On Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 11:56 PM, bernard kioko <bernsoft@gmail.com> wrote:
@aki I would like correct you on two items:
1. We developed our own custom SMS gateway from ground using libraries licensed at a fee of $200 then! In 2001 that was lots dof money for us. Btw there were short codes then so we had to use a nokia phone attached to a comp....long story. I spent 2 nights working it out.
2. We actually do offer our gateway as a cloud service. No fees is payable except the cost of SMS sent.
I think we have solutions within Kenya......we probably need to develop our own local market place.....
@Bernard, thnks much for the correction. :-) Am just a few more thots. While as a developer then, you were able to exploit the almost free nature of free software for a very big business. And every business looks for a competitive edge, so you were correct in your competitive edge. However, can you imagine network companies who use products would have had to buy say e.g. a Nokia Messaging Gateway which at that time had huge investment costs. So many ISPs would put on hold major investments and ultimatly it is Kenyans who would loose out because of the few years delay in implemeting the SMS gateway technologies. But after almost 15 years of the Kenyan Mobile Industry, there still is a dominant practise in the e.g. SMS gateway. Those who know and use free software are practising dominant business practises when they use freedom software because none until today has opened it up for many people to participate. They offer it as a service, and not as a platform open to many Kenyan businesses who would want to venture into such. Kenyans continue to be left behind on the technology front. To make the cloud successful is not only creating and finding the market place, it is also how much the costs would be to Network companies to roll out such. But when we will have an outsider company who will use the same free software to introduce an SMS gateway platform for Kenyan companies, then we will call it innovative and we will all read about it by the same Technologists who prevented its mass use in the first place. This is just the tip of the iceberg....... Let us hope things will change in the future. :-) -- **--If I ever wrote code on a system for the better of consumer freedoms or choice, I'd rather create the complete system with people who share the same views than give out a single line of code to code thieves who will use it to defeat the principles of freedom and choices---2011--Me--**