U.S. Court dismisses attempts to attach ccTLDs

ITRealms:

A federal court in the United States has agreed with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) submissions that the country code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) are not property subject to attachment, ITRealms reports.

ITRealms recalls that claimants had filed wits of attachment to seize from ICANN, the ccTLDs for Iran (.IR), Syria (.SY) and North Korea (.KP), (as well as internationalized top-level domains in non-ASCII characters for Iran and Syria) in order to satisfy judgments the claimants obtained in US courts against these countries.

But ICANN sought to quash the writs of attachment citing ICANN’s technical coordination role in the domain name system (DNS) and arguing that ccTLDs are not subject to attachment.

“We are pleased that the court ruled in our favor on the grounds that the ccTLDs are not property, subject to attachment”, said John Jeffrey, ICANN’s General Counsel and Secretary.

Also for Jeffrey, “The court’s ruling demonstrates a technical understanding of the DNS, and the role of ccTLDs in the single, global, interoperable Internet."

+Remmy Nweke +James Cole +ICANN

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Pix: ICANN president Fade Chehade

Pres. Goodluck Jonathan unveils new N100 note

DigitalSENSE Business News:

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on Wednesday, November 12 in Abuja unveiled a new N100 note, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The new banknote, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered was produced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in commemoration of the nation’s centenary celebration since its amalgamation in 1914.

DigitalSENSE Business News also gathred that the new N100 note was officially unveiled at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja by President Goodluck Jonathan.

CBN Governor Mr. Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who made a presentation to FEC before the unveiling noted that the new N100 note was produced with the most advanced technology in the world pointing out that it still retained the picture of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo on the front side.

According to him, the new N100 note has security features against counterfeiting and with special durability and tolerance.

He explained that the Zuma Rock at the back of the current note was substituted for quick response (QR) code, among other pictures.

DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that Mr. Emeifele emphasised that with telephone set and iPad having QR code scanner and the application to be released by the bank, will facilitate scan and read historical facts about the country.

Also speaking, as learnt by DigitalSENSE Business News, the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said that the Q.R. code features will be useful for students to catch up with the history of Nigeria.

The new N100 note, DigitalSENSE Business News further gathered, would Friday 19, December 2014, commence the circulation of the new note.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +Central Bank of Nigeria +President GoodLuck Jonathan
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Pix: Specimen of new N100 note, courtesy of CBN.

Access Bank debuts with AccelerateTV online

ITRealms:

Access Bank Plc has made a debut with another innovative social interaction platform known as AccelerateTV online, reports ITRealms.

Head, Media Relations at Access Bank, Abdul Imoyo told ITRealms that the platform which is targeted at young adults with an array of creative content ranging from information and entertainment articles to punchy videos, fashion trends and real time reportage of world’s latest trends.

Imoyo in a press statement made available ITRealms quoted the Head, Inclusive Banking, Access Bank Plc, Ope Wemi Jones as describing the platform as new, exciting and the most interactive platform for youths. 

“Exciting premium services are available to youths who visit the platform and are also Solo Account holders of the Bank. These services include discount on movie tickets and clothing, VIP access to some of the hottest events in Nigeria, internships, scholarships and other personal development opportunities”. To participate and enjoy premium service, she advised that interested people should go to any of Access Bank’s branch to open a solo account, then visit accelerateTV.com” she said.

Equally, speaking the Head, Strategic Brand Management, Amaechi Okobi said that, “AccelerateTV is the ultra-cool blog for professionals and youths interested in world trends. In fulfilment of the Bank’s promise to cater for the needs of its heterogeneous customer base, we identified a gap and sought to fill it with the creation of this unique platform” he said.

Okobi also revealed that AccelerateTV is a digital platform with design and content that are youth friendly, predicting that soon AccelerateTV by Access Bank will take over the cyberspace and it will be the number one website for information and entertainment content.

Head, Digital Communication at Access Bank, Toyin Henry-Ajayi explained that AccelerateTV is the next best blog in Nigeria, stressing that the blog is going to be the richest blog in Nigeria. 

“Rich in the context of content, as we will continue to deliver timely reportage on fashion, sports, music, career and technological developments” Mrs Henry-Ajayi said, assuring that as the name indicates the speed of service delivery will be second to none. 

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +Access Bank Plc @Abdul Imoyo @Toyin HenryAjayi
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Lagos gets additional MultiChoice resource centres

DigitalSENSE Business News:

Acclaimed leading pay-TV operator, MultiChoice, has completed some three new resource centers for Lagos State, which brings Lagos centres to 18, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

This, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered brings to to 312 in 29 states, since Multichoice resource centre project commenced in 2004.

The programme which is in its eighth phase, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered from the Public Relations (PR) Manager, DStv, Ms Caroline Oghuma that each benefiting school receives a TV set, high definition personal video recorder (HDPVR) decoder, generating set, complimentary subscription to DStv education bouquet, which contains BBC World, BBC Knowledge, National Geography, Animal Planet, National Geography Wild, History Channel, Learn and ED channel, as well as facilities such as chairs and tables, among others.

She also quoted the Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, operators of DSTv, Mr John Ugbe, as saying at Eti-Osa Community Senior Secondary School, Sangotedo, Lagos, that the resource centre project is MultiChoice’s way of promoting the use of integrated and communication technologies to raise the standard of education by deploying the imagery of sight and sound to make learning more vivid and creative.

“At MultiChoice, we have a strong conviction that the technological, economic, social and political advancement of any country has a direct correlation with its level of educational development and that the future of a country is intrinsically tied to the quality of education that the youths are exposed to,” he said, enjoining the 10 benefiting schools to maximize the use of the resource centres.

Mrs Aderonke Bello, Managing Director, Innovative Technology Literacy Services Limited (ITLS), the implementing partner for the MRC project, was also quoted in a press statement made available to DigitalSENSE Business News that “Technology investment in schools is on the increase, and the deployment of satellite television to enhance learning is one key initiative that has helped to bridge the digital divide in rural communities. While technology will not replace teachers and textbooks, research has shown that technology-mediated learning environments provide immense opportunities for learners and lead inevitably to better teaching and learning outcomes.”

She commended MultiChoice for giving back to the community and adding value to Nigeria’s education sector. 

“It is expected that all trained teachers will make good use of their acquired knowledge to bring the often abstract, distant worlds of science into close focus and within the personal, meaningful realm of each student,” she said.

Director, Co-Curriculum, Science & Technology, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs Mary Oyetunde, applauded MultiChoice for the MRC initiative, describing it as complementary to Lagos State’s effort to provide improved facilities for enhanced teaching and learning. “MultiChoice Resource Centre project facilitates e-learning, as our students can now utilize the satellite TV technology to obtain relevant facts and latest development in subject areas that have hitherto proved difficult to understand,” she said.

+Remmy Nweke +Multichoice NG +DigitalSENSE Africa Media +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms)

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Pic: L-R: Mrs. Aderonke Bello, Managing Director, Innovative Technology Literacy Service Ltd; Mr. John Ugbe, Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria; Mrs. Patricia Enase, Zonal Director Eti-Osa, Zone 2, District 3 and Mrs Mary Oyetunde, Director of Co-Curriculum Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Lagos State during the launch of MultiChoice Resource Centre held at Eti-Osa Community High School, Sangotedo, Lagos.

Rosetta goes on mission today, ESA engages Tweet chat

ITRealms:

The European Space Agency (ESA) has disclosed that its anticipated Tweet chat for the robotic space probe known as Rosetta for its Lander Philae attempt has kicked off today, Tuesday, November 2014, reports ITRealms.

According to information available to ITRealms, Philae carries a suite of instruments for imaging and sampling of the comet nucleus, while the Tweet chat is to facilitate question and answers thereby creating more enlightenment engender global know-how with Rosetta Project Scientist Matt Taylor.

ITRealms recalls that Rosetta is the first mission in history to rendezvous with a comet which escorted it to orbits, the Sun, and deploys a lander to its surface.

The spacecraft, ITRealms gathered, arrived at the comet - an icy small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, heats up and begins to outgas, displaying a visible atmosphere or coma; on 6 August 2014 following a 10-year journey through the Solar System.

Also, ITRealms reports that the mission is controlled from ESA’s European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt, Germany with contributions from its Member States and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

While ITRealms gathered that Rosetta’s Philae Lander is provided by a consortium led by DLR and MPS (Germany), CNES (France) and ASI (Italy), whereas scientists claimed that this mission is more complex than landing on the moon.

Further, ITRealms reports that ESA TV will host live streaming throughout the mission at http://new.livestream.com/ESA/Cometlanding.

 While, enthusiasts can follow activities on @ESA_Rosetta and @Philae2014 on Twitter.

or hash tagged #CometLanding; #Rosetta and #67p.

Equally, ESA has created Twitter handle for its Science and Robotic Exploration channel, ESA Spaceflight Operations channel as well as its official list of around 50 ESA channels.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) @ESA_Rosetta and @Philae2014 #CometLanding #Rosetta #67p @ESA @ESAscience @ESAOperations.

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