Category: Science &Technology

Uganda will from March 21-24th host an international conference on ICT for Africa at Makerere university business school under the theme; ‘Africa’s E-Inclusion: Defying the Odds and Leading the Way in Global ICT Innovation’.

Digital technology has changed numerous activities in the world and continues to do so. The digital revolution has already matured in developed countries however, developing countries, especially in Africa, are yet to realize the full potential of the benefits of technology.

It is true that Africa has in recent years made tremendous progress from being a technological desert to a growing technological forest.

The adoption and diffusion of Information and Telecommunication Technology (ICT) in Africa is growing as evidenced by the upsurge in mobile markets and emerging innovative application in e-banking, e-business, telemedicine (e-health), e-learning, e-government, e-democracy, e-agriculture, e-procurement and more.

As we entered the new millennium, Africa progressed from technological desert to emergent sustainable growth in ICT. Within the first decade of the millennium, several innovations emanated from African countries, such as, the continent is also joining the league of ICT producing countries and Africa is witnessing increased capacity for consumption.

While the problems being reported on the development of ICT in Africa might have not completely disappeared, the current challenges are definitely different. For example, the problem is no longer about access to modern ICT devices but the continent is now being confronted with the effect of the adoption and utilization of ICT.

Electronic payments system is taking root on the continent where public servants are paid salaries and pensioners receive their pension directly to their accounts.

Mobile commerce through mobile/cell phone transactions without going through traditional banking systems has penetrated both rural and urban centres of some African nations. East African countries have embraced the M-Commerce.

Automated teller machines (ATM) have spread across the continent but this technological adoption faces issues of security and identity theft. Teledensity is no longer an issue but the effect of the telecom on the environment is posing a serious threat.

These concerns are now similar to the issues in the western world. It is time that the concept of digital divide be re-examined and the stock of innovation and technological advancement from Africa for Africans be taken and reported.

There are numerous cases of African championed initiatives for Africa which are worth showcasing. From launching of submarine fibre optics cable linking Africa to Europe to Financial Switching backbone. Such success stories abound.

With this background, Africa is ready to position itself for the three foremost interrelated technological advances namely; the mobile platform, cloud computing and software as a service. All these will be examined in the context of green computing or green ICT.

The conference will bring together some of Africa’s leaders in this area to discuss creation of culturally sensitive applications that are applicable in the African context.

The “One Laptop Per Child” OLPC project will provide extra 100,000 laptops to ensure that all 416 administrative districts of the country have computers in every school.

The project, launched in 2008 by President Paul Kagame, has already distributed 80,000 laptops in 145 schools across the country.

“We will receive additional 100,000 laptops in May 2012,” said Nkubito Bakuramutsa OLPC coordinator at the Ministry of Education.

He explained that the first phase, which focused on five schools per district, will end soon.

“We plan to complete the first phase by the end of March. For now, all districts are covered, we move towards sectors. We want to ensure that all sectors of 416 countries have a school where the OLPC is operational, “he said.

Commenting on the installation of electricity in schools where there is no electrical current, Bakuramutsa has indicated they have an approach that varies with the location of the school.

“For schools that are far from the gate, we work closely with the project support the deployment of electricity within the Department of Infrastructure to install solar energy.Closer to the grid, we work with district officials and local leaders of the EWSA to complete the connection of schools to the national grid, “he said.

The OLPC project has trained 1,500 teachers and principals of schools and has a second round of training which will cover 1,200 others.

The computers were distributed free by the government, there is also another arrangement where private schools buy these computers at a discounted price of $ 200 per computer (approx. 120,000 Rwandan francs).

According Théogène Sibomana, headmaster of the Kigali camp, the children learned the various applications using laptops.

“They are interested in using laptops and this led us to double the time that children spend on the machines at school,” according Théogène Sibomana.

The OLPC program will provide access to digital course to all the teachings.

The government of Rwanda has announced in a decision to help students from East Africa who want to study in Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda by paying 50% of the whole tuition fees.

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU-Rwanda), one of the best universities in USA, was established in Rwanda in a way to facilitate Rwandan students and east Africa as a whole to deeply access best technology sciences (ICT).

It is supposed that students studying in this university in 2012/2013 academic year should pay 38,900 US$. From the decision, a student studying at CMU-Rwanda is to pay only 19,450 US$.

Prof. Michel Brezy, a lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University said that the decision of installing this university in Rwanda was from His Excellency Paul Kagame’s wish.

He said, “President Kagame is the one who chose this university to be brought in Rwanda and I am sure it will contribute much to the Rwandan education as we are here to help Rwanda in its development through education.

Brezy added that it is much more advantageous for Rwanda to study the same courses as USA is it will make Rwanda have many experts in technology and they are going also to discover many programs with regard to the region.

Vincent Biruta had said before that Rwanda is proud of having Carnegie Mellon University as it had been also said by the President Paul Kagame the time he was visiting this University in US last year.

He said, “this shows that Rwanda is a model country in ICT.”

Bruce Krogh, the head of CMU-Rwanda said that he is happy with the government’s decision of reducing the tuition fee for students in Rwanda.

Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda (CMU-Rwanda) started with short time courses basing on professional development which include 3 lasting 7 weeks, 4 lasting 4 days, and 30 to cover within 6 weeks.

The graduates of these courses will be awarded same degrees as those studying in US as they will be having the same lecturer.

After these short time courses, CMU-Rwanda expects to start Master’s Degree courses on Science in Information Technology (MSIT).

Speaking to the media, Krogh said that they preferred Master’s level because it is the level in which a student conducts as much research as he can.

He said, “a student at Master’s level does not need a lecturer in front of him all the time but it is his part to carry out researches which makes him very complex and creative in as short time as possible.”

The CMU-Rwanda started on 14th February 2012 and applications, for students wishing to attend it, should be not later than 21st April 2012 or contact www,cmu.edu/rwanda.

Carnegie Mellon University is classified among the first universities in USA and Rwanda is the first country to accept it in.

It is located at Kacyiru in the 4th floor of the Telecom House building.

Scientists have asked themselves why zebras have stripes; many have speculated that they might be a defense against predators such as lions.

A lion, which is the zebra’s natural predator, is colourblind which means that it would be unable to tell the difference between the grass and the zebra.

However, scientists later discovered that the primary purpose of a zebra’s stripes is actually to repel horseflies.

“We conclude that zebras have evolved a coat pattern in which the stripes are narrow enough to ensure minimum attractiveness to flies,”

This discovery was published in the “Journal of experimental biology” which demonstrates how a zebra striped horse model attracts far fewer horseflies than non stripped horses because Insects prefer animals with dark skin to animals with white skin.

Although scientists have come to a fascinating conclusion about the mystery of zebra stripes and horseflies, the study is likely to have a long term impact on both professional scientists and future scientists.

Microsoft has announced it will release a trial version of its latest operating system this February the 28th, 2012.

Microsoft will hold the launch of their latest Windows 8 Consumer preview in Barcelona, Spain this month.

Invitations sent to journalists across the world indicates that the date and location of the launch were purposely made to coincide with the World Mobile Congress to show customers how serious the company is about its mobile operating system.

Microsoft says the general public will no longer have to wait for long before they can get their hands on Windows 8. The Preview will allow everyday consumer to download and use a pre- release version of Windows 8, the system which will function as an operating system for traditional desktops, laptops as well as tablets will be free and available to anyone who wishes to use it.

Microsoft warns users that since the software is still unfinished, they will be likely encounter problems in the system such as, bugs, and other features which aren’t completely finished, and because of this, they ask that only users with advanced computer skill should try it.

Where in September last year Microsoft had released the Windows 8 Developer Preview that came with tools that programmers could use to build apps and get familiar with Windows 8 this new operating system represents the redesign of the system since its debut in 1995 as windows 95.

The design of Windows 8 comes mainly from the Live Tiles and Metro themes environment of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.

Some of the software’s insights are new visual and Wizard-Driven Paradigms for exploring data, developing analytic workflow and webcasts. The tiles will be blocks that feed real time updates from e-mail, social networks, messaging and other services to the home screen.

This design is made to be more tablet friendly, with functions such as the leaked screenshots which has replaced the start button with the new swipe able area that consumers can use to bring up various menus.

Windows 8 which is dominated by Google and apple powered devices relies heavily on design elements taken from Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 environment, including Metro themes and Live Tiles.

Tiles are blocks of screen real-estate that feed real-time updates from social networks, messaging, e-mail, and other services to the home screen.

Microsoft has not announced a release date for the final version of Windows 8, but analysts believe the new Operating system may be ready in time for the 2012 holiday season.

The new iPhone – the 4S – is the first product to be launched since Steve Jobs left his CEO post, and possibly the first to get a luke-warm reception from Apple fans.

Before he passed on, Jobs was the co-creator, innovator and, largely, the face of the brand with indisputable strength.

The new phone has disappointed fans anticipating something perhaps more innovative than what many see as just a faster version of the iPhone 4.

Professor John Naughton of the Open University and Wolfson College, at the University of Cambridge says that the response to the new iPhone has little to do with the product itself.

“The ‘disappointment’ reaction to the iPhone 4S is a reflection mostly of the idiocy of the stock-market analysts and some parts of the blogosphere,” Naughton said.

“What did they expect? A phone that could do teleporting? The 4GS seems to me to be an intelligent enhancement of an already superb product: the voice-recognition system is potentially very important; and the improved camera is also significant – the iPhone is now the most popular camera on Flickr, for example. This seems to have bypassed the more excitable – and clueless – parts of the mass media.”

“Apple’s real problem is that Apple’s competitive advantage is culture – many great technology companies have tried to replicate Apple and failed,” said Stephens, who does not think customers will downgrade the brand after Jobs’s passing.

Ian Stephens, principal at Saffron Brand Consultants in the UK says,”The thing that frustrates them is that they get smart people, they invest, the do the market research, and yet, time and time again, they fall short of where Apple is, and the difference is culture,” said Stephens, who said Jobs, known as a “tough micro-manager on every level”, was “irreplaceable and an all-encompassing eye-in-the sky”.

The danger the company faces is that Apple will stop being Apple, and that “over time their invincibility will wane, and the very hungry competitors around them will actually do what they’ve not been able to do for at least the last decade, and match Apple’s ability to somehow create these amazing products that capture people’s imaginations, because those things have come from the Apple culture, and the Apple culture comes from Steve Jobs,” Stephens said.

With the ever changing technology, a new application for smartphone owners has gained ground. It’s known as WhatsApp.

The WhatsApp Messenger is a proprietary cross-platform mobile messaging app for smartphones allowing users to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS.

The new application is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Nokia and those phones can all message each other! Because WhatsApp Messenger uses the same internet data plan that used for email and web browsing, there is no cost to message and stay in touch with friends.

In addition to basic messaging iPhone, Android, Nokia and BlackBerry WhatsApp Messenger users can send each other unlimited images, video and audio media messages.

The application synchronizes with the phone’s contact’s book, so users do not need to add contacts in a separate book. As the underlying technology the application uses the open standard XMPP.

WhatsApp was founded by two guys who spent combined 20 years doing geeky stuff at Yahoo! Inc. before starting WhatsApp Inc.

SMS is an older messaging system with a limited functionality and high cost.
WhatsApp Messenger aims to provide more at a lower cost. We are sure you and your friends will figure out the difference between SMS and WhatsApp Messenger very quickly.

However, security concerns arose in May 2011 when a security hole was reported in WhatsApp which left user accounts open for hijacking.

Communications made by this previous version of WhatsApp were not themselves encrypted, and data was sent and received in plaintext, meaning messages could be easily read if packets could be sniffed.

In September 2011 a new version of the WhatsApp Messenger application for iPhones was released.

However, in this new version, the developer has closed a number of critical security holes that allowed forged messages to be sent and messages from any WhatsApp user to be read.

Kenya Airways (KQ) has acquired a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the aviation world’s latest offering. The Dreamliner boasts 20 percent less fuel consumption.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the world’s first major airliner to use composite materials for most of its construction.

KQ’s latest acquisition is expected to create stiff competition in the East Africa’s aviation industry which has seen countries in the region scaleup their Aviation.

Af­rica is considered as the place of opportunity, with a very positive outlook by Aviation industry forecasts.

Boeing vice president Van Galliard described the 787 Dreamliner as a quantum leap in aviation technology.

KQ makes history as one of only two African airlines to have made concrete orders of the aircraft machine and the only two to have been on the Dreamliner’s world tour’s itinerary.

Wednesday over 200-plus dignitaries, including Kenyan government officials, stakeholders in the travel and aviation industry and journalists from 65 countries witnessed as the Dreamliner touched down at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

It is now only a matter of time before Kenya Airways receives the first of the nine Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes that it has ordered.

The test flight was on its second leg in Africa, coming from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where it first tasted the African airspace.

The first new plane in the 21st century is on a six-month tour of the world.

This month alone it is scheduled to make six stops in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Globally KQ flies to more than 45 destinations worldwide and the routes will soon be expanded, with the coming in of the 787 Dreamliner.

Kenya has also announced plans to increase its Boeing 737 and 777 fleets.

Boeing decision to produce more environmentally friendly fuels from oil fossil products is also in line with KQ’s green ambition.

The first new plane in the 21st century is on a six-month tour of the world. This month alone it is scheduled to make six stops in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Kenya Airways managing director Titus Naikuni, “We are moving forward as an airline. We now need the new terminal to come on stream to meet the new demands for space,” he said.

A riveting photo “Solar Panels: The Sunny Energy” by a young Durbanite, Dina Osman, and a catchy rap video “Me and My Bike” celebrating bicycle transport by Dickson Oyuki of Kenya won top honors in the Africa-wide Connect4Climate competition announced in Durban today.

Rwanda ‘s Alfonse Karenzi among Connect 4Climate Competition Winners.

Robyn Curnow, South African CNN Anchor, announced the winners at the packed Africa Pavilion of the COP 17 meeting. The event celebrated and showcased the creative energies of African youth, ages 13 to 35, who contributed 639 photos and 47 videos to answer key questions such as, How is climate change affecting Africa? Your country? Your community? You, your friends, and your family?

“The C4C competition was first and foremost an effort to hear the voices of African youth and engage their creative talents to create climate smart solutions for tomorrow,” said Andrew Steer, World Bank Special Envoy for Climate Change.

“The response was enthusiastic with entries from every country on the African continent. The photos and videos we see today are proof positive that even as governments deliberate climate change, people are taking action on the ground and achieving results.”

The 54 winners hail from 20 African countries including Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, South Africa, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, and Zambia. Prizes include solar backpacks, digital video and still cameras, and computer tablets.

Commenting on the importance of the awards, Monique Barbut, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility, a C4C sponsor, said, “C4C is an inspiration for those most often regarded as too young to be heard. Now, young Africans can reach world audiences through this new platform.”

“I am convinced that the search for solutions to today’s climate change challenges must include those who will suffer its consequences the most and have the most to contribute through their daily actions. These are the young stakeholders.”

Young people submitted climate change stories related to one of six categories: agriculture, energy, forests, gender, health, and water. The response to the competition was impressive, with entries from budding photographers and filmmakers from every country on the African continent.

The winning photographs include powerful images of drought and floods as well as innovative solutions such as solar panels, clean cookstoves, and reforestation projects to name just a few.

The C4C campaign unites over 110 partners, including international organizations, social media networks, UN agencies, civil society including academic institutions, as well as youth organizations and private sector representatives.

Since launching in September, C4C has built a Facebook community of over 100,000 followers with a weekly online reach of six million.

The Italian Ministry of Environment is a core sponsor and founding member of the initiative. In a message, Corrado Clini, Italy’s newly-appointed Minister of Environment said, “Today’s rapidly changing social media environment presents a great opportunity for global discussion, advocacy, and participation.

The C4C campaign is amplifying local voices and enabling policymakers to listen and learn from the innovations that are happening throughout Africa and helping to bring together environmentally-engaged citizens from all corners of the globe.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has this morning of Wednesday paid a courtesy call on the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on talks of strengthening bilateral ties to harmonize Information Technology projects.

President Kagame is currently in the South Korean port city of Busan for the summit on the sidelines of an international conference on aid effectiveness.

President Lee called for President Kagame’s support for South Korean firms tapping into the African country’s energy industry and infrastructure-building projects.

During the visit President Kagame, described South Korea’s IT industry as a role model, adding that he hopes to turn Rwanda into an IT and economic hub in eastern Africa.

South Korea’s telecommunications giant Korea Telecom (KT) is currently engaged in setting up wireless broadband facilities in the Rwandan capital of Kigali.
Seoul also funds a separate project to build the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Center at the National University of Rwanda.