ECONOMY
No End in Sight for Tech Downturn (SJM)
EDTECH
Esselenpark Centre of Excellence partners with ADvTECH Skills in e-
learning portal (ITWeb)
SchoolNet South Africa: Accessing a World of Learning (IDRC)
COMPETITION
AOL Might Join 'Identity Service' Battle (WP)
ECONOMY
NO END IN SIGHT TECH DOWNTURN
Issue: Economy
As more Silicon Valley companies report second-quarter financial results and
other news, the long-awaited end to the high-tech downturn falls further
away. As stock prices continue to slide, sales are falling and layoffs
continue to mount. The prevailing view on Wall Street is that recovery won't
come until mid-2002, and that means that cuts made
earlier this year won't be enough to get many companies through the
slowdown. ``The `bottom' is an awkward word for all of us. We keep thinking
we've seen it and then we don't,'' said Ellen Hancock, chief executive
officer of Exodus Communications, which annouced Thursday that it will lay
off 500 more workers
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Jennifer Files]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svtop/tech072701.htm)
EDTECH
SCHOOLNET SOUTH AFRICA: ACCESSING A WORLD OF LEARNING
Issue: Digital Divide
SchoolNet South Africa is making technology available in a country where
nearly 70 percent of schools are still without computers and has already
entered 3000 schools. "The environment that SchoolNet finds itself in
is one where racial relationships are fractured as a result of South
Africa's history," says SchoolNet SA's Executive Director Denis Brandjes.
"As part of our mission, SchoolNet SA has chosen to focus on the use of ICTs
to redress some of these injustices of the past, in order to bring about
equitable distribution of resources and knowledge." SchoolNet SA, which is
funded by IDRC's Acacia Initiative with support from the Open Society
Foundation for South Africa (OSF) and the World Bank, is accepting
volunteers and is expecting to be a magnet to them. "The primary objective
of the volunteer programme is to develop a 'cadre' of youth - both Canadian
and African - who have a solid knowledge of information and communication
technologies in
Africa," notes Kantha Singh, General Manager of SchoolNet SA. "After
observing the first group of volunteers and interns, this objective is being
met with immense benefits, in the sense that both teachers and pupils have
acquired useful ICT skills that will assist them in their professional and
academic pursuits."
[SOURCE: IDRC, AUTHOR: Sheila Riordon]
(http://www.idrc.ca/reports/read_article_english.cfm?article_num=853)
ESSELENPARK CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE PARTNERS WITH ADVTECH SKILLS IN E-LEARNING
PORTAL
Issue: EdTech
Chipane Kgaphola, Esselenpark manager of tertiary education and technology,
says: "The courses fit in with a wide range of formal qualifications
including IT, management and soft skills content. They provide students with
a consistent standard and exposure to international best practices. We are
now planning centres within individual Transnet business units, with access
to the courses through our learning portal. As a profit centre we have
extended our customer base to provide just-in-time e-learning to government
and business clients through the Internet...The economic interdependency
between southern African countries and the need to increase computer
literacy in SA are driving plans to extend the availability of e-learning
material. The success
of the transport industry depends on quality of service and we plan to go
beyond South Africa's borders to offer training to our business partners. We
will also develop a programme to provide the families of our staff
with a chance to develop their own skills."
[SOURCE: ITWeb, AUTHOR: ITWeb]
(http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/business/2001/0107270752.asp)
COMPETITION
AOL MIGHT JOIN 'IDENTITY SERVICE' BATTLE
Issue: Internet
AOL Time Warner Inc. is considering entering a race against Microsoft Corp.
and other technology companies to establish a single Web identity for
consumers, attempting to become one of the dominant Internet gatekeepers for
a vast array of personal information. AOL's project, which it calls Magic
Carpet, would allow people to store personal
information online to simplify transactions on the Internet. Microsoft
officials, meanwhile, called AOL's Magic Carpet a case of hypocrisy because
AOL had recently conducted a Capitol Hill campaign against Microsoft
services, including Passport. In a March presentation to members of
Congress, AOL said the integration of Microsoft's identity
service into its operating system was "intended to create [a] chokepoint for
e-commerce."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alec Klein and Ariana Eunjung Cha]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/11460-1.html)
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