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Is Politics Plaguing the "One Laptop Per Child" Project?
Related to country: Nigeria

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The "One Laptop Per Child" project started on November 12 which allows U.S and Canadian residents to purchase two laptops for $399 (£198) - one laptop sent to the buyer and the other given to a child in a developing country.

Though some countries have benefited, others are yet to because of their government's unwillingness to walk their talk. The purpose of the project had been to negotiate with the governments of the developing countries to purchase the laptops, but the offer to the general public comes after the project's founder admitted that concrete orders from the governments of developing nations had not always followed verbal agreements.

Nicholas Negroponte told the New York Times: "I have to some degree underestimated the difference between shaking the hand of a head of state and having a cheque written. And yes, it has been a disappointment."

For example, in Nigeria the government seems to be having serious reservations about the project idea. In a recent interview with the BBC, Nigeria's education minister questioned the need for laptops in poorly equipped schools.

Dr Igwe Aja-Nwachuku said: "What is the sense of introducing One Laptop per Child when they don't have seats to sit down and learn; when they don't have uniforms to go to school in, where they don't have facilities?"

"We are more interested in laying a very solid foundation for quality education which will be efficient, effective, accessible and affordable. We are asking whether this is the most critical thing to drive education."

Though, the previous government of Nigeria had committed to buying one million laptops, Dr Aja-Nwachuku said he was now assessing OLPC alongside other schemes from Microsoft and Intel.

Meanwhile, the LEA primary school, Galadima, on the outskirts of Abuja in Nigeria is the first primary school to benefit from the One Laptop Per Child project.

November 28, 2007 | 6:38 AM Comments  0 comments

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French Strike: Mad or Merde?
Related to country: France
About the book: "A Year in the Merde"

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

I could say that living in France has been a never-ending, life-challenging, brain fine-tuning experience for me. My experience has actually been more than Englishman Paul West's in "A Year In The Merde" or even "Merde Actually" by Stephen Clarke. Still thinking if I should write a book about it or not...

France is gradually healing it's wounds from a nine-day transport strike that has done nobody any good. Not even me a Nigerian expatriate living in France, as I could care less since the issues at stake are primarily on retirement reforms.

Although, the government has signaled it is willing to discuss how the reforms would be implemented, the Reformist has vowed not to compromise on the core of the changes. Meanwhile, the unions won't be manipulated as they are warming up for fresh strikes in mid-December.

The just ended strike which cost France's rail company, SNCF more than 100 million euros and the entire country a daily loss of about 400 million euros according to the Finance Ministry, has left optimists pessimistic about the future of France.

November 23, 2007 | 10:09 AM Comments  0 comments

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Top 10 U.S Social Networks and Blog Site Rankings
Related to country: United States

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

It's not surprising that MySpace tops the rankings of top U.S. social-networking sites again, with more than 58.8 million unique visitors in October, according to the custom lists of top U.S. social-networking sites and blogs compiled by Nielsen.

Ranked second among social-networking sites, Facebook increased the number of visitors to 19.5 million, up 125 percent compared to October 2006 record. MySpace visitors increased 19 percent year over year.

Among blog sites, Google’s Blogger remains top blog site in rankings with 34.1 million visitors. Blogger increased its visitors with a significant 58 percent from the year-earlier period, reaching 34.1 million visitors.

More impressively, however, WordPress moved up the rankings to the No. 2 position, and accounted for 11.4 million visitors, up from 2.1 million last year.

Six Apart Type Pad, dropping to No. 3, also grew - 20 percent - to nearly 10.6 million visitors in October.

Via: Media Buyer Planner

November 20, 2007 | 6:06 PM Comments  0 comments

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Stop Sulking...Go Gather!
Related to country: United States

Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Starting a career in writing might just need a little nudge, a challenge or better still a passion. Today, online writing contests allow unpublished writers to showcase their talents in writing.

Recently, two aspiring romance novelists, one a 28-year-old doctorate student, the other a 56-year-old horse farmer, won the First Chapters Romance Writing Competition via the social media site Gather.com and will have their books published next year by Simon & Schuster.

Gather held a contest for unpublished writers to post the first two chapters of their romance novels on the Web site and have site users and a panel of editors vote on which works were best.
Gather is a place for you to connect with people who share your passions. It's a place where you can contribute thought, art, commentary, or inspiration.

Grand prize winner Meredith McGuire, currently working on a social science Ph.D at the University of Chicago, received a $5,000 advance for her novel 'The Shadow's Kiss' and Runner-up Starr Toth, who raises horses in Ortonville, Michigan, received $3,500 for 'Trust Me.'

So if you are an aspiring writer and doubt that you might not get published, stop sulking and start your writing career with online writing contests.

You never know:-)

November 20, 2007 | 2:35 PM Comments  0 comments



Are you America's Next Top Novelist?
Related to country: United States


In celebration of the National Novel Writing Month (November 1st-30th), The Editorial Department, America's oldest independent book editing company, is hosting a nationwide contest to find and help perfect the next great American novel.

The grand prize winner will win a complete manuscript evaluation and line-editing package from The Editorial Department and have the opportunity to work directly with Renni Browne, co-author of the bestselling Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, and one of publishing house most experienced and highly respected fiction editors.

The contest is limited to completed fiction manuscripts of any genre between 50,000 and 110,000 words. Published and unpublished authors alike are encouraged to enter, but submitted manuscripts must be unpublished and not under contract at time of submission.

Contest participation is on a first-come, first-served basis with a 500-submission limit.

For more contest guidelines and further details, visit: http://www.editorialdepartment.com/content/view/554/461

November 14, 2007 | 4:26 PM Comments  0 comments



One Child, One Laptop
Related to country: United States


As the holiday season gets closer, Americans and Canadians will have the chance to add charity and innovation to their holiday shopping lists. The One Laptop Per Child organization is offering the chance to purchase two XO laptops—one to be given to a child in the developing world, the other to keep or donate locally.

The organization opened sales of the laptops starting from 12 Nov. to 26 Nov. after agreements from many developing countries to purchase the laptops in bulk failed. The XO laptops are durable laptops designed for education and connecting kids in developing nations who have never worked with computers. With a donation of $400, donors can "Give 1 (and) Get 1" of the XO laptops.

These energy-efficient computers have high-resolution screens, cameras, and peer-to-peer wireless communication capability built in. They run on free open-source software. There are no moving parts—no CD or DVD drive, and no hard drive—just 1GB flash memory and a low-power processor so it can be easily maintained. It can be powered by solar energy, a foot pump, or pull-string powered chargers, and the screen is readable in full sunlight.

For more information, visit http://www.xogiving.org

“This is not just a matter of giving a laptop to each child, as if bestowing on them some magical charm. The magic lies within—within each child, within each scientist-, scholar-, or just-plain-citizen-in-the-making. This initiative is meant to bring it forth into the light of day.”—Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General.

November 12, 2007 | 8:11 PM Comments  0 comments

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Start a Career in Travel Writing at ITWAP
Related to country: United States


Are you a traveler? Does traveling the world writing travel stories and taking travel photos appeal to you? If yes, then you might just need the right skill to jump-start or accelerate a career in travel writing.

The Society of American Travel Writers will be holding its 13th annual Institute for Travel Writing & Photography from January 25-27, 2008, in Orlando, Florida. The one-weekend institute is for writers, travel writers and experienced travelers who want to learn travel writing for articles and guidebooks or who already are travel writers and want to improve their performance. This travel writing course teaches how to prepare article queries and book proposals, how to negotiate contracts, how to work with editors, how to organize your time, how to self-publish your own books, and how to publish your travel writing on the Internet.

The course is lead by top travel editors and writers who debunk the glamor of travel writing as an extended vacation and teach the course as a career that must be approached with real world skills, goals and expectations.

For more details, visit the Institute at http://www.satwinstitute.org

November 12, 2007 | 1:06 PM Comments  0 comments

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