Dear Member,

The E-content Award 2005 has been introduced to select best e-content
for the World Summit Award 2005, scheduled it's Gala event at Tunisia
on coming November. This is the official national selection process to
participate at final WSA event. The final winners will be honoured by
the head of the state. Details guideline and participation ruled could
be found at the official web site www.e-content.org This event is
jointly organised by Ministry of Science and ICT in association with
International Center for New Media (Austria)

E-Education, E-Health, E-Government, E-Business, E-Culture,
E-Inclusion, E-Entertainment and E-Science - this is the official
eight category to participate in this event. Any complete e-content
such as CD/VCD/DVD software/multimedia content as well as web site/web
portal/mobile content could take part in this event. Last date of
entry is 30 May 2005 and final result of national winner will be
released on 25 June 2005. A panel of highly experienced eleven member
national jury will select final winners and they will compete with
others national winner around the world. Md Akteruzzaman is working
national expert and co-orinator for this event. He was the Grand Jury
of last World Summit Award event.

This should be mentioned that Her Excellency Begum Khaleda Zia was
honoured last years winner at Gala event of World Summit Award held at
Switzerland. She is also an honourable patronage of this event along
with other head of the state.

To get more information, please mail at wsabangladesh@gmail.com and
browse www.e-content.org for latest update of this event.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
The E-Content Award 2005
(Official National Contest for WSA)
www.e-content.org
www.wsis-award.org
+++++++++++++++++++++++++

1. Internet Fiesta 2005
The Internet Society Chapter of Mauritius (http://www.isoc-mu.org ) is organising an open day in connection with the Internet Fiesta 2005. This activity will be held on Sunday, the 27th March 2005, at the head-quarters of Grand Port Savanne District Council, Rose Belle from 09:00 to 18:00. On that day free broadband Internet Access will be provided by Telecom Plus and Internet Initiation sessions by volunteers of ISOC-MU.

The Internet Fiesta is a worldwide event and is going to be held From 14 to 27 March 2005. This 7th edition of this event will be centered on the preparation of the Virtual Planetary Exhibition and projects that concerns the main topics of the World Summit of the Information Society to be held in Tunis in December 2005.
2. Essay Competition - “The Internet and its evolution in Mauritius"
The Essay competition title is “The Internet and its evolution in Mauritius” and is open to all Mauritian people, students and non-students alike. The Essay should consist of 2000 to 2500 words and can be submitted in English and French. The deadline for submissions is the 21st March 2005 and the winners will be announced and awarded on the 27th March 2004 at 4:00 pm at Rose Belle.
The Prizes will be awarded to the winners by Hon. Pradeed Jeeha, Minister of IT and Telecommunications and other distinguished guest.

How to submit:
The submission process for the Essay Competition 2005 is Internet-based or by Post.

Email: secretariat@isoc-mu.org
Postal Addresses:
The Essay Organising Committee
Internet Society Chapter of Mauritius
Units 209 – 214
Informatics Park
La Tour Koening
Pointe Aux Sables

PRIZE STRUCTURE:
First Prize - Worth Rs 5,000
Second Prize - Worth Rs 4,000
Third Prize - Worth Rs 3,000
Fourth Prize - Worth Rs 2,000
Fifth Prize - Worth Rs 1,000

MORE INFO:
Phone: 234 6999 (D Kissoondoyal / Gowtam Gowry or Nitish Muslayah)
Email: info@isoc-mu.org
Web Site: http://www.isoc-mu.org

Tunisia - Serious concerns for World Summit on the Information Society

A joint monitoring visit to Tunisia undertaken by members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) has found serious cause for continuing concern about the current state of freedom of expression and of civil liberties in Tunisia, including gross restrictions on freedom of the press, media, publishing and the Internet.

The visit, which took place from 14 to 19 January 2005, was the first of the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group and was organised in preparation for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), a United Nations intergovernmental conference to be held in Tunis in November 2005. The purpose of the visit was to evaluate the state of freedom of expression in Tunisia and to assess the conditions for participation in the Summit.

The delegation, consisting of representatives of Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, International Publishers Association, Norwegian PEN, World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters and the World Press Freedom Committee, met with Tunisian writers, publishers and human rights organisations as well as government officials and government-sponsored agencies.

The delegation found serious cause for continuing concern in the following areas:

1. Blocking of websites, including news and information websites.
2. Blocking of the distribution of books and publications.
3. Restrictions on the freedom of association, including the right of organisations to be legally established and to hold meetings.
4. Restrictions on movement of human rights activists together with police surveillance, intimidation and interception of communications.
5. Lack of pluralism in broadcast ownership, with only one private broadcaster.
6. Press censorship and lack of diversity of content in newspapers.
7. Imprisonment of individuals for their opinions and media activities.
8. Use of torture by the security services with impunity.


The IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group is preparing a full report on the current state of freedom of expression in Tunisia with recommendations for improvement. The report, to be published at the next preparatory committee meeting of the WSIS, will provide indicators for monitoring freedom of expression in Tunisia in the run up to the World Summit. The WSIS Preparatory Committee is to meet in Geneva 17-25 February 2005.

MORE INFORMATION:



For further information, contact EOHR, tel: +20 2 363 6811/362 0467; Norwegian PEN, tel: + 47 22479220; WiPC, tel: +44 207 253 3226; IPA, tel: +41 22 346 30 18; AMARC, tel: +1 514 982 0351; WPFC, tel: +1 703 715 9811

[The IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group consists of Article 19, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Studies (CEHURDES), Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), Index on Censorship, International PEN Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC), International Publishers Association (IPA), Journaliste en Danger (JED), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Norwegian PEN, World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and the World Press Freedom Committee (WPFC).]

**For further information on WSIS, see IFEX alerts of 30 and 25 November, 21 June, 18 and 7 May and 1 April 2004, 30 September, 25 July, 12 June, 27, 24, 13 and 5 February 2003**

Resolutions of Dhaka WSIS Consultations

After extensive discussion on ICT policy by participants from the
government, civil society, private sector, academia and the media
from the South Asian region, the WSIS Consultation meeting held in
Dhaka, Bangladesh from 5-7 January 2005 under the auspices of the
Bangladesh Friendship Education Society (BFES) and the Bangladesh
Working Group on WSIS (in collaboration with APC and One World South
Asia) resolves as follows:

The following issues should be drawn to the attention of the South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) at their next
meeting:

(1) That SAARC undertake a study on the establishment of a regional
Internet exchange to connect the national Internet exchanges to
contain regional traffic within South Asia in order to promote
equitable regional trade in services and save on the cost of
international connectivity and thereby enhance regional cooperation;

(2) That SAARC consider the establishment of a regional registry for
IP address allocations (SANIC) to ensure that IP addresses are
fairly distributed in South Asia;

(3) That SAARC recommend that South Asian member states develop a
common approach to the issue of Internet Governance and Financial
Mechanisms for ICTD during the second phase of the World Summit on
the Information Society which culminates in Tunis in November 2005;

(4) That as part of this common approach to WSIS, consideration be
given to the transformation of ICANN into a multi-stakeholder body
accountable to the global community;

(5) That expanding access to ICTs in South Asia in terms of the WSIS
Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action is a global public good
that enhances the value of global information networks and hence
benefits everyone including developed countries. A Global Fund for
ICTD should, therefore, be established to support the goal of
increasing access to ICTs by 2015 and this should be recommended by
South Asian member states at the WSIS Prepcom 2 in February 2005;

(6) That SAARC should take inputs from South Asian member states,
the private sector and civil society to formulate a regional e-
strategy to implement the WSIS Plan of Action in South Asia as a
whole;

(7) That the regional e-strategy should adopt a regional public
goods approach to financing ICTD which would explore the
relationship between creating a development-oriented policy
environment and the exploitation of existing and prospective
financial mechanisms to enable ICTs for the achievement of the MDGs
and poverty reduction targets in the region;

(8) That SAARC should encourage multi-stakeholder participation by
member states, the private sector and civil society in the
UNDP/APDIP WSIS consultation process on Internet Governance as a way
of raising awareness of the importance of Internet policy and
governance in South Asia;

(9) That SAARC should undertake specific programmes for
mainstreaming ICTs in poverty alleviation strategies and achieving
the MDGs through the integration of efforts undertaken by
governments, the private sector and civil society in the region;

(10) That SAARC should support initiatives to promote local content
and languages on ICTs in South Asia;

(11) That SAARC should seriously consider ways of integrating gender
equality into ICT policy issues at the regional level;

(12) That serious consideration should be given to the licensing of
community radio stations by member states as a key component of an
early warning system in response to the Tsunami tragedy in the
region as well as community radio's role in enabling development.
Consideration should be given to best practices in community radio
in the region such as those in Nepal;

(13) That the regional e-strategy should consider the problems of
implementation of ICT policy in the region and develop an approach
to ensuring successful implementation of ICT policy at country
level;

(14) That SAARC should establish and fund a Regional ICT Forum to
undertake these above-mentioned tasks and involve stakeholders from
the private sector and civil society in the process.

BRAC Center, Dhaka,
Dhaka, Bangladesh 7 January 2005

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the new Mac Mini during his keynote address at the Macworld Expo here, promising the machine would help further expand Apple's audience beyond the Mac faithful.

Jobs also confirmed several other high-profile debuts--including a tiny flash memory iPod--that have been grinding through the Mac rumor mills, prompting the secretive company to sue the alleged source of several information leaks.

Many of the reports turned out to be true, with Jobs beginning the cavalcade of products by announcing the Mac Mini and the flash memory-based iPod.

The Mac Mini is a tiny machine with a processor, hard drive and optical drive--you supply the monitor, mouse and keyboard. Jobs said the package will settle long-standing complaints that Apple extracts too high a premium for its products. "This is the most affordable Mac ever," Jobs said. "People who are thinking of switching will have no more excuses."

The new Mac Mini will go on sale Jan. 22 and will cost $499 for the base model, or $599 for one with a bigger hard drive. The device marks one of Apple's boldest moves yet to expand PC sales beyond a loyal but limited market of Mac addicts. The iPod and Apple's iTunes music store have been responsible for a dramatic surge in Apple revenue, but to date there has been little evidence that those products have done anything for Apple's PC business.

The Mac Mini will come with Panther, the latest version of Apple's OS X operating system, plus the iLife collection of digital media applications. Like almost all Mac products, it's designed for style as well as function. "This is a very robust computer, but it's very, very tiny," Jobs said.

The new breed of iPod went on sale Tuesday in two versions--a 512MB model (enough memory for about 120 songs) for $99 and a 1GB version for $149.

Both models work with a Mac or PC and have no display screen for navigating through a music library. Instead, Apple expects the players largely will be used in "shuffle" mode that serves up songs in random order.

"iPod users discovered a new way to listen to their music...shuffle," Jobs said. "With shuffle you don't have to find your music; it's shuffled up for you."

The new flash memory-based iPod Shuffle is Apple's latest bid to expand its portable music player business to more downscale consumers, following the wildly successful launch of the iPod Mini early last year.

Jobs earlier derided flash-based music players as toys with limited functionality, but plunging prices for flash memory will allow Apple to produce a capable player at a suitable price.

"We've taken a look at this market, and it's a zoo," Jobs said. "There's a zillion little flash players out there...and the products are all pretty much the same. They're trying to be as easy to use as an iPod, but they have these very tiny displays and a really tortured interface."

Jobs took credit for dramatically reducing the market for flash-based music players by pushing hard-drive models downstream. "The iPod Mini worked," he said. But there's still an opportunity to grab digital music newcomers with inexpensive models, he said. "We'd like to go after the remaining mainstream flash market," Jobs said.

In other iPod news, Jobs said Apple sold 4.5 million of the players during the final quarter of 2004, and he announced that Mercedes, Volvo, Nissan and others will follow BMW's lead in offering iPod adapters in new cars.

"We believe we have just begun this era of digital music," Jobs said. "We're going to see some very healthy progress in the next year."

In addition, Jobs confirmed iWork, a new software package that will take on Microsoft's Office in the Mac software market.

The package will include Pages, a new word processing program developed by Apple, and an updated version of Keynote, a slideshow application Apple introduced two years ago.

Like other Apple products, Jobs said one of the major advantages of iWork will be its integration with the Mac OS X operating system. "iWork is a product we've created from the ground up to take advantage of OS X," he said.

The release of iWork marks another chapter in Apple's on-and-off partnership with Microsoft, whose Mac version of Office has long been the standard productivity package for the operating system, partly out of necessity. Apple's own AppleWorks package has achieved only modest market share, mostly in educational settings, and the company's FileMaker database software has never posed a significant threat to Microsoft's similar Access.

Demonstrating Pages, Jobs and Apple Vice President Phil Schiller made it clear the application isn't counting on business letters and school reports as its sweet spot. Pages includes numerous tools for adding photos to documents and creating complex documents that look like professionally made brochures.

"It's word processing with a sense of style," Jobs said. The iWork package will sell for $79 starting Jan. 22.

Jobs also had more details on "Tiger," the next version of the OS X operating system, but he stopped short of setting a release date more specific than the first half of 2005. However, that will still be well before the next version of Microsoft's Windows, Jobs said as he revealed the slogan, "Long before Longhorn."

Major additions to the new OS, officially known as Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, include Spotlight, Apple's entry into the growingdesktop search market. Jobs said Spotlight will best new desktop search offerings from Google and Microsoft, thanks to the benefits of being integrated into OS X, which can automatically update search results as the contents of a Mac hard drive change.

Please visit http://www.apple.com/macmini/


News Source: ZdNet
"When you build it into the core OS, you can do things you can't do with a tool sitting on the side," Jobs said. "You can find things on your system you didn't even know were there."

Tiger will also include a new version 7 of the QuickTime video player, and Dashboard, a new interface that will allow Mac users to quickly switch between small applications such as a calculator, language translator or weather forecasts.

"It's a place for widgets to live...to get your stuff, get in and get out," Jobs said before demonstrating a stock ticker applet displaying Apple shares. "Oh, we're down a little bit today," he said. "Well, we've still got a lot more to go in the keynote."

Jobs also touted growing support for high-definition video in an array of Mac products, including the new QuickTime and an HD-ready version of Final Cut Express, Apple's hobbyist video editing application. "2005 is going to be the year of high-definition video," Jobs said.

Kunitake Ando, president of electronics giant Sony, joined Jobs onstage to promote the HD push, including a new Sony HD camcorder. "Steve said he is a great fan of Sony products--not all of them," said Ando, whose company competes with Apple in markets such as PCs and portable music players. "Together, we can really revolutionize the way we enjoy video at home."

Rumored products that didn't appear in Jobs speech included "Asteroid," a supposed music instrument interface meant to hook into Apple's GarageBand software and the inspiration for several of Apple's suits against Mac rumor sites.

Jobs also suffered a brief technical glitch when trying to demonstrate new OS X search features, but he recovered much more quickly and gracefully than Microsoft Chair Bill Gates did during his error-riddled Consumer Electronics Show presentation last week. "That's why we have backup systems here," Jobs quipped.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the new Mac Mini during his keynote address at the Macworld Expo here, promising the machine would help further expand Apple's audience beyond the Mac faithful.

Jobs also confirmed several other high-profile debuts--including a tiny flash memory iPod--that have been grinding through the Mac rumor mills, prompting the secretive company to sue the alleged source of several information leaks.

Many of the reports turned out to be true, with Jobs beginning the cavalcade of products by announcing the Mac Mini and the flash memory-based iPod.

The Mac Mini is a tiny machine with a processor, hard drive and optical drive--you supply the monitor, mouse and keyboard. Jobs said the package will settle long-standing complaints that Apple extracts too high a premium for its products. "This is the most affordable Mac ever," Jobs said. "People who are thinking of switching will have no more excuses."

The new Mac Mini will go on sale Jan. 22 and will cost $499 for the base model, or $599 for one with a bigger hard drive. The device marks one of Apple's boldest moves yet to expand PC sales beyond a loyal but limited market of Mac addicts. The iPod and Apple's iTunes music store have been responsible for a dramatic surge in Apple revenue, but to date there has been little evidence that those products have done anything for Apple's PC business.

The Mac Mini will come with Panther, the latest version of Apple's OS X operating system, plus the iLife collection of digital media applications. Like almost all Mac products, it's designed for style as well as function. "This is a very robust computer, but it's very, very tiny," Jobs said.

The new breed of iPod went on sale Tuesday in two versions--a 512MB model (enough memory for about 120 songs) for $99 and a 1GB version for $149.

Both models work with a Mac or PC and have no display screen for navigating through a music library. Instead, Apple expects the players largely will be used in "shuffle" mode that serves up songs in random order.

"iPod users discovered a new way to listen to their music...shuffle," Jobs said. "With shuffle you don't have to find your music; it's shuffled up for you."

The new flash memory-based iPod Shuffle is Apple's latest bid to expand its portable music player business to more downscale consumers, following the wildly successful launch of the iPod Mini early last year.

Jobs earlier derided flash-based music players as toys with limited functionality, but plunging prices for flash memory will allow Apple to produce a capable player at a suitable price.

"We've taken a look at this market, and it's a zoo," Jobs said. "There's a zillion little flash players out there...and the products are all pretty much the same. They're trying to be as easy to use as an iPod, but they have these very tiny displays and a really tortured interface."

Jobs took credit for dramatically reducing the market for flash-based music players by pushing hard-drive models downstream. "The iPod Mini worked," he said. But there's still an opportunity to grab digital music newcomers with inexpensive models, he said. "We'd like to go after the remaining mainstream flash market," Jobs said.

In other iPod news, Jobs said Apple sold 4.5 million of the players during the final quarter of 2004, and he announced that Mercedes, Volvo, Nissan and others will follow BMW's lead in offering iPod adapters in new cars.

"We believe we have just begun this era of digital music," Jobs said. "We're going to see some very healthy progress in the next year."

In addition, Jobs confirmed iWork, a new software package that will take on Microsoft's Office in the Mac software market.

The package will include Pages, a new word processing program developed by Apple, and an updated version of Keynote, a slideshow application Apple introduced two years ago.

Like other Apple products, Jobs said one of the major advantages of iWork will be its integration with the Mac OS X operating system. "iWork is a product we've created from the ground up to take advantage of OS X," he said.

The release of iWork marks another chapter in Apple's on-and-off partnership with Microsoft, whose Mac version of Office has long been the standard productivity package for the operating system, partly out of necessity. Apple's own AppleWorks package has achieved only modest market share, mostly in educational settings, and the company's FileMaker database software has never posed a significant threat to Microsoft's similar Access.

Demonstrating Pages, Jobs and Apple Vice President Phil Schiller made it clear the application isn't counting on business letters and school reports as its sweet spot. Pages includes numerous tools for adding photos to documents and creating complex documents that look like professionally made brochures.

"It's word processing with a sense of style," Jobs said. The iWork package will sell for $79 starting Jan. 22.

Jobs also had more details on "Tiger," the next version of the OS X operating system, but he stopped short of setting a release date more specific than the first half of 2005. However, that will still be well before the next version of Microsoft's Windows, Jobs said as he revealed the slogan, "Long before Longhorn."

Major additions to the new OS, officially known as Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, include Spotlight, Apple's entry into the growingdesktop search market. Jobs said Spotlight will best new desktop search offerings from Google and Microsoft, thanks to the benefits of being integrated into OS X, which can automatically update search results as the contents of a Mac hard drive change.

Please visit http://www.apple.com/macmini/


News Source: ZdNet
"When you build it into the core OS, you can do things you can't do with a tool sitting on the side," Jobs said. "You can find things on your system you didn't even know were there."

Tiger will also include a new version 7 of the QuickTime video player, and Dashboard, a new interface that will allow Mac users to quickly switch between small applications such as a calculator, language translator or weather forecasts.

"It's a place for widgets to live...to get your stuff, get in and get out," Jobs said before demonstrating a stock ticker applet displaying Apple shares. "Oh, we're down a little bit today," he said. "Well, we've still got a lot more to go in the keynote."

Jobs also touted growing support for high-definition video in an array of Mac products, including the new QuickTime and an HD-ready version of Final Cut Express, Apple's hobbyist video editing application. "2005 is going to be the year of high-definition video," Jobs said.

Kunitake Ando, president of electronics giant Sony, joined Jobs onstage to promote the HD push, including a new Sony HD camcorder. "Steve said he is a great fan of Sony products--not all of them," said Ando, whose company competes with Apple in markets such as PCs and portable music players. "Together, we can really revolutionize the way we enjoy video at home."

Rumored products that didn't appear in Jobs speech included "Asteroid," a supposed music instrument interface meant to hook into Apple's GarageBand software and the inspiration for several of Apple's suits against Mac rumor sites.

Jobs also suffered a brief technical glitch when trying to demonstrate new OS X search features, but he recovered much more quickly and gracefully than Microsoft Chair Bill Gates did during his error-riddled Consumer Electronics Show presentation last week. "That's why we have backup systems here," Jobs quipped.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the new Mac Mini during his keynote address at the Macworld Expo here, promising the machine would help further expand Apple's audience beyond the Mac faithful.

Jobs also confirmed several other high-profile debuts--including a tiny flash memory iPod--that have been grinding through the Mac rumor mills, prompting the secretive company to sue the alleged source of several information leaks.

Many of the reports turned out to be true, with Jobs beginning the cavalcade of products by announcing the Mac Mini and the flash memory-based iPod.

The Mac Mini is a tiny machine with a processor, hard drive and optical drive--you supply the monitor, mouse and keyboard. Jobs said the package will settle long-standing complaints that Apple extracts too high a premium for its products. "This is the most affordable Mac ever," Jobs said. "People who are thinking of switching will have no more excuses."

The new Mac Mini will go on sale Jan. 22 and will cost $499 for the base model, or $599 for one with a bigger hard drive. The device marks one of Apple's boldest moves yet to expand PC sales beyond a loyal but limited market of Mac addicts. The iPod and Apple's iTunes music store have been responsible for a dramatic surge in Apple revenue, but to date there has been little evidence that those products have done anything for Apple's PC business.

The Mac Mini will come with Panther, the latest version of Apple's OS X operating system, plus the iLife collection of digital media applications. Like almost all Mac products, it's designed for style as well as function. "This is a very robust computer, but it's very, very tiny," Jobs said.

The new breed of iPod went on sale Tuesday in two versions--a 512MB model (enough memory for about 120 songs) for $99 and a 1GB version for $149.

Both models work with a Mac or PC and have no display screen for navigating through a music library. Instead, Apple expects the players largely will be used in "shuffle" mode that serves up songs in random order.

"iPod users discovered a new way to listen to their music...shuffle," Jobs said. "With shuffle you don't have to find your music; it's shuffled up for you."

The new flash memory-based iPod Shuffle is Apple's latest bid to expand its portable music player business to more downscale consumers, following the wildly successful launch of the iPod Mini early last year.

Jobs earlier derided flash-based music players as toys with limited functionality, but plunging prices for flash memory will allow Apple to produce a capable player at a suitable price.

"We've taken a look at this market, and it's a zoo," Jobs said. "There's a zillion little flash players out there...and the products are all pretty much the same. They're trying to be as easy to use as an iPod, but they have these very tiny displays and a really tortured interface."

Jobs took credit for dramatically reducing the market for flash-based music players by pushing hard-drive models downstream. "The iPod Mini worked," he said. But there's still an opportunity to grab digital music newcomers with inexpensive models, he said. "We'd like to go after the remaining mainstream flash market," Jobs said.

In other iPod news, Jobs said Apple sold 4.5 million of the players during the final quarter of 2004, and he announced that Mercedes, Volvo, Nissan and others will follow BMW's lead in offering iPod adapters in new cars.

"We believe we have just begun this era of digital music," Jobs said. "We're going to see some very healthy progress in the next year."

In addition, Jobs confirmed iWork, a new software package that will take on Microsoft's Office in the Mac software market.

The package will include Pages, a new word processing program developed by Apple, and an updated version of Keynote, a slideshow application Apple introduced two years ago.

Like other Apple products, Jobs said one of the major advantages of iWork will be its integration with the Mac OS X operating system. "iWork is a product we've created from the ground up to take advantage of OS X," he said.

The release of iWork marks another chapter in Apple's on-and-off partnership with Microsoft, whose Mac version of Office has long been the standard productivity package for the operating system, partly out of necessity. Apple's own AppleWorks package has achieved only modest market share, mostly in educational settings, and the company's FileMaker database software has never posed a significant threat to Microsoft's similar Access.

Demonstrating Pages, Jobs and Apple Vice President Phil Schiller made it clear the application isn't counting on business letters and school reports as its sweet spot. Pages includes numerous tools for adding photos to documents and creating complex documents that look like professionally made brochures.

"It's word processing with a sense of style," Jobs said. The iWork package will sell for $79 starting Jan. 22.

Jobs also had more details on "Tiger," the next version of the OS X operating system, but he stopped short of setting a release date more specific than the first half of 2005. However, that will still be well before the next version of Microsoft's Windows, Jobs said as he revealed the slogan, "Long before Longhorn."

Major additions to the new OS, officially known as Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, include Spotlight, Apple's entry into the growingdesktop search market. Jobs said Spotlight will best new desktop search offerings from Google and Microsoft, thanks to the benefits of being integrated into OS X, which can automatically update search results as the contents of a Mac hard drive change.

Please visit http://www.apple.com/macmini/


News Source: ZdNet
"When you build it into the core OS, you can do things you can't do with a tool sitting on the side," Jobs said. "You can find things on your system you didn't even know were there."

Tiger will also include a new version 7 of the QuickTime video player, and Dashboard, a new interface that will allow Mac users to quickly switch between small applications such as a calculator, language translator or weather forecasts.

"It's a place for widgets to live...to get your stuff, get in and get out," Jobs said before demonstrating a stock ticker applet displaying Apple shares. "Oh, we're down a little bit today," he said. "Well, we've still got a lot more to go in the keynote."

Jobs also touted growing support for high-definition video in an array of Mac products, including the new QuickTime and an HD-ready version of Final Cut Express, Apple's hobbyist video editing application. "2005 is going to be the year of high-definition video," Jobs said.

Kunitake Ando, president of electronics giant Sony, joined Jobs onstage to promote the HD push, including a new Sony HD camcorder. "Steve said he is a great fan of Sony products--not all of them," said Ando, whose company competes with Apple in markets such as PCs and portable music players. "Together, we can really revolutionize the way we enjoy video at home."

Rumored products that didn't appear in Jobs speech included "Asteroid," a supposed music instrument interface meant to hook into Apple's GarageBand software and the inspiration for several of Apple's suits against Mac rumor sites.

Jobs also suffered a brief technical glitch when trying to demonstrate new OS X search features, but he recovered much more quickly and gracefully than Microsoft Chair Bill Gates did during his error-riddled Consumer Electronics Show presentation last week. "That's why we have backup systems here," Jobs quipped.

January 7, 2005 4:28PM

Microsoft has made a trial version of its free anti-spyware tool available on its Web site in a bid to increase the security of its dominant Windows operating system. The program was developed by Giant Company Software, which Microsoft acquired last month.



Microsoft Corp. on Friday released a test version of its own anti-spyware software, signaling its move into the computer security market now dominated by companies like Symantec Corp.
The biggest software company in the world made a trial version of its free anti-spyware tool available on its website in a bid to increase the security of its dominant Windows operating system. Next week, it was expected to release a virus-removal program to round out the security package.

The anti-spyware software eliminates programs that generate unwanted pop-up ads and secretly record a computer user's activities, often crippling computer performance. The program was developed by Giant Company Software Inc., which Microsoft acquired last month.

Shares of the two largest computer-security-software vendors, Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc., fell sharply after Microsoft released details of its plans.


© 2005 Deutsche Presse-Agentur
© 2005 NewsFactor Network.

The country's first ICT Incubator, built by the government two years
ago, has been a huge success as the facilities it provides are
considered manna from heaven for ICT firms.

A total of 40 private ICT firms, including software developers,
hardware assemblers and service providers, have so far invested Tk 250
million at the eye catching state-of-art institution at Karwan Bazar
in Dhaka.

The incubator provides the ICT firms uninterrupted power supply,
necessary telephone lines, required bandwidth and security.
Cooperation is faster as the ICT Incubator is managed by private sector.
The incubator was established by the government in November 2002 with
an investment of Tk 20 million. But recently the responsibility of its
management was vested on Bangladesh Software and Information Services
(BASIS).
The annual turnover of the incubator is around Tk 150 million.
"The success of the project has been possible due to non-intervention
into the management by the government bureaucracy," an ICT
entrepreneur told FE preferring anonymity.

BASIS sources said some of the foreign ICT firms have shown interest
to invest at the venue lately but most of the spaces have already been
rented out to local firms.

The demand for more such incubators is rising in absence of a
Hi-Tech-Park, which the government promised to build at a cost Tk 2.5
billion at Kaliakoir, near Dhaka, three years ago.

Some ICT entrepreneurs have urged the government to establish a
similar incubator in the city to meet the growing demand from IT firms.

They said any new incubator should offer training facilities for
computer engineers and programmers.

"An incubator is a place where a fresher should get opportunity to
enhance knowledge and skills. But the existing one is entirely used by
the full-time businessmen, Ehsanul Haque an entrepreneur said.

Thanks : Nasima

From: "International Research Foundation for Development"
To: akzaman@asia.com
Subject: Asian Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Efforts - Please Support

Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 18:43:43 -0600

Dear Friends,

Please support the relief efforts in South Asia by donating to any of
the aid organizations listed below.

These international aid organizations are accepting contributions for
assistance that they or their affiliates will provide to help victims
of the powerful earthquake and resulting tsunamis.

Please forward this message to anyone else that can help.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
PO Box 372
CH-1211 Geneva 19
Switzerland
41-22-730-4222
http://www.ifrc.org/

UNICEF
333 East 38th Street
New York, NY 10016
1-800-FOR-KIDS
http://www.unicef.org

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres
PO Box 2247
New York, NY 10116-2247
1-888-392-0392
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Action Against Hunger
247 West 37th Street, Suite 1201
New York, NY 10018
1-212-967-7800
http://www.aah-usa.org

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC Crisis Fund)
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA
1-215-241-7000
http://www.afsc.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
1-805-964-4767
http://www.directrelief.org

Mercy Corps
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208
1-800-852-2100
http://www.mercycorps.org

Oxfam International/Oxfam America
1-800-77OXFAM
http://www.oxfam.org/

Save the Children
Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
1-800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

World Relief
7 E. Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
1-443-451-1900
http://www.wr.org

World Vision
PO Box 70288
Tacoma, Washington 98481-0288
1-888-56-CHILD
http://www.worldvision.org

From: "International Research Foundation for Development"
To: akzaman@asia.com
Subject: Asian Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Efforts - Please Support

Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 18:43:43 -0600

Dear Friends,

Please support the relief efforts in South Asia by donating to any of
the aid organizations listed below.

These international aid organizations are accepting contributions for
assistance that they or their affiliates will provide to help victims
of the powerful earthquake and resulting tsunamis.

Please forward this message to anyone else that can help.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
PO Box 372
CH-1211 Geneva 19
Switzerland
41-22-730-4222
http://www.ifrc.org/

UNICEF
333 East 38th Street
New York, NY 10016
1-800-FOR-KIDS
http://www.unicef.org

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres
PO Box 2247
New York, NY 10116-2247
1-888-392-0392
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Action Against Hunger
247 West 37th Street, Suite 1201
New York, NY 10018
1-212-967-7800
http://www.aah-usa.org

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC Crisis Fund)
1501 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA
1-215-241-7000
http://www.afsc.org

Direct Relief International
27 South La Patera Lane
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
1-805-964-4767
http://www.directrelief.org

Mercy Corps
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208
1-800-852-2100
http://www.mercycorps.org

Oxfam International/Oxfam America
1-800-77OXFAM
http://www.oxfam.org/

Save the Children
Asia Earthquake/Tidal Wave Relief Fund
54 Wilton Road
Westport, CT 06880
1-800-728-3843
www.savethechildren.org

World Relief
7 E. Baltimore St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
1-443-451-1900
http://www.wr.org

World Vision
PO Box 70288
Tacoma, Washington 98481-0288
1-888-56-CHILD
http://www.worldvision.org

The International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) promotes free and pluralistic media in developing countries and the countries in transition. Through media development IPDC helps strengthen communicative & analytical skills of the people and their participation in democratic governance. The priority is given to the projects promoting press freedom and media pluralism, development of community media, enhancing professional capacity and building partnerships for media improvements.
The media - newspapers, radio or television - are ways of informing people and prompting them to interact. Free and pluralistic media foster good and honest governments and make development investments fruitful. They are essential for the construction of democratic societies. Media are crucial for spurring economic growth and nurturing the democratic process. Media pluralism alone can guarantee every community the opportunity to express its concerns without exclusion or discrimination.

But serious inadequacies of media in many countries, from the Pacific Islands to the far corners of the African continent, from the Caribbean islands to conmmunities in the Andes mountains, prevent people from voicing their democratic aspirations, from sharing and accessing information, and from making life-saving decisions. UNESCO created the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) in 1980 to address these needs and to accelerate media development.

What is IPDC?

The IPDC is the only multilateral forum in the UN system designed to mobilize the international community to discuss and promote media development in developing countries. The Programme not only provides support for media projects but also seeks an accord to secure a healthy environment for the growth of free and pluralistic media in developing countries.

For political and ethical rasons, multilateral cooperation is the most appropriate way of promoting media development. International assistance provided through IPDC does not interfere with the integrity and independence of media institutions. Since its inception in 1980, the IPDC has channelled more than US$90 million to more than 1,000 media development projects in 135 countries. The IPDC recently underwent several important reforms to gain maximum efficiency in programme administration, funding and project implementation.

More than ever, the IPDC now strives to realize more effective media projects that empower people to gain equitable access to knowledge and express themselves through free and pluralistic media.

Join hands with the IPDC in developing meaningful media environments in which people can express their concerns, investigate, discuss, gain knowledge and reject violence.


Contacts

UNESCO Regional Advisers for Communication and Information English (file) List of Regional Advisers.doc <

http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/file_download.php/2510a243db25145f610dd43f0bffc2b8List+of+Regional+Advisers.doc>
UNESCO Contacts

Wijayananda Jayaweera Director Communication Development Division

http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=16804&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
E-Mail w.jayaweera@unesco.org

Phone Work +33.1 45 68 41 98

Street 1, rue Miollis

City Paris

Postal Code 75732

Country France



Vladimir Gai Chief of Section Communication Development Division

http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=16809&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
E-Mail v.gai@unesco.org

Phone Work + 33.1 45 68 40 89

Fax + 33.1 45 68 55 85

Street 1, rue Miollis

City Paris

Postal Code 75732

Country France



Valéri Nikolski Programme Specialist Communication Development Division

http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=16821&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
E-Mail v.nikolski@unesco.org

Phone Work + 33.1 45 68 42 68

Fax + 33.1 45 68 55 79

Street 1, rue Miollis

City Paris

Postal Code 75732

Country France

Source: http://www.unesco.org/webworld/ipdc

IT experts at a workshop day before yesterday development of the ICT infrastructure and knowledge in English are the first priority for the country to enter into the practise of e-governance .

They said English is not merely a language, it is an economy. Some experts also underscored the need for launching a project for establishing e-governance, which would be cheap, faster and more convenient.

These are the outcomes from a workshop on “E-Government Policy and Practices in Bangladesh” jointly organised by The Millennium University (TMU) Dhaka and the Monash University, Melbourne, Australia at TMU auditorium in the city.

Science and ICT Minister Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan chaired the occasion. ICT is a tool to make a healthy E-government environment to curb corruption and to make the government transparent and accountable to the people, the minister said.

Prof Julian Teicher, Monash University in Australia presented a keynote titled, “e-Government: The Relevance of Developed Country Experience to Bangladesh” in the workshop.

Teicher said, E-Government that is a prime issue of developing countries, is a part of strategy as well as precondition of a government now a days.

E-mail has changed the tradition in the desk of ministers as they can produce a healthy interaction between themselves and people through faster services of the technology, he added.

British High Commissioner Anwar Chowdhury, regarding the e-governance in UK, said “We are in the middle of an information revolution which is changing the way we work and live and we need to change the way we think.” A country as well as its industrial revolution requires an information based economy, he said adding that knowledge economy is the economy of future and that is possible only by connecting people through Internet.

Bangladesh has talents as well as skilled manpower enough to generate e-government with a little backdrop-poverty in mind and vision, not in resource -he said adding that “ E-Government can change Bangladesh and the country needs this change.”

Larry Maramis, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP and Prof Dr Asaduzzaman, Chairman of University Grant Commission also spoke at the workshop.The UNDP representative said, democratic values could be delivered if the country, particularly remote areas, can be brought under networking activities.

Advocate Rokhsana Khondker, Pro Vice Chancellor of the University and Executive Director of Khan Foundation said that E-government is not just about serving a section of the population that have access to the computer and Internet, it can even improve the way the government delivers services like healthcare and education to remote corners of the country.

=====================================================================
ANNOUNCING THE APC HAFKIN PRIZE FOR 2004/5:
Recognising community connectivity projects
for economic development in Africa
=====================================================================

"Connectivity is a term referring to the means by which people are
connected to or are able to access communications channels such as
the internet, email, computer and people networks."

The theme for this year's Hafkin Prize recognises community
initiatives that use the internet and other digital communication
networks to access markets, skills and opportunities to derive real
economic benefits.

The CRITERIA by which entries will be judged by our international
jury include:

1. Positive economic impact

* The project demonstrates a positive economic contribution to the
community
* Has a long term vision for sustaining impact which includes
training and developing local expertise
* Provides an equal opportunity for participation by the community
regardless of sex, religion, political persuasion or income levels
* Is documented so that others can learn from the model

2. Africa-driven and developing Africa

* Developed and implemented by people and/or organisations based in
Africa
* Must be local and community-based

3. Sustainable use of technology

* Offers or makes use of technology that is available and supported
locally
* Demonstrates an understanding of the relationship between
technology and the needs of the community on the ground.

THE PRIZE IS OPEN TO: The competition is open to civil society
organisations, government institutions, educational organisations,
community-based groups, networks, social movements or individuals
anywhere in Africa. Applications will be accepted in both English
and French.

THE PRIZE: USD$7,500.00 will be shared amongst up to three winning
initiatives.

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: February 14 2005

MORE ABOUT THE APC HAFKIN PRIZE: http://www.apc.org/english/hafkin
or write to hafkin-prize@apc.org.

Workshop on
"Advocacy Capacity Building for Strengthening Good Governance & Human Rights Initiatives"


Location : Dhaka

Date / Duration : January 16-18, 2005

Type of workshop : National

Course fee : Tk.5,000.00

Registration Dateline : Januauary 5,2005


Course facilitators: Mr. David Cohen, Co-Chair of Advocacy Institute, Washington D.C. &

Dr. Hossain Shahriar, Executive Director, ESDO & Bangladesh Country Representative, Advocacy Institute.



Co-Organizers : Advocacy Institute, Washington D.C. and Environment and Social Development Organization-ESDO, Dhaka



Advocacy is a process to enable social justice advocates to gain access and voice in decision making, to influence public attitudes and to bring about, enact and implement laws and public policies which will take the society closer towards being just and equitable.

The workshop is designed in a way to reflect the Bangladeshi situation and how advocacy can be made effective here to reach certain goals from a development perspective. The workshop will follow the guideline of Advocacy Institute of Washington D.C. USA and ESDOs long experiences in the field of policy lobbying and media advocacy. It will help development professionals to understand the concept of advocacy, the tools of advocacy and enable them to understand the proper use of those tools through rights-based approaches. It will illustrate what ‘civil society’ means and what issues the ‘civil society’ can advocate for. Some time during the workshop will be spent on media advocacy, how it can be done effectively, what factors are associated with it, among other things.



Objectives:

To provide a deeper understanding of advocacy, its basic concept, and the role of advocates (NGO and GO relationship) to enhance their efforts towards achieving organizational and social goals.

Enhancing knowledge and capacity on advocacy & policy lobbying
Examine the range and applications of specific advocacy tools.
Identify the areas for the NGO-GO co-operation and collaboration to promote social, economical and environmental justice for strengthening good governance and human rights.
Policy intervention and exploring way out for policy implementation through advocacy.
To find out the obstacles and opportunities of advocacy and lobbying.
Design and develop an action plan for issue-based advocacy.

Note: Accommodation and travel cost for participants will have to be borne by respective organizations or individuals.
Registration Process:

Interested participants are requested to contact ESDO so that registration forms may be sent to them. Registration will close ten days before the scheduled date of the workshops.

We would be happy if you join or nominate one (or more) candidate(s) from your organization/institution who would be benefited by being a part of this workshop.



Please contact for registration and others detail.



Workshop Coordinator



House # 8/1,Block-C,Level-4

Lalmatia, Dhaka- 1207

Tel : 912-2729

Fax: 913-0017

Email: esdo@bdmail.net