Forbes has named the ten African Internet millionaires it believes are worth watching as Africa’s technology sector accelerates.

According to the magazine, the ten are:

• Nigeria’s Abasiama Idaresit of WildFusion
• South Africa’s Justin Clarke and Kenya’s Carey Eaton of One Africa Media
• Nigeria’s Jason Njoku of iRokoTV
• Namibia’s Herman Heunis of MXit
• South Africa’s Adii Pienaar of Woothemes
• South Africa’sRonnie Apteker of Internet Solutions
• South Africa’s Gary Levitt of Mad Mimi
• Kenya’s Ayisi Makatiani of Africa Online
• Kenya’s Njeri Rionge of Wananchi Online

Read the full story here.

The Maker Faire Africa conference provides a platform for artists, engineers and other creative people to present technological innovation and other unique endeavors.

This year’s show was held in Nairobi, Kenya on August 27-28.

Maker Faire Africa 2010 from Chika Oduah on Vimeo.

Is it possible to develop software applications in Africa that respond to civil society needs? Techies, or technologists, in East Africa say “yes!” and will set out to do exactly that with “Apps 4 Africa,” a contest that challenges software developers to respond to specific needs described by people in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda.

Sponsored by Appfrica Labs of Kampala, the Innovation Hub (iHub) of Nairobi, the Social Development Network (SODNET) of Nairobi, and the U.S. State Department, the contest was launched July 1 at iHub, an innovation hub and community workspace for local technologists. The contest runs through August 31.

The State Department hosted a webchat July 9 where three of the software developers involved in creating Apps 4 Africa answered questions from a global audience about the contest and what it could accomplish. The software developers — Josh Goldstein and Jon Gosier, Americans who have worked in technology development in Africa, and Kenyan Philip Thigo of SODNET — said they see the contest as a way to link civil society needs in East Africa with home-grown technology solutions.

Thigo told webchat participants that his passion is “enabling citizens and the non-profit sector to strategically use technology to create change,” and said he sees the contest as “a much needed conversation between civil society and techies.”

There is a cultural gap, Goldstein said, between technologists who get excited about high tech and community leaders who get excited about usability. Apps 4 Africa can be a step in bridging that gap.

Goldstein said the contest will challenge technologists in East Africa to build applications that are useful to the public. The contest is “about giving citizens a platform to share ideas about how technology can help improve their lives,” he said.

The contest website, www.apps4africa.org, provides a place for civil society organizations and individuals to submit project ideas, describing needs or problems that could be addressed by technology. Projects on the website propose apps, for example, to help day laborers find work, respond to victims of sexual violence, track microloans, connect teachers and students, help people with disabilities, and enhance public health and safety.

The website also provides a space for African technologists to connect with mentors and network on the collaboration page, as they seek to design software solutions to meet project needs. Gosier predicted the contest will serve to “showcase the knowledge capacity available in Africa.”

What kinds of apps can be considered? All kinds, said the organizers, responding to questions. Gosier said the medium — mobile device, computer — is not as important as the functionality and the problems the developers will attempt to solve.

Apps will be judged on four criteria, according to Goldstein: usefulness to citizens; potential for the application to be useful for other, global users; usability; and originality. Thigo emphasized that the apps must be “simple and applicable to the regional context,” and must be effective in improving the lives of communities and the work of civil society. Developers can even submit existing apps.

A group of civil society and technology activists will judge the competition, Goldstein said. “We brought together an amazing group of judges — civil society and tech industry luminaries from around the world.”

The judges, Africans and Americans, include: Joseph Mucheru, the regional leader for Google in sub-Saharan Africa; Ory Okolloh, a Kenyan lawyer, political activist and blogger; Anil Dash, technologist, blogger and founding director of Expert Labs; Nathan Eagle, mobile phone developer and chief executive officer of txteagle; Tim O’Reilly, computer book publisher and blogger on emerging technology trends; Rakesh Rajani, Tanzanian founder of citizen-centered initiative Twaweza and a fellow of the Harvard Global Equity Initiative; Thomas Gibian, executive chairman of Emerging Capital Partners; and Emeka Okafor, venture capitalist, entrepreneur and “Timbuktu Chronicles” blogger.

Prizes, as detailed on the website, include “a small bit of fame and fortune — cash, gadgets, chances to improve your technical skills and the opportunity to hobnob with our judges panel of tech luminaries and civil society leaders at an awards ceremony in September.” The contest runs through August 31.

A  first for Africa

Editor’s note: The author first wrote this for his blog Whiteafrican.com. Republished here by permission.

Gone are
the days where you had to have lived in Nairobi for a couple of years before you
understood all the back roads and neighborhoods in order to get from one place
to another. Kenya has an advantage in the fact that the only non-sales office
in all of Africa for Google is here. When they create new tools, or customize a
feature from the developing world, for Africa they do it here in their own
backyard first.

In December, Google turned on mapping directions for Kenya. Like me, most of the people who know Nairobi were shocked and didn’t believe it. Could this really work? It does, and it works well.

I’ve been testing it out for the last week to see what type of results I get, and I’ve been impressed with the results. Fortunately I have my iPhone with me, and it allows me to do things like challenge Google/Apple to find my current location and then give directions from that location to somewhere in Nairobi that I happen know every back road, alley and footpath between.

Shortcomings

As omnipotent as Google seems to be, what they’re unable to do is track the vagaries of Nairobi traffic. So, as logical as the directions you get from Google might seem, they are not the best way to go much of the time. While they give accurate directions for new people to Nairobi to follow, they are also the “obvious” route and will cost you hours of sitting in gridlock while you watch the matatu’s (public minibuses) clog the road even further.

[NPI Float=”none”]/Media/0/png/2010/1/24535e78-cc9b-9c81-d8843f6d0142407a.png[/NPI]

Lack of detail on the maps

Some areas, even large towns like Ongata Rongai aren’t even shown on the map. Below is the failure screen for getting directions from Rongai to Eastleigh. I had to go with Langata instead, as that was the next closest “town” in Google Maps. This pattern holds true for dirt roads and paths that are usable by vehicles, but which don’t show up on the map.

[NPI Float=”none”]/Media/5/jpg/2010/1/243c0b85-947a-a9d2-33a95216769ae0a3.jpg[/NPI]

I’ve also seen this in regards to offices and buildings, where they are put on the wrong part of the road, sometimes off by a good half kilometer, as was my father’s office in Upper Hill shown below.

[NPI Float=”none”]/Media/36/jpg/2010/1/244c94eb-ff58-c750-0a23d0de12452a19.jpg[/NPI]

Final Thoughts

Anyone living or working in Kenya should buy a drink for every intern and Google employee who has done the manual work to get Kenya mapped to the level that it is. It’s an iterative process that only gets better as time goes by and more people work on it.
As Google states:

“This essential tool is by no means Google’s effort alone – we’re enormously grateful to Kenya’s active online cartographers who have helped us build these maps from ground up with the use of Google Map Maker, a tool that allows people to help create a map by adding or editing features such as roads, businesses, parks, schools and more.”

The directions provided by Google in Nairobi (I haven’t tested up-country) are adequate. They’ll get you to and from the locations in Nairobi that you need to go. You’re better off now than you were before, and as someone new to the city you’ll have a lot better luck with Google’s maps and directions than you’ll have with asking someone on the side of the road.

The creation of this new swimsuit has proven very successful such that three world records were broken at competitions in Missouri and Australia within a week of its launch. The swimsuit allows swimmers to consume 5 percent less oxygen at a specific speed, allowing them to swim faster.

Morvan’s team in Nottingham, the Computational Fluid Dynamics gurus, specializes in the computer representation of fluid flow. The CFD technique is technologically advancing in that it serves not just to decrease design times but also to increase productivity as it locates areas on the body that created the most drag.

During the development of this futuristic swimsuit, Speedo AQUALAB (to which Morvan is serving as an advisor) examined over 400 athletes to optimize shapes, sizes and contours. This study also includes high ranking athletes such as Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin, whose body scans were used in building the suit. Morvan’s team used the CFD study to identify areas of high friction on each athlete’s body.

Morvan states that CFD enabled them to closely align the suit to fit the athlete’s body with regards to the athlete’s physiological and bio-mechanical requirements as well as their skin or motion reaction. Polyurethane membranes with 24 percent lower drag have been placed in only a few prominent positions on the suit, replacing the woven fabric that was used in previous designs. Further developments on the new suit are underway in preparation for the 2012 Olympics in London but as of now, the latest version has 5 percent less passive drag than Speedo’s previous version.

This high-tech new suit features “ultra low zippers” and depends on “ultrasonic welding” that enables it to cause even less drag. The question is will this new world-shattering, performance-enhancing suit be too swift for the 2012 Olympics?

Sporting an aluminum-colored coating, the MacBook Air looks almost invisible when closed due to thin slice-thin appearance. It features a 13.3 inch LED back-lit widescreen display, a full-size keyboard and of course Apple’s famous multi-touch feature similar to the iPhone. Just like the iPhone, you spread your fingers to enlarge images or zoom out and squeeze them together to zoom in.

In addition, it has a built-in iSight web camera, a 1.8 inch 80 GB hard disk drive, also similar to the hard drive found in Apple’s iPhone, and a 1.6GHz Intel Core Duo processor and it also has the option to upgrade to a 1.8 GHz Intel Duo Core processor. The 1.8 GHZ MacBook Air laptop will be going for a whopping $3,098.

Apple’s newest lean machine also has a built-in 802.11 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 EDR capabilities. It is designed for wireless networking or personal wireless computing and is ideal for professionals always on the move. It is very portable and can literally fit in an interoffice manila envelope.

Where images are concerned, the MacBook air has set the tone. It produces high quality images rich in color through its 1280 by 800 pixel resolution. This futuristic laptop was streamlined in many aspects in that it is also environment friendly and can be recycled easily.

The Toshiba Tekbright digital photo frame allows you to display your digital photos in your living room in the blink of an eye. Effortlessly and continuously, view photos of your beautiful loved ones without having to dig up old dusty photo albums.

The technology that makes this all possible is recent. The Toshiba Tekbright 7-inch digital photo frame is a picturesque gadget that allows us to instantly share precious memories. The Toshiba digital photo frame has an exquisite modern look that encompasses a user-friendly interface, producing quality images through its built-in card reader.

This newly surfaced technology is a must have as it would nicely blend in with your contemporary home furnishings assuming you are into trendy artifacts. It accepts several photo formats as well as MP3s. In addition, the newly released Toshiba photo frame features a 64MB built-in flash memory, a 7-inch LCD touch screen with a 720×480 pixel resolution and a USB 2.0 connection to name a few. The digital photo frame is currently going for $134.99 after an instant $15 rebate.
   
Smart Features:
•    User-friendly Interface
•    Easily view, download and copy photos
•    Has a USB cable that directly connects to your computer
•    7-inch high resolution TFT display
•    Displays in form of slide shows, thumbnails and full screen pictures
•    Internal memory storage for up to 60 photos
•    Accepts SD, MS, MMS, MS PRO, xD and CF memory card formats
•    Enables automatic turning on and off at set times
•    Brightness control
•    Supports JPEG, BMP formats
•    Has one year limited warranty

This hottest stylish Toshiba photo frame would come in handy for those who did not get a chance to meet up with cherished ones over the holidays. You can also connect it to your 21-inch screen laptop for editing as well. It also allows for music to concurrently play in the background while randomly flashing treasured memories.

If you are getting rid of your old computer and you still have your personal information saved on it, never forget to format your hard drive. The importance of purging your entire hard drive before giving it away is to reduce the possibility of it being placed in the wrong hands. This could lead to your personal or any other sensitive information being exposed.

When a file is deleted on your computer, it still remains on the computer and the old data can be recovered by an expert. Purging your hard drive comes into play especially if you are thinking of giving away your PC to a stranger, but if you’re giving it to a family member or a trusted colleague, then this is not necessary and a simple deletion of unnecessary files is adequate. But there are still chances of a trusted person unknowingly disposing of the computer without reformatting the drive.

Reformatting the hard drive
One of the simplest ways to reformat your hard drive is to reinstall a new operating system. If you already have a copy of Windows XP or Vista, you can simply pop the disk in the CD/DVD ROM after turning off the PC and letting it boot from the disk. You are then given an option to format the disk as it installs the new operating system.

Another method is to create a boot disk by going online to www.bootdisk.com, downloading the DOS file that is compatible with your Operating System, saving it to a floppy and then booting your PC from the floppy.

If this is too complicated for you or if you are not tech savvy, you can merely remove the hard drive from the PC (make sure that you touch the PC’s metal case before doing so or you might damage the motherboard as a result of the circuits getting damaged from static caused) and then shuttering the hard rive until it is completely ruined.

On the other hand, if you do not intend on giving away your PC and simply want to free up some space on your hard drive, here’s how to remove unnecessary files and documents.

Steps:
Click on accessories, system tools then disk clean up. Delete documents and files that you no longer need and empty the recycle bin after wards. You can also uninstall unwanted applications that are taking up too much space by going into the control panel, clicking on add/remove software and then select the software you want to uninstall. Delete temporary internet files first by going to tools, clicking on options and click on the “Delete cookies” and “Delete Files” buttons and then on “Clear History”. This does not remove all the temporary internet files. In order to do this you need to go to C:Users<username>AppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsTemporary Internet Files if you have Windows Vista and C:Documents and Settings<username>Local SettingsTemporary Internet Files if you have Windows XP and 2000.

Microsoft, the software monster, has recently introduced its very first multi-touch technology: a coffee table-shaped computer known as “Surface”.

The word “multi-touch” is derived from the fact that data can be manipulated in several ways at the same time and by multiple users. This high-tech “tabletop” PC can be operated with the users fingers and is designed to interact with mobile phones. Apple’s iPhone also uses the same multi-touch concept.

Microsoft says that it will primarily sell its smart table-shaped PC to corporate clients including hotels, restaurants, public entertainment centers and phones stores such as T-Mobile. Initial deployment in these areas will take place in November. Currently, a 30 inch screen costs between $5,000 and $30,000. Cheaper versions will be manufactured for consumers within the next three to five years. Microsoft has plans to release it commercially by the end of the year.

This futuristic surface PC is a true definition of human computer interaction. The user can interact effortlessly with the multi-touch table PC through natural gestures. There is no need for the use of a conventional mouse and keyboard which are becoming obsolete as technology advances. It does not have external USB ports or cables, so the user does not have to worry about tripping over cables or even overloading.

You move things using hands or fingers through the PC’s tabletop. If you want to see an image on the screen get bigger, simply spread your fingers. When you place your Wi-Fi enabled digital camera on the PC’s surface, it pours out the images onto the table for you to edit, print, or do whatever you please with them.

In addition, it uses five infrared scanners to identify real objects placed on the surface and react to them instantaneously. It also has a projector and a wireless modem.

Smart Multi-touch Features:
CPU: A core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, a 2GB graphics card. It uses a modified version of Windows Vista as its Operating System.

Projector: Surface uses a 1024 * 768 pixel light screen
Infrared sensors: It picks up multiple infrared devices such as cameras with a 1280 * 960 resolution.

Multi-touch screen: Recognizes objects by their shapes and capable of processing multiple inputs from multiple users.

Microsoft is confident that Surface will change your experience with technology: “Surface breaks down the traditional barriers between people and technology, providing effortless interaction with digital content.”

Visit the Microsoft website at http://www.microsoft.com/surface/ to sample the interactive features of the Surface.

A pen scanner is a tiny portable pen-like futuristic gadget that has brought users a lot of relief as a result of its mere existence. Pen scanners have been around for some time now, but they keep advancing technologically as time goes by.

Planon’s latest scanner, also known as the DocuPen, is a breakthrough in technological advancement. The DocuPen is a high-tech pen and scanner all-in-one. It also operates on battery for full portability purposes and is capable of storing up to 100 pages into memory, taking about four to eight seconds per page.

This pen scanner stands out because it has the capacity to scan an entire page including graphics in just four seconds. This is in comparison to other pen scanners that can only scan single lines of text at a time and do not have the ability to scan graphics.

The DocuPen is convenient because it accomplishes what other cumbersome scanners and existing pen scanners could not: – substantial portable out-of-office scanning.

Product Specifications

• Manufacturer: Planon
• Price: $270
• Scanner Interface Type: USB
• Max Scan Resolution: 200 x 200
• Operating System: Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP
• Weight: 2 oz
• Flash Memory: 8 MB

How it works
Place the DocuPen on a piece of paper parallel to the text scraping it downward. The built in 8 MB of memory can hold up to 100 pages of black and white text or two full color pages. The memory can be upgraded using a MicroSD memory card. Connect the pen scanner to a computer to view the documents that you have scanned.

Advantages
The DocuPen includes a rechargeable feature that allows it to retain continuous charge without utilizing an additional charging unit. In addition, the batteries automatically charge once the user plugs the pen scanner into a computer’s USB port to download the scanned information. The DocuPen also uses a state-of-the-art feature known as the “dual-roller guiding system and optical registration technology” to boost user experience by creating a smoother more accurate scan.