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Uganda: Warid Customers Concerned Over Airtel Takeover

Thu, 02 May 2013 11:46:46 GMT

The East African Business Week reports that the Bharti Airtel takeover of Warid Telecom has been met with mixed response from Warid customers. There is reportedly concern amongst customers about maintaining numbers and missing out on products available on the Warid network.

Fred Otunnu, Head of Communications at the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), is said to have allayed the fears of customers and said, “”Customers should not worry and that (what will happen to Warid Telecom subscribers) should not be an issue. The regulator will make sure that customers’ are protected.”In an interview with East African Business Week, Otunnu confirmed that the Regulator would conduct a comprehensive review of the technical, finance and business models of the two companies before granting a transfer of license.

Manoj Kohli,MDand global CEO, Bharti Airtel, is quoted as saying, “”We are delighted at this agreement with Warid, which also happens to be the first in-market acquisition in Bharti Airtel’s history. We believe this market consolidation offers great synergies by bringing together the best of Airtel and Warid to better serve customers in Uganda and drive forward our vision of offering affordable best in-class services in Africa.”

Source: itnewsafrica

Facebook loses millions of users as biggest markets peak

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:09:16 GMT

Facebook has lost millions of users per month in its biggest markets, independent data suggests, as alternative social networks attract the attention of those looking for fresh online playgrounds. As Facebook prepares to update investors on its performance in the first three months of the year, with analysts forecasting revenues up 36% on last year, studies suggest that its expansion in the US, UK and other major European countries has peaked.

In the last month, the world's largest social network has lost 6m US visitors, a 4% fall, according to analysis firm SocialBakers. In the UK, 1.4m fewer users checked in last month, a fall of 4.5%. The declines are sustained. In the last six months, Facebook has lost nearly 9m monthly visitors in the US and 2m in the UK.

Users are also switching off in Canada, Spain, France, Germany and Japan, where Facebook has some of its biggest followings. A spokeswoman for Facebook declined to comment. "The problem is that, in the US and UK, most people who want to sign up for Facebook have already done it," said new media specialist Ian Maude at Enders Analysis. "There is a boredom factor where people like to try something new. Is Facebook going to go the way of Myspace? The risk is relatively small, but that is not to say it isn't there."

Alternative social networks such as Instagram, the photo sharing site that won 30m users in 18 months before Facebook acquired the business a year ago, have seen surges in popularity with younger age groups. Path, the mobile phone-based social network founded by former Facebook employee Dave Morin, which restricts its users to 150 friends, is gaining 1m users a week and has recently topped 9m, with 500,000 Venezuelans downloading the app in a single weekend.

Facebook is still growing fast in South America: monthly visitors in Brazil were up 6% in the last month to 70m , according to SocialBakers, whose information is used by Facebook advertisers, while India has seen a 4% rise to 64m – still a fraction of the country's population, leaving room for further growth.

But in developed markets, other Facebook trackers are reporting declines. Analysts at Jefferies bank have developed an algorithm that interfaces directly with Facebook software and it "suggests user levels in [the first quarter] may have declined from peak", according to a recent note. Jefferies saw global numbers peak at 1.05bn a month in January, before falling by 20m in February. Numbers rose again in April. The network has now lost nearly 2m visitors in the UK since December, according to research firm Nielsen, with its 27m total flat on a year ago.

The number of minutes Americans spend on Facebook appears to be falling, too. The average was 121 minutes in December 2012, but that fell to 115 minutes in February, according to comScore. As Facebook itself has warned, the time spent on its pages from those sitting in front of personal computers is declining rapidly because we are switching our screen time to smartphones and tablets.

While smartphone minutes have doubled in a year to 69 a month, that growth is not guaranteed to compensate for dwindling desktop usage. Facebook is the most authoritative source on its own user numbers, and the firm will update investors on its performance for the March quarter on Wednesday. Wall Street expects revenues of about $1.44bn, up from $1.06bn a year ago.

Shareholders will be particularly keen to learn how fast Facebook's mobile user base is growing, and whether advertising revenues are increasing at the same rate. Mobile represented nearly a quarter of Facebook's advertising income at the end of 2012, and the network had 680m mobile users a month in December.

According to Pivotal Research Group, advertising revenue could be up 49%, driven by international expansion and the FBX advertising exchange, which uses Facebook to target advertising related to other websites surfers have visited. The company warned in recent stockmarket filings that it might be losing "younger users" to "other products and services similar to, or as a substitute for, Facebook".

Wary of competition from services that were invented for the mobile phone rather than the PC, founder Mark Zuckerberg has driven through a series of new initiatives in the last year designed to appeal to smartphone users. The most significant is Facebook Home, software that can be downloaded on to certain Android phones to feed news and photos from friends – and advertising – directly to the owner's locked home screen.

Source: guardian

Ratings show Android users don't want Facebook messing up their Home

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:02:25 GMT

At the launch of Facebook Home, Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement that 20 per cent of time spent on a smartphone is generally being spent browsing Facebook. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Home is going to do much to increase that metric, with Android users panning the integrated app/launcher with one star reviews. Since it launched on the Play Store two weeks ago, Facebook's Home app has been downloaded more than half a million times, and reviewed more than 14,000 times on Play. Strikingly, over 7,500 of those reviews only gave the service a single star out of five. Admittedly, 2,300 users rated it five stars, but when factoring in all the reviews, the app has an average rating of just 2.2 out of five.

No battery love at Home
Far from being a death knell for the social network though, the Play store reviews does offer some level of hope for Zuckerberg's mobile play. One of the overwhelming reasons for one star reviews is the fact that the integrated Facebook home screen experience sucks away battery life. The other obvious concern from user reviews is that the app goes too deep, making accessing non-Facebook content harder than it would otherwise be. Both of these issues can easily be fixed with some improved coding and future software updates, which should go a long way to keeping all those Facebook shareholders happy. The other good news for Facebook is that people seem to love Chat Heads. Although that might not be enough to keep them around once ads start arriving on the Home platform in future versions.

Source: techradar

IBM Empowers Pakistan’s first Hydroelectric Project

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:07:30 GMT

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) Remaco, the operator of Pakistan’s first private sector hydroelectric power scheme, has tapped IBM to help meet the business challenges of running the $235 million plant. TNB Remaco chose IBM software to help streamline business operations.

Currently, the total power generation capacity of Pakistan is 23,538 Mega Watt with energy consumption having grown by almost 80 percent in the last 15 years. The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) forecasts the country’s electricity demand will increase to around 40,000 MW by 2020. TNB Remaco – Operation and Maintenance Contract Partner with builder Laraib Energy Limited – recently completed the 84 MW New Bong Hydroelectric Power Complex on the Jhelum River in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

After going live at the end of March 2013, the plant is expected to help meet Pakistan’s growing energy needs by adding an estimated net annual of 540 GWh green energy to the national grid, and enhancing the hydro power generation capacity of Independent Power Producers (IPP) by 40 percent. The addition of this power source will be able to provide cheaper electricity to an estimated 60,000 homes in Pakistan.

‘To be a global one-stop service provider for power-related works, we have to continue serving our customers with high-end quality services through transformational use of technology. IBM’s solution will play a vital role in running the systems efficiently and helping pave way for rapid and full scale development of Pakistan’s hydropower potential’ said TNB President Che Khalib.

TNB Remaco selected IBM Maximo asset management software to automate its manual systems in order to optimise efficiencies while helping to scale the business to meet increased resource demands. Previously, finalizing approvals and searching for timely, relevant information was a big task as data was scattered across multiple systems. The IBM software provides TNB Remaco’s power plant with a single, consolidated view of all their energy data as well as asset and service management data, enabling employees to make better informed decisions about the plant’s operations.

The solution will also assist in planning inventory to meet precise maintenance demands, making the correct parts available at the right location whenever needed.

‘The hydropower project operated by TNB Remaco will add a sufficient amount of energy to the region’s current energy production capacity. IBM’s solution not only equips TNB Remaco to automate their business process and better manage resources, it will also create an interconnected system that helps plant operators run a more efficient energy complex’ said Adnan Siddiqui, Country General Manager, IBM Pakistan and Afghanistan.

With global electricity demand expected to grow more than 70 percent by 2035, hydropower, along with other renewable energy sources will become critical. By 2035, renewable energy will account for almost one-third of total electricity output.Helping Pakistan tap into new energy resources underscores IBM’s commitment to helping companies across the globe operate more efficiently as they work to meet rising energy demand.

Source: propakistani

Society for Promotion of Information Technology, Chandigarh Recruitment 2013

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:21:17 GMT

He will be responsible to administer the EDC building which includes management of the occupants, facility management, coordination with various organization to promote entrepreneurship, holding seminar/promotional events etc. He will be responsible for the day to day operations and management of the building as well as to ensure the upkeep of common infrastructure and utilities and should be equipped to develop interface with various departments. He will work in close coordination with incubated IT/ITES companies including start ups who will be allotted space in EDC. Essential Qualification: Candidate should be B.E/B.Tech with MBA from any recognized University. He should have 5 years experience in any IT/ITES company and /or managerial experience in a Govt. Organization. Candidates having experience in facility management will be preferred.

Source: indianemploymentnews

Facebook's New Link to Drinking & Anxiety Means It's Just a Matter of Time Before It's Outlawed

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:16:13 GMT

First there were the studies that said that Facebook makes us frustrated, envious, and filled with misery. Then there was the study that said, oh wait, never mind, Facebook totally makes you HAPPY! -- as long you look at your own profile, that is. Now there's new research that says if you're "emotionally connected" to Facebook, you're basically a ball of anxiety who, statistically, probably drinks too much.

But the good news is that while you may be a nervous drunk, at least you're not lonely. Because of all your anxious, alcohol-abusing Facebook friends, of course!

A doctoral student from the Missouri School of Journalism named Russell Clayton conducted a study in which he asked students about their "perceived levels of loneliness, anxiousness, alcohol use, and marijuana use" as well as their level of Facebook engagement. What he discovered was that out of the 225 college freshman he surveyed, students who were the most engaged with Facebook also tended to report higher levels of anxiety and greater alcohol use. As for marijuana, people who use it reported less Facebook connectedness -- maybe because they're too busy listening to Pink Floyd's "The Wall" while eating Cool Ranch Doritos ... or maybe because pot isn't considered as socially acceptable. The folks who reported high levels of loneliness did use Facebook to connect with others, but weren't as emotionally connected to it.

Interesting, right? On the one hand, we've got anxious people attempting to treat their anxiety by logging into Facebook (and possibly making things worse, as evidenced by this 2012 study that says social media actually causes anxiety), and on the other, we've got people possibly drinking more as the result of their Facebook feed. And everyone knows being hungover makes you anxious, so ... OMG VICIOUS CYCLE OF DOOOOOOM.

With all these increasingly negative studies on Facebook use, it seems like it may only be a matter of time before it becomes a controlled substance, regulated by the DEA. In fact, everyone who's thinking of doing any future research about the effects of social media should just release this video, with "Facebook" dubbed over in the appropriate spots:

Source: thestir.cafemom

WEF’s Global Information Technology Report 2013

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:36:20 GMT

Pakistan’s global ranking in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been downgraded from 102nd in 2012 to 105th in 2013, according to World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Information Technology Report 2013 released on Wednesday.

Despite the fact that in Pakistan Ministry of Information Technology was headed by two former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf, the country was unable to show a remarkable improvement in the country’s ICT development.

Published under the theme, Growth and Jobs in a Hyper connected World, Pakistan continues to lag behind in the rankings. Unable to achieve a sustained rapid economic growth may put Pakistan’s ICT-competitiveness in jeopardy unless the right investments are made in ICT, skills and innovation.
A partner institute of Global Competitiveness and Benchmarking Network of the WEF, Mishal Pakistan Chief Executive Officer Amir Jahangir said, “As other countries are improving rapidly, Pakistan has shown little change, this a matter of concern. Pakistan is 37 ranks behind India. The big challenge for the next government in Pakistan would be to put more emphasise on ICT environment and regulatory framework. The role of ICT for a sustained economic growth and job creation is crucial to improve Pakistan’s competitiveness. ICT has revolutionised the way businesses are done and the country has not being able to capitalise on this.”

Some of the areas where Pakistan lost its ICT competitiveness are; govt’s procurement of advance technologies, which ranked 109 this year as compared to 91 in 2012. Although Pakistan has improved the fixed broadband Internet tariff substantially by making Pakistan the 68th most competitive broadband provider in the world, individuals using Internet, which depicts affordability of Internet for citizens is shrinking. Pakistan lost 22 points in 2013 and ranks at 120 on individuals using Internet. The report highlights that the gains in broadband affordability are being achieved by cannibalizing the individual Internet users.

Pakistan achieved significant gains in the last decade, when it embraced the mobile technologies and led the region by providing human resources capital and technical know how to the global pool of mobile communication providers. However this gain has been greatly diminished due to lack of advancements and inconsistency in decision making to adopt new technologies at the right time. The Importance of ICTs to government’s vision has deteriorated from 92 to 117 in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Making ICT as one of the least priority areas for the govt. in Pakistan. On the economic impact pillar, Pakistan failed to show progress on creating impact of ICTs on new organizational models by losing 10 points (91). Keeping businesses in mostly traditional areas and connecting Pakistan with the global knowledge economies.

Similarly, government’s failure to create social impact through ICT also showcases it’s poor understanding of innovation ecosystem and value creation for the citizens in the digital age. The government failed to create value through ICT use and improving efficiency, where Pakistan lost an alarming 16 points (121 among 144 countries). Not being able to improve any regulations on venture capital availability has also created a bottleneck for an innovation economy in the country. This signifies Pakistan’s lack of correlation between innovation and competitiveness with finance, thus further isolating Pakistan from moving towards a knowledge-based economy.

Pakistan also lost 15 points on the E-participation index, where government engages citizens through online services and grievance mechanism, thus resulting in stronger red-tapism slower economic progress. On the overall political and regulatory environment, the efficiency of legal system in challenging regulations has also deteriorated, where Pakistan is ranked 97 as compared to 79 in 2013 and 2012 respectively. Intellectual property protection has also been neglected and Pakistan lost 13 points by securing 103 on the network readiness index.

Some of the areas where Pakistan has shown improvements are on the business and innovation environment pillar, where the business sector has ensured the availability of latest technologies for ICT competitiveness by improving 10 points and securing 83 rank among 144 countries. The report’s Networked Readiness Index (NRI), which measures the capacity of 144 economies to leverage ICT for growth and well being, finds Finland (1st), Singapore (2nd) and Sweden (3rd) take the top three places. The Netherlands (4th), Norway (5th), Switzerland (6th), the United Kingdom (7th), Denmark (8th), the United States (9th), and Taiwan, China (10th) complete the top 10.

“Digitisation created 6 million jobs and added US$ 193 billion to the global economy in 2011. Although in aggregate positive, the impact of digitisation is not uniform across sectors and economies – it creates and destroys jobs,” said Booz and Company Partner and sponsor of the report Bahjat El-Darwiche. “Policymakers wishing to accentuate the positive impact of digitization need to understand these different effects if they wish act as digital market makers in their economies.”

This report demonstrates that economies that fail to implement comprehensive national broadband strategies risk losing ground in global competitiveness and may fall behind in the delivery of societal benefits from ICTs. Plans that incorporate both supply and demand-side measures offer countries the best opportunity to advance broadband adoption, said Global Technology Policy, Cisco Vice President and sponsor of the report Dr Robert Pepper.

The NRI uses a combination of data from publicly available sources and the results of the Executive Opinion Survey, a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the forum in collaboration with partner institutes. This Survey of more than 15,000 executives provides insight into areas critical for networked readiness. The WEF is an independent international organisation committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Source: dailytimes

Facebook to begin charging users up to £10 to send messages

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:45:25 GMT

Facebook is to begin charging users up to £10 to send messages to people outside their friends' network. The social netoworking website will use a sliding scale of fees to charge members. The amount they pay will depend on their number of followers and how many other users are paying to contact them.

According to the Sunday Times, fans wishing to send messages to Olympic diver Tom Daley could be charged £10.68, while it will set you back £10.08 to contact author Salman Rushie. It's thought that by charging users to contact strangers it will prevent people from being bombarded with "spam" messages.

A spokesman for Facebook said: "The system of paying to message non-friends in their Facebook inbox is designed to prevent spam, while acknowledging that sometimes you might want to hear from people outside your immediate social circle.

"We are testing a number of price points in the UK and other countries to establish the optimal fee that signals importance. Part of that test involves charging higher amounts for public figures, based on the number of followers they have. "This is still a test and these prices are not set in stone."

Source: mirror

Microsoft, Information Technology Authority and OmanTel launch Team Thrizers

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 08:57:22 GMT

Microsoft, Information Technology Authority (ITA) and OmanTel announce Team Thrizers as Oman's National Champion of "Imagine Cup 2013", Team Imagine Zone and Team ARMZ came in second and third place respectively.

Team Thrizers received their boarding pass to the "Imagine Cup 2013" Worldwide Finals taking place in St. Petersburg, Russia between 8 and 13 July 2013.

During the final competition, the shortlisted teams presented their projects in front of a live audience and a judging panel consisting of an array of industry experts representing the Imagine Cup's local and regional sponsors, as well as a representative of Microsoft Oman; it included Sheikh Saif Hilal Al Hosni,Business Development Manager for Microsoft Oman, Khalid Hamed Al Kharusi, Director General of the Information and Awareness Division of ITA, Khalid Al Nabhani, Senior Manager, Business Systemsat Omantel and Tariq Al-Barwani, Chief Executive Officer of Knowledge Oman.

The judges' diversified areas of expertise were well matched to the enthusiasm of the competitors. Team Thrizers from the Higher College of Technology competes with Project "ReadX". One of the greatest global challenges is perhaps Dyslexia; the idea of developing an application that is going to help Dyslexic people and will help in tackling the issue without stress. On the first use of the application, the user is going to be asked whether he/she is the Dyslexic child or the parent, because each will be using the application differently and will be given dissimilar tasks to complete.

"We are thrilled to have won the Local Finals of "Imagine Cup 2013" and motivated to represent Oman in the Imagine Cup World Finals" said Team Thrizers. "We thank Microsoft and their local partners, ITA and Omantel, for their support and guidance throughout this competition, we shall do our best tomake our country proud," they added.

"We had received a good number of great projects, and we were happy to have 4 teams competing in the local finals and showcased Oman's students' great potential. Team Thrizers will be representing Oman in the Imagine Cup 2013 World Finals in July; our team will be coaching them over the coming few months to help them finalize their projectand get ready to compete globally and hopefully win in the World
Finals," said Tareq Hijazi, Regional Country Manager for Microsoft Oman and Bahrain.

Speaking on ITA's support to promote innovators and creative youth in ICT fields, Omar Al Shanfari, Deputy CEO for Infrastructure and eServices at ITA, said: "As the Authority responsible for implementing the Digital Oman Society and eGovernment strategy, the ITA is always keen to sponsor youth innovations and projects in the ICT field, with the aim of further developing student's talents. Thanks to Allah, our young minds have proven that they are able to compete and to win at the international level. We thank Microsoft for organizing this event and hope that this competition will encourage companies and other institutions to organize similar competitions in support of Omani youth projects. We also congratulate the winners in advance and wish them the best in the Imagine Cup 2013 World Finals in July in Moscow, Russia."

Commenting on the sponsorship of Imagine Cup 2013, Mohamed Yahya Al Salmi Senior Manager Corporate Communications at Omantel said 'We are proud at Omantel to renew our partnership with Microsoft and ITA and taking it to new heights. Omantel has a great focus on nurturing and building the capacities of young Omanis as part of our CSR strategy. Imagine Cup 2013 contributes to identifying and promoting Omani talents and helping them to carry out their dream projects not also on the regional level but also on the international level at Imagine Cup 2013."

"The success made in the previous versions by Omani teams reaching advanced stage is a source of pride for every one of us. Omantel is very keen on providing the team members with every possible support to reach the top positions and raise the Sultanate's name in all regional and international contests, he added. Al Salmi wished all the best of luck to Thrizers, the team that represents the Sultanate hoping that the team would come back with Imagine Cup 2013.

"We are committed at Omantel to support initiatives and programs that nurture Omani young talents like Imagine Cup 2013," Al Salmi concluded. Microsoft's Imagine Cup is the world's most prestigious student technology competition, bringing together student innovators from all over the world. This year, Microsoft has redesigned Imagine Cup around three new core competitions built on the core elements that have been most popular with students in the past 10 years — social impact and gaming — while expanding the competition's focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.

The second and third places winning teams are:
Team Imagine Xone from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) competes with Project "Pregnanion" which is the ultimate pregnancy companion; it is a multi-language application that all pregnant women in the world can use and benefit from in a fun and interactive way to improve their health and their baby's health during the pregnancy and after the delivery.

Team ARMZ, a joint effort between Sultan Qaboos University and the Colleges of Applied Sciences-Nizwa, presents Project "VolunteerBook", a social app in Windows Phone that allows users to interact freely with each other under a voluntary work umbrella.

Each user can specify what domains he/she is interested in e.g. health, education, environment... Each user can act as an organizer of certain voluntary work and broadcast a message asking for support from volunteers who have already shown an interest in that type of voluntary work.

Source: ameinfo

Your Business Needs Melbourne IT Services

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 15:30:11 GMT

Starting up a business does not only mean working hard to achieve maximum profits. In order to get from point A to point B, you have to use all available resources and hire the right people. The combination of great services, whether from hired or outsourced employees allow you to maintain a high level of productivity in your business operation. You need skilled individuals who are also knowledgeable in their field so that you can focus on where you are good at in maintaining a thriving business. In today's modern world, technology plays a huge part in making business operate efficiently. The procedures normally include the use of computer-supported services which enhance the productivity within the company. If you think that you don't have the knowledge or the time to focus on this aspect in running your company, then it would be best to hire Melbourne IT services.

Partnering Up with an IT Company
You might think that it's more efficient to just have a call-to technician who can work around with everything related to computer. You know them and you call them constantly to check why the system is having problems. When the technician comes in, you found out that your system has actually lost a sufficient amount of data that the technician might not be able to fix. These kinds of office dilemma could have been solved when you have acquired IT services in Melbourne. This kind of service provides you with the right support system in the entire step and will not only show up when problems arise.

Cost-Efficient Partnership
Lost data from your system which might take a lot of time to recover or even re-built means that your employees will have to step out from the functions and do what they have done before all over again. But it is not only here that Melbourne IT Support can be useful to your company. In fact, their services will undeniably help your system become more efficient and productive by looking for ways on how to integrate your computer operations to other procedures. The integration of such computer programs will definitely save you a lot of time in operating your business.

Finding the Right IT Company
The best way to look for IT Support in Melbourne would be to find a service provider that specializes in the type of business that you are operating. For example, if you are a start-up company, you can partner up with one who has a positive track record in providing IT solutions to small enterprises. The specialization of the service provider is important as they already understand the requirements of your business, from the operational procedures up to the budget that small business can sufficiently work on.

Source: articlesbase