Global weekly roundup: Google Plus, Kenya Open Data and more

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Kenya launches Africa’s first Open Data initiative

Kenya Open DataOn 7 July, Kenya became the first African country to open it’s government social and development data online for the public. Kenya will make some government data available online on www.opendata.go.ke which runs on a platform called Socrata. The website allows users to view different data at national, county and constituency levels. Users can manipulate the views of the data in various ways and can even create maps from it.  The data is made available in 6 categories: Education, Energy, Health, Population, Poverty and Water & Sanitation.

For Kenya, this development is clearly very important as such data can be used to creatively solve problems that the country faces. It puts the power to be creative with solutions in so many more hands. It will clearly also help leaders become more accountable to the Kenyans.

 Google quarterly earnings up to US $9.03 billion

This week, Google made its second quarter earnings call. Google has set itself a new record by earning US $9.03 billion in the quarter ending 30 June 2011. Revenues went up 32% from the same period last year. Non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $2.85 billion.

In addition to the regular call, new Google CEO, Larry Page, also shared the information on the Google social network Google Plus.

 

Google plus has some 10 million active users sharing 1 billion items daily

google-plus-logoIn addition to sharing Google quarterly earnings on Google+, Larry Page announced a milestone this week: Even though the social network is still open to invitees only, Google+ has so far registered 10 million active users who are sharing and receiving some 1 billion items a day.

Google’s social network is already making it’s mark as Facebook’s only serious challenge to date. Just how big that challenge is and if indeed it will take a large share of the social networking market from Facebook is surely not clear yet.

 

Windows as we know it is change completely

Microsoft this week said that Windows is undergoing a complete shift as a platform. Computing into the future, as Microsoft will deliver it, will be on one operating system for all devices.

At a Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, a Microsoft executive said revealed the company will have just a “single ecosystem” for all devices: PCs, mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles, TV. You can read about that on this link.

6 comments

  1. Norman Nhliziyo

    Microsoft is playing games, stuck in the past! This one-size fits all is going to blow up in their faces. 

  2. VaChikwanha

    I agree with Norman. Microsoft dont have a good reputation when it comes to recent releases from their stable. I sincerely hope their one-size fits all solution will be optimised CORRECTLY for the various devices they have on the market. It will increase the appeal of their brand if handled correctly, eg, seamless synchronisation of your cell phone with your laptop as well as your tablet pc and perhaps x-box and whatever else they sell will be a definite plus to the average non-technical person who wants to just get on with life without having to download this patch or buy a certain compatibility software to do the aforementioned. We the techno-geeks have generally been anti-microsoft since the launch of windows vista, hence we will watch with a sceptical eye wether or not this new initiative will work.

  3. josh sarz

    Microsoft is sticking to what they do best. The bad thing is it’s not working anymore. Although their games are really nice, they’re losing a lot of love from the community. Though they’re trying to start a revolution with their Windows 8 and 9 concepts, along with their ecosystem, they still need to make sure that it enchants a lot of people, preferably people who have flocked to Android, or Apple.

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