemental/contract-nda.doc. If they refuse to then they were not good-intentioned in the first place... wakora ni wengi na wa aina tofauti... regards, Alex

3 2