Author: Cyrus

Zain is finally going 3G if the story from Reuters is true. Apparently Rene Meza has been talking and talking good. Zain is saying that CCK has finally agreed to cut the licensing fees despite the strong opposition from Safaricom. Now I would bet that Rene Meza is just talking because he started talking of 3G sometimes early last year. He has been testing the 3G network forever. There was a time when Zain Data was having the highest subscribers. The problem is that Safaricom used their market share to bar them from getting the 3G license. That is the…

I was formerly a Panasonic person. I believed that SONY products were overpriced and really not for me. More so when I owned the Panasonic series like SC-VK950D and the VK960 but not anymore. SONY Kenya is actually making me like their products more and more. I bought the GTR8 recently but I feel like selling it after seeing the new LBT-ZUX999 model which is a show stopper. Talking to Salim of ANISUM, the local SONY distributor, I hear the system is actually under priced with more than Ksh 40,000 as it is supposed to be selling for Ksh 125,000…

The fierce urgency of now – a phrase that invoked the audacity of hope and inspired millions to vote for the change they wished to see.

The war against cable vandals went a notch higher today when Telkom Kenya introduced new dress code for technicians working on sites. The new Orange branded uniforms will be critical in tightening the noose around people practicing the vice since security agents will easily be able to identify legitimate Telkom Kenya technicians working on site. Telkom Kenya Chief Executive Officer Mickael Ghossein confirmed that the firm had retained a large workforce of over 1,200 security agents and enlisted the assistance of several neighbourhood groups to assist in the process of community policing.

Safaricom has introduced the South African social networking product, MIXIT, in Kenya. Safaricom seems o be keen on capturing the market and dominating all sectors of the market. MXit is an Instant Messenger product offering of choice to the Kenyan youth who represent the next generation consumer. They digitally savvy and early adopters of technology and innovation.

By Yvette Randa PHILIPS has introduced new energy efficient LED lighting solutions to create more livable cities by enhancing urban wellbeing. Philips will help the municipal authorities create more livable urban environments by applying new, future-proof LED lighting solutions to enhance city living through improved pedestrian and road safety, as well as significantly greater energy efficiency. However, with the municipalities increasingly recognizing the value of replacing outdoor lighting with newer technologies, Philips’ latest LED outdoor lightning solutions provide city leaders with innovative platforms to deliver high quality white light in urban environment.

Now the researchers have been telling us how the web advertising and trust is gaining so much ground and also just how the good old TV still remains the choice of many in entertainment and information.The web is mostly viewed in small screen and the TV has the infrastructure but not choice and ease which is available in the web. Google have done it again. They have introduced Google tv. Google expects to explore both the web and Tv by giving us what is called Google TV. Sony, Logitech and Dish Tv have partnered with Google to make the TV…

Kenya’s software piracy rate fell by one-percentage point last year to settle at 79-percent according to the seventh annual global software piracy study released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA), an international association representing the global software industry, in partnership with market research firm International Data Corporation-IDC. According to the study, both Kenya and Botswana’s piracy rate fell from 80% in 2008 to 79% in 2009. The new software piracy data reveals that the use of pirated software in East and Southern Africa remains among the highest worldwide.

There’s a reason why people come first, then processes and then technology.

This is a guest post by Yvette Randa The latest web-based trend in transmission of information and communication across the globe is the next frontier in the advertisement world even as the most efficient internet connectivity hits Kenya’s mainland. Advertisement platform in various World Wide Web (www) and search engines are gradually threatening the traditional form of advertisements including the Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, Television and Outdoor advertisements. Telephony service provider Safaricom is already setting the online mood in the country as websites including ‘Whereis Enterprices’ venture online advertisement. ‘Where-is’ web gives business organizations, industries, institutions a platform to market themselves…

Kenya’s leading bank byclients base Equity Bank and leading intergrated telecommunications provider Safaricom have launched an ultimate bank account that lets customers transfer money to and from their M-PESA accounts via their mobile handsets while enjoying other benefits that come with the bank account. Speaking at a launch which was presided over by President Mwai Kibaki, Safaricom  Chief Executive Officer Michael Joseph said “M-PESA is proud to launch another new initiative with our partners Equity Bank by offering a new service that will target customers who are looking for the convenience of a bank account that uses M-PESA as the…

In their fight against software piracy, the Kenya Copyright Board (KCB), Kenya Revenue Authority and Kenyan Police managed to break up a software counterfeit ring responsible for the distribution and sale of more than KSh 800,000 worth of counterfeit Microsoft software. With Microsoft’s support, the Kenyan authorities led several months of investigation, test purchases and raids before arresting the supplier, based in the Nairobi suburb of Kiambu. “The unauthorised commercial use of software is a crime, just like theft, tax evasion and fraud,” said Marisella Ouma, Executive Director of the Kenya Copyright Board. “Our country’s intellectual…

Establishing a Kenyan chapter of OWASP

Imagine a time in the not too distant future where patch management has become obsolete.

The Obama administration is said to be offering up to $1 million in prize money to entrepreneurs that can come up with innovative ways to commercialize new technology. The U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship’s i6 Challenge is offering the prize money to six winners who invent what judges think are the most innovative ideas to drive technology commercialization in their respective regions, according to a White House blog post attributed to Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke.