Traditionally, the greatest power that governments have held over their people has been information. The promise that connectivity brings to Africa is that people are now using that abundance of information for oversight of government and more interaction with administrations. To say that the propagation of internet and mobile connectivity in Africa has been disruptive is an understatement. A number of web and mobile applications are undermining the efforts of dictators and totalitarian governments, allowing them to be more readily be held accountable for their actions. In this post we (Read the full post about ‘Social Media in Africa, Part 3: Democracy’…)

Mammograms & Margaritas. Making strides against breast cancer one margarita at a time. IP Casino proudly supports breast cancer awareness month. Advertising Agency: Red Square Agency, Mobile, USA Creative Directors: Rich Sullivan, Matt Whitfield Art Directors: Matt Whitfield, Stephean Grimes, Daryl Evans Copywriter: Chris Stoltz Photographer: Miller Mobley Published: October 2008 Source: www.holgerappel.com

You know how RealNetworks confidently launched a commercial DVD ripping program and then went and pre-emptively sued a bunch of movie studios to demonstrate in court that the software doesn’t infringe on copyrights? Yeah, the studios sued back. And while the courts figure out how to deal with the whole mess, RealNetworks has been ordered to stop selling the RealDVD software.NewTeeVee reports that this is just a temporary shutdown until Tuesday. The purpose is to give the judge time to review the details of the case.Meanwhile, there are still plenty of applications that will let you rip DVDs (Read the full post about ‘US Court temporarily prohibits RealDVD sales’…)

I love Windows XP’s file and settings transfer tool. It makes backing up customer data prior to a reformat a painless procedure, and I’ve never had any problems with the app itself. I’ve forgotten it doesn’t automatically grab .pst files, but that’s my own damn fault. But what can you do when Windows won’t boot? Running a repair isn’t a great option: the setup could run into trouble, and then you’re right back where you started. Fab’s Autobackup is a slick, free utility that I wish I’d come across a long, long time ago. It’s available as a PE Builder plugin or as portable application. The (Read the full post about ‘Can’t get Migwiz to run? Fab’s Autobackup to the rescue!’…)

In this web-enabled world of ours, you have to wonder why business cards are still so popular. Shouldn’t there be a better way? A number of startups have attempted to address this problem with ingenious solutions that range from iPhone apps to custom URLs. Others are calling for the use of QR Codes for mobile data exchange. Unfortunately, no one service has hit the sweet spot just yet, but newcomer “E” thinks they have it figured out. Will “E” succeed where the others have failed? Or is this one industry that refuses to become digitized? HelloMyNameIsE.com You have to appreciate E’s (Read the full post about ‘E Wants To Be The Future of Networking’…)

There’s been more than enough hullabaloo about Google Chrome lately. Hell, Michael Arrington even thinks it’s a “Microsoft Killer” and is “nothing less than a full on desktop operating system that will compete head on with Windows.” Oh wow.If Chrome is so great, then how is it that K-Meleon beats the pants off it in all my testing? Even as I compose this post in Blogsmith I notice the difference. For one, all my WSYWIG buttons appear. Chrome can’t manage that.For starters, you’ll only be downloading the K-Meleon install file or a 7-zip archive (yes, it’s portable!). There’s no (Read the full post about ‘Where’s the Browser Love for K-Meleon?’…)

If you haven’t checked it out yet, the Windows Live Messenger 2009 Beta is now available for download. Yes, it’s the same horrid installer. It has obviously undergone some changes, though, and isn’t quite as bad as the previous version. My apps downloaded and installed on the first try, a stark contrast to my numerous failures with the last Live Installer. Live Messenger’s UI has received a lot of attention, including a much improved chat window. Display pictures and the chat toolbar slide in and out of view, and the conversation styling is clean and readable. I’d like to see tabbed (Read the full post about ‘Live Messenger 2009 Beta Looking Good’…)

Watch carefully.. I’m about to talk like a pirate. Arrh. Avast. Shiver me.. oh forget it. It’s officially “Talk Like a Pirate Day” the world over. Talking like a pirate is kinda lame. It’s been done. It’s so 2004. Since we’ve had it up to here with co-workers and their clever attempts to recreate a pirate past that never was a cute or cuddly as the fantasy pirates of today, we decided to go a different direction. Welcome to Download Squad’s “Download Like a Pirate Day”. It’s just like that other day except, well, lot’s and lots better. We’ll keep you fat and happy throughout the day with ways (Read the full post about ‘Download Like a Pirate Day’…)

Web applications that function like familiar desktop apps are all the rage these days. Web apps already have the advantage of being accessible from everywhere, but add in a UI that works like something users already know, and you’ve got something pretty cool. Cappuccino is an up-and-coming way of getting this done, and the code is now all open-source. It’s a framework for building apps like this using some tools that are already pretty standard on the web, like Javascript, combined with what’s basically a port of Apple’s Cocoa APIs, and tying it all together with a language called (Read the full post about ‘Cappuccino and Objective-J make for a tasty open-source web app framework’…)

WinZip is sort of the Xerox/Kleenex of the compression world. While many geeks prefer alternate file compression utilities like 7-zip, TUGZip, or WinRar, you’re more likely to find WinZip installed on any given office computer. And with the launch of WinZip 12, the developers have shown that they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.Probably the biggest changes in WinZip 12 have to do with its handling of image files. WinZip now has the ability to compress JPEG files by up to 25% without any quality loss. There’s also a new Zip from Camera Wizard that makes it easier to grab files (Read the full post about ‘WinZip 12 supports lossless JPG compression’…)