Microsoft Employee Was Given Control of a Country

While a lot of people have suspected Microsoft of pulling some political strings, it appeared that there was a place in the globe where the software giant’s employee runs the government. Al Jazeera stated that Cheick Modibo Diarra, the Microsoft chairman for Africa, was appointed Mali’s interim prime minister, whose task was to ensure that there wasn’t any new Android or Mac in the country, as well as that open source projects would disappear.

In fact, that was proved completely false. Cheick Modibo Diarra was brought in to ensure that civilian rule is restored to the West African country after March’s coup. The coup leaders that ousted Mali’s democratically elected president in March recently handed over power to a new interim civilian leader. The country’s soldiers have arrested the leader of one of Mali’s biggest political parties, Soumaila Cisse, within mere hours after an ex-prime minister was detained by military personnel. At the moment, there are some doubts as to whether they will really get a democratic government in the country, becasue all the opposition heads are locked up.

Already Cheick Modibo Diarra’s job is smaller than he believed. During the political trouble separatist rebels in northern part of the country have declared an independent state which appeared to be larger than France. And the political observers point out that it’s likely to fall to an Islamic faction willing to impose Shariah legislation in the area.

Undoubtedly, all the infighting, personal empire grabbing, and watching of the large operation falling apart would be very familiar to Cheick Modibo Diarra, with the only difference being that Mali would be much quieter than Redmond.

Facebook Introduced Groups for Schools

Facebook has recently released a collaborative campus instrument dubbed “Groups for Schools”. Thus far, only American colleges and universities are able to create groups related to their activities (like dorms, classes, or student events).

Earlier in Facebook’s life, Mark Zuckerberg tried to introduce a file-sharing service named Wirehog, but failed. However, he didn’t give up: a few days ago Facebook introduced yet another feature called “Groups for Schools”. Within the frames of this program, students are able to upload files, but with some limits. For example, they can’t upload any .exe files (this is done for obvious reason of avoiding viruses spread), and Facebook has a 25MB upload limit. Finally, Facebook will monitor all uploads in its attempt to avoid infringing files from being shared.
Meanwhile, some of the industry observers point out that the fact that the social network has bought a file-sharing service Drop.io two years ago could be a hint that Mark Zuckerberg is going to launch a cloud-based service. As for the failed project Wirehog, it was part of Facebook until 2006. Six years ago Sean Parker shut down the program to let Facebook stay online and far from copyright violation lawsuits.
However, Groups for Schools may only revive one of the key sections that Facebook has lost within the years. Everything posted inside this group can only be reached by students using their .edu e-mails to authenticate. This is actually a key feature if they do not want their future employer to see compromising photos of them at some party. Finally, Groups for Businesses can be a project in Facebook’s agenda as well, so giants such as Yammer or Google should get busy fast enough.

অ্যাপ্লিকেশনে বিজ্ঞাপন বেশি আসছে

সম্প্রতি গবেষণা সংস্থা স্ট্র্যাটেজি অ্যানালিটিক্স জানিয়েছে, বিজ্ঞাপনদাতারা ওয়েব কিংবা মোবাইল ওয়েবের চেয়ে অ্যাপ্লিকেশনের মধ্যে বিজ্ঞাপন দেয়ার দিকেই ঝুঁকছেন বেশি। বিজ্ঞাপনদাতারা চলতি বছরে ২৯০ কোটি ডলার কেবল অ্যাপ্লিকেশনে বিজ্ঞাপন দিয়েই খরচ করবেন বলেও ধারণা করা হচ্ছে। খবর রয়টার্স-এর।

ইন-অ্যাপ অ্যাডভার্টাইজিং মুলত বিভিন্ন গেম অথবা ইউটিলিটি অ্যাপ্লিকেশনের মধ্যেই প্রদর্শিত হয়ে থাকে। অর্থাৎ, ব্যবহারকারীরা অ্যাপ্লিকেশনটি ব্যবহারের সময় মাঝে মাঝে এসব বিজ্ঞাপন দেখে থাকেন। ২০০৭ সালে আইফোনের জন্য অ্যাপল প্রথম অ্যাপ স্টোর চালু করে। এর পর থেকেই বিভিন্ন ডিভাইসের জন্য তৈরি হয়েছে প্রচুর অ্যাপ্লিকেশন। প্রায় সবকিছুর জন্যই অ্যাপ্লিকেশন থাকায় ব্যবহারকারীরা মোবাইল ওয়েবের মাধ্যমে ভিজিট খুব একটা করেন না। আর এ জন্যই মোবাইল ওয়েবের পরিবর্তে বিজ্ঞাপনদাতারা ঝুঁকছেন অ্যাপ্লিকেশনের দিকে।

রয়টার্স জানিয়েছে, এর ফলে কেবল বিজ্ঞাপনদাতারাই নয় বরং ডেভেলপাররাও সমানভাবে লাভবান হবেন। সাধারণত ছোটখাটো অ্যাপ্লিকেশনগুলো বিনামূল্যেই সরবরাহ করা হলেও বিজ্ঞাপন প্রদর্শনের মাধ্যমে অ্যাপ্লিকেশন ডেভেলপাররা অল্পবিস্তর আয়ও করে নিতে পারবেন, যার ফলে আরও নতুন নতুন কাজের অ্যাপ্লিকেশন তৈরির জন্য উৎসাহী হবেন ডেভেলপাররা।

The Global BROADBAND penetration

Notes

This application uses the Google Earth Plugin. If you do not already have this plugin installed, you will be prompted to download and install it into your browser. The Google Earth Plugin is supported in the following browsers: Firefox 3.0+, Google Chrome 5.0+, Internet Explorer 7.0+, Safari 3.1+.

The data used is based on self-reported information gathered through the annual ITU surveys. Where the latest year data is not available, previous year data is used.

Disclaimer

Simplified and stylized boundary data indicative only, created using Natural Earth www.naturalearthdata.com. The designations employed and the presentation of material on this infographic do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the ITU concerning the legal status of the country, territory, city or area or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

A click to Ahead@@

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/treg/atlas/broadbandatlas.asp

Girls in ICT @ ITU TELECOM World 2011

Girls in ICT

Job opportunities in the ICT continue to grow, and many countries and regions are predicting a shortage of qualified staff with math, science, engineering and computing skills to meet the growing demand. At the same time, many companies are looking to increase the numbers of women in the sector. This means that highly qualified women in technical fields have significant opportunities available to them.  Unfortunately teenage girls and young women often never even consider a career in ICTs.  There is a lack of awareness among students, teachers and parents on the opportunities presented by a career in ICT.

Attitudes can change when girls are invited into companies and government agencies to meet ICT professionals and see what life is like on the job.  For this reason, ITU members agreed to recognize Girls in ICT Days on the 4^th Thursday of every April in ITU Plenipotentiary Resolution 70 (Guadalajara, 2010).  ITU is also helping girls find the information they need by developing a Girls in ICT Portal with links to scholarships, training, internships, contests and awards, tech camps, on-line networks and, of course, Girls in ICT Day activities.  The Girls in ICT Portal will be unveiled in this Session.

Not only is encouraging girls to enter the ICT sector good for women’s professional development and job prospects, it’s good for business.  A broad range of organizations and companies have concluded that increasing women at the top positively impacts financial performance, while those that ignore diversity issues risk ongoing labor shortages.

Supporting the education of women and girls in the ICT sector is also in line with United Nations Millennium Development Goal 3 to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.  Not only are jobs in the ICT sector lifting women out of poverty, a more gender-balanced sector offers fulfilling mid and high-level careers, and enables highly talented women to springboard to the top of the career ladder. This is good for everyone.  As UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said, “Equality for women and girls is not only a basic human right it is a social and economic imperative. Where women are educated and empowered, economies are more productive and strong.  Where women are fully represented, societies are more peaceful and stable.”

Visit the Women in ICTs Portal

M-Government: Mobile Technologies for Responsive Governments and Connected Societies

M-Government Report

Mobile phones subscriptions have outnumbered Internet connections in both developed and developing countries, and mobile cellular is becoming the most rapidly adopted technology in history and the most popular and widespread personal technology in the world. Access to mobile networks is available to 90% of the world population, and to 80 % of the population living in rural areas, according to ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database; and among OECD countries mobile subscriptions grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 10 % over the previous two years according to the OECD Communications Outlook 2009.

Given this unparalleled advancement of mobile communication technologies, governments are turning to m-government to realize the value of mobile technologies for responsive governance and measurable improvements to social and economic development, service delivery, operational efficiencies and active citizen engagement. The interoperability of mobile applications, which support quick access to integrated data and location-based services, paves indeed the way for innovative public sector governance models – also called mobile governance or m-governance – based on the use of mobile technology in support of public services and information delivery.

The report highlights the critical potential of mobile technologies for improved public governance, as well as for economic and social progress towards the achievement of the internationally agreed development agenda defined in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The in-depth analysis of the prerequisites for m-government, its main benefits and challenges, the value-chain and the key stakeholders, and the checklist of concrete actions intend to sustain policy makers in monitoring and updating their knowledge on m-government, and to draw on its implications for public sector governance, public service delivery, and smarter and more open government.

Whether it is an electronic wallet card linked to a mobile phone in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, or the Philippines; voting, registration or election monitoring in Morocco, Kenya, Estonia and Ukraine; support for farmers with weather forecast information and market price alerts in Malaysia, Uganda, India and China; or co-ordination of real-time location data for emergency response in Turkey, the United States and France, mobile technologies are enhancing dynamic interactions between citizens and government, creating further opportunities for open and transparent government.

“M-Government: Mobile Technologies for Responsive Governments and Connected Societies” is a unique report as it is the result of the joint-work of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). Recognising the ubiquity of public good governance principles, and the existence of opportunities and challenges commonly shared by governments worldwide, the three organisations aim to offer a call for action to all member countries to be strategic in moving ahead in implementing m-visions that drive public sector change and strengthen its good governance.

Source: ITU web site.

এ বছরেই আসছে মোজিলা স্মার্টফোন

২০১২ সালেই বাজারে আসবে মোজিলা স্মার্টফোন। ফায়ারফক্স ওয়েব ব্রাউজার নির্মাতাদের বানানো নতুন এই স্মার্টফোনটি চলবে বিটুজি (বুট টু গেকো) নামের নতুন এক অপারেটিং সিস্টেম-এ। খবর বিবিসির।

বিবিসি জানিয়েছে, মোজিলার এই স্মার্টফোন বাজারে আসবে ২০১২ সালের শেষের দিকে। তবে স্মার্টফোনগুলো ঠিক কোন মোবাইল নির্মাতা প্রতিষ্ঠান তৈরি করবে তা নিশ্চিত না হলেও ‘বুট টু গেকো (বিটুজি)’ অপারেটিং সিস্টেমটি প্রাথমিকভাবে শুধু ব্রাজিলের টেলিফোনিকা ভিভো’র মোবাইল নেটওয়ার্কেই পাওয়া যাবে বলে জানা গেছে।

মোজিলার এই স্মার্টফোনের বিটুজি অপারেটিং সিস্টেম হবে অনেকটাই মোজিলা ফায়ারফক্স এর মত আর এর মূল প্রতিদ্বন্দী হবে গুগলের অ্যান্ড্রয়েড স্মার্টফোন।

মোজিলার এই নতুন স্মার্টফোন আর বিটুজি অপারেটিং সিস্টেম সমসাময়িক মোবাইলফোনগুলোতে সফটওয়্যারের ব্যবহারের ধারাই বদলে দেবে বলে ব্রাজিলের সাও পাওলোর এক সংবাদ সম্মেলনে জানান মোজিলা চিফ এক্সিকিউটিভ গ্যারি কোভাকস।

মোজিলার এই নতুন স্মার্টফোন কোন মোবাইল নির্মাতা প্রতিষ্ঠান তৈরি করবে তা নিশ্চিত না হলেও জানা গেছে, এর দাম অন্য যে কোনো স্মার্টফোনের মতই হবে। আন স্মার্টফোনটি এ বছরের শেষ ভাগে না হলেও ২০১৩-র শুরুতেই বাজারে আসবে বলেই নিশ্চিত করেছে ব্রাজিলের টেলিফোনিকা ভিভো।

Computer power stacks up for flood mitigation

The best tools to mitigate the effects of floods such as those we’ve seen recently literally splashed across our TV screens may not be levies or sandbags, but computers.

Wee Waa, Moree and Wagga Wagga – towns that to many people have previously been just dots on maps – recently made headlines, for all the wrong reasons. TV news footage showed these towns deluged with murky water from rivers swollen by record downpours. Residents, emergency services and local mayors could only assess the damage and do the best they could as they waited for damaging flood waters to recede.

While floods like this will always occur, it is possible for agencies and communities to prepare and respond more effectively. Computer power is the key: it can model fluids such as flood waters incredibly accurately. Data about specific landscapes and regions can be combined with mathematical equations of how fluids behave and move, helping emergency managers, town planners and even insurance companies be prepared for future floods.

The data deluge in sciences such as environmental modelling is every bit as awesome as the real-life deluges experienced recently in NSW. Resource managers and planners are beginning to take notice of the power of computational fluid modelling for understanding and analysing vast amounts of environmental data, and for predicting changes due to floods. Computer modelling power is based on both the power of computers themselves and the power of the algorithms (computer processing steps) that run on computers.

Twice each year, the world’s fastest supercomputers are ranked in the ‘Top500 list’. A standard test called the Linpack benchmark compares computers' speeds and energy consumption. Computer owners such as universities and government data centres, technology companies such as Intel, and supercomputer geeks all eagerly await the latest list. In November 2011, for the first time, the number one computer on the list – Japan’s ‘K computer’ – clocked in at more than 10 petaflops, doing more than 10 quadrillion calculations per second.1 Less than three years ago, these speeds were unimaginable. Every ten years, supercomputers speed up about 1000 times. (This acceleration in processing power eventually makes its way to our desktops, mobile phones and other devices.)

CSIRO’s greenest supercomputer – a relatively new type of supercomputer called a graphics processing unit (GPU) cluster – has made the Top500 several times since its launch in November 2009. It ranked 212 in the November 2011 list. Located in Canberra, it’s one of the world’s fastest and least energy-hungry supercomputers. Intriguingly, the GPUs at its heart started out as graphics rendering hardware for computer games. So, it’s no surprise that the cluster – now a workhorse for many scientists in CSIRO – can produce informative and stunning animations as it rapidly crunches enormous numbers of numbers. ‘In recent years, the huge increase in computer power and speed, along with advances in algorithm development, have allowed mathematical modellers like us to make big strides in our research,’ says Mahesh Prakash of CSIRO's computational modelling team, led by Dr Paul Cleary. ‘Now, we can model millions, even billions of fluid particles,’ says Dr Prakash. ‘That means we can predict quite accurately the effects of natural and man-made fluid flows like tsunamis, dam breaks, floods, mudslides, coastal inundation and storm surges.’

A dam break, for example, is essentially a human-made flood. Like a flood caused by excessive rainfall, a dam break can be modelled on computer.

The models create colourful and detailed animations that show how rapidly the water moves and where it goes: where it ‘overtops’ hills and how quickly it reaches towns or infrastructure such as power stations. This information can help town planners plan structures such as levies and help emergency services respond more efficiently.

CSIRO’s dam break models have been validated using historical data from the St Francis Dam break, which occurred in California in 1928 and killed more than 400 people. Dr Prakash and his team have used the validated modelling techniques for a range of ‘what-if’ scenarios for other dams.

Working with the Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping, the CSIRO team simulated the hypothetical collapse of the massive Geheyan Dam: one of the world's biggest. CSIRO combined their unique modelling techniques with digital terrain models (3-D maps of the landscape) to obtain a realistic picture of how a real-life disaster might unfold.

These evidence-based fluid-modelling tools can also help decision makers manage dam operations during excessive rainfall, for example, allowing them to determine when to undertake controlled water releases and how much water to release.

The future of computer modelling of floods and other natural disasters can only improve as computers and algorithms become more powerful. CSIRO's own supercomputer arsenal will be given a boost when its GPU cluster is upgraded this year. The tender was won by Xenon Systems of Melbourne and the upgrade is currently taking place. The leader of CSIRO’s computational and simulation sciences team, Dr John Taylor, says the upgrade will open up even more possibilities. ‘We're anticipating a significant boost in computational performance and greater compatibility with the next generation of accelerator cards, all achieved using less energy per calculation,’ says Dr Taylor.

Flood modellers, regional planners and emergency managers – watch this space!

View a clip on computational fluid modelling for disaster management here.

Hackers Amplified DNS

Anonymous hacker group is known worldwide for taking down a number of important sites, including FBI, Interpol, Panda Security, and the US Department of Justice. Now they move further and are going after the Web’s entire Domain Name System.

Of course, bringing the whole DNS down isn’t a very easy task. Anonymous is now planning on using the DNS itself as a weapon, and is developing a next-generation instrument named DNS amplification to reach this goal. The so-called “gadget” is expected to hack into an integral part of the web’s global address book, sending enormous data packets to the affected machines without revealing the source of attack. The suggested scheme becomes possible thanks to vulnerability in the DNS system, which actually exists for a decade already.

If you take a look from the inside, you would see that the DNS system is working on a strict hierarchy. At its top there are “root” nameservers. You can accomplish DNS lookup just by obtaining access to various levels of the hierarchy. Meanwhile, there’re 2 methods a DNS resolver is working: the first is iterative mode, and the second is recursive mode. In the first mode, the resolver first queries the root nameservers for the top-level domain’s nameservers, and after this it queries the top-level domain’s nameserver for the 2nd level, and so on. When contacting the various nameservers, the resolver will either find an answer or give up because of lack of it.

In the second case (the recursive mode), the resolver’s task becomes easier – it will be asking for one DNS server for the whole name, after which the server will do all the necessary requests for it.

There are numerous benefits of DNS amplification. For instance, the source of the attack could be hidden with UDP via forged headers. In addition, different VPNs could also be used as extra-precaution, because Tor’s services don’t function on UDP traffic. Therefore, due to the fact that DNS amplification relies on UDP (a connection-free protocol), the sent packets can’t be easily circumvented.

The industry experts seem worried. They point out that if Anonymous do manage to pull this stunt, there won’t be much that they can’t do in retaliation to the ongoing anti-piracy cyberwar, started by the US authorities.

New Platform for Freelancers, Content Creators and Businesses

FileQu is a recently launched Internet-based file-sharing and storage platform. Its creators have decided to build a communications bridge between freelancers, musicians, small businesses, and everyone else using the web.

Created by Bonheur Media, the new service is a fully customizable file-sharing platform which provides its users with possibility to easily and securely upload, store, and share files with anyone else online. The service is fully customizable, which means that you will be able to add your corporate logo, select colors and themes, and do whatever you want to make your business look how you want it to.

The platform is using an enhanced method of sharing files, but this isn’t all. You won’t even have to install software on your PC in order to view or upload files, because everything can be done via your account.

In addition, Bonheur Media has incorporated a user-friendly e-mail sharing system that will allow users to invite and share files with someone outside of their accounts by providing that individual with a secure link through e-mail for instant file downloads.

The Chief Executive Officer of Bonheur Medias and founder of FileQu, Ignacio Garcia-Huidobro, added that the system in question would also allow users to set an expiration date on the invitations they sent out. In other words, when the invitation expires, it won’t be valid any longer, and the invited user won’t be allowed to view the file any longer as well. The company is sure that its users will be absolutely satisfied. The platform isn’t free, it is currently offering a price tag of $4.99 per month, which will provide you with 100GB storage limit, 2GB upload limit, and many other features.