December 18, 2004
Afrotech briefs
Climate threat 'looms largest for Africa' - Scidev.net 17/12/04
Africa's lack of scientific and technological capacity means it is less prepared for the effects of climate change than any other continent, says a report released by the UK government yesterday (16 December).
Climate change has been blamed for the increasing number of droughts in Tigray, northern Ethiopia - up from one every ten years in the 80s to one every other year today. But, because of the lack of research refered to in the report above, no one is sure if it really is the cause.
Open source is the business - Mail & Guardian (SA)
If you're new to computers, then open source is a whole new universe waiting to be discovered, at no real cost. Almost every kind of application is freely available as open-source software -- from business applications such as word processors, presentation software and spreadsheets to specialist tools such as programming languages and databases.
South Africa's 'Afronaut' Mark Shuttleworth sings the praises of open source in Africa. The continent is becoming the new front in the war between Microsoft and the open source movement. The Seattle software giant has been buying up lots of newspaper advertising space, warning of the hidden risks and costs of open source. Meanwhile South Africa has just launched the continent's first TV show promoting the free software movement - Go-Open.
Posted by aheavens at December 18, 2004 2:40 PM