Joe, Judy et. al.<br><br>Please excuse the length of my response but I fear our common want for brevity (to avoid information overloads:-) too often compromises on thoroughness especially for those inclined to attention to detail and on an issue so dear. <br><br>I have borrowed some info from the Kenya Linux "skunkworks" mailing list. <br><br>Many thanks.<br><br>Alex <br><br> <b><i>Joseph Manthi <jmanthi@gmail.com></i></b> wrote: <br>>How can East Africans be excited by being given something that is absolutely >free to everyone else throughout the world. <br>><br><br>Not exactly! though and understandably, early Gmail adapters we may be excused for taking it granted. <br><br><snip><br>"As is Google's practice, the company has not said when the beta period will<br>end, but Gogh said the company is working on a "premium version" of Google<br>Apps for Education for which there will be a charge.<br><snip><br><br>Allow me to elaborate further because
cost or "free" is at the core.<br><br>*Suppose* one wants 200 Kenya schools (Internauts clubs) to have <br>have web presence calling for ".ke" domain registrations and hosting <br>services. <br><br>AFAIK end user registration cost for every .ke domain is shs 3,500/= <br>(or US$ 50.00), annual domain budget thus would be ksh 700,000/= <br>or US$ 10,000.00.<br><br>The cheapest local annual hosting per domain is kshs 5,000/= or <br>US$ 70 thus for 200 domains I would have to budget for 1 million <br>shillings which is over US$ 14,000.00.<br><br>Besides an annual saving of 1.7 million being a compelling enough <br>reason to be interested in google support, they offer free online <br>support services to educational institutions. I would also save on <br>ISPs "maintenance fees" and use of free google templates would <br>save on website developments costs. <br><br>Going by Gmail's success at nabbing spam, parents would be more <br>comfortable instructing google to filter
undesirable content.<br><br>Would these would be reason enough for me to contemplate google <br>support for the 200 schools? <br><br>---------- Forwarded message ----------<br><br>[Canarie News]<br><br>Date: Jan 3, 2007 6:32 PM<br>Subject: [CAnet - news] More universities switch to Google mail and calendar services<br><br>[Here is another example following UoArizona of how universities and<br>enterprises are switching to e-mail and other services offered by Google and<br>Amazon (for grid services), etc. In fact Mark Gaynor predicted this trend<br>several years ago in a seminal paper "The Real Options Approach to<br>Network-based Service Architecture" where he argued that as innovative<br>applications matured on the Internet they would migrate from an edge based<br>services to a centrally managed service. At the time, most of us thought<br>that the telephone company would be the natural supplier of such services -<br>but they have been largely displaced in that market
by companies like<br>Google, Amazon, etc. Of course, as more universities and institutions move<br>to Google and Amazon for these types of services it may have a major impact<br>on the research network architectures i.e having your own dedicated network<br>pipe to the nearest Google, Amazon server complex. Thanks to Rene Hatem and<br>André Quenneville for this pointer. Some excerpts from the IT business<br>article -- BSA]<br><br>Mark Gaynor's paper:<br>http://www.canarie.ca/conferences/advnet2001/gaynor.ppt<br><br>IT Business article<br>http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=41761<br><br>*Server crash spurs Lakehead to speed up Gmail rollout*<br><br>*Staff switch over more than 38,000 e-mail accounts in three days*<br><br>The university in Thunder Bay, Ont., knew it needed a new e-mail system and<br>had spent several months looking at alternatives before settling on the<br>online application suite from Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc.<br><br>Lakehead
switched over 38,000 e-mail accounts to Google Gmail in three days,<br>with almost no interruption to service.<br>Google also helped out with some extra customer support during the<br>high-pressure changeover, though Kevin Gogh, enterprise product manager at<br>Google, said there was "nothing that (reached) extraordinary levels."<br><br>Besides replacing Lakehead's tottery old e-mail system, the conversion<br>brought some added benefits. Because it is getting the whole suite for no<br>charge and it is entirely hosted by Google rather than on university<br>hardware, the university expects to save $2 million to $3 million a year on<br>maintenance and about $6 million annually on infrastructure.<br><br>And, Jafri said, students, staff and faculty now get 2GB each of storage<br>space, versus 60MB with the old system. In addition, he expects Google to<br>deliver 99 per cent availability. "It's very hard for us to get to that<br>level of availability."<br><br>Now fully
operational on Gmail, Lakehead still has some work to do on other<br>aspects of the conversion. This month, the university will be converting<br>from an ageing in-house calendaring system to the Web calendaring facility<br>included in Google Apps.<br><br>The suite also includes a Web chat capability, and the company will probably<br>add other features, Gogh said. "Our goal with Google Apps for Education is<br>to provide a very rich set of communication tools."<br>The suite has been available free of charge under a beta program since late<br>summer, he said, and universities and colleges that adopt it during that<br>beta period will never have to pay.<br><br>As is Google's practice, the company has not said when the beta period will<br>end, but Gogh said the company is working on a "premium version" of Google<br>Apps for Education for which there will be a charge.<br><br><br> [skunkworks]<br> Please look up this link:<br> <br>
<http://skunkworks-ke.blogspot.com/2007/03/google-in-kenya.html><br> <br> Question: "will Google be bringing in some servers to cache this offering locally ?<br> Coz otherwise it just increases the cost for the university - they have to buy more satellite bandwidth to access the apps remotely."<br> <br> Google Answer: "Thanks for all the comments. Suffice it to say that both of Riyaz's concerns (see comment #1) are being addressed so no worries there."<br> <br>----ends-----<br><br><b><i>Joseph Manthi <jmanthi@gmail.com></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> How can East Africans be excited by being given something that is absolutely free to everyone else throughout the world. <br><br>I can get into these apps without any special previleges. <br><br>You know what they say - you pay for what you get. In this case <a href="http://google.com">google.com</a> is giving UoN and
other colleges nothing that anyone else does not already have.<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote"> On 4/14/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Judy Okite</b> <<a href="mailto:judyokite@gmail.com">judyokite@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"> Joe,<br> <br> I hope that this links will give you a better insight,in regards to your question.<br> <br> <a href="http://www.google.com/a/edu/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.google.com/a/edu/</a><br> <a href="http://www.dashes.com/anil/2006/08/28/google_office_g" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.dashes.com/anil/2006/08/28/google_office_g</a><br> <br> Kind Regards,<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 4/10/07, <b class="gmail_sendername"><a href="mailto:jmanthi@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return
top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">jmanthi@gmail.com</a></b> <<a href="mailto:jmanthi@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">jmanthi@gmail.com</a>> wrote: </span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Members<br>How is this different from anywhere else in the whole wide world. These tools that seem to be exciting people is available to anyone who can access <a href="http://google.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">google.com</a> anywhere in the world.<br><br>How is this a benefit to these colleges?<br><br>Joe<br>Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry <br><br>-----Original Message-----<br>From: "Judy Okite" < <a href="mailto:judyokite@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">judyokite@gmail.com</a>><br>Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007
09:14:45<br>To:Joseph Manthi <<a href="mailto:jmanthi@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> jmanthi@gmail.com</a>><br>Subject: [kictanet] Fwd: [Idlelo2] Google and East african Universities <br><br>This really looks good !<br><br>---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: Dapo Ladimeji <<a href="mailto:dapo@ladimeji.co.uk" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">dapo@ladimeji.co.uk </a>><br>Date: Mon, 09 Apr 2007 16:04:08 +0100<br>Subject: [Idlelo2] Google and East african Universities <br>To: <a href="mailto:idlelo2@fossfa.net" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">idlelo2@fossfa.net</a><br><br><br> East African universities to gain from web tools deal<br><br>The deal will give more students access to communication technologies <br>Kimani Chege <br>26 March 2007<br>Source: SciDev.Net<br><br>[NAIROBI] A software deal signed between
universities in East Africa and<br>the US-based internet giant Google will improve access to web-based<br>communications for staff and students. <br><br>Under the deal, Rwanda's government ministries and three Rwandan<br>universities — the National University of Rwanda, the Kigali Institute<br>for Education and the Kigali Institute for Science and Technology — as <br>well as Kenya's University of Nairobi (UoN) will have free access to<br>Google Apps.<br><br>The applications include email, shared calendars, instant messaging and<br>word processing software, along with the associated support services <br>provided by the corporation.<br><br>The deal, signed last week (19 March), looks set to improve internal<br>communications at UoN and facilitate research, particularly for studies<br>undertaken in remote areas.<br><br> The head of information and communication technology at UoN, Elijah<br>Omwenga, says the email application Gmail will be particularly useful in<br>reducing
the bandwidth required for internal communications by its<br>50,000 students and staff. <br><br>He told SciDev.Net that the institution was facing major challenges in<br>acquiring enough bandwidth.<br><br>"This means our students and staff can access mail from the campuses as<br>well as from outside. This will facilitate communicating all research, <br>even when it is being done in remote areas," said Omwenga.<br><br>However, he called for Google to come up with specific details of the<br>offer, so that Google and the UoN can develop research schemes geared<br> towards Africa's needs — such as developing software in local languages<br>and making it more relevant to the local audience.<br><br>About 20,000 users in Rwanda will have access to Google Apps in the<br>first phase. This will be followed by a broader countrywide introduction. <br><br>Students at UoN will be the first to use Google Apps in Kenya. Software<br>access will then be extended to 150,000 Kenyan students
at universities<br>across the country.<br><br>A Google spokesperson told the International Data Group News Service, <br>"We are exploring other opportunities in both countries, and throughout<br>the region as well."<br><br><br>*Related SciDev.Net articles:*<br>Zambia announces ICT training centre for scientists<br><<a href="http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=3453&language=1" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> http://www.scidev.net/News/index.cfm?fuseaction=readNews&itemid=3453&language=1</a>><br>Web 2.0 can benefit the world's poor<br><<a href="http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=572&language=1" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=572&language=1</a>><br>ICT for development: hope or hype?<br><<a
href="http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=537&language=1" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> http://www.scidev.net/Opinions/index.cfm?fuseaction=readOpinions&itemid=537&language=1</a>><br><br>*Related links:*<br>University of Nairobi <<a href="http://www.uonbi.ac.ke" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"> http://www.uonbi.ac.ke</a>><br> National University of Rwanda <<a href="http://www.nur.ac.rw/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.nur.ac.rw/</a>><br><br>*Photo Credit:* SciDev.Net/Tonks<br><br>*Dossiers:* <br>Technology Transfer<br><<a href="http://www.scidev.net/dossiers/index.cfm?fuseaction=dossierItem&Dossier=12" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
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