Some favourite Kenyan Tech Mailing Lists

I have been asked severally by pals to forward them to some of the insightful Tech-Mailing lists but haven't come around to each one so this one should do atleast for now. (Mnajijua...)

Kenya Internet Users Forum (General Users and Techies)
ke-internetusers mailing list
Send to: ke-internetusers@bdix.net
Register at: http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

Kenya ICT Action Network (Policy and Governance)
kictanet mailing list
Send to: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
Register at: http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet

Skunk-Works KE (Techie Mailing List)
Skunkworks mailing list
Send to: Skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke
Register at: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
Other services @ http://my.co.ke
Other lists
-------------
Skunkworks announce: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce
Science - http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science
kazi - http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general

Ubuntu Kenyan LocoTeam (Ubuntu users Mailing List)
Ubuntu-ke Mailing List
Send to: ubuntu-ke@lists.ubuntu.com.
Register at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/Ubuntu-ke


Hey people feel free to add in the comments if I've left some out...

Nominees for the Kalasha Awards

As I had mentioned earlier, we shall soon be celebrating the stars of Kenyan Film and Television. Hyped to be the Oscar's of Kenya, the Kalasha Awards are scheduled to be held on Saturday June the 29th, at the Canivore.

It's dissapointing though that there is no category for animation. Kenya Film commission, what happened to this? (comment by Alex Gakuru at 1.40pm)

NOMINEE LIST :

1. FILM AWARDS:
   
   a) Best Leading Actor
   
   I. Peter King [Formula X]
   II. Mburu Kimani [The Race]
   III. Godfrey Odhiambo [Malooned]
   IV. Ken Ambani [From a Whisper]
   
   b) Best supporting Actor
   
   I. Abubakar Mwenda [From a Whisper]
   II. Peter Kinuthia [Unseen Unsung Unforgotten]
   III. Melvin Alusa [Formula X]
   IV. Paul Njoka [By Any Means Necessary]
   
   c) Best Leading Actress
   
   I. Nice Githinji [All Girls Together]
   II. Karen Lucas [Dance For Wives]
   III. Janet Kirina [Benta]
   IV. Corine Onyango [From a Whisper]
   
   d) Best Supporting Actress
   
   I. Mumbi Maina [Unseen Unsung Unforgotten]
   II. Wambui Murima [Backlash]
   III. Lydia Gitachu [Unseen Unsung Unforgotten]
   IV. Mama Njeri [Village Cassanova]
   
   e) Best Cinematography
   
   I. Unseen Unsung Unforgotten
   II. Formula X
   III. From a Whisper
   IV. Killer Necklace
   
   f) Best Editing
   
   I. From a Whisper
   II. Uncovering the Media
   III. Unseen Unsung Unforgotten
   IV. Formula X
   
   g) Best Scriptwriter in Original Screenplay
   
   I. Cajetan Boy [Backlash]
   II. Wanuri Kahiu [From a Whisper]
   III. Steve Ominde [Formula X]
   IV. Mona Ombogo [Unseen Unsung Unforgotten]
   
   h) Best Film Overall
   
   I. From a Whisper
   II. Benta
   III. Backlash
   IV. Unseen Unsung Unforgotten.
   
   i) Best Director
   
   I. Wanuri Kahiu [From a Whisper]
   II. Judy Kibinge [Killer Necklace]
   III. Robby Bresson [Help]
   IV. Mona Ombogo/ Njoki Mbuthia [Unseen Unsung Unforgotten]
   
   j) Best Documentary Feature
   
   I. Mo & Me
   II. Uncovering the Media
   III. A Voice in the Dark
   IV. Unquiet
   
   k) Best Short film
   
   I. The Killer Necklace
   II. Dance For Wives
   III. Wale Watu
   IV. Zeinabu Rudi Nyumbani
   
   l) Best River wood film
   
   I. The Race
   II. Machangi
   III. Family Betrayal
   IV. Village Cassanova
   
   
2. TELEVISION AWARDS:
   
   a) Best Actor in a Television Series
   
   I. Rabron Osanyo (Jack) [Mother-in-Law]
   II. Joseph Kinuthia (Omosh) [Tahidi High]
   III. Tony Njuguna [Makutano Junction]
   IV. Charles Bukeko (Papa) [Papa Shirandula]
   
   b) Best Actress in a Television Series
   
   I. Linet Atieno (Hilda) [Wash and Set]
   II. Jackline Nyaminde (Wilbroda) [Papa Shirandula]
   III. Elizabeth Wanjiru (Charity-Shosh) [Mother-in-Law]
   IV. Lucy Wangui (Judge) [Vioja Mahakamani]
   
   c) Best Performance in a Comedy
   
   I. Charles Bukeko (Papa)-[Papa Sirandula]
   II. Daniel Ndambuki (Churchhill)-[Churchill]
   III. Benson Wanjau (Ojwang)-[Vitimbi]
   IV. Davis Mwambili (Inspekta Mwala)- [Inspekta Mwala]
   
   d) Best TV Drama
   
   I. Makutano Junction
   II. Heartbeat FM
   III. Tahidi High
   IV. Better Days
   
   e) Best Comedy Program
   
   I. Churchill live
   II. Papa Shirandula
   III. Vioja Mahakamani
   IV. Vitimbi
   
   f) Best Talk Show
   
   I. The Woman’s Show
   II. Time Yetu
   III. Agenda Kenya
   IV. Hatua
   
   g) Best TV Program Overall
   
   I. Makutano Junction
   II. The Woman’s Show
   III. Destination Kenya
   IV. Churchill Live
   
   h) Best TV Script
   
   I. Joseph Wachira [Tahidi High]
   II. Mwenda Njoka [J.M.Karuiki-Kenya’s Secret History Series]
   III. Natasha Likimani/Wanjiru Kairu [Tabasamu]
   IV. Jennifer Gatero [Better Days]
   
   i) Best TV Producer
   
   I. Catherine Wamuyu Nguku [Mother-in-Law]
   II. Tony Mwite [Wash and Set]
   III. Irene Mukonyoro [Makutano Junction]
   IV. Anthony Lukhwile [Churchill Live]
   
   j) Best TV Director
   
   I. Victor Gatonye [Makutano Junction]
   II. Edwin Nyongesa [Wakilisha]
   III. Mudegu Kibwana Onguso [Papa Shirandula]
   IV. Matthew Robinson [Heartbeat FM]
   
   k) Best TV Documentary
   
   I. Making of a Nation
   II. J.M. Karuiki-Kenya’s Secret History Series
   III. Nobel Pokot Girl
   IV. Rite of Passage

For more information check out the Kalasha Awards website here.

Africa Jobs through Microsoft Students-to-Business

Are you a graduating student looking for an internship or a job in the IT field? Are you a Microsoft Partner or Customer hoping to recruit students with the skills to meet the demands of today’s technology industry?

Welcome to Microsoft Students to Business, a community initiative connecting Microsoft, Microsoft Partners and Customers, with technology students from leading universities and colleges.

To register for the programme as either a current/ex-student or a potential employer visit the WECA Portal here and you stand a chance to recruit or get employment.

*The WECA portal is for the following countries : Kenya, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Senegal .If your country is not listed there , please visit www.microsoft.com/s2b to find it.

Reduce Data Rate and Increase Speed on Safaricom

Since web 2.0 became real, most of web users are not necessarily geeks and few I know have experimented with Opera on the Desktop. Thought I'd share a trick I learnt that actually works(very few that I learn do... hehe).

pera Turbo(Beta) is a server-side optimization and compression technology that speeds up data transfer and to reduces the amount of data that needs to be downloaded in order to view the page by up to 80%. Now this is quite something if you feel exploited by the TelCon's Data Rates in Kenya if you are charged by the MB. It does also speed up your EDGE if you are inZane. So far I'm doing rates of abit more than HALF of what I was using meaning my bundles last TWICE as long.

You can download the test version of Opera Turbo right here and start playing around with it right away.

There are however some drawbacks which are tweak-able trade-offs for compression like getting hazy images but if you may be desperate for information/research/mail (not really media and you-tubing) this is the tool for you. For torrenters it also has a built-in client. I am still testing and discovering, so I'll update.

PS: Telkom-Orange have a bundle of 2GB for 2K. Sounds quite enticing. Early reviewers sound happy about their EDGE quality. It should be worth checking out.