The hi-tech glasses, named ‘Kinectacles’ is among 60 innovations designed by techies in India and prototypes of which are show-cased by Microsoft at its ‘Garage Science Fair’.

The techies have also given a thought to the speech-impaired.

On display at the fair is a Kinect Bridge – a product that enables speech impaired people communicate seamlessly using the Kinect motion sensor of Microsoft. The sensor is also used in the software giant’s Xbox gaming device.

A team of three India techies – Atul Sharma, Aditi Goswami and Rishbah Verma – developed the ‘Kinectacles’ prototype. The team hopes it will eventually succeed in designing the final product to help the blind navigate indoor as well as outdoor spaces.

According to Rishbah Verma, who leads the team, the bare idea of the innovation involves a Kinect printed circuit board mounted with an audio device.

Another team of five techies designed the Kinect Bridge prototype which involves the device recognizing hand and body gestures and converting them into voice or text.

Another interesting device developed by techies is a phone software which can serve pregnant women as their ‘personal doctor’ while on the move.

‘My Obstetrics’, is a software of Windows 7 phone which can track the journey into motherhood and monitor weight and BP (blood pressure) constantly during the pregnancy.

Through the ‘garage fair’ Microsoft hopes to foster innovation among employees in their spare time and help them monetize the inventions.

Microsoft Corporation’s Matt Hempey said, this year’s is the third edition of the ‘garage fair’ in India.

Hempey said almost 40,000 employees use the ‘garage fair’ innovations.

The attack on the websites is suspected to be in response to censorship steps taken by the Indian authorities against some websites.

On Thursday the governing body of lawyers in the national capital – Delhi Bar Council – also claimed that unidentified hackers had defaced their website as well.

Although the Indian authorities admitted that the website of the Apex Court was down, they denied it had been hacked. The Sonia Gandhi-led Congress party which rules India, too has denied any cyber attack.

Anonymous, a well known hacker group is suspected to be involved in the attack on these websites and their action follows the Indian government’s action of blacking out Pirate Bay and Vimeo, a video-sharing site.

The group’s action is seen as a protest against the censorship stance of the Indian federal government.

A spokesman of the Congress party meanwhile has denied hacking of the party’s official website and claimed the site was not opening because the server was overloaded due to “enormous hits” because the hacking rumors spread.

Meanwhile Anonymous had tweeted, just before the websites were down, suggesting it had a hand in the hacking.

“Namaste #India, your time has come to trash the current government and install a new one. Good luck” the tweet by Anonymous Central read.

The Congress website was also hacked in December last when the profile page of Sonia Gandhi was defaced with embarrassing content. It was timed to coincide with Ms Gandhi’s birthday. It also followed a threat by Kapil Sibal to Facebook and Twitter, asking them to delete material offensive to the Indian political establishment.

In more serious cyber attack cases, content from the personal computer of an Indian army general was transferred to an operative of the Pakistani spy agency, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Also, two diplomats had discovered hacking of their e-mail accounts in Beijing.

UCC funding rural ICT programs in Uganda.

NAIROBI: The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has funded a rural ICT program that was aimed at impacting the local community with ICT skills for self- sustainability and economic progress in Arua secondary.

Armando Angulibo, Training Coordinator commented on the exercise saying it was projected towards community empowering through the use of ICT.

The training took 10 days where a total of 200 people in Arua municipality acquired skills in ICT such as networking, internet, hardware and management of ICT amenities.

Ibrahim Abiriga, District Commissioner of Arua assured that he would negotiate with the Ministry of ICT in Uganda so that they can get more aid in computers as this would benefit the residents.

Raymond Ombere, Arua municipality inspector of schools added that the beneficiaries should use the skills gained to improve themselves and other communities at large.

The use of ICTs in Uganda has progressively risen as people are more engaged in the use of mobile phones, smart-phones, internet connections and so on.

In a forum conducted last year in Uganda based on Internet Governance standards, Gloria Katuuku, an official of the ICT Ministry confirmed that the Ugandan Government identified ICT as a major lead in socioeconomic development.

Thus drives such as Rural ICT projects are better geared at promoting socioeconomic development in Uganda.

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Rwanda hopes ICT can assist in disaster response.

NAIROBI: In a bid to make its citizens more ICT versatile, the Rwanda’s Ministry of Disaster and Refugee Management have launched an ICT driven approach where they are giving sectors interned based cell phones to be used to communicate better upon the strike of a disaster.

Darla Rudakubana, the ministry’s communications specialist commented that the cost of the entire project amounted to $164,000.

She further explained that the scheme would seek to distribute handsets at sector level and smart phones at district level and this action will lead to better reporting and response from the authorities.

With support from World Food Programme and the UN Agency for Refugees (UNCHR), the Rwandan Ministry hopes to develop a system that will store the data collected via text messages or voice calls from selected people at the related levels and this will be used for disaster preparedness.

Rwanda is stepping up the use of ICT in all forms. The government is also aiming at getting people to access ICT infrastructure in the country.

Recently, Ignace Gatare, Director General for the Commission for Science and Technology in the President’s office handed over the ICT portfolio to Jean Nsengimana.

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World Bank says e-health key to Kenya.

NAIROBI: The advancement of health care technology would better place Kenya by bridging the existing gap in health care services, the World Bank said.

Khama Rogo, World Bank Lead Health Specialist commented stating that better technological advancements would reduce doctor and patient contact.

“Technology has now made it possible for people to interact without seeing each other or being in the same room. The health sector offers some opportunities where that can happen and technology now makes it possible for us to get the best possible advice or even treatment for somebody who is not in the same room with you or information.”

He further explained that e-health would bridge distance as people would get health care services even when experts are not around.

“E-health is a way of trying to bridge that distance so that even people who are not in the presence of a doctor or any other technically competent person can access and benefit from that information without necessarily having to travel the distance.”

Jorge Coarasa, World Bank Health in Africa Initiative Policy Officer commented saying that technology can help improve access to health care services for example mobile phones can be used to remind patients to take their medicines, thus taking health care services to scales it could not reach.

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Rwanda is to crackdown on tax evasion through e-services.

NAIROBI: The Rwanda Revenue Authority will launch an Electronic Sales Device (ESD) to counter fraudulent transactions and tax evasion by individuals. The device is set to be launched in June and it will cost $300 and $600.

Ben Kagarama, Commissioner General commented that people are undertaking practices such as falsifying invoices so as not to pay taxes.

He stated that the ESD would curb against this practice and it would help entrepreneurs keep accurate books of accounts.

“With this devise, the figures you enter in your books of accounts are automatically transferred to our own database and any attempts to change the data afterwards will be noted and blocked.”

According to Drocelle Mukashyaka, the director for taxpayer services, the E-tax system will enable tax payers pay up from anywhere thus saving time and costs though at one point the tax payer will actually have to go to the actual branch and pay from there.

It is noted that the Electronic Sales Device is aimed at maximizing tax compliance. With that in hand, there is an upcoming electronic cargo system that will help to curb the receiving or sending of untaxed cargo in and out of the country.

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Underwater cable

NAIROBI: The undersea cables that are connecting African countries include the East Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), The East African Marine Systems (TEAMS), SEACOM, Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION) and the West African Cable System (WACS) need to have harmonized policies that ensure equal access and also shared costs.

Andrew Rugege, the Director of ITU regional office for Africa made a remark concerning this harmonization stating, “in Africa, we are connected to a number of submarine cables, it would be very vital for ITU member countries to have harmonized policies towards access to sub-marine cables in terms of price fixing, regulatory policies and internet bandwidth redundancy.”

He urged ISP’s and telecoms to back each other up in the event that one ISP is affected in a submarine cable cut.

According to Raphael Koffi, Head of ICT division at ECOWAS; bandwidth is essential for a country so as to retain their competitiveness in this ever changing economy.

He added, “Harmonized guidelines will help African nations most especially the regulators and operators to access affordable and quality international internet connection.”

Patrick Nyirishema, Head of ICT at Rwanda Development Board (RDB) commented, “having the same policies promises greater international Internet bandwidth, faster Internet access, more reliable connectivity and a reduction in prices for communication services.”

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Kenya ICT being funded by government.

NAIROBI: Kenya has made significant progress in scientific innovations as to accelerate social economic development in the country.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga commented that STI’s are the engine to a better Kenyan economy and will lead to the realization of the country’s Vision 2030.

“Science,technology and innovations are the engine to propel Kenya`s economy.They will catalyze the attainment of vision 2030 goals,” Odinga said.

He urged academic institutions to ensure that they nutrture creativity in young minds through the use of STI’s.

“There is need to harness the creativity of young minds.The youth are critical to shaping the future of this country.”

Margaret Kamar, Minister for Higher Education Science and Technology commented saying that STI’s will boost and modernize our societies and economies.

“It should be noted that science,technology and innovations upgrade and boost efficiency in the productive systems.They are crucial to modernization of societies.”

Crispus Kiamba, Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Higher Education,Science and Technology reckoned the need to popularize STI’s to the public and this will in turn accelerate social economic development in the country.

“We need to popularize the critical role of science,technology and innovations to the general public and make them appreciate their impact on livelihoods.”

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Safaricom.

NAIROBI: Bharti Airtel Kenya has now accused Safaricom of wanting to make more profits from the current mobile termination rates.

Shivan Bhargava, MD of Airtel Kenya explained that Safaricom intends to use a higher termination rate as a revenue stream rather than a cost recovery tool.

Safaricom argued that:

“Artificially low termination rates do not allow operators to fully recover the cost of receiving and terminating calls received from other networks and this significantly impacts the network receiving the largest number of cross-network calls such as Safaricom.”

“The high interconnection rates have only benefited one operator which is Safaricom and who does not want to let it go because it is a revenue stream to them.”

This has brewed misunderstandings as Safaricom recently accused Airtel of failing to pay up their estimated debt of close to half a billion shillings.

Airtel stated that the current interconnection charges would lead to a delay in its return to profitability and that a large share of calls made by its subscribers go to Safaricom where as very few calls originate from within the network.

“The current market shareholding means that large share of calls made by our subscribers go to the leading mobile operator, while very few calls originate from the network to ours.”

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Vodacom.

NAIROBI: Vodacom Tanzania has launched a new low cost offer “Wajanja” that has reduced charges associated with telephone calls, short messaging and Internet services.

The service will be offering prepaid customers a tariff of TZS 0.4 per second for on-net calls from 10pm to 7am every day.

The new offer will also see Vodacom prepaid customers pay TZS 25 per SMS to any network in Tanzania as well as added benefits such as free surfing to social networks such as Face book and Twitter.

Rene Meza, MD Vodacom Tanzania commented on the offer stating that it was crafted to fulfil the mobile communication requirements of the mass market and cater for the youth needs.

Meza added the new low cost offer applies automatically to all Vodacom prepaid customers.

“There is no need for customers to subscribe or register for the offer.”

Vodacom Tanzania Limited is Tanzania’s leading telecommunication network that offers GSM communication services to more than 10 million customers across the country.

Vodacom Tanzania is a subsidiary company of Vodacom Group (Pty) Limited. Vodacom Group (Pty) Limited owns a majority share portion of 65 percent the remaining 35 percent is owned by Tanzanian shareholder, one Mirambo ltd.

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The pressure cooker espresso machine.

Goa (INDIA): A solar fly killer, a floating toilet soap, a pressure cooker for an espresso maker, and a motorcycle plow.

Welcome to ‘Jugaad’ or the famed rustic Indian art of innovation and ‘making do’.

Rural India, where stable electricity remains a fantasy, like a democracy to say, a Saudi national, has proved to be a remarkable hunting ground for the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) India, which is handpicking these innovations and honing them into marketable products, as part of the Union department of Science and Technology’s outreach program.

Here’s how best we can put the last two innovations in perspective.

Mansukhbhai Jagani from Gujarat, in Western India has replaced his pair of bullocks with a 350 cc bullet, the legendary Royal Enfield motor cycle, which he kick-starts every day to plough his 1.25 acre groundnut farm. The bullet’s rear wheel has been replaced by a set of two smaller wheels joined by an axle, behind which the metal plough digs into the earth.

And the pressure cooker espresso coffee machine innovation has its roots in Bihar, where Mohammad Rozadeen makes his foaming milky espresso coffee for his customers in streets of the immensely backward eastern Champaran district. Heated on a kerosene stove, Rozadeen’s pressure cooker emits jets of steam from a longish copper snout running from the cooker lid into the jar of milk, making it hot and frothy.

“We track down innovators throughout rural and backward through our honeybee network which is responsible for keeping an eye on rural innovations,” Udit Shah of the NIF told Bikyamasr.com.

The pressure cooker espresso machine costs between $ 30 to $ 50 depending on the quality of the pressure cooker used.

Next to the espresso machine, are three cycles lined up, only to the naked eye they appear to have been mechanically mated either with a seaplane or a river-paddle boat.

According to Shah, the cycle-innovations are still being honed into marketable products which will be up for sale.

“They are flood bicycles. There have been many floods in India recently. We are developing these. One of the cycles is an innovation from Bihar, while the other is from UP,” Udit said.

While the Bihar innovation has sea plane like platforms alongside side the wheels, the UP innovation has a paddle rotor in the rear (which whirs into action when you pedal the machine), while the cycle is designed to stay afloat with the help of two fabricated plastic buoys.

“When we select the idea, the credit of the core idea remains with the innovator. We only use science to make the innovations more perfect in order to make them marketable on a larger scale so that the innovator can make money from his effort,” Udit said.

The NIF was founded under the aegis of the Union ministry for science and technology in 2000, with an aim to help become India an inventive and creative society and a global leader in sustainable technologies without social and economic handicaps affecting evolution and diffusion of green grassroots innovations.

Former head of the Center for Science and Industrial Research (CSIR) Dr Raghunath Mashelkar heads the governing board of the NIF, while some of the members of board are entrepreneur Kishore Biyani, Prof Devang Khakar among other scientists, innovators and bureaucrats.

Intel logo

NAIROBI: Intel Corporation has partnered with Orange Uganda with the aim of making broadband and PC’s more affordable and to propel their reach to customers by bridging the broadening gap in Internet access and broadband connectivity.

John Davies, Intel Vice-President for World Ahead Program said, “providing technology access and IT skills is a cornerstone for future innovation, economic growth and individual progress in the competitive marketplace. Nations must equip their citizens with these critical skills in order to realize their potential in today’s knowledge economy.’’

Philippe Luxcey, CEO of Orange Uganda said that “within three years Orange has been able to transform the internet landscape in Uganda by availing world-class internet experience to its customers. The partnership with Intel is yet another building block to Orange’s mission to empower Ugandans to embrace the digital revolution.”

Technologies such as Internet are the key means of success as developing countries are greatly relying on it for everyday functions; however for Africa it is still a challenge about to become a full blown reality.

Regional companies are indulging in joint ventures with international companies to increase knowledge and awareness of the potential that ICT holds with key importance on taking advantage on the better broadband penetration available.

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New site offers free English courses for Arabic speakers.

A new online portal has launched with the aim of boosting English language learning online for Middle East students. Inglisi.com is currently the only online website offering free courses for Arabic speakers.

According to a press release sent to Bikyamasr.com, “course material for Inglisi.com was developed by Oxford & Cambridge Universities and Trinity College of Dublin. This is the same curriculum that is used by the European Union to teach English as a Second Language in all the EU member countries.”

Each course comprises of 50 lessons of grammar, 50 of audio and comprehension, 50 dictation as well as around 50 supplementary lessons.

There are three levels of courses, A1 Elementary, A2 Intermediate, B1 Advanced, and each course is completely free of charge, they said.

Arabic-English bilingual grammar lessons that can be downloaded and printed. When the students complete the course, they’ll have a 50 lesson grammar book.

Online grammar exercises with instant grading and correcting that enables students to see how well they have performed.

They also offer English language placement tests to measure the skill level of each student.

Online language laboratory with more than 800 interactive audios recorded by native English speakers with 75 different accents that dramatically improves students’ listening and comprehensive skills are part of the package.

“Not even the international known English institutes in the Middle-East have such an extensive language labs,” it added.

“Our back-end services offer large organizations or schools the possibility to monitor their personnel and ensure that each student actually follows the course.

“We can also restrict access to the site during specific hours for employees of companies,” the statement added.

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Uganda pushes forward on mobile money.

NAIROBI: MCash Uganda and Housing Finance Bank (HFB) are in a joint venture that seeks to introduce a virtual Bank account scheme that enables customers to send money within Uganda.

Paul Musoke, Deputy MD HFB said the account enables holders to have an e-wallet that can be accessed through the different HFB branches and M-Cash agents in Uganda.

“Account holders will access their accounts from anywhere through their phone or specifically developed Point of Sales Terminals that will be available across the country as well as through the internet.”

He added that MCash will be extensive and reachable to many Ugandans who do not have bank accounts.

He further explained, “the reliance on physical address or the multiple branch networks cannot solve the problem given the low literacy levels and the relatively high cost of banking and so we need more affordable means.”

Brian Longwe, Chief Technology Officer MobiCash Africa Group commented on the system saying that it has been tested in different countries and has been found to be applicable in Uganda.

He added, “it is free to open the account which cuts across all economic classifications, literacy levels with the end goal that anyone anywhere can have access to his or her account.”

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African on the phone.

NAIROBI: Since its launch of operations recently, Airtel Rwanda has seen its customer’s boom up the levels scale. With that at hand, Airtel Rwanda now aims to attract more customers through the promotion “Yaruguze 100% Bonus”

Mercellin Paluku, Country Manager Airtel Rwanda announced this promotion to reward its existing customers as well as to attract new ones.

She added that, “We now have about 50,000 active customers and there are others who purchase SIM cards and go. And we are now going to be aggressive in campaigns and we hope many will know how good our network is; we are committed to providing all Rwandans with affordable communications.”

The three-month promotion will enable Airtel Rwanda customers who purchase airtime to receive a bonus of airtime for the same amount purchased.

In addition to that, customers who make calls before midnight everyday and the next morning will also be awarded with bonus airtime worth the airtime spent the previous day.

Mercellin Paluku noted that Airtel Rwanda will continue with this strategy so as to make a positive impact in the lives of Rwandans.

“We recognize that the telecommunications industry plays an important role in transforming the country through community and economic development. Airtel will remain committed to providing Rwandans with accessible and innovative technologies that make a positive difference in the lives of the people.”

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Safaricom.

NAIROBI: PesaPoint Limited with support from Safaricom Kenya has an initiative of an integrated system that will enable MPESA customers to directly interact with their bank accounts.

Customers will now have a comfort ability zone of avoiding the bank hustles as they will now easily withdraw cash from their banks directly to their MPESA account.

The system comes at a time when competition has been beefed up where Airtel Money from Bharti Airtel has a joint venture with Faulu Kenya on a service called “Faulu Airtel Kopa chapaa Service” that will allow Airtel Money customer’s have access to cash on their handsets via Airtel Money.

As for Yu Mobile and Orange Money they hold strong ties with TANGAZA money transfer; a platform where you can send or receive money across all mobile operators networks.

PesaPoint is part of the Paynet Group that comprises of Paynet Kenya and EFT Kenya whose vision is to provide Kenyans an easier way to access their funds at any time and place through their ATM locations countrywide.

The PesaPoint network has grown and customers can access their MPESA accounts and even inquire about their bank balance through their phones.

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The flag of Kenya.

NAIROBI: In a joint venture with Cellulant, Kenya Airways will now be the first airline in Africa to deliver a service called “KQ Mobile” which is a mobile based technology platform that will enable its customers to conveniently access information on flight status, timetable, cargo services, ticketing and query their Msafiri Miles status. The service will be accessed while roaming across the 56 Kenya Airways destinations and its short code is *737#.

Titus Naikuni, CEO Kenya Airways commented:

“At Kenya Airways, our commitment to diversify customer service information delivery channels beyond the traditional platforms remains one of our key business priorities. Our partnership with Cellulant is expressly geared to explore new avenues to achieve this goal.”

He explained:

“Our ultimate goal is to leverage the convenience element presented by a mobile phone to deliver a range of services and information to our customers, staff and stakeholders.”

Paul Ndichu Chief Business Officer at Cellulant commented that the partnership sought to ensure convenient delivery of information to KQ customers, staff and stakeholders.

“The goal of the partnership is to leverage the mobile phone to provide various information services to KQ customers, staff and other stakeholders in order to improve communication, enable itinerary and disruption management, payments and, importantly, to provide passengers the opportunity to customize their travel experience with ease.”

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Airtel logo.

NAIROBI: Safaricom has moved to court demanding a repay of an estimated half a billion shillings from Airtel Kenya and an estimate of Ksh150M from Essar (Yu Mobile) fees related to terminal charges (the amount of money an operator pays rivals if its subscribers call another network) since October.

The operators are also to pay the accumulated sum together with interests and collection fees for delayed payment.

Bharti Airtel and Essar are still pushing for lower termination rates claiming that they are paying Safaricom a large sum of cash since they handle most of the cross network calls.

Shivan Bhargava, Managing Director at Bharti Airtel Kenya previously explained that they fully support CCK on that move to slash terminal rates but they were not in the position to further reduce their tariffs, adding that, the current interconnection charges would setback its return to profitability.

“The current market shareholding means that large share of calls made by our subscribers go to the leading mobile operator, while very few calls originate from the network to ours.”

Wrangles still exist as per the idea of slashing terminal rates and it is still undecided on which move to take.

Francis Wangusi, the acting director at CCK still maintains that the termination rate would drop from the current Sh2.21 to Sh1.44 per minute in July.

Bitange Ndemo, Information and Communication PS commented that there was a need to conduct fresh study that would look into the current rates and see whether the move is justified or not.

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UAE's DU posted massive profits for the first quarter.

CAIRO: Dubai-based mobile operator DU has post a rise in its 1st quarter profits of 61.8 percent, scoring net income for the first three months of the year increased to AED 666 million ($181 million) from AED 412 million a year earlier.

Company, also known as Emirates Integrated Telecommunications said in a press release “We have achieved healthy growth in revenues, with strong performance from what we believe will be key drivers going forward, including mobile data revenue and our post-paid subscriber base,” Osman Sultan, CEO of du, said in a statement.

Mobile revenue grew 21.8 percent to AED 1.9 billion while total revenue increased 20 percent to AED 2.4 billion.

The operator, which competes with Etisalat, added 320,600 mobile subscriptions in the first quarter, bringing the total number of mobile lines to 5.5 million.

The firm, which launched its services in 2007, has a 46.7 percent share of the UAE mobile market.

In its first Quarterly Reporting System report, du said its contact centre received 3,638,800 calls, with 3,370,455 answered to customers’ satisfaction.

“At DU, we are committed to constantly streamline our systems and processes to improve and evolve customer service experiences.” Said the company.

The report also said that du achieved 72 percent first call resolution for consumer fixed and mobile services.

The operator, which currently has a 46 percent of the UAE mobile market, said five million people use its services.

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Congress Rajya Sabha MP Shantaram Naik.

Goa (INDIA): A ruling parliamentarian wants the internet to be “purified” and abusive comments on celebrities and politicians online news portals, censored.

Shantaram Naik, a Congress MP from the Upper House of the Indian Parliament said that “vile and defamatory” remarks like those found in the comments section of an online news report on Jharkhand chief minister being injured in a chopper crash on Wednesday, needed to be censored at the earliest as part of the internet purification process.

“When any news appears on the website of a daily, readers are allowed to post their comments and, it is unfortunate that such comments are perhaps not edited or censored and are allowed to appear below the news-items for anyone surfing the net to read,” he said, adding that most comments were “abusive, filthy and derogatory”.

The three comments in quotes below are what have caught Naik’s attention and are illustrative of the internet menace that according to him, needs urgent “purifying”.

“I would like to hear this news of everyday a chopper going down with a politician with no survivors except the crew….!!!”

“Provide a defective copter to all such politicians! We have got a way to save us from them….”

“Oh no copter is dead but CM is alive? Bad luck copter….”

“All the high profile national and international personalities are abused day and day out, but, if politicians or personalities abroad, do not object it, so it be, but we have to purify the system and take appropriate steps in our country,” Naik said, adding that if such comments were published in print, they would have “caused riots and ugly situations”.