Association Of Software And IT Services Launched

The Ghana Association Software and IT Services Companies (GASSCOM) was on Monday launched to facilitate business and trade in software and services. It is also to be a strong advocate in soliciting government and other public sector support and encourage the advancement of the industry.

Launching the Association under the theme: "Promoting the Growth of the IT Enabled Service and Business Process Outsourcing (ITES& BPO) Industry in Ghana," Dr Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim, Minister of Communications said Ghana was uniquely positioned to be a major player in IT services in the sub-region.

"Ghana is a favoured BPO destination because Ghana has a large pool of English-speaking labour, competitive labour costs differential to USA and UK and geo-political stability." It is the vision of GASSCOM to propel Ghana's economy into the 21st century by delivering on the promise of making Ghana the services hub and gateway to Africa.

The Minister noted that the ITES-BPO sector had been identified by government as a focus area for economic development and urged all IT companies in the country to register with the Association to ensure maximum impact and realization of its purpose.

Dr. Aggrey-Ntim urged GASSCOM members to develop software that would put Ghana at par with countries such as India and the Philippines, which were Asian giants in IT. "You can achieve this if information and data on your projects are well documented," he advised, noting that data was one issue that was absent in most businesses.

Dr Aggrey-Ntim said other countries had prospered due to the way they marketed their products and this was what Ghana was lacking. He urged GASSCOM members to sharpen their marketing skills in order to make their software attractive to other countries adding that, "You all need to help government to eradicate poverty from Ghana."

A seven-ember interim executive committee for the Association was inducted into office. Dr Samuel Somuah, a former presidential advisor on IT who chaired the function, urged Ghanaian IT companies to take advantage of the Association saying "as companies come together we believe that they would be able to compete favourably with the multi-national companies'.

RELAX AND LET NATURE RUN IT COURSE

The world is the most interesting place to live in. No matter what you are going through, be it the time of pain, fears, sorrows and joy, you just have to endure whatever comes you way because there is absolutely nothing you can do.


God has a reason for creating you and has planned your life before you were born. Take a clue from what the Lord Jesus went through and put on the armor of braveness, determination and perseverance. for it is with these that the Lord endured the cross for a sinner like me .

Allow yourself to go through life and you will see it fullfilment with God on your side steering you through all kinds of weather,condition and circumstances.


Life is a free gift and the one who gives demand nothing in return but a sinlesslife. share the love and let live for each other. Life is precious and the greatest gift to mankind.


WITHOUT LIFE THE WORLD IS NO PLACE TO LIVE IN LET LIVE AND LOVE AND ENJOY THIS GREAT GIFT "LIFE"

Workshop in on-line Journalism

A two- week workshop in on-line journalism for information officers of the Information Services Department (ISD) was opened on the 17th October 2007 at the Koforidua Polytechnic in the Eastern Region.

The workshop which is being organised by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation (MINO) in collaboration with the UNDP, brought together 40 information officers from the all ten regions of the country.

The opening ceremony was performed by the Chief Director of MINO, Mr. Albert A. Ampong, In his speech he stressed on the importance of ICTs and the Internet in the managment, packaging and the dissemination of information.

He was of the view that if journalists in the country could incorporate ICT tools in their profession, it would go a long way to assist in the timely dissemination of important information and hence help to curtail conflicts that arise sometimes due to lack of information and misinformation.

He explained that the workshop was a “Train – the – Trainer” programme under which participants will be expected to impart the skills and knowledge acquired to newly employed staff of ISD therefore urged the participants to take their training seriously.

In his welcome address, the co-ordinator of the programme, Mr Alphonse Doe Koblavie, Deputy Director in charge of IT Centre of the Information Services Department, observed that the information officers will work more effectively and efficiently if they upgraded their skills and knowledge in modern trends of mass communication using ICTs.

WOMAN

Woman you are so special. You have been created this way for a reason.

You have all that it takes to move your world. For the power within you can remove every barrier that you come across. You bring forth life therefore can do anything you set your mind on. Let this knowledge push you on until you achieved your dreams.

Life is full of obstacles but don't allow these obstacles to prevent you from becoming who you want to be. Every woman should strive for the best in life no matter what it takes because we have the potential.

Hosting Guidelines

Service is the most important issue to consider when looking at outsourcing your website or applications to a hosting company. Follow this simple checklist to ensure you're getting the support you need:

Service levels - Whilst it is important to negotiate and get the most out of your SLA, too much emphasis is put on this. Meet the hosting provider. Speak to the staff. Find out how passionate they really are about what they do. After all, service levels are down to them.

Focus - Are you hosting with a specialist or a generalist? You want access to unrivalled technical knowledge and a support team that knows the marketplace inside out and where it's going.

Support - Find out who will be looking after your account and how accessible they are. How easy is it to speak to them? A named, known manager who understands your needs will go the extra mile to make sure you're always the top priority even if it's 2am in the morning!

Flexibility - Don't get tied into contracts. If there's no flexibility in terms of contract length it doesn't bode well for service levels. If there isn't, there should be a clear definition of what failures will allow an early exit.

Scalability - Your hosting needs may well change as your business grows or new projects are taken on board. Make sure you can easily change your bandwidth needs and increase your servers without penalty.

Stability - How long has a hosting provider been in the industry? How many people does it employ? Find out some background before you sign anything. You need to make sure that your provider is still going to be around in the next 12 months.

Resiliency - A hosting provider should use more than one carrier to provide insurance against downtime. They should be able to guarantee 100% network uptime. Otherwise, it's the same as a power provider not being able to supply electricity. There are no excuses.

Guaranteed fix time - Any maintenance work should be carried out in a fixed time and without the whole network being taken down. Spares should be stored on site and providers should have the technological capability to fix the hardware problem in-house - many companies have to order parts, which can take days.

Security - Is the data centre safe? Has the network been protected? Are there intrusion detection solutions on your systems? These are all vital security-related questions you should ask before handing over parts of your business to hosting provider. This must be detailed in the agreement .

Performance monitoring and reporting - This should be available, free and accessible at all times - any reliable company should be monitoring performance on a continual basis and reports should be available via the web 24 hours a day. Your host should live and breath hosting.

Lucky Dube ;The Voice of Africa is no more but his music still Reigns

The death of the famous Raggea Artist LUCKY DUBE is a shock to the whole world and particularly Africa. He was a man of simliplicity in life and this is reflected in his music as well.


Lucky Dube tried in his music to bring African countries together as one if not in body, but in music.

Why should the world be denied of such a great person without any prior notice?.
why would someone take the life of such a great person?
Guess the Lord God is the only one who knowns the answers.

But no matter what you think, the fact is this, the world will be so QUIET without the voice of Lucky Dube.

To the family of this great musician i send my heartfelt condolence and to the son and of the greater father Lucky Dube I SAY DAD might be no more but HE is with God and they are watching over you everyday.

To the one who has cost the world of the life of such a great man, all are cries, pain, loneness, fear, and burdens are on you head.

JAH RASTAFARI

God please receive your son in peace. Amen.

COMPUTER BASICS

Computers are playing a very important role in how individuals work as well as how they live. Almost every organization has computers to help them operate more efficiently. Individuals also use computers at home for educational, entertainment, and business purposes. This paper tries to teach the basics about computers, the different categories of computers, hardware and software, and maintaining your computer. It also teaches about computer applications in education and explore various technology issues that are related to computers such as ethice, privacy and security.


Personal computers

Personal computers are desktop computers designed for an individual's use. They run programs designed to help individuals accomplish their work more productively.

Servers

Servers are not designed to be used directly. They make programs and data available for people hooked up to a computer network, a collection of computers connected together so that they can exchange data.

Minicomputers

Minicomputers are multi-user systems that can handle the computing needs of a smaller corporation or organization. Many people use them simultaneously by means of remote terminals or personal computers.

Personal computers

Mainframes are huge, multi-user systems designed to handle gigantic processing jobs in large corporations or government agencies.


Supercomputers
Supercomputers are ultra fast computers designed to process hugh amounts of scientific data then display the underlying patterns that have been discovered.

Input Devices

An input device allows you communicate with a computer. You use input devices to enter information and issue commands. Input devices include keyboard, mouse, scanner, digital camera, touch pads and joystick

Output Devices

Some Common Output Devices:

Monitors and Display Shows the processed information on a screen
A monitor uses a Picture Tube like a television with the image displayed on the front of the tube, which is called the screen.

Displays are flat and use plasma, LCD, active-matrix, or some other technology.
Monitors used to be called Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) because of the picture tube, which is a large vacuum tube.

Storage Devices

Storing information ON the Computer
The computer stores information as a string of zeros (0) and ones (1)
The standard string length is eight 0's or 1's in a row
This standard length is called a byte
A byte equals one character
A character is a letter, number, or symbol - it is about any thing that can be typed on a keyboard
There are 256 standard characters used by almost all computers
Information size measurements
Kilobyte (KB)
One kilobyte equals about 1024 bytes
1KB is about 140 words, about a half page of typed double-spaced text (words only)
Megabyte (MB)
One megabyte equals about 1000 KB
One megabyte equals about 1,000,000 bytes
One megabyte equals about 500 pages of text, or one large book
Gigabyte (GB)
One gigabyte equals about 1000 MB
One gigabyte equals about 1,000,000 KB
One gigabyte equals about 1,000,000,000 bytes
One gigabyte equals over 1,000 books of text
Some Common Storage Devices
Hard Drive
The hard drive is the primary device that a computer uses to store information. The hard drive stores programs, data files, saves files, and organizes files. The hard drive is located inside the computer case. The hard drive, magnetically stores data on stacks of rotating disks called platters.
Floppy Drive
The floppy drive stores and retrieves information on a floppy disk.
CD -ROM Drive
CD-ROM is a device that reads information stored on a compact disc. CD-ROM stands for Compact Disc Read Only Memory. One CD is equal to the space in over 40 floppy disc.

Removable Hard Disk
A zip disk is a removable disk that holds a large amount of information. A zip disk can be used to achieve, protect and transfer large amounts of data.
Zip Drive & Zip Disk
A computer system unit contains many parts.
Motherboard - The motherboard is the main circuit board of a microcomputer. It is also known as the mainboard or system board.
CPU - The CPU is the central electronic chip that determines the processing power of the computer.
Memory - Memory is the part of the computer that temporarily stores applications, documents, and stem operating information.
Bus - A bus is an electronic line that allows 1s and 0s to move from one place to another.
Expansion Slots - Expansions slots appear on the motherboard. They are sockets into which adapters are connected.
Ports and Connectors - A port is a connector located on the motherboard or on a separate adapter.
Bays - A bay is a space inside the computer case where a hard drive, floppy drive or CD-ROM drive sits
Power Supply - A power supply changes normal household electricity into electricity that a computer can use. Sound Components - A sound card lets a computer play and record high quality sound.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Does all of the work for the computer
Does all of the mathematics, mainly addition
Does all the logical comparisons of values
Directs the flow of data in a computer
Controls the operation of the parts of the computer
Today, all CPUs are microprocessors
A microprocessor is a complete computer on a silicon chip
A microprocessor does all of the functions of a computer
stores data and instructions waiting to be used
follows changeable instructions
does input, processing, and output
CPUs have three basic parts
The Arithmetic Logic Unit (ALU)
does all of the mathematics in a computer
does all of the logic comparisons of values
some common logic comparison symbols
= equal to
<> greater than
<= less than or equal to >= greater than or equal to
<> not equal
The Control Unit
directs the flow of information into the CPU and/or memory or storage
controls which instructions the CPU will do next
Registers
Used to store data and instructions inside the processor
Size of the registers can affect the speed and performance of the processor
Speed of CPUs
The speed of CPUs is measured in hertzs.
A hertz is on cycle per second.
Need to measure time to determine cycles per second
All computers have a clock built into them for timing the cycles
The clock is usually located in a small metal box on the motherboard.
Today, many CPUs can complete over six (6) instructions per second.
Speeds of modern CPUs
Most computers have a CPU that can do more than 400 MHz.
MHz stands for megahertzs
A MHz is 1,000,000 cycles per second.
Computers will soon be at speeds of over a gigahertz, 1,000,000,000 Hertzs.
Memory
Primary memory can be used directly by the CPU
Consists of silicon chips, usually either VLS or VLSI technology is used to create the chips
Two forms of Primary Memory
Read Only Memory (ROM)
Random Access Memory (RAM)
Primary memory is also called primary storage
Read Only Memory (ROM)
Stores instructions that are used by the CPU
Tells the CPU how to be the kind of computer it is, for example a Windows, Macintosh, or Play Station computers.
Tells the CPU how to work with the different parts of the computer
ROM can also hold programs that are directly accessed by the CPU. One such program is the self-test when the computer is first turned on. The self-test tests to seem if all the parts on the main circuit board (mother board) are working correctly.
The instructions in ROM can not usually be changed
The instructions are built into the electronic circuits of the chips
These instructions in ROM are called firmware
To change the instructions in ROM you need to usually change the chips or do some other special process that is normally not available to an average user.
The instructions in ROM are nonvolatile. They stay in ROM even when the computer is turned off.
Access to information is random access.
Random access means that any piece of information in ROM can be accessed at any given time without access other information first. It is a lot like the tracks on a music CD. You can access any track at any time and in any order.
The other kind of access is sequential access. You must access the information in the order that they are located. This is a lot like a music tape. You must play the songs in order, or you have to fast forward past songs to get to the one you want.
Random Access Memory (RAM)
Store data and instructions that are used by the CPU to perform some task.
These instructions are usually loaded into RAM from a secondary storage device.
RAM is also used to store instructions that tell the CPU how to work with its parts. These instructions are usually called drivers.
The instructions in RAM are constantly changing, depending on the needs of the CPU.
The instructions in RAM are volatile.
When the computer is turned off the information in RAM disappears.
The information in RAM needs to be saved to secondary storage before the computer is turned off.
Access to information is random access.
Communications Devices
Specific equipment and programs are needed to connect to the Internet or to communicate with other computers. You can use any type of computer such as IBM compatible or Macintosh to connect to the Internet or communicate with other computers. You need special programs to use the Internet. Most companies that connect you to the Internet provide the programs you need free of charge. You also need a modem to connect to the Internet. A modem translates computer information into a form that can be transmitted over telephone lines. Modems can be used to connect you to the Internet, exchange information, and to send and receive faxes.

THESE ARE FEW OF THE WORLD'S MOST INSPIRING LEADERS

web 2.0 workshop continues

A two-day workshop on web 2.0 was held for Senior Journalists, Editors and Media Educator at the International Press Centre from 10th to the 11th October 2007 came to a successful end yesterday.

The Workshop organized by Penplusbyte, Ghana Journalist Association, Ginks, Ghana ICT Journalist Association in collaboration with the French embassy brought together about twenty-three participants.

Participants were taken through the various features of web 2.0 that would enhance their work. Web2.0 which is an evolution of the internet (web 1.0) offers various technologies such as blogging, pod casting, wiki that can help Journalist to do their work effectively.

Day Two of Workshop on Web 2.0

Web 2.0


This can be said to be an evolution of the internet (web 1.0) Compared to the internet, it is the service in itself. Web 2.0 has various features that makes it possible to do virtually anything on the internet.

These include
Blogging
Podcasting

web 2.0 workshop

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