ICANN, CTU sign MoU to increase active engagement

ITRealms:

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Number (ICANN) and Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase cooperation and coordination among both organizations, so as to increase active engagement by stakeholders from Caribbean region, reports ITRealms.

This was the outcome of the recently held Caribbean ICT Week, and the MoU was signed between ICANN president, Mr. Fadi Chehadé and Ms. Bernadette Lewis, Secretary General, CTU.

ITRealms also reports that the signing took place in the presence of Government Ministers of CTU member states including the President of the CTU, Hon. Philip Paulwell, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining of Jamaica; the signing ceremony was followed by a press conference facilitating widespread communication of news of the event to the Jamaica public, and wider Caribbean through electronic media.

"The Internet has become entwined in the fabric of our lives therefore we must take an interest in its development and participate in the fora that chart its course. The continued and equitable growth of the internet is a collective responsibility and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) is prepared to play its part in taking an active role in determining the future of the Internet. This MoU is the demonstration of the CTU's commitment to work in collaboration with ICANN to increasing awareness and usage of the Internet and its resources in the Caribbean," said Ms. Bernadette Lewis at the signing cerremony.

On his part, in the spirit of collaboration, Fadi Chehadé ended his remarks by quoting the African Proverb, which says "If you want to go fast…go alone. If you want to go far…go together."

Mr. Chehadé and Ms. Lewis committed to make this a workable framework by getting their respective teams to start implementing concrete actions in the upcoming weeks. Actions are planned to include capacity building, partnering for outreach events and fostering multistakeholder dialogue at the regional and national levels.

Remmy Nweke
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Audax Solutions introduces tech-focused CSR

ITRealms:

An indigenous Information Technology training and consulting firm, Audax Solutions has introduced technology-focused Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports ITRealms.

Confirming this to ITRealms, the chief software evangelist, Audax, Mr. Aniedi Udo-Obong said that the Lekki-Lagos based announced this activities to run throughout the month of December 2013.

According to him, a Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) which is ongoing holds worldwide from December 9th to 15th, 2013. 

He told ITRealms that CSEdWeek recommends an Hour of Code to spread awareness of Computer Science Education.

“It is a one-hour introduction to Computer Science, designed to demystify ‘code’ and show that anyone can learn the basics to be a maker, a creator, and an innovator,” he declared.

On Saturday, December 14, 2013, he said, Audax is organizing a free hour of code at the company premises, and is open to registered attendees between the ages of 6 and 106.

The following week, which is from December 16th to 19th 2013, he said, Audax Code School would be organizing a free but sponsored Christmas Boot Camp targeted at primary and secondary school students.

“We believe that teaching children programming skills is essential to developing their problem solving, creative and communication skills helping to foster an interest in technology that can result in a profitable and rewarding future career,” he said.

“It will be absolutely free for about 40 enrollees. We hope to include about 20 participants at the inaugural Code School which held in August 2013,” he declared, urging potential participants to register at the school web-page.

Additionally, he revealed to ITRealms that there would be a Google Code in 2013 would run from December 9, 2013 through January 5, 2014.

Chuks Egbuna/GEE 

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Pix: chief software evangelist, Audax, Mr. Aniedi Udo-Obong

iPad Air in Nigeria says Core Group Africa

ITRealms: 

The officials of Core Group Africa, have just confirmed to ITRealms that iPad Air is now available in the Nigerian market.

ITRealms also gathered that iPad Air comes to town with stunning 9.7-inch Retina display in a new thinner and lighter design, even as iPad Air is precision-engineered to weigh just less than 500 grams which makes it 20 per cent thinner and 28 per cent lighter than the fourth generation iPad.

iPad Air will be available from 13 December from all Apple authorised resellers for the starting price of N99 000 Naira.

Core Group Africa’s Director, Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk says they were delighted to announce the official availability of iPad Air in Nigeria.

“iPad Air is unbelievably thin and light and we encourage customers to visit their nearest Apple Authorised Reseller to purchase or experience this life-changing product,” he said.

ITRealms recalls that Core Group Africa has appointed Apple authorised resellers to sell iPad Air to ensure the product is available through official channel partners, to ensure customers’ peace of mind that if repair issues arise during the warranty term, their product will be repaired or replaced by an Apple Authorised Repair Centre and that they will have access to the required level of support that is mandatory for Apple Authorised Resellers. 

He further said that iPad Air Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) models would be available in Nigeria in silver or space grey for the 16GB model, while the 32GB model, for the 64GB model and for the 128GB model.

Additionally, iPad Air with Wi-Fi+Cellular will be available in silver and space grey for 16GB model, 32GB model respectively. Just as it has the 64GB model and for the 128GB model.

Customers are reminded that when they purchase iPad Air, they qualify for free productivity and creativity apps. 

Apple have made iWork (Keynote, Pages and Numbers) and iLife (Garageband, iPhoto and iMove) free with the purchase of any new iPad. This means that customers will be able to do amazing things with presentations, documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos and music-all for free. Furthermore, iPad Air owners will have access to the world’s number 1 app and music store through iTunes. The iTunes Store gives customers access to over 475 000 iPad apps, millions of songs and thousands of movies to personalise their iPad according to their lifestyle.

“We are thrilled to make this unbelievable product available and ensure that Nigerians can purchase with the confidence that they purchased through official distribution channels. We want customers to have the best iPad experience possible and be able to take advantage of the benefits of purchasing from an Apple Authorised Reseller,” submits Van Spaandonk.

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Nokia extends developers rewards programme to Nigeria, Ghana

ITRealms:

Phone manufacturer, Nokia, has extended its developers rewards programme to Nigeria and Ghana, under the aegis of developers, DVLUP.

ITRealms gathered that DVLUP is a rewards programme for Windows Phone developers across the globe which enables them to create, book and manage their own application promotions and also build better apps via exclusive App Challenges. 

Also, DVLUP programme launched simultaneously in Nigeria and Ghana on Tuesday, ITRealms reports, is a first from Nokia that allows developers control promotion of their app by introducing technologies unique to Nokia devices, and marketing opportunities afforded only by Nokia rather than depending on most app stores that rely on algorithms and storeowners to control promotional efforts.

The programme, which Windows Phone developers can join for free, centers on winning badges, earning experience points, and leveling up by completing quizzes and challenges related to app development. By creating high-quality apps, developers can also earn additional points and “unlock even greater opportunities” such as promoting their work through the Windows Phone Store, App Social, in-app advertising, as well as by using print, digital, social and out-of-home media.

Head, Ecosystem Developer Experience, Nokia West Africa, Emmanuel Oluwatosin, said that the program is line with Nokia’s plan to support developers across the globe and also get more developers for its Windows Operating System (OS) based devices.

“We are happy that this program is finally coming to Nigeria and Ghana, and we believe that this is a huge and exciting opportunity for developers in both countries to tap into. This is an opportunity for them to make the most of their talents, build more locally relevant apps and promote the apps themselves” he said.

He explained that DVLUP uses gamification techniques to help developers earn badges and experience points (known as “XP”) that can then be used for promotion support for their app. In addition, by building high-quality apps, developers can earn additional points and unlock even greater opportunity for exposure. This gives developers access to promotion in the Windows Phone Store and App Social, in-app advertising, print, digital, social and out-of-home media opportunities.

DVLUP was first launched in US and Canada in November 2012 as a pilot but is now available in more than 20 countries which includes; Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Poland, the UK, the US, and Vietnam, with more countries being added regularly.

Nenye Dom/GEE
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Akpabio, Fayemi, Fashola for NCC’s Telecom Summit’13

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The trio of Governors of Akwa Ibom, Ekiti and Lagos States have been confirmed to grace the forthcoming maiden edition of the Telecom Stakeholders Summit being organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Summit and Director, Public Affairs of the Commission, Mr. Tony Ojobo, confirmed to DigitalSENSE Business News that the Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, Obong Godswill Akpabio would preside over the event, while the Governor Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi would present a keynote. While Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, is the Host Governor, just as Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson would also present a keynote at the event.

NCC, he said, has concluded arrangements for the hosting of the maiden edition of an annual Telecom Stakeholders Summit in Nigeria.

The summit, slated for Lagos at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Tuesday, December 17, 2013 with the theme “Transforming a Nation with Broadband: Telecom as Instrument for Sustainable Development.”

According to him, the summit has been designed to bring together, different stakeholders of the telecom industry to interact and discuss issues that affect them from their various perspectives and interests.

“It will comprise a forum, product and services showcase, and gala nite,” he declared.

In addition, Ojobo affirmed that members of the National Assembly and top industry chieftains and experts, including service providers and consumers are expected at the maiden edition of the flagship telecom summit in Nigeria.

The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, was quoted as saying the summit will provide veritable platform for interaction and sharing of ideas across different stakeholders, as well as providing an opportunity for appraisal of the performance of the industry, while projecting for the future.

Juwah noted that the summit evolved out of the need to achieve a more inclusive consultation among the different stakeholders in line with the consultative approach to the Commission’s regulatory mandate.

Further, Mr. Ojobo, said the summit boasts of full representation of the key stakeholders in the industry including the consumers, the government at different levels, the investors, the service providers, the media, the financial industry and international telecom community.

The summit, as said by him, promises to offer intense discourse about the industry, it potentials and its direction while also providing an atmosphere for relaxation and interaction between the diverse stakeholder segments of the  industry, while sending a signal to the world about our unity of purpose, and huge potentials that abound in our country.

Remmy Nweke

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ISPON mourns Madiba: He represents African software

ITRealms:

The Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) has joined the world in mourning the death of former South African president, Nelson Mandela, who died last Thursday in his country, reports ITRealms.

president, Chief Chris Uwaje in his remarks told ITRealms that Mandela represents and demonstrates perhaps, the most complex and greatest software out of Africa that the human mind had ever vision.

He also said that Mandela represents African software ever conceptualized, structurally defined, strategically codified and wholeheartedly delivered for the application and benefit of human progress.

“Madiba is ‘Knowledge Magic’ pure and simple. This is why ISPON mourns his unforgettable demise,” he explained.

Uwaje further emphasised that if man were God, Madiba Nelson Mandela would not have died!

“With his death, the world and indeed the entire humanity have lost an enigmatic knowledge fountain and a colossus in the wilderness of constructive logic,” he said.

During his short span of service to humanity eclipsed by the twenty- seven and a half (27.5) years of unjustified detention at Robin Island jail, he positively touched the lives of many billion people of all races.

ISPON thus, recognizes Madiba as a great reservoir of concentrated knowledge, an embodiment of constructive logic and an unrivaled master-software algorithm. His dynamic leadership attitude radiates a calculus-minded human model, one that only a Software Knowledge Super architect can codify.

Mandela has progressively but efficiently reduced our ignorance of human co-existence and relations and by extension, lightened-up the global pathway in search of Democracy architecture.

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