[GKD] New UNDP Publications on Development

[earthscan books2]

Two New Books From Earthscan

Earthscan are pleased to announce the second publication in a new series
of books produced in association with the United Nations Development
Programme. This three volume Capacity for Development Series plans to
investigate how technical co-operation and capacities for development
can be enhanced.

Developing Capacity Through Technical Cooperation: Country Experiences
By Stephen Browne
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3809
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3809 

This book makes a valuable contribution to deepening our understanding
of capacity development. The specific country experiences bring out the
tremendous opportunities that are lost when technical cooperation is
applied for purposes other than capacity development. Conversely, what
is also clear from these case studies is that there are huge
opportunities to be gained if technical cooperation is viewed as a means
for building and nurturing sustainable national capacities

- Soumana Sako, Executive Director, African Capacity Building Foundation,
Zimbabwe 

Developing Capacity Through Technical Cooperation presents a powerful
set of country studies that convincingly demonstrate how much technical
cooperation can contribute to sustainable national capacity and what is
forfeited when it is not used for capacity building.

For more information and to buy this book visit:
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3809


Capacity for Development: New Solutions to Old Problems
Edited by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Carlos Lopes and Khalid Malik
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3658

Capacity development has been an elusive goal in developing countries
over many decades. Taking a fresh look at this problem, this book
proposes innovative ways to correct the asymmetric relations between
donors and aid recipient countries which have been partly responsible
for the acquisition of both individual skills and institutional
capacities and social capital as well as the development of
opportunities to put these skills and networks to productive use in the
transformation of society. In my view, this is a refreshingly new
paradigm for capacity development.

- Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, Governor, Bank of Uganda 

A team of eminent development professionals and economists examine the
achievements of technical cooperation and offer recommendations for
reform in the context of globalization, democratization, the information
revolution and the growth of capacities in the South.

Read a sample chapter:
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/samplechapters/1853839191pdfs.htm

For more information and to buy this book visit:
http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3658




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[GKD] BytesForAll: SE Asian ICT for Dev. Journal

[Frederick Noronha]

--
###BytesForAll Ezine Nov2002##
--

Bharateeya-OpenOffice
-

Should Indian languages be left behind in the world of computing? No,
argues the NCST, whose team in Bangalore recently came out with its
localization solutions for Open Office (the free/libre and open source
software option to proprietorial office tools).

NCST's team has been working to localize and internationalize
OpenOffice.org in Indian Languages. They have localized OpenOffice.org
in Hindi on Windows and Linux, and in Tamil on Windows.

This team has also enabled Complex Text Layout support for all main
Indian languages as well as other Internationalization features like
Indian currency and calendar translations in Hindi and Tamil, on
Windows.

Localization work in Tamil on Linux, as well as Complex Text Layout
support and other Internationalization aspects on Linux OO.o is going
on.

Their work has been recognised by OpenOffice.org and has been copyright
approved. On their site, some screenshots of the localized applications
have been uploaded, and there are also localized binaries for Hindi and
Tamil for free download.

Bhupesh Koli [EMAIL PROTECTED], Shikha G Pillai
[EMAIL PROTECTED] and Velmani N [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- of the
team who worked on this -- say they need open type fonts in Tamil and
other languages for localization work in GNU/Linux. Would anyone help
us in this direction? they ask.

Ravikant [EMAIL PROTECTED], a Delhi-based former academic and
historian, has some critical feedback. Says he: I did download the
Hindi version on my Windows desktop. It seems somebody has translated
from the German version. And it is still partial, only a beginning. A
lot of work is yet to be done.

Ravikant add that he has himself been trying to work on translation of
OO (Open Office). Why is the translation team following a Sanskritized
vocabulary? It sounds more difficult than the original English. Let us
put our heads together and come up with more creative translations. This
is after having conceded that it is by no means easy, says he.

See http://www.ncb.ernet.in/bharateeyaoo


Simputer maker
--

From Picopeta Simputers and Nagarjun K [EMAIL PROTECTED] comes
news that Bharat Electronics Limited and PicoPeta Simputers Private
Limited have forged an alliance to manufacture and market a new range of
Simputers.

These devices will be marketed as BEL-PicoPeta Simputers and will cover
a spectrum of applications and price points. Please see below or
http://www.picopeta.com/press/bel-picopeta.php for the full details,
said Nagarjun.

As an enthusiastic supporter of the Simputer platform, I am sure you are
pleased with this significant new development. Consequently, we at
PicoPeta Simputers hope you will report this with the importance it
deserves.

More information at:
PicoPeta website: http://www.picopeta.com
Simputer: http://www.picopeta.com/simputer http://www.simputer.org

BEL, in its facility in its Bangalore Complex, has manufactured more
than 400 Simputers for PicoPeta in a pilot production phase.

The BEL-PicoPeta Simputers are a radical improvement over the earlier
Simputer prototypes along several fronts. The production of the first
batch of 1,000 BEL-PicoPeta Simputers will be completed in November
2002, said Picopeta, who are one of the groups fighting a valiant
battle -- against economics and unhelpful policies -- to put out this
commonman's computing device.

The current price of the BEL-PicoPeta Simputer will be Rs. 13,000, with
duties and taxes as applicable. BEL and PicoPeta are determined to
reduce the  price closer to Rs. 10,000 in the next six months, promised
the firm.

The BEL-PicoPeta Simputers are powered by Linux and Malacca. Malacca,
described as a revolutionary new interface for the Simputer developed
by PicoPeta, makes the combination a powerful, customer-friendly and
full-featured machine.

Ironically while the Government of India seems quick to claim credit --
if any -- for the work on the Simputer, it has not even put in a rupee
into the project. The IT minister had promised to remove Excise duty on
the under-10,000 rupee priced Simputers. But nothing has happened on
this front yet.

Incidentally, the Karnataka IT secretary had also made public
announcements last year that sales tax exemption will be given to
Simputers. But this is a chicken and egg situation. The duty waiver can
happen only after the Simputers get into production. But to get into
production, and catch public imagination, they need to be priced
attractively. Duty sops would help.

Inspite of all the praise it has earned, nobody has dared to invest
significantly in the Simputer venture. Both PicoPet and Encore -- the
firms incubated out of the teams that initially conceived and worked on
this -- are striving to stay alive and get the Simputers somehow
produced.

Volume production