3 Tensions with Software Sustainability in ICT4D
At the Software Sustainability Institute, we are dedicated to making software a bonafide research output, and we argue that good software practices create better...
The Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs of Choosing an M&E Platform
At the recent MERL Tech conference, Tania Lee (Caktus Group), Tom Walker (Engine Room), Laura Walker McDonald (SIMLab), and Lynnae Day (Oxfam America) led a session...
Stop Reinventing the Flat Tire with Custom Software Development
News flash: most nonprofits are terrible at software development, open-sourcing is not a sustainability plan, and constantly re-inventing the wheel is a poor way...
Respect Myanmar’s Ethnic Diversity: Use Unicode Fonts Online
Burmese is the dominant language of Myanmar, but its had a long and winding journey in the digital realm, and now there is a tension between two competing systems...
10 Theses on Power and Efficacy of ICT4D Indulgences
I am Karl Brown, Associate Director of applied technology at the Rockefeller Foundation, and at the recent Mobiles! convening, I gave a brief talk where I highlighted...
7 Ways We Can Scale ICT4D Pilotitis
One overarching theme from the recent Mobiles! Conference was the need to get past pilotitis – the too many small projects that never scale, dying the day...
Inveneo’s Network Management Software Now Available as Open Source!
Setting up a network generally means configuring a router, a UPS, maybe a NAS appliance and a few access points… Just a few pieces of equipment to serve hundreds...
Why is the Quality of Kenyan Apps Going Down?
I am Kennedy Kachwanya and I think the quality of the apps being created has gone down. Recently I attended Microsoft Imagine Cup competition and I left the...
Two Reasons Why Software as a Service Is a Bad Business Model
Looking around the tech world and you would think Software as a Service (SaaS) is a godsend. All the cool Google services (search, GMail, Docs) are SaaS and the...
Will the Ubuntu Phone Rock the African Software Development Market?
You’re undoubtedly familiar with Ubuntu. An open source OS powerhouse, some argue that Ubuntu has the potential to take a sizable bite out of the cost of deploying...