Author: Cyrus

I am one of the staunch supporters of the Kenyans4Kenya initiative. It is such a great idea and it is both an experience and an eye opener, not only for those who participated in it but also to the current government establishment. Ordinary Kenyans have gone out of the usual way and given their all to this initiative. So the Media Owners, Safaricom, Gina Din Communications, KCB and others did well in initiating and putting wheels onto the Kenyans4Kenya initiative. The corporate and individuals behind the idea have been attacked by other corporate, civic society and even individuals. They have…

It is now easier to get invited to Google+ if you are not already there. We gave out some invites to our friends, enemies and just enthusiasts. But now it is even easier. Besides the usual email invite, you can now send out a link which will be clicked by invitees and they will be able to add you to their circles. It was not easy to know how many invites you could send out or even when your invites would stop or start working. Now it is a bit straight forward. You can just click this link and get…

At the recently concluded TED event in Edinburg Scotland, a German scientist, Harald Haas, said he has come up with a solution he calls “data through illumination”. The solution sends data through a LED lightbulb that varies in intensity faster than the human eye can follow. It’s the same idea behind infrared remote controls, but far more powerful. Haas argues that with the world having more than 1.4 Million cellular base stations and 5 billion mobile phones while the high frequency spectrum for sending data like LTE running out, the frequently available light bulbs can solve this. These mobile phone…

We sure were not well aware of this but it seems that Apple finally recruited the premium resellers as we reported that they were looking for some and they even launched the iPad 2 in Nairobi. So the launch was on Wednesday conducted by MCI which is the Apple Authorised distributor in charge of even Kenya. Only Elite Digital Systems and Personal systems will be selling the ipad. Prices are as below iPad 2 Wi-Fi Only 16GB – Ksh 53,790 32GB – Ksh 64,490 64GB – Ksh 75,390 iPad 2 with 3G and Wi-Fi 16GB – Ksh 67,690 32GB -…

It came as a big surprise and the news was broken by the CEO of the largest telecoms company in East and Central Africa, Safaricom. Bob Collymore or Bob as he is simply called on Twitter and social circles tweeted that Google is donating $1 Million. Kenyans on social media mostly have been running the Kenyans4Kenya campaign both online and through the mainstream media. Google is one of the tech companies with an interest in the Kenyan tech scene and it did not wish to be left behind. So when Bob tweeted that the tech giant was donating $1 Million,…

Kenya Premier League side, AFC Leopards is said to be in the process off launching a TV station through the Smart TV network. The launch which is slated for Wednesday 10th August might be a first in the region for a club. Clubs like UKs Arsenal and Manchester United all owns TV stations featuring club fixtures and related activities. The TV station will be called Ingwe TV. Dan Kagwe, the Smart TV CEO, has confirmed this saying that it will be a change in sports broadcasting in the country. There is unlikely to be any clash with Supersport since the…

MTN Business promises that in every 3 months, they would be unveiling a new product in the country. So to this end, it unveiled the seamlessly digitized telephony solution dubbed MTN Managed IP PBX service. The solution streamlines the management and operations of telephony in a business environment. MTN Managed IP PBX combines telephony and even integrates the voice over IP telephony in a business environment. Through the service provided by Telesec consolidates business’ voice and data onto a single Local Area Network, eliminating the cost of redundant networks and those associated with administrative moves, adds, and changes. MTN promises that businesses also…

Telecom giant MTN has launched an app development challenge with the theme of Africa and Middle East. Applications being entered for the competition must be based on the Android platform and must be in English. You can create an app to solve a problem or simply have a gaming or lifestyle app. The competition will run for a period of six moths starting in July and ending in December. The first prize for monthly winners is a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the second prize a Samsung Galaxy S2. The prize for the overall winner is a trip to the Mobile World…

I have followed the idea of BAKE and participated in one of the meetings. I like the idea of having an association but first for unity then for business. The brains behind BAKE are so focused on a model which will actually not make sense. They are calling on bloggers to come, register with BAKE and their blogs so that the people behind BAKE can approach corporates and pitch for advertising. It is simply not making sense to me why a corporate should deal with a group of losers who does not have an audience to die for and does…

Telkom Kenya has announced that its customers will now be able to use the Orange Money service via WAP and through a Java application (J2ME). The java based application, J2ME, is downloaded from the internet and uploaded onto one’s handset, while WAP is a web interface also accessed via the internet. All internet-enabled handsets can be used to access J2ME or WAP. Customers using WAP or J2ME will access the existing services available on the customer menu. Agents can conduct all existing agent and customer transactions via J2ME as exist on the current agent menu. WAP is a web interface…

Google has announced the dates of G-Uganda to be immediately followed by G-Kenya in September. The user experience and engagement days are used by Google to give the users skills in using various Google products and also understand what the user goes through. It comes almost one year after the first G-Kenya and G-Uganda were held in 2010. G-Uganda will be held in at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala on September 8-9th. G-Kenya follows closely behind on September 12-13th at the Westgate Cinema. Google is accepting applications to attend the event. You can register for G-Uganda and G-Kenya at the respective links. But the 2011 G-Kenya and G-Uganda…

There was a great debate yesterday on Twitter started by TV Presenter Ramah Nyang’ on why Google should not force the .co.ke Swahili version on users in East Africa. I agreed with Ramah’s argument considering that Google changes the user’s preferences without consulting. It is like travelling to Russia then all over a sudden you get some Russian gibberish splashed on our screen not even realising where you can click o change the language. It is great that Google is trying to promote the Google Swahili page. But my preferred language is English. My least problem with Google Swahili is…

Zuku officially launched on Friday during a spectacular party held at the Junction Mall rooftop. The party, attended by all industry partners as well as members of the public, marked the launch of Wananchi’s satellite service Zuku TV and the re-launch of the groups cable offering Zuku Triple play. Wananchi Group Chairman Mark Schneider pressed down on a remote setting off a montage about Zuku on all the screens within the area, followed by a brilliant fireworks display and dance performance to the delight of all the guests. “We’re proud and excited to be launching Zuku TV in Kenya,” said…

You know that Social media is really influencing a lot when even we have churches bearing the names of social media applications. We might soon spot Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or even Quora Church. A Tweep spotted the Foursquare Gospel Church somewhere in Kenya. The church is said to even have more than 3 branches around the country bearing the same name.

We met Mark Matunga who is the Education Manager at Microsoft East and Southern Africa. We engaged him on a number of issues including the “partners in learning program” and the Mwalimu Kenya initiative. The company is engaging in lots of grassroots programs to boost education in the region. You should watch this video; [vimeo width=”620″ height=”450″]http://vimeo.com/27043457[/vimeo]