Ken Novak: Digital DevelopmentCommunications and info tech in developing countries, especially wireless broadband and high-value applications(Untitled)- August 31, 2005 FTC Message Switching Systems: A blast from the past, the project I worked on 20 years ago. "The Sombers Group built the company's fault-tolerant Tandem Computer-based switching systems, which were installed both in the U.S. and overseas. " By "overseas" they mean Cameroon, where I installed the message switch at Intelcam in 1983. I also upgraded the switch in 1986, and then hosted their staff for TCPIP training in 1995 in California.http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/31.html#a3139 (Untitled)- August 27, 2005 Wildlife trade on the web: "Internet shoppers in search of the exotic have sparked a booming trade that is threatening the existence of many endangered species, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. .. &147;Trade on the Internet is easy, cheap and anonymous,&148; said IFAW UK director Phyllis Campbell-McRae. .. The report &147;Caught in the web - wildlife trade on the Internet&148; found in just one week 146 live primates, 5,527 elephant...http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/27.html#a3127 (Untitled)- August 25, 2005 Cellphones Catapult Rural Africa to 21st Century: 20 years ago I travelled in Africa, telling people that wireless phones would be the IT that would matter there. Nice to read the stories of how that works today. "Bekowe Skhakhane does even the simplest tasks the hard way. Fetching water from the river takes four hours a day. To cook, she gathers sticks and musters a fire. Light comes from candles. But when Ms. Skhakhane wants to talk to her husband, who works in.http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/25.html#a3124 (Untitled)- August 23, 2005 Global University Phone System: "The GUPS Initiative provides universities with a voice over IP (VOIP) system they can easily install and configure to connect their phone networks with other academic institutions around the globe. Calls are routed over the internet using VOIP thus bypassing traditional telecommunication charges for phone calls "http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/22.html#a3120 (Untitled)- August 16, 2005 Royal Philips Electronics development pilots: Three projects, including one launched by Paul Rankin from the Reuters Digital Vision Fellowship at Stanford. "Voices in Your Hand is a pilot project running in Recife, Brazil, to bring digital connectivity to people at the bottom of the economic pyramid. .. Using modified MP3 players, people can listen to personalized web casts of audio information offline in their homes, talk back and use voice email. Then they visit a public utility point...http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/15.html#a3108 (Untitled)- August 16, 2005 The Africa You Never See: Africa, "according to the U.S. government's Overseas Private Investment Corp., offers the highest return in the world on direct foreign investment, yet it attracts the least. Unless investors see the Africa that's worthy of investment, they won't put their money into it. .. Consider a few facts: The Ghana Stock Exchange regularly tops the list of the world's highest-performing stock markets. Botswana, with its A+ credit rating, boasts one of the highest per...http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/15.html#a3107 (Untitled)- August 15, 2005 Are We Prepared for Avian Flu: An interview with "Laurie Garrett, the only reporter to win all three of journalism's big "P" awards (the Peabody, the Polk and the Pulitzer) .. resigned from Newsday earlier this year citing a deteriorating climate for journalism .. Today, Garrett is Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations. Her story "The Next Pandemic" was published in the JulyAugust issue of Foreign Affairs .. "Avian influenza comes from aquatic birds, including...http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/15.html#a3105 (Untitled)- August 14, 2005 Mobile phones in Kenya: Good anecdotes on small business' use of phones. "When handyman Alex Theuri puts down his wrenches after laying water-pipes in buildings, he picks up screwdrivers and pliers to install electric wiring elsewhere -- but there's one tool he's never without. The mobile phone has become the most essential work item for Theuri, a Kenyan plumber, electrician and small businessman who, like so many others in the East African nation, makes a living from...http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/14.html#a3103 (Untitled)- August 12, 2005 Internet Scammers Keep Working in Nigeria: "In Festac Town, an entire community of scammers overnights on the Internet. By day they flaunt their smart clothes and cars and hang around the Internet cafes, trading stories about successful cons and near misses, and hatching new plots. Festac Town is where communication specialists operating underground sell foreign telephone lines over which a scammer can purport to be calling from any city in the world. Here lurk master forgers and...http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/12.html#a3096 (Untitled)- August 10, 2005 G.M. Thrives in China With Small, Thrifty Vans: "In this obscure corner of southern China, General Motors seems to have hit on a hot new formula: $5,000 minivans that get 43 miles to the gallon in city driving. That combination of advantages has captivated Chinese buyers, propelling G.M. into the leading spot in this nascent car market. .. The minivans, which G.M. builds in a joint venture with a Chinese partner, have a quarter the horsepower of American minivans, weak acceleration and a.http://www.novak.com/weblog/categories/digitalDevelopment/2005/08/10.html#a3092 |