Audrey et al,
Apologies for the length of this response.
The Software and Information Industry Association http://www.spa.org --
formerly SPA (18 years) is a member of several standing and ad hoc
committees, including the Education Section, a subsection on Education
Technology and Workforce Policy, and the Section 508 Review Group. This
association should have many software resources for education.
In addition, Ms. Hasbun may want to contact Education Turnkey Systems, Inc.
at http://www.edturnkey.com/. This company, located in Falls Church, VA,
partners with several clients that are leaders in educational software,
especially those that are accessible to students with disabilities.
The additional resources I am providing for Ms. Hasbun may have some local
assistance for software, especially item #3-long but full of important info.
These are items I have saved from my International folder from the Benton
Foundation's Digital Divide list.
#1
Posted by Tobias Eigen of Kabissa - Space for change in Africa
([log in to unmask])
Please send responses to Timothy Anderson of World Computer Exchange
([log in to unmask])
Used Computer Donations Sought - Help Bridge the International Digital
Divide!
http://www.WorldComputerExchange.org
World Computer Exchange is a US non-profit working with 85 non-government
organizations in 33 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Each
organization is working to develop creative and sustainable ways to connect
K-12 schools in their countries to the Internet. Our twelve partners in
Benin, Cameroon, Ecuador, India, and Nepal have now completed their plans
and are carefully preparing their local schools and teachers for the
arrival, connection, and maintenance of one of our monthly shipments of 400
donated computers and monitors. Their plans can be reviewed at
www.WorldComputerExchange.org
420 schools have each already committed to becoming a "sister-school" with a
school in the US and moving their students from pen-pals to e-pals. Many
have requested teams of our student Internet "ambassadors" from US high
schools and colleges to visit to help their students learn more about
technology and web design. The Exchange is busy recruiting more US schools
to participate.
The computers we seek must be working and be 486 or Pentium. The Exchange
seeks companies willing to donate larger numbers of computers - especially
on an ongoing basis. If you can help, please contact us today at
[log in to unmask]
* This is a one-time mailing in support of a campaign by a Kabissa partner *
Kabissa - Space for change in Africa
http://www.kabissa.org
[log in to unmask]
Kabissa is a space on the Internet for the African non-profit sector. The
Kabissa Newsletter appears weekly by e-mail and contains information
relevant to the African non-profit sector. To subscribe, visit the Kabissa
website or write to [log in to unmask] with only the command 'subscribe
newsletter-l' in the body of your message. Please submit your news relevant
to the African non-profit sector to [log in to unmask]
#2
African Connection Project Launched
The African Telecommunications Union Tuesday launched its flag-ship African
Connection Project. The project, first mooted in May 1998 at Africa Telcom
98 where African Ministers of Communication endorsed a strategy aimed at
increasing the development of telecommunications infrastructure on the
continent.
<snipped for copyright restrictions>
http://allafrica.com/stories/200010250020.html
#3
Africa: The Linux Continent?
by Nick Wachira
3:00 a.m. Sep. 21, 2000 PDT
NAIROBI, Kenya -- Every Friday afternoon, Githogori wa Nyangara-Murage holds
free computing seminars to young programmers in his cluttered office here.
Githogori, a former software researcher at the Xerox Research Center, is
preaching the gospel of Linux. He's convinced that the free software model
is the only way for Africa to ever leap-frog its under-development status.
At the heart of Githogori's quest is the explosive politics of proprietary
versus free, open-source software. In Africa, even with its very few
computers, this debate is now boiling down to a clash between Microsoft
Windows (MSFT) and Linux OS.
"The free software model makes sense for Africa. It puts Africa and the rest
of the world on an equal level," Githogori says.
"Under the proprietary software model, Africa is just investing in
unattainable dreams beause we cannot afford to pay all this money that the
continent is paying proprietary software."
Robert Bunyi, a research analyst with Equity Stockbrokers, attributes the
high cost of proprietary software to be a major contributing factor to
rampant software piracy in Africa.
For instance, the Windows operating system will cost around US$100 and the
Windows Office Suite applications may cost as much as US$800 in Kenya. In a
continent where the average annual per captita income is less than US$250,
the proprietary software -- with its attendant licensing difficulties
-- is a major drawback for would-be Windows users.
In the Linux environment, piracy is not even an issue. The free software
being sold by the likes of Githorgori's company, Silicon Bazaar, for US$6.50
also comes across as being very cheap.
Already, the technology scene in Africa, led by the much richer South
African and Nigerian economies, is starting to stir up passions for Linux.
The Linux User Project, rates South Africa as having the 24th-largest user
base in the world. Kenya, Algeria, Egypt and Botswana are trailing behind.
There are several registered users even in the most remote parts of the
continent.
Microsoft (East Africa) Ltd., however, does not see Linux as a threat.
"We don't have the technical skills for the development, support and
training for a Linux platform in Africa," said Loiuse Otieno, Microsoft's
Business Development manager for East Africa.
She said that with the broad range of application software and support that
Microsoft has in Africa, it will be very hard for Linux to make major
inroads.
"It goes beyond the cost of the box," Otieno said. "We look at it as the
cost of ownership in installation and support."
Sam Nganga, a technology columnist with the East African Standard, said
Microsoft, while nowhere near total penetration in the continent, is
relatively entrenched.
"The reason why Linux has not caught up so fast is because most big
companies operate on group-wide IT platforms built on Microsoft NT," Nganga
said.
Nganga said that African businesses have been slow to deploy Linux "because
it's relatively new and businesses are watching to see whether it's reality
or just another fad before they commit millions of dollars in IT budget.
"But once businesses get to trust the Linux platform, it will catch on like
bush fire."
Peter Gitau, the systems administrator at Kenyan ISP firm, Interconnect
Ltd., and a devout Linux user, counters that Linux users do not need an
elaborate support system because all the support is on the Internet.
Interconnect has been running Linux OS in parallel with Unix, Windows and
Macintosh environments over the last year.
"Its all about freedom," Gitau said. "You can download it free on the
Internet, install on as many computers as you want or even re-sell it if you
feel so inclined."
But as in other parts of the world, Linux has yet to build widespread
acceptance in Africa. "The popularity of Linux in Africa like in other parts
of the world is currently restricted to an exclusive band of techies," said
James Mbuthia, the webmaster at Interconnect.
He said that techies in Kenya, as in other parts of the world, are driven by
a "devotion to Linux and a passion against Microsoft products."
The biggest Linux users are in the ISP business for networking and
connectivity purposes, Gitau said. Though Windows NT and Unix have local
support, it's not easy to walk into a shop and come out with the product.
The other alternative is Sun Microsystems' Solaris, which is not readily
available.
"We expect the general public licence platform (WHAT'S THAT?) -- under which
Linux operates from -- to make major inroads in the African technology
scene, as it is doing in the West," Githogori said.
At the moment, software piracy is the biggest problem affecting the IT
industry in Africa. Piracy rates in East Africa are estimated at 80 percent,
according to Microsoft's Otieno.
In 1998, Microsoft's anti-piracy manager for Africa, Frederik Jonker,
estimated Kenya to be losing US$3.5 billion annually to software piracy.
Business Software Alliance, a U.S. anti-piracy lobby, estimates piracy
levels in South Africa at 49 percent, and the loss to the economy is
estimated at
US$94.2 million.
The World Intellectual Property Organisation was even constrained to
threaten Kenya with embargo if it did not move to stamp out piracy, leading
to the establishment of the Kenya Anti-piracy Authority. The High Court is
also growing impatient about copyright infringement.
Microsoft has benefitted from the clampdown. The company won a US$325,000
judgment against a Kenyan computer and software vendor, Microskills Ltd.,
which had been pre-loading machines with pirated software.
Otieno said the High Court's decision sent a tough message to the market.
But it could backfire on the software giant. Microsoft's success in the
anti-piracy war might lead to a backlash that could popularise the Linux
model in Africa.
But Linux still must overcome its own obscurity. The dream to jump-start a
software industry in Africa depends on the ability of regional engineering
schools to produce dedicated Linux developers.
In Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology has already
included Linux in its computer labs to be taught as part of its software
engineering syllabus. JKUAT has even invited Githogori and his Silicon
Bazaar to provide Linux training.
Big businesses are also growing curious about using Linux in Kenya, with
giants including Kenya Airways and Kenya Power & Lighting already evaluating
its merits.
The platform's embrace by big businesses will be important, but perhaps not
any more than if small- and medium-sized businesses join the revolution.
That's where people like Githogori come in; devout Linux users who want to
teach as many as will listen.
Copyright 1994-2000 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.
#4
Funds from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other sponsors are
helping the African Network Operators Group (AFNOG) prepare African network
engineers to manage email, mailing lists, World Wide Web, domain name
servers and help desks as demand for services expands rapidly. To help them
manage large-scale network backbones, AFNOG also offers training about
Internet routing architectures, router configurations, Network Operations
Center (NOC) facilities and exchange points between multiple networks.
Technical preparedness is key to Africa' s participation in the information
economy, according to Nii Quaynor, chairman and chief executive officer of
Network Computer Systems, a company based in Ghana. " AFNOG is taking the
crucial first steps to provide insights, organizational focus, and technical
resources, along with a context for strengthening technical leadership on
the continent, " said Quaynor, a member of AFNOG ' s organizing committee.
Founded in 1999, AFNOG works with the Network Startup Resource Center
(NSRC), a non-profit organization that for the past decade has helped design
and deploy computer networks in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean
and the Middle East.
The NSRC is funded by NSF and works in collaboration with the Advanced
Network Technology Center (ANTC) at the University of Oregon to help
international academic institutions and non governmental organizations
(NGOs) gain Internet access.
Funding for AFNOG outreach has been arranged by the Network Startup Resource
Center. Sponsors included NSF, Cisco Systems, USENIX, PanAmSat, the Mellon
Foundation and Cequrux Technologies.
Books for AFNOG trainees have been donated by O' Reilly and Associates,
Addison Wesley Longman, John Wiley and Sons and Cisco Press.
Carol Boyer
Project Associate
RESNA Technical Assistance Project
1700 N. Moore Street, Suite 1540
Arlington, VA 22209
703/524-6686, x- 309 (V)
703/524-6639 (TTY)
703/524-6630 (Fax)
[log in to unmask]
http://www.resna.org/taproject
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