Author: Cyrus

By Shem Ochuodho Media freedom is one of the most fundamental rights any civil state must uphold. However, rights have also to come with responsibility. Before making substantive comment on this matter, my contribution would better be informed by reading the statute itself, not by media reports. As a major stakeholder in this, the media will report in a slanted matter. I have to confess as an ICT Professional I don’t have much respect for the PS, and I rarely agree with his points of view. However, this is one of the rare instances when I seem to agree with…

I doubted the media when they wrote the article about Kalahari in Standard and Nation. I read another article on Star today and decided to get hold of David Aoll who is the Country Director of Kalahari.co.ke and he is representing the part of Nasper’s Group of companies which includes Technology, Online Companies, TV and newspapers and Magazines. The company owns Nimbuzz in Netherlands, Irdeto, Multichoice, Allegro, Mweb and Paarmedia among others.

Rwanda’s leading communication company by market share, MTN, has deployed a technology called Aradial Authentication, Authorization, Accounting (AAA) that will provide wireless services in Kigali. MTN entered a deal with Aradial to provide Internet Protocol services and others including Wi-Fi, WiMAX, VoIP, IPTV and mobile data. MTN’s Senior Marketing Executive, Yvonne Makolo, revealed that the operator has rolled out Wi-Fi services in Kigali but have not yet commercially launched but is still doing the final tests. The technology solution integrates with access controllers to manage Wi-Fi base stations. Aradial’s deployment operates with Ericsson’s intelligent network over MTN’s provisioning infrastructure to…

Safaricom and Zain transferred a whopping Sh318.4 billion through their mobile money transfer services in 12 months up to June last year, according to the Central Bank of Kenya. The bank says Safaricom and Zain transferred the money, which translates to about Sh1 billion per day, between June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2009 through their M-Pesa and Zap services respectively.

They have just done what I was thinking of doing, tearing down my Nexus when I get it into pieces. Now I wont need to do that since I have now seen the Ifixit guys bring it down here. DONT TRY THIS AT HOME should be a very big sign on the images and videos. The Nexus One is looking sexy even inside and you dont need to get worried if your friend sees you with its parts. Its unlike those NOKIA and SMSUNG from China which when you open, will make you not want to have anyone near you.

Today I walked into Zain Koinange and to have the dashboard software for my Huawei E220 Modem replaced. I found a very disturbing scenario in the shops. First the lady I met there who I was reffered to by a Zain employee and was said to be the pro, didnt have much info on how to operate the modem. I wanted to flash the modem so that I can have it work with Ubuntu 9.10. I was taken round round and round until I got tired. I called the friend working with Zain for help and he called the Koinange…

Two products which are similar in nature of service are going to be today in our spotlight. Orange broadband Nyumbani and Zuku Broadband which both offer great service.

Good news around for Gadget lovers in Kenya. Safaricom through Vodafone UK is bringing the Nexus One phone to Kenya soon. Sources tells Techmtaa that the gadget might be landing in Kenya as early as end of January or February. And Safaricom also has special arrangement with google through the Data services where you could get a safaricom.com email address. At the Nexus One launch yesterday, Google announced that it will be selling the CDMA version through Verizonin US and Vodafone UK. Though Safaricom is running a GSM network now, that arrangement alone might signal things to come.

Have you recieved a message as below: hey there I was just talking to Abednego and they asked me to show you this BINSSERVICESTODAY .INFO The message is the latest in a serious of SPAM messages we are getting from Facebook. Its an hijack on a user account and then it creates a message to send to close to 10 facebook users at once. The link sends you to “Financial Journal” which promises you lots of money when you work from home.

Google new idea on the Net, Nexus One phone, had the support page up and running today morning. It has been taken down but not before someone took a screenshot and spread it around. It confirms the secret google has been holding with Android having a press Conference later today.

Good news at long last. But why didnt Amazon announce it for all to hear. Its not yet even on Amazon Blog and Press release link. Anyway all in all its a great news for us. I got this alert from Engadget of the availeability of Kindle DX to the global book lovers. When I logged into my Amazon account and checked, I have found out that I can now buy Amazon Kindle DX and ship it and use it in Kenya.  Amzon Kindle was running Whispernet Wireless system which was only availeable in USA.

Kenyan e-commerce are definitely coming of age. The new entrant in the scene is Kalahari which has integrated even m-pesa as a payment method in their website. The website sells Books, Electrnics, Aparels and other goods. The only problem with most of the local e-commerce sites is that you cannot do an online purchase 24/7 and the time spent from order to delivery is actually longer than taking a bus from Mombasa to Nairobi to go and pick the stuff from a physical shop.

Wakubwa Shikamoo wadogo hamjambo! Word has it that KDN has entered the Tanzanian Data market with impending launch very soon. KDN has been setting up its centre in the seaside town and is expected to unveil its services and products in the mid January or later in the month.

I dont know why it is that Kenyan Media companies have no given ICt or social mediathe kind of dedicated channel it requites. Nation Media Group gives is very shallow coverage with those journalistscovering ICt stories not having much info about ICT leave alone social media. How can a journalist talk about twitter while he/she has doesnt have even a twitter account and so doesnt know much about the social media vocabularies and trends. I had a chance to read Daily Nation of 30th December and saw a headline reading “Website Launched” on top of a photo of KENIC boss…

Why is is that the Kenyan Web Developers have Blogs which are shoddily done and are not worth a look at? What lacks in the training. An example is Moses Kemibaro which is a Blog by the CEO of DotSavvy, one of Kenya’s premier Web Development firms.

In the proud tradition of the CueCat the street is finding its own use for the Nook, adding Facebook, Pandora, and Browser apps to the ereader. Nookdevs have already rooted the Android-powered ebook and programmers have succeeded in installing multiple apps that have been ported to the version of the OS running on the Nook. What does this mean? Not much, yet. However, it’s fun to watch this thing get torn up and made into something more than the sum of its parts. The images of the hacked Nooks, above, are pretty blurry but there are also screen caps from…