-------- Forwarded Message -------- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [TECTONIC] Open source news from Africa Date: Thu, 22 Jun 2006 22:33:53 +0200 (SAST) TECTONIC NEWS - 22 June, 2006 Tracking the shifts in technology www.tectonic.co.za
WORLD CUP --------- It's not every day we get to lead with a story about soccer but who can avoid the football fever that is the World Cup? But even if you're a hardened screen-freak with no interest in physical activity, Richard Frank takes a look at some of the more geeky ways you can get into World Cup 2006. (http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1037) In other news Jason Norwood-Young has been stirring up debate with his less than favourable opinion of the latest version of Ubuntu Linux, Dapper Drake. Many have disagreed. But equally many have agreed and backed his opinions. Read the story at http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1026 and the many opinions in the forums at http://www.tectonic.co.za/forum/topic.php?id=84 ------------ WORLD CUP FOR GEEKS http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1037&s=news World Cup fever has hit the IT world. Tectonic reviews some of the coolest technological spin-offs from the world's biggest sporting event. SOWETO'S BUG-HUNTER: BONGANI HLOPE http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1025&s=news Open source software is alive and well in South Africa's biggest township, Soweto. Bongani Hlope carries the flag high, planning a Tsotsitaal translation for Linux to make it more accessible for his neighbours. MICROSOFT, CREATIVE COMMONS MAKE STRANGE BEDFELLOWS http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1038&s=news Microsoft has partnered with alternative copyright body Creative Commons to create a licensing tool for Microsoft Office documents, allowing authors to easily include Creative Commons licenses in Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents. TUXLABS FOR 14 ORPHANAGES ON YOUTH DAY http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1035&s=news Fourteen centres for orphaned and vulnerable children received computers, open source software and Internet access on South Africa's Youth Day, June 16, as part of the Tuxlabs initiative. The 26 PCs and two laptops will be used by The Heartbeat Centre for Community Development's 5 000 students countrywide. GOOGLE THE EARTH WITH LINUX http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1027&s=news Google has released a version of Google Earth for Linux, at last. The Beta Version 4 has been tested on numerous versions of Linux, including Ubuntu, Suse, Linspire and Red Hat, and is a significant improvement to running Google Earth under Wine. SOUTH AFRICAN PC USER BASE TO TOP 5 MILLION http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1028&s=news The number of personal computers in use in South Africa will pass the 5 million mark for the first time this year, according to a new study released today. The study also found that South African users are holding onto their PCs longer than distributors would have us believe. FOSS A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR SMES http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1032&s=news Free and open source software is not only becoming increasingly relevant for Africa but is also a compelling business case for start-up companies. This is according to speakers at the Cape IT Initiative's FOSS seminar held earlier this week. INWORDS OFFERS DOCBOOK XML CONVERSION http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1033&s=news Documentation in the Docbook XML vocabulary can quickly and easily be translated into a range of output formats and now a South African company has launched a service to assist companies wanting to port their existing document to the XML format. LINUX HEADS FOR MOBILE http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1036&s=news With a flurry of activity in the sector, Linux on the cellular phone still has some hurdles to jump – not the least of which is a standard software stack. OBSIDIAN, STRATUS PARTNER TO BUILD LINUX SERVERS http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1031&s=news Obsidian Systems joins with high-availability server builder Stratus to launch a range of Linux-based fault-tolerant servers for the South African market. OPENLAB RELEASES VERSION 4.1A http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1029&s=news OpenLab International has released the latest iteration of its education-cum-general-desktop Linux distribution, OpenLab. Richard Frank asks chief software architect, AJ Venter, what he has been brewing. JABBERAFRICA.ORG TO CLOSE DOWN http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1030&s=news African instant messaging server JabberAfrica.org will be closing down at the end of June, three years after first opening the service. REVIEWS ----------------------------------------------------- BOOKS: LINUX IN EASY STEPS http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1034&s=news One of a series of 'In Easy Steps' books this Linux beginners guide may hold a few snippets that novice Linux users will value but most will want to move quickly on to something a little more detailed or challenging. DAPPER DRAKE VERDICT: IT SUCKS http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1026&s=news The review we didn't want to write. It's buggy, it's unreliable, and it's definitely not polished. Dapper Drake doesn't deliver as promised. Now where did I put that copy of Suse 10.1? EVENTS ----------------------------------------------------- SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION COURSE International search engine optimisation(SEO) expert Bruce Clay, in association with Purple Cow Communications, is presenting his SEOToolSet Training Course in Cape Town from 10 to 12 July 2006. http://www.tectonic.co.za/ ---------------------------------------- Contact Tectonic: Editor Alastair Otter [EMAIL PROTECTED] 083-267-7657 -- Tectonic's newsletter is sent out weekly to subscribers and delivers the best of open source news from around the continent direct to their desktop. To subscribe visit http://phplist.tectonic.co.za/lists/?p=subscribe or send your email address to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To advertise in Tectonic's weekly newsletter email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or phone 083-267-7657. For more information on the newsletter visit http://www.tectonic.co.za/default.php?action=m_d Visit http://www.tectonic.co.za for the latest news and most up to date resources on open source software on the continent of Africa. All material copyright Free Speech Publishing. You are free to distribute copies of this newsletter on the condition that credit is given to www.tectonic.co.za. For permission to re-print articles that appear in this newsletter or on the www.tectonic.co.za website email [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ ilugd mailinglist -- [email protected] http://frodo.hserus.net/mailman/listinfo/ilugd Archives at: http://news.gmane.org/gmane.user-groups.linux.delhi http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
