Breakthrough technology
Raj Reddy, a pioneering researcher in artificial intelligence and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, plans to unveil a new project. The PCtvt is a $250 wirelessly networked personal computer intended for the four billion people around the world who live on less than $2,000 a year. His low-cost computer doubles as a TV and a DVD player. Mr. Reddy believes that he will be able to use it as a vehicle to take computing and communications to populations that until now have been excluded from the digital world. The project will work in partnership with University of California researchers who are attempting to develop high-speed wireless digital networks for rural communities.

Voice and data

I PBX software for GNU/Linux [ www.asterisk.org]
Primarily developed on GNU/Linux for x/86, Asterisk is a complete PBX in software. It runs on Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD and Mac OS X Jaguar, and provides all of the features one would expect from a PBX. Asterisk needs no additional hardware for Voice over IP. It supports a wide range of TDM protocols and US and European standard signaling types used in standard business phone systems. Mark can be contacted at Orkut.com where he moderates an Asterik community. [Posted by: Bala Pillai]

Software

I Compiere is free [ www.compiere.org/home whyfree.html]
The open source ERP and CRM software is freely available from Compiere partners and its users and developers rank Compiere among the top 10 active projects in SourceForge (since March 2002). An Oracle license is currently required to run compiere, but it can be provided as part of a support contract as per wish. [Posted by Bala Pillai]

II Weka 3: Data Mining Software in Java [ www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~ml/weka]
Weka is a collection of machine learning algorithms for data mining tasks. The algorithms can either be applied directly to a dataset or called from your own Java code. Available for free from Sun, Weka contains tools for data pre-processing, classification, regression, clustering, association rules, and visualisation.

III Open Source Protege [protege.stanford.edu]
Protégé is ontology editor and knowledge acquisition system. It is also an open-source, Java tool that provides an extensible architecture for the creation of customized knowledge-based applications. Protégé’s OWL Plug-in now provides support for editing Semantic Web ontologies.

IV Kannada Opentype Fonts [brahmi.sourceforge.net]
The Indian Language Technology Solutions Project released two more Kannada Opentype Fonts named “Kedage” and “Mallige” due in September. Beta copies of the fonts will be available through e-mail requests.

Education

Low cost PCs in SA [ www.balancingact-africa.com/news/current1.html]
South African company, On Point Solutions, has invented a low-cost, four-in-one PC that could lower the cost of offering ICT in learning institutions. The PCs offer Internet, e-mail, phone, word processing and network facilities exclusively for educational purposes and concessions provided from Microsoft International allowed the machines to be sold at the low cost of 298 per system.

Agriculture

e-Mandi eyes multiple buyer, seller scenario
Citing India’s e-choupal scheme’s limitations as a single buyer system, Vipul Arora pointed to the ‘e-Mandi’ project as an alternative to establish an Online market of agricultural produce by neutral players. e-Mandi, a commodities exchange portal, can link the prices of agricultural produce to market considerations, liberating agriculture from the above constraints. Four futures exchanges have already been established and promoted by the Indian government in the past year.

However, these exchanges manage risk for banks, traders, stock market and commodity traders. Individual farmers have been excluded by design. In a manner that BSE and NSE provide a market for people all over India to trade in Stock of companies, e-Mandi will allow people from all over India to trade in agricultural produce. Vipol says he is developing this idea as a visiting fellow at Stanford.

On the air

Mountain Forum and Sagarmatha reach out to Nepal [ www.mtnforum.org/radio/index.htm]
A unique triad will make the Mountain Forum of Nepal’s virtual network available to a huge offline population. The Forum Secretariat is launching a pilot project in association with the Asia-Pacific Mountain Network and Radio Sagarmatha, which reaches people in eight districts of Nepal. Despite an astounding 16,000 strong subscription list maintained by the Forum, project managers felt technology limits their access to the average Nepali. The idea works out simply: Radio Sagarmatha staff and Mountain Forum staff will collaborate in identifying issues for discussion and post them on the MF list, seeking subscribers’ input. This will be sent to the radio producers who will then go in field to pose questions and record reactions on the issue. The programme will be broadcast in the local language. It will later be translated and adapted for MF discussion lists and posted (in English). Responses of the MF community will be broadcast in the next programme by Radio Sagarmatha. Producers are eyeing 8-10 episodes and the first broadcast was set for 17th of September. [Posted by Prashant Sharma]

Telemedicine

Mali hospital links to satellite [ www.balancingact-africa.com/news/back/balancing-act_217.html]
Situated some 750 km from Mali’s capital Bamako, patients at Dimbal hospital are now benefiting from the medical opinion of experts in Geneva. The Geolink Access satellite allows doctors to ask questions of experts 6,000kms away in case of difficulties.

Gender and IT

Women in Action [ www.isiswomen.org/pub/wia/wia1-04/index.html]
The first issue of Women in Action explores corporate media environment in a transnational era and how women are grappling with issues of identity and gender bias. It explores case studies in India, Africa and Latin America where women took center stage to utilize ICTs for activism in their communities. Send an email to: communications@isiswomen.org

Net regulation

Zimbabwe government to plant bugs [ www.zimonline.co.za/headdetail.asp?ID=112]
The Zimbabwe government is planning to acquire high-tech equipment from China for the purpose of bugging the internet. The Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) is already looking into ways of controlling internet communication as soon as the equipment arrives.

Net access

Internet on three wheels [ www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/9419689.htm?1c]
For 12-year-old Anju Sharma, hope for a better life arrives in her poor farming village three days a week on a bicycle rickshaw that carries a computer with a high-speed, wireless Internet connection. Designed like temple carriages that bear Hindu deities during festivals, the brightly painted pedal-cart rolls into her village in India’s most populous state, accompanied by a computer instructor who gives classes to young and old, students and teachers alike. [Posted by Shubhranshu Choudhary]

Websites

I Open Source portal for Africa [ www.pambazuka.org/index.php?id=23810]
Open Research, together with the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, is developing an open source information portal to assist non-profit organisations. Non-profit, governmental and educational initiatives are welcome to share their experiences to be written up and made available to a broader community.

II Grameen Tele Center [ www.grameentelecenter.org]
Grameen Cyber Society is a not for profit organisation based in Bangladesh that intends to make a significant contribution to the quality of lifelong learning, by using ICT in the rural communities. Developed through a unique multi–sectoral collaboration with the World Bank, BRAC University, CAMPE, Grameen Cyber Net Ltd, Bytes for all, BCS and BDGF, the initiative ensures that the community have access, for the first time to digital based learning materials.

III Karmayog [www.karmayog.com]
A new free site for enabling individuals and corporates to give their time, talent, money and resources by volunteering, mentoring, giving materials, providing services (free or at reduced costs) to Mumbai-based NGOs, nonprofits, charities, etc.

IV Parliament of India [ www.parliamentofindia.nic.in]
Replies to India’s parliamentary questions are now available in plain text format, also questions of issues of interest now can be searched and downloaded easily.

V National Commission for Human Development [ www.nchd.org.pk]
NCHD newly launched its re-built website featuring its organizational components, core programmes including education, health, incubation, micro-enterprise development, global resource management and volunteerism.

Bytes for All: www.bytesforall.org Bytes For All Readers Discussion: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bytesforall_readers Send a mail to: bytesforall_readers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com for subscribtion. If you have any question or concern, send a mail at: editors@bytesforall.org Compiled and summarised by Zunaira Durrani, Bytes for All-Pakistan and Editor, SPIDER Magazine