HP to set up major center in Tanzania

Original story by John Kulekana in Capetown

HEWLETT-Packard Company (HP), one of the world's largest information technology companies, will soon open a major centre in Tanzania, as part of its global expansion plan, a senior official with the firm said over the weekend.

"The move is part of HP global expansion plan. At present paper work on the project is going on. It will be a fully operational office," HP Senior Vice-President (Growth Markets), Mr Brian Humphries said.

Mr Humpries said this during talks with President Jakaya Kikwete on the sidelines of a three-day 21st World Economic Forum (WEF) for Africa, which ended in Cape Town, South Africa towards the end of last week.

HP specializes in developing and manufacturing computing, data storage and networking hardware. It is also involved in designing software and delivering services.

Major product lines include personal computing devices, enterprise and industry standard servers, related storage devices, networking products, software and a diverse range of printers, all-in-one's and other imaging products.

President Kikwete said he was glad with the firm's decision and pledged full government's support.Mr Kikwete also called upon the company to assist Tanzania develop and promote IT industry through training of local experts.

Mr Humpries said apart from marketing its products to households, small- to medium-sized businesses and enterprises directly as well as via online distribution also deals with institutions, including governments in provision of IT solutions.

The president told the HP executive that the government was committed to promotion and development of CIT application in the country and briefed him on various on-going projects and initiatives.

He said the country has invested 'substantially' in marine and terrestrial fiber-optic networks that will cover every district by the end of this year.The networks are expected to reduce costs for internet service providers and improve connectivity in the country.

Earlier last week, a South Korean conglomerate, Samsung Corporation announced plans to open an assembly plant in Tanzania under export processing zone (EPZ) scheme.

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Virusi vya komputa vinajaribu kukuingilia kila unapojaribu kutumia Internet. Email yako imepona?

Virus kwa ufupi

Ni program kama program nyingine za komputa. Tunaposema program ya komputa inamaanisha kwamba mtaalamu wa kuandika program ametumia ujuzi wake kuandika program inayoweza kutumika kwenye komputa kama vile Microsoft Word n.k. Hata hivyo hii si program ya kawaida. Nia na madhumuni yake huwa si mazuri na madhara yake yanaweza kuwa makubwa. Kwa mfano komputa yangu ilipoingiliwa na virusi wakati nafanya project ya mwisho ya degree, nilipoteza kazi yangu siku mbili kabla ya kukabidhi baada ya virus kuingilia komputa yangu. Kwa bahati nilikuwa nimeweka back up kwenye flash memory. Hata hivyo back up haikuwa up-to-date hivyo ilinichukua masaa zaidi ya ishirini na tano kuongeza yale niliyopoteza. Masaa haya yangeweza kutumika kwenye kuiboresha project sio kufanya upya vitu ambavyo nilishavifanya.

Kwa kifupi virus ni kipande kidogo cha software program kinachojishikilia kwa siri kwenye program za kweli tunazotumia kila siku. Kwa mfano kama unatumia Microsoft Excel (Spreadsheet) hako kamdudu kanaweza kuwa kamejibanza kwenye hii program. Kila unapoifungua Spreadsheet unajikuta umefungua hicho kiprogram bila kujua.

Virusi vya komputa vinafanya kazi vipi?

Email Viruses- Watu wengi hivi karibuni wamekuwa wakipata virusi vya kwenye email (e-mail viruses). Email virus anajificha kwenye email na kusafiri nayo kama attachment kwenye message. Virus huyu ana uwezo wa kujiongeza (raplicates itself) hivyo anaweza kujituma mwenyewe kwa kutumia email yako kwenda kwa watu wote walio kwenye contact zako. Hata hivyo virus huyu hawezi kufanya kazi mpaka ufungue attachment au link iliyoificha. Hivyo kama umepokea email yenye virus, bado hawezi kufanya chochote mpaka utakapofungua attachment au link iliyomficha. Kwa sababu hiyo kuanzia leo USIFUNGUE email attachment au links kama huna uhakika. Mtumie email rafiki aliyekutumia uhakikishe kama ni yeye aliyetuma.

Trojan Horses – Hawa ni pia ni komputa program. Program inajifanya kuwa program ya kawaida ila unapoifungua tu inaingia na kujificha kwenye hard disk ya komputa yako. Ana tabia ya kufuta kila kitu kilichopo kwenye hard disk na hata kuharibu operating system hivyo kuiua komputa yako kabisa. Tofauti nyingine kati ya email virus na huyu Trojan ni kwamba Trojan hawezi kujiongeza (can not replicate itself).

Worms – Hawa wana tabia ya kutumia komputa network  kujiongeza na kutafuta komputa ya mtu siyo na vikingaji (antvirus program) ili waingie.

Kwa nini watu wanateneza virus?

Unaweza kujiuliza ni kwa nini watu wanatengeneza virus! Ukweli ni kwamba kuna sababu kama mbili:

• Uharibifu - Kuna watu wanpenda kuharibu na kuona wengine wanahangaika kutafuta solution kwa kitu ambacho amekifanya yeye
• Sifa ya kuvumbua - Kila mtu anapenda kuwa kama Isaac Newton. Kuacha historia kwamba waliweza kuitingisha dunia na kufanya kitu ambacho weni hawajakifanya.

Jinsi ya kujikinga na virus

Kuna njia kadhaa:

1.       Kama una hofu kubwa sana ya virus basi tumia operating system yenye kinga zaidi kama UNIX. Ni vigumu sana kusikia virus wameingilia operating system ya UNIX kwa sababu ya kinga mbali mbali zilizotengenezewa ndani.

2.       Kama unatumia operating system nyingine yeyote basi hakikisha unaweka vikinga (ant-virus - virus protection software). Unaweza kupata kopi ya bure hapa.

3.       Usiamini program nyingi unazozipata kwenye internet, nyingi zina virus isipokuwa program unazopata kutoka kwa watengenezaji wenyewe wanofahamika. Wakati mwingine nunua program iliyo kwenye CD kuliko kuchukua (download) moja kwa moja.

4.       Usifungue email attachment bila kuwa na uhakika.

5.       Hakikisha umeruhusu (enable) Macro Virus Protection (angalia maelezo hapo chini) kwa wanaotumia Microsoft applications. Pia usiruhusu macros unapofungua document. Macro hazihitajiki kwenye document hivyo ukipokea document yenye macro jiulize ni kwa nini kabla hujaruhusu.

Jinsi ya kujikinga na Macros unapotumia Microsoft Word (maelezo haya ni kwa version mpya za Microsoft Office)

         i.            Go to ‘File’

       ii.            Click Options

      iii.            Click Trust Center

     iv.            Click Trust Center settings

       v.            Click Macros

     vi.            Set the settings as shown

Kama una swali ama unataka maelezo zaidi wasiliana nasi kwa kandika comment hapa chini

Kila la kheri

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Do you wish to create a simple network(WIFI hotspot) in a matter of seconds!!!!

Article by Othmar Mwambe

You can share internet access with your friends using only your computer as main access point...without using long procedure to set ad hoc. A wireless ad hoc network is a decentralized type of wireless network.^[1] The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a preexisting infrastructure, such as routers in wired networks or access points in managed (infrastructure) wireless networks.

Follow the following proceudres

1. Download and install Connectify.
2.  Run Connectify.
3.  Click the Connectify icon at the system tray.
4.  Give the network a name and a password.
5. Under the Internet dropdown box, select your 3G connection (it works for wireless connection and LAN connection as well).

The author of this atricle (Othmar Mwambe) is a student  at

Tartu University

University of Tartu in Estonia pursuing MSc in Software Engineering

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Kwa wapenzi wa teknolojia, Hakikisha unatazama video hii. Jifunze mambo mbali mbali

Tazama Video (bonyeza 'Read More') ujifunze kuunganisha TV yako na komputa; kufunga motherboard; kufunga hard drive; n.k.

How to Connect a PC to a TV With Audio -- powered by ehow

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Je, unajua Kila unapofungua website au blog unaacha fingerprints? Ina madhara hivyo jifunnze kujihami

Huwezi kutumia internet kwa matumizi ya kawaida bila kutumia Web browser. Hii ni interface inayotuwezesha kufungua blog, websites na progams nyingine za Internet.  Kuna aina sita za Web browser:

·         Internet Explorer – Microsoft Inc

·         Google Chrome – Google Inc

·         Mozilla Firefox – Mozilla Corporation

·         Safari – Apple

·         Opera – Opera Software

·         Netscape Navigator – Netscape Communication Corporation

Ili kurahisisha matumizi yake, Internet browser zote zinahifadhi kumbukumbu ya web sites zote ulizotembelea. Zinafanya hivyo kwa sababu kadhaa. Sababu ya kwanza ni kwamba kwa kuhifadhi kumbukumbu hizo huwa inamrahisishia mtumiaji anapotaka kutembelea website hizo hizo hapo baadaye. Hii inapelekea internet experience kuwa faster kwa sababu baadhi ya information imehifadhiwa kwenye komputa yako na sio kwenye server maili kadhaa kutoka ulipo.

Pamoja na kwamba web browser inaokoa muda wako, kuna mswala kadhaa yanayoweza kuleta madhara kwenye komputa yako.

Kawanza kumbuka kwa kuwa wewe umerahisishiwa  unapotembelea web sites ulizozea, hali hii inamwezesha mtu mwingine kuziona kumbukumbu hizo zinazohifadhiwa na webbrowser. Baadhi ya web site ulizotembelea inawezekana information zilizohifadhiwa ni muhimu au za siri (kama mambo ya kiakazi). Mtu mwingine mwenye nia mbaya anaweza kujua kila website uliyotembelea na nini ulichofanya kwenye website hiyo. Kuepusha watu kuona information zako usiache fingerprint unapotumia internet. Unafanya hivyo kwa kufuta (delete) kumbukumbu zote ambazo web browser imezihifadhi.

Unaweza kufuta kumbukumbu hizo kirahisi kabisa kama ifuatavyo:

·         Google Chrome: Select “Tools” and choose “Clear Browsing History”

·         Safari: Click on the “History” tab in your menu bar. Select “Clear History” located at the bottom of the list.

·         Internet Explorer: Select the “Safety” drop down menu at the top right of the screen. Choose “Delete Browsing History.”

·         Mozilla Firefox: Click on the “Tools” menu, then select “Clear Recent History.”

Pia kuna njia nyingine unayoweza kutumia web browser bila kuacha fingerprint. Web browser zote zina feature inayokuwezesha kufanya hivyo: Kwa watumiaji wa Internet explore hii inaitwa “In Private”; kwa Mozilla Firefox na Safari hii inaitwa “Private Browsing”; na kwa Google Chrome hii inaitwa “incognito”. Njia hii ni nzuri zaidi hasa kwa wale wanaotumia komputa za public kwa mfano café, shuleni, vyuoni, kazini, n.k.

Kila la kheri

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Can Twitter Benefit Business Executives?

It has been a while since I blogged. It feels good to be back!
The usefulness of Twitter continues to be debated. Last week, George Packer, a staff writer at The New Yorker, wrote that he wants to yell Stop every time he hears about Twitter. With constant updates, Twitter only adds to the overwhelming amount of information we receive every day, according to Mr. Packer. Nick Bilton of New York Times responded yesterday to Mr. Packer’s article by listing the numerous ways in which Twitter has been found to be useful.

Amidst this debate, which has been going on since Twitter became available (see Clive Thompson’s 2007 article in Wired Magazine as an illustration of this debate during its earlier days), the use of Twitter continues to grow. Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal covered the increasing use of Twitter in Europe and provided a variety of examples of how European firms are benefiting from Twitter. The article suggested that Twitter can be a useful tool provided you have clear objectives and strategy for using Twitter.

What I found noteworthy in the WSJ article is the increasing adoption of Twitter by business executives. The article stated that while most business executives consider “tweeting” as a waste of their time, some have been quick to use Twitter as part of their busy routines. For instance, Paul Johns, VP of Complinet, a multinational provider of risk and compliance information for financial services, has been able to use Twitter to generate additional revenue for his company. Mr. Johns tweets three or four times daily and he is able to generate cash through Twitter by putting up a link to a trial system with a unique URL, which allows his firm to know which deals come from Twitter.

A recent NY Times interview of Cristóbal Conde, President and C.E.O. of SunGard, also illustrated the use of Twitter by business executives. Mr. Conde and others at SunGard use Yammer, a Twitter-like service, to enable a flatter SunGard. They use Yammer to see what others are doing, share information, collaborate, brag about their successes and, in the process, according to Mr. Conde, flatten the organization. Mr. Conde uses Yammer to share what he learns from clients - their biggest problems, their biggest issues, and their biggest bets. Instead of communicating these via broadcast emails, which he considers to be too formal, Mr. Conde shares them via brief Yammer posts. He credits Yammer with helping him create a more collaborative and merit-based culture at SunGard.
The above examples are not the only examples of use of Twitter by business executives. A BusinessWeek slideshow from May 2009 documented the use of Twitter by 50 CEOs who included Richard Branson and Mark Cuban. These CEOs use Twitter for a variety of purposes, including staying in touch with their far-flung workforce, having a two-way dialog with their business partners and customers, and broadcasting important announcements to customers.

The best way for business leaders to understand Twitter (and other social media) is to begin using it. Once they begin to use Twitter, their skepticism will give way to an appreciation of how Twitter can be used beneficially. They will find that it is a highly malleable tool that easily lends itself to innovative uses (see NY Times article “Twitter is What You Make of It” and Leading Virtually’s past post “Where There’s a Will, There’s Twitter“).

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Tazama video hii, Microsoft wanaibadilisha meza yako ya chakula kuwa full media

Microsoft wamekuja na idea ya kubadilisha meza yako ya chakula kwa kuifanya kuwa mahali unapoweza kula wakati ukiwa unaendelea kusoma habari kutoka kwenye sites mbali mbali. Meza hii ni touch screen chini ya software ya Microsoft. Nimeweza kubahatisha kupata video ya meza hiyo, itazame video hapo chini ujionee mambo mapya haya.

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Plagiarism in Higher Learning Institutions is shocking! Software are available to sort out this messy

(Original article by Masembe Tambwe of Daily News)

PLAGIARISM of research dissertations in many higher learning institutions in the country is at an all time high, a situation that needs immediate attention.

“The situation is really alarming. Almost 90 per cent of the research dissertations received before a person graduates have either been lifted from other researches or reports,” the Institute of Finance Management, Faculty of Computing and Mathematics lecturer, Dr Eliamani Sedoyeka, said.

Dr Sedoyeka told the ‘Sunday News’ exclusively after the fifth convocation ceremony of the institute, where 22 graduands were conferred with Masters Degrees in Information Technology and Management that collaborative efforts were needed to curb this trend.

He said that the faculty of computing and mathematics had gone out of its way to tighten the noose around this vice by ensuring that no one gets to graduate without defending their research in front of a viva voce.

“Thanks to this mechanism, those interested in taking up a course know before hand that in order to graduate, they have to defend their dissertation in front of a panel (viva voce) and this helps bring about seriousness from the word go,” he said.

Dr Sedoyeka explained that the underlying reasons why so many people today opt to plagiarize their work is because many come for the certificate and not to actually learn something.

He said that experience had shown that the majority of people especially those who opt for Masters Degrees want a higher paying position, to safeguard their position since many young employees today come equipped with the degree.

Suggesting that the country borrows a leaf from the Western countries, Dr Sedoyeka advised that higher learning institutions should have software where all research dissertations are fed into it and can check the originality of the students’ work.

“Of course there are loopholes in this process, hence the reason for collaborative efforts. I feel that if all higher learning institutions tightened their screws like we have, then we will surely curb this problem once and for all,” he noted.

He said that one big challenge the programme was facing was how to provide more support to those enrolled in it because it was catered more for the working professionals.

He said that there were many cases where the students’ employees were not cooperative enough, forcing the lecturers to be flexible during times of tests though this flexibility proved difficult for research, which is between June and December each year.

Earlier, the Avinashilingam University for Women Vice-Chancellor, Prof Sheela Ramachandran, congratulated the 22 graduates, reminding them that they had not just stepped into a new arena, but had inherited a brand new world.

Prof Ramachandran said that in a knowledge society, information was a commodity, thus shifting through this information and being able to take decision would help differentiate them from the rest of society.

“Your ability to differentiate yourself will completely rest on your comprehension of the problem, analytical and decision making skills. I hope your dreams take you to the corner of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes,” she said.

Calling on the government, she urged that there was a need to bring in advancements in the modernization of educational institutions, addressing their interlinked roles in education, research and innovation, as a key element of a nation’s drive to create a knowledge-based society and economy.

The IFM Deputy Rector, Prof Tadeo Satta, explained that the cooperation between Avinashilingam University for Women of Tamil Nadu, India and IFM had been in existence for the past five years and it was going strong.

Prof Satta said that over 120 people had acquired Masters Degrees in the five years though there were ongoing efforts to widen the cooperation.

“Annually we enroll 40-45 students into the programme, yet we receive over 140 applications. It is quite clear that the demand for this programme is very high and we will see how to accommodate more people,” he said.

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Waziri wa Sayansi, Teknolojia na Mawasiliano inakuwaje? Hii ni aibu...

Nimekuwa natafuta web site ya wizara ya sayansi, teknolojia na mawasiliano kwa muda sasa lakini URL zote nazopata hazifanyi kazi. Je, hii ina maana wizara hii haina web site. Kwanza tukumbuke hii wizara ina jukumu la kuhakikisha Tanzania haiachwi nyuma kwenye mambo ya teknolojia, itakuwa ni jambo la kushangaza kama hawatakuwa na web site. Sasa swali letu ni hili. Waziri wa wizara kuna nini, umeshindwa kuagiza wizara yako kuhakikisha inakuwa mfano kwa wizara nyingine? Tatizo ni nini? Kama hakuna bajeti wasiliana na blog hii utapata website hata kwa mkopo kwa maana hatutaki aibu.

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Why Tanzanian Internet Access Prices Have Not Decreased with the Arrival of SEACOM

(Original report by Wayan Vota on ictworks.org)
Recently, Ory Okolloh (aka @kenyanpundit) asked a pertinent question on Twitter, that I would paraphrase as: "Tanzanians - what are your thoughts on why Internet access prices are not dropping and bandwidth speed is still slow, even after undersea fiber cables landed at Dar es Salaam, as compared with other countries, especially Kenya?"

I happened to see this tweet while meeting with a major Tanzanian ISP and posed the question to them. Their answer is enlightening for everyone in the ICT space. Essentially, its a failure in regulation and transparency with the national fiber optic backbone infrastructure.

Tanzania fiber cable history
Back when SEACOM and EASSy were in the planning stages, the Tanzanian government entered into an agreement with the Chinese government to build a National Information Communication and Technology Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) to transport that bandwidth nationwide. The national network was designed and installed by Huawei and connects most of the major population centers to the landing points at Dar es Salaam. So far so good.

Pricing at SEACOM landing point
Trouble began when the government gave Tanzania Telecommunications Company TTCL, the incumbent national telecommunications operator the monopoly rights to manage the backbone, as evidenced by bandwidth pricing. SEACOM will sell 1 Megabyte per second (Mbs) of bandwidth at $230 USD per month at its landing point in Dar. If an Internet Service Provider wants to use another bandwidth provider, they can get it for as low as $175 for 1 Mbs per month at the SEACOM landing point.

Companies that connect their network infrastructure at the SEACOM landing point have dropped prices and increased bandwidth speeds. Mobile phone companies now offer great plans like Airtel's 3GB of mobile data for $10 and the Holiday Inn Dar es Salaam has the fastest hotel bandwidth in Africa.

Transmission is the issue
ISPs operating outside of Dar es Salaam still have a transmission problem - how to get bandwidth to the paying customer? TTCL charges a flat $180,000 per year to transport Internet bandwidth across the country. In addition, to connect to the backbone requires custom Huawei routers because of the way Huawei built the network. These specialized routers cost $18,000 and take 6 months to manufacture. By comparison, a similar Cisco router for standard network architecture is $8,000 and in stock across Dar.

If ISPs want to buy the bandwidth from TTCL rather than transmitting it on their own, its $700 for 1Mbs per month in Dar and $900 per month in Arusha. If you think TTCL's $470 per Mbs per month mark up extreme, it gets better. TTCL has a 20-year agreement with SEACOM for bandwidth that averages out to less than $65 Mbs per month.

Regulation is the problem
The excessive markups by TTLC should not come as a surprise to anyone in the African telecom industry. Incumbent telcos have been using their monopoly position for rent seeking for years now. What is surprising is that this is happening in Tanzania. The mobile operator marketplace is open and very competitive - there are several private operators fighting for market share. In other industries, government-run companies were privatized and markets liberalized, unleashing a privitization economic boom that the country is still enjoying.

Yet with TTCL, the Tanzanian government has given one company a monopoly power, which that company is using to monopolize the bandwidth transmission market, keeping Tanzanian citizens from enjoying the African bandwidth bonanza.

What is your thought on this Tanzanians?

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Kati ya Plasma, LCD, na LED TV : ipi bora zaidi?

Ikiwa karibia zisahaulike zile TV za kizamani (CRT) zilizokuwa kubwa nzito na zenye madhara, HDTVs zimekuwa ndio mtindo wa kisasa. HDTV ziko za aina tatu: Plasma, LCD na LED. Kutokana na hali hii watu wengi tunajikuta na maswali mengi pale tunapotakiwa kuchagua ni HDTV gani kununua kupendezesha nyumba zetu. Japokuwa kwa muda mrefu malumbano ya ipi ni bora zadi hayajapata jibu sahihi, Plasma TV ilipotoka ilikuwa inasifiwa kwa kuonyesha picha nzuri na inayong’aa.  
Hata hivyo LCD zilipoingia kwenye soko zilionekana ni nyembamba zaidi na za bei nafuu kutokana na teknolojia yake ya CCL backlight. Tofauti ya hizi aina mbili imekuwa ikihusu bei, ukubwa, uzuri wa picha na wembamba.

Miaka michache iliyopita kutokana na maendeleo ya kiteknolojia mshindi amepatikana yaani LED. LED inatumia umeme mdogo zaidi, na huwezi kupata TV nyembamba zaidi kama LED lakini kwa bahati mbaya ndio ghali kuliko zote. Kama una uwezo lipa zaidi na unapata HDTV bora kuliko zote ambayo inatumia teknolojia ya LED.

Tofauti kati ya LCD na Plasma

Plasma

 

1.       Plasma ni mshindi kwenye contrast ratio yaani kiasi cha mwanga (darkest dark and whitest white). LCD screen zimejitahidi sana kuboresha contrast ratio lakini bado teknolojia yake haijaweza kufikia ile ya Plasma

2.       Kwa video na moving  images basi mshindi ni Plasma. Japokuwa LCD inajitahidi bado Plasma inaongoza kwenye issue ya lag time au delay time. Kama lag time ya TV yako ni nzuri movie inaonekana smooth kabisa. Pia unaweza kuangalia picha kwenye Plasma kutoka kila kona. Hivyo kama huna nafasi yakutosha na baadhi ya viti vitakuwa upande wa kushoto ama kulia basi usinunue LCD maana utakuwa disappointed.

3.       Japokuwa imekuwa inkionekana kwamba TV kubwa zinakuwa na picha iliyofifia zaidi, Plasma kwa mfano ya inch 50 ni nzuri zaidi kuliko LCD

LCD

1.       Kama unataka kutumia TV yako kutazama picha za kawaida (still picture) kama ulizopiga wakati wa graduation yako basi LCD ndio TV ya kununua. Screen ya komputa yako inatumia LCD technolojia kwasababu inafanya kazi vizuri zaidi kwa kutizama still images.

2.       Kama unajali bili ya umeme basi LCD ndio mwendo. Pllasma TV zina neon gas ndani. Neon gas hii inahitaji kiasi kikubwa cha umeme kuitoa mwanga. LCD inatumia karibu nusu ya umeme unaotumika kwenye Plasma

3.       LCD ni bei nafuu zaidi ukilinganisha na bei ya Plasma

LED

Kwa ubora zaidi wa picha, wembamba na ukubwa wa TV basi LED ndio mwendo wa kisasa. Kutokana na teknolojia ya LED kuna uwezekano miaka kadhaa ijayo kukawa na toleo la LED lenye wembamba wa credit card.

Ushauri

Kwa sababu bei ya LED inapungua, hakuna haja ya kununua tekonolojia hiyo sasa hivi. Kama hela sio shida nunua ila kwa nini ulipe premium wakati miezi kadhaa ijayo utapata TV hiyo kwa bei nafuu zaidi?

You get what you paid for. Chaguo kati ya Plasma na LCD linategemea mfuko wa mtu. Kama utalipa zaidi utapata TV nzuri kuliko Yule aliyelipa kidogo. Hata hivyo kabla ya kununua TV yoyote, kama unajua model  nenda online usome feedbacks za watu.

Changia mawazo na ujuzi wako

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Good News - NICTBB working hard on broadband backbone

Original article By ABDULWAKIL SAIBOKO of Daily News:

SOME 7,000 kilometres have been covered by the National Information Communication and Technology Broadband Backbone (NICTBB) out of the targeted 10,000kms.

President Jakaya Kikwete said in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday that upon its completion, the NICTBB which connects all regions and districts through a 10,000km optic fibre cable will help in achieving Millennium Development Goals.

"There is need to harness ICT to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and development Vision 2025.

"The national ICT policy is geared towards making Tanzania become a hub of ICT infrastructure and solution in terms of economic development and poverty reduction efforts," he said.

Mr Kikwete was officiating at the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation (CTO) Sixth Annual Connecting Rural Communities African Forum in Dar es Salaam on Wednesday.

The forum which brought various dignitaries from African countries was held under the theme 'improving livelihoods and citizen engagement through rural ICT connectivity'.

President Kikwete noted that the theme was timely and relevant for African countries where ICT connectivity in rural areas has remained a challenging task.

"We are facing various challenges in building this network which range from inadequate funds, erratic power supply and human resources...," he said.

He noted that various border posts have already been connected to NICTBB, adding that the move would help in connecting to neighbouring countries.

Available information shows that various landlocked neighbouring countries have expressed interest to use the newly built national ICT backbone to get international links via the submarine cables laid in the Indian Ocean off the East African Coast in 2009.

Such countries include Zambia, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi.

Mr Kikwete noted that in Tanzania, ICT has facilitated rural development and has increased innovation, improved health services and general well-being of people.

"Farmers in Ifakara which is about 400kms from Dar es Salaam can now communicate to a businessman in Dar es Salaam and do all the transactions through M-pesa, this is how the cell-phones have simplified life, thanks to service providers," he said.

Earlier, the CTO Chief Operations Officer, Mr Bashir Patel, noted that African governments should ensure increased access of ICT services in rural areas.

"ICT plays a vital role in poverty alleviation and if implemented thoroughly it will help in achieving MDGs for African countries by 2015," he said.

Mr Patel noted that the fact that over 60 per cent of the population in Africa lives in rural areas and depends on agriculture, lack of connectivity poses a serious challenge for their development.

He emphasized not only in making services available but in ensuring that the services are affordable to all.

"If the government and private sectors work together in this undertaking, there will be a truly sustainable rural connectivity," he said.

In another development, President Kikwete launched a logo that will be used in a campaign to sensitize on the shift from analog to digital technology.

The target is to make sure that the country is using digital system by next year. The campaign will be engineered by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA).

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Powerful Speech :Tujifunze nini kutoka kwa Rais Kagame wa Rwanda

Raisi wa Rwanda Paul Kagame ni raisi mwenye upeo mkubwa, nia na hamu ya kuibadilisha nchi yake na Afrika kuwa nchi ya kiteknolojia. Raisi huyu amekuwa akipata heshima kubwa ya kutoa speech zake kwenye vyuo na makapuni maarufu duniani. Kwa mfano, miezi kadhaa iliyopita alizungumza na wanafunzi wa chuo kikuu cha Oxford (Oxford University). kuhusu maswala ya IT. Chini ya maelezo haya unaweza kuona speech yake alipokuwa anaongea kwenye chuo maarufu ch IT duniani Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) . Ameweza kubadilisha mfumo wa elimu unaolenga kuwanda watoto Rwanda kwa ajili ya dunia anayoamini itazidi kuendelea kiteknolojia. Mpango wake wa kuhakikisha kila mtoto ana laptop (laptop per child) imefanikiwa sana. Kwa sasa zaidi ya 3/4 ya watoto wa Rwanda walioko shule za msing wana laptop.

Lecture kwa chuo cha MIT: by Kagame (Tazama video au soma maelezo hapo chini)



The news these days from Africa isn’t all bad. In fact, in some places, it’s downright hopeful, as Rwandan President Paul Kagame attests. “Our continent is no longer all about violence and disease and human disasters that scarred many African countries in recent decades,” says Kagame. “We are now becoming a continent of opportunities.”

There are those who doubted Rwanda could “constitute a viable state,” says Kagame, but 14 years after bloody genocide and civil war, his country has managed an astonishing revival -- enough “stability and resilience to allow the economy to grow at an average 7% annually in the past several years.” Other African nations have been expanding at the same pace; oil producers are zooming along at even faster clips. Kagame attributes this recovery to such factors as the “leapfrogging power of mobile technology,” where hundreds of millions of new cell phone users, even in remote areas without electricity, drive the growth of new business. And the number of internet subscribers in Africa is growing more than three times as fast as the rest of the world, says Kagame.

Cell phones and the internet allow Rwandan and other micro entrepreneurs to develop business networks. Kagame describes how technology helped a Kigali bakery expand beyond its neighborhood to reach more customers and suppliers, enabling workers to move into larger homes. In Kenya, Kagame recounts, a new agricultural commodity exchange “has reduced barriers between farmers, traders and consumers,” with the internet and cell phone text messages providing timely market information. This network has improved the incomes of farm families by 25%, leading to better healthcare and education. Rwanda’s power utility is also reaping the benefits of technology, keeping track of customers and accounts more efficiently, and no longer relying on government handouts.

But while technology has enabled Africans “to leapfrog some features of underdevelopment,” Kagame says it is not enough. “Our vision of becoming a middle income country by 2020 … requires thinking and acting inventively, boldly and creatively.” Kagame wants to build a foundation not just in technology but in science. Doing this requires a heavy investment in all levels of education. “Without a knowledge base,” he says, “Africa’s imperative for agricultural and industrial development to create wealth will remain unrealized.” He calls for members of the MIT community to join “in overcoming our challenges and turning them into rewarding opportunities.”                       

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Wapenzi wa techno (watekno), iPhone 5 inatoka. Tutegemee nini?

Tetesi kuhusu toleo jipya la iPone 5 next generation limekuwa likizidi kwa wiki kadhaa sasa. Ninafuatilia kwa karibu nyendo za toleo hili na ninaweza kusema wataalam wa Cupertino - Apple wanakaribia kutoa toleo hilo jipya kama siyo mwishoni mwa mwezi wa tisa basi itakuwa mwezi wa kumi.

Ni juzi tu DigTimes wametoa report kwamba Pegatron (wafyatuaji wa iPhone 5) wanaanza kuzisafirisha simu million 10 kwenda kwa wasambazaji wakuu. Repoti ya awali kutoka DigiTimes ilisema kwamba Pegatron wamepokea oda ya units million 15 lakini sasa inasemekana ni units million 10. Pia kupunguzwa kwa bei ya iPhone 4 kunaashiria kwamba iPhone toleo jipya litatoka hivi karibuni hivyo watekno kaeni mkao wa kula.

Apple wamekuwa wakiweka bidii kubwa sana mwaka huu kuboresha software zinazotumika kwenye product ambazo ni iOS (kwa ajili ya mobile devices) na Mac OS (kwa ajili ya PC za MAC). Kwa sababu hiyo, tutegemee iPhone 5 inayo respond haraka, inayocheza video na kuonyesha picha vizuri zaidi. Hii itahusisha 1080 HD (picha za quality ya juu) na kamera iliyoimarishwa. Imesemekana pia kwamba kampuni inayotengeneza makasha (covers) za iPhone imeshapokea michoro ya kasha jipya, kuna tetesi  kwamba tunarudi kwenye iPhone za kizamani. Hii inamaanisha kasha la iPhone 5 linawezakuwa curved kama la iPhone 3G. Hata hivyo itakuwa na screen ndogo zaidi 4-inch.

Video hapo chini inaonyesha features ambazo wengi wanaamini kitu hicho kipya kitatuletea.

Habari hii inakuja siku kadhaa baada ya aliyekuwa CEO wa Apple bwana Steve Jobs kuachia ngazi pamoja na habari kwamba matoleo mapya ya iPad 3 na iMac yako karibu kufyatuliwa.

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