Sierra eRiders | Empowering ICT Across Sierra Leone -

Kenya cable ushers in broadband era

The first of four undersea cables bringing high-speed internet to eastern Africa has gone live. The BBC's Anne Waithera, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, finds a nation impatient to join the broadband revolution.

In a busy cyber cafe in Nairobi dozens of people, mostly young, are hunched over computers surfing the net.

FOSSWAY - FOSS Advocacy in West Africa and Beyond

FOSSFA, in collaboration with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), has recently launched “FOSSWAY - FOSS Advocacy in West Africa and Beyond”, a 3 year advocacy project to increase the awareness and use of FOSS in the Western part of the African continent at all levels, including academia, educational institutions, the media, SMEs, and governments. The project will also advocate for consideration of FOSS issues in the formulation of policies and standards in the sub-region. It will establish researched and accurate data on ICT use, software needs and expenditure, FOSS implementation total cost of ownership, opportunity costs, expectations and emerging trends in West African countries.

Ubuntu set to debut on netbooks

Mobile phone chip designer Arm has announced an alliance with the makers of the Ubuntu open source software.

The deal will produce a version of the operating system for small net-browsing computers known as netbooks.

Inveneo ICTs for healthcare come to Sierra Leone

In March of 2008, Inveneo team members Jim Wiggins, Jeff Wishnie, and Eric Blantz traveled to Sierra Leone to work with the World Health Organization (WHO)/Health Metrics Network to install a series of pilot healthcare data systems at five locations – four district health offices and the Sierra Leone Ministry of Health. Two of sites were in the capital city, Freetown, while the other three were up-country, in Koidu, Makeni, and Moyamba.

Dell to use Ubuntu on Linux PCs

Computer maker Dell has chosen Ubuntu as the operating system for its range of Linux computers for consumers.

Fans of Linux hope that the move will persuade more mainstream PC users to abandon Microsoft Windows and opt for the open-source operating system.

London-based firm Canonical, the lead sponsor of the Ubuntu project, will ensure the software works on Dell PCs.

Ubuntu includes software like office programs, e-mail, a browser, instant messaging software and a media player.

Radio goes the open source route

A new generation of broadcasters are to join the world's airwaves after the launch of open-source software which allows people to run a radio station from a single computer for free.

Campcaster takes a regular PC and turns it into a tool for managing every aspect of a radio station broadcast.

Space tourist promotes open source

On this week's edition of BBC technology programme Digital Planet South African space tourist and open source evangelist Mark Shuttleworth talks about the developing world's need for technology solutions.

As he walked across the campus of London's Imperial College, casually dressed in jeans and trainers, Mark Shuttleworth hardly stood out from the hordes of students making their way between lectures.