If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.
Thomas aquinas (1225–1274)
When Covid-19 struck, the first reaction was some form of panic and extreme caution. Racial profiling broke out in China, Americans had a run on tissue paper, and Kenyans wanted the government to shut all borders and make the country an Island. A huge demand for masks kept the prices so high, and it is unbelievable that prices have fallen by up to 95% today. Then came the curfews and cessation of movements. Those seemed like they were very necessary to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Six months later, it seems like we have majorly learnt to live with Covid-19. While the cases have not reduced to zero, and number of deaths seem to be increasing, everywhere I look I see people who have made peace with Covid-19 and opted to go down fighting, if necessary.
Schools are now open. Masks have been discarded. Public gathering have resumed full throttle. Public service vehicles are carrying full capacity. Cases of Covid-19 no longer make the news.
What changed?
Several things, including caution fatigue, and a better understanding of the virus (both accurate and inaccurate understanding). People also realized that Covid-19 is not the worst threat to mankind today, and while you are hiding from corona virus, an armed mosquito might send you under with malarial bite.
I had a conversation with my dad about how the perception and response to Covid-19 has changed and he had some very insightful words. He said that there has always to be a balanced between caution and risk, especially if the threat is long term. It is not logical to spend all your life running from one form of death, while the risk from other types of deaths exist. That is why it did not make sense to have an extended lock-down at the expense of livelihoods.
How Covid-19 unfolds is still a mystery, but one thing that is certain is that we cannot have an extended lockdown again. At least not in a country where malaria, cancer, road accidents and other simple illnesses pose a similar or worse threat.
However, Covid-19 remains to be a moving target. No one knows what exactly it will end. Only hope.
I am a big fan of cheap smartphones (economics 101). I realized no matter how good a smartphone is, I am most likely to use it for only calls, SMS, mobile money and occasional social media. This means that whenever I am looking for a phone, I am looking for one that can do that efficiently without much exaggeration – a decent processor and RAM.
The other motivation for keeping a cheap phone is because the likelihood of me losing it in Nairobi is very high. I only want a phone which if lost, I will walk into a shop and buy another one without starting breaking the bank. I think this is the real reason why I am into cheap phones.
(Just remembered that I once did an informal survey in an office and found out that at one point in life, each person had lost a smartphone through pickpockets, smart thugs or even a violent encounter, and consequently, no one fancies expensive phones. This is what crime does to the market.)
For the last 18 months, I have had this phone which was very cheap for its specifications. It was from a strange manufacturer in UAE and I decided to try what the Emirates have to offer. For only KShs 7500, I got a phone through Jumia that had 3GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage. That was good enough for my needs.
Bloatware
It came loaded with some default apps which one cannot uninstall. These are common in many phones, but I realized that one of these apps was Uber. The strategy worked because before then, I would only install the app whenever I needed it (very rare – less than 5 times in an year), and I would choose between Uber and Bolt. Since then, I have only used Uber because I did not have to install it.
This marketing strategy is similar to the one WhatsApp used. I remember that a number of smartphones used to come with WhatsApp preinstalled and we had no option but to get used to it, and even use it since it was always available. Genius.
But in this device called Fourmobile S610 Shine, there was one app called Mobile Care shown below. I could not uninstall it, so I just disabled it and never gave it much thought.
However, the app started enabling itself after sometime, and went ahead to do some mischievous things. It would launch the browser and open some spammy links, and would show display ads that would overlay the whole screen with no option to close them. It would also show the notification below which wants to deceive one that it is from Facebook, but if you click on it, it leads you to website that is just serving ads or just another suspicious website.
Ghost Manufacturer
I got a bit worried about the phone and decided to check the manufacturer. To my surprise, the manufacturer’s website was no longer operation. It seemed that the manufacturer of the phone was non existent, or had closed shop.
A look at their Facebook page showed that it was created in 2015 and the last update was in 2018.
It is clear that what I have is an ad serving device and I do not know what else -God forbid- that it does without my knowledge.
Preinstalled Malware
One of the methods that manufacturers use to sell cheap phones is to include some adware (apps that show ads) in the devices. Some of these have been shown to be dangerous malware that should not be in the phones. This is what I have been suffering from.
It seems that as long as you are using a cheap smartphone, your data is at the mercies of the manufacturer and other third parties that you may never know.
The ugly part of the ads that these apps show or the pages they open is that they are not even relevant. I would appreciate it if they had used my stolen data to customize the best ads for me.
Regulation
How can this be stopped?
One of the major players who can do this is Google. While Android is open source, Google can force manufacturers to have their apps vetted properly and require enough justification for apps that cannot be uninstalled.
The government also needs to regulate which manufacturers can sell devices in the local market. Unknown brand of mobile phones pose the highest risks, beside not having spare parts readily available. (I found someone else with a similar phone which he had to discard after the screen broke, because a replacement could not be found).
As of now, it seems that when the smartphone is cheap, you are the one who is being bought.
PS: Removing the Malware
To remove the malware, I had to use Android Studio because the app could not be uninstalled directly from the phone. I checked the actual name of the app and it was ‘com.rock.gota.’ A Google search showed that the app is a well know malware that comes installed in many cheap android phones and it has been reported in many places from Brazil to Egypt to Myanmar.
The detailed instructions for removing the app can be found HERE.
The age of the email peaked several years ago, but it seems to be just the time when Kenyan newspapers are catching up with the email.
In the last few days, I have noticed that the Daily Nation is giving a pop up requesting you to sign up and receive ‘the latest news as it happens’ in your email. It will popup in every page you access until you either sign up or click the tiny ‘I’m not interested’ link.
The standard has also followed suit, desperately asking for your email address and talking of ‘supporting independent journalism.’
I would not subscribe to any of those. Personally, I do not need any more email into my inbox which I won’t open anyway.
While I did not subscribe, I realized that The Standard went ahead to get my email address from wherever and added me to their mailing list. From the screenshot below, you notice that the email sent was delivered to my Spam folder, and you will also realize that:
They have a different domain name specifically for sending the daily emails.
They seemed to have the name blank (Dear ,) but they have the email address.
I know for sure that Standard knows that what they are doing is wrong. I know that they possibly have even my name and it is only that they cannot put it there and claim that they got both the email and name correct erroneously.
Whatever the case, let us welcome the Kenyan print media to the year 2000. In God we trust, everyone else bring data.
My above average performing computer had been gradually slowing down. Programs would take slightly longer to load; booting would take ages and windows would keep freezing. Realizing that it was already a five-year computer which also had another previous owner, I thought maybe it is time to get a new one.
The outbreak of Zoom meetings this year was another motivation for replacing it because the inbuilt webcam is just not good. I had already acquired an external webcam but this was tedious because I had to remember to carry it just in case.
But not keen on getting the latest computer costing me a kidney and only to use it to run some very basic programs, I decided to see if I can salvage the situation. My hands are so used to the keyboard and upgrading would throw me off balance for a couple of days.
The Problem
How do you tell what is making your computer slow?
One of the first step is the Task manager. After checking the Task Manager, I realized that even when my computer was overwhelmed with tasks, the CPU was almost idle, operating at less than 10% the potential. The 5 GB RAM was always utilized at about 80% (which is the way the way it should be). But there was one problem: The hard disk.
A look at the Task Manager of a Different Windows PC
After doing billion of revolutions, the hard disk was dying slowly and the Task Manager indicated that it was always at 100% usage. I checked and realized that the speed of data transfer from the disk was very slow.
Solution
Changing the hard disk could be the solution. I got an old Solid State Drive and replaced the Hard disk. SSD disks are extremely fast and once I replaced the hard disk, life changed.
The computer now boots in just under 11 seconds. No longer do I have to wait for programs to open. Switching off is like switching off a TV.
Need to learn some programming. Looking for online resources where you can learn to code?
We have compiled a few platforms and resources which you can use. We have not used all of these tools and may not know which one exactly suits you, but we have given you a good place to start.
Again, not in any order.
Have fun!
Online Programming and Web Development Resources
Bloc Bloc offers structured, online training programs in software development and design for career-minded adults with busy lives. They describe themselves as designed for beginners with a focus on outcomes.
Code Avengers Code Avengers is an online digital technology education service based in New Zealand. The team is built of talented school teachers, software developers, designers, and marketers working to create a learning platform for all ages starting at 5 years. Courses include Python, HTML & CSS, Javascript, Web Development, Design.
Codeacademy Codecademy is an education company providing a platform to learn and teach. Languages taught include HTML & CSS, Python, JavaScript, Java, SQL, Bash/Shell, Ruby, C++, R, C#, PHP, Go, Swift, Kotlin.
CodeHS CodeHS helps schools teach code and can be used by an individual to learn. Languages include Javascript, Python, Java, HTML, C++, SQL, and Karel.
CodePen CodePen is a social development environment for front-end designers and developers. Build and deploy a website, show off your work, build test cases to learn and debug, and find inspiration.
Coursera Coursera offers a wide range of courses, certificates, and degrees online from world-class universities and companies. It does not have to be about programming.
Cplusplus.com Cplusplus.com allows you yo learn the C++ language from its basics up to its most advanced features.
Cprogramming.com Cprogramming.com covers both C and C++ in-depth, with both beginner-friendly tutorials, more advanced articles, and the book Jumping into C++, which is a highly reviewed, friendly introduction to C++.
Dream.In.Code DIC is a is a leading online community for programmers and web developers. It offers free access to thousands of programming tutorials, code snippets, forum topics, and more.
edX edX is a general platform for education and learning. It includes a wide range of course in almost all fields
HowToCode.io This platfrom hosts over 30,000 developers learning full-stack web development.
Javatpoint Offers hundfreds of tutorials in Python, Java, PHP, JavaScript, C++, C#, DS, DBMS, C, SQL, Android, and HTML.
Learn Code The Hard Way Learn Code The Hard Way courses are the most effective system for learning the basics of computer programming, designed specifically for complete beginners.
LearnCpp.com LearnCpp.com is a free website devoted to teaching you how to program in C++. Whether you’ve had any prior programming experience or not, the tutorials on this site will walk you through all the steps to write, compile, and debug your C++ programs, all with plenty of examples.
LinkedIn Learning LinkedIn Learning is a paid online learning place offering different types of courses including programming.
PHPbuddy This site is designed to help you learn PHP programming here you will find high quality PHP articles, Quick Start PHP tutorials and scripts that will help to you learn PHP quickly.
Pluralsight Offers courses such as Python, JavaScript, Java, C#, Web Development, Mobile Development.
Professor Messer Provides quality technology information and training, including specialized training courses for CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, and CompTIA Security+
Quackit Offers free web development/design tutorials. Includes CSS, Javascript, AJAX, ColdFusion, and HTML tutorials, code examples, layout help and references.
Programmr Programmr is the world’s online lab for programming enthusiasts to assess, improve and showcase their programming skills.
StackOverflow Stack Overflow is the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their programming knowledge, and build their careers.
Treehouse Treehouse or is an online technology school that offers beginner to advanced courses in web design, web development, mobile development and game development taught by team of expert teachers. Its courses are aimed at beginners looking to learn coding skills for a career in the tech industry.
Tutorials Point Tutorials Point is an E-learning company that specializes in tutorials library on any IT and software topic & other allied subjects
W3Schools W3Schools is an educational website for learning web technologies online. Content includes tutorials and references relating to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, PHP, Python, AngularJS, React.js, SQL, Bootstrap, Sass, Node.js, jQuery, XQuery, AJAX, XML, Raspberry Pi, C++, C# and Java.
Udacity Udacity is a general purpose learning platform that offers online courses in almost all fields.
Udemy Udemy is an online learning platform aimed at professional adults and students.
FutureLearn Learn how to code or build your skills in programming online to gain a better understanding of how websites and apps are designed and developed.
Rural electrification was hailed as a game changer in improving the livelihoods of people in rural areas. In Kenya, the government has run several programs supported by the World Bank, the African Development Bank and others, resulting in hundreds of thousands getting connected to the National Grid.
This was the Last Mile Connectivity program that targeted to increase the national connectivity rate to 70%.
Failure
But the net effect in Kenya has not been very flowery in some places. As it turned out, many people who got connected to the grid had very limited uses for electricity. Typically, they would need a 5 Watt LED bulb and one socket from where they would charge their phones. Such a household would end up spending less than $1 of electricity per month. To put this into perspective, the cost of connecting one household is $350.
Considering that they would top up some meaningful amount of money for a start, these households would then go for a long time without any other top up. This is why Kenya Power was complaining about many non vending meters and the last mile project named as one of the reasons the company’s value has been declining. In 2010, Kenya Power’s shares were trading at KShs 25. Today they average at KShs 2.00.
The irony of the big attempts to connect some rural places with almost zero consumption is that there are still many people who can afford to pay for their own connection who are not getting connected. These have the capacity to consume power, but getting connected is a problem.
A Case Study
Getting an electricity connection can be a problem even if you can afford. In my rural home, we tried to get connected for many years but the cost was in the tune of millions. We tried to come together as a group but that still would not work.
After about ten years, Kenya Power came and quickly offered to connect every home for only KShs 1,160. Reason? The World Bank had offered a grant to connect people living in slums, but they were not interested. Most of them relied on illegal connections and a formal connection would just increased the cost form them.
Since there was money to spend, Kenya Power simply connected people who had been willing to pay KShs 35,000 for only Kshs 1160.
Could it have been different?
Achieving a universal access to electricity would be a great thing. It would open up more opportunities especially for the marginalized communities.
However, electricity on its own may not add value to people who are in extreme cases of poverty. As some experts have pointed, electricity is not like water where you turn on and immediately you find uses for what flows.
For people to use electricity, there needs to be some form of economic empowerment. Electricity is supposed to help power their day to day activities. This could be keeping their food fresh, cooking, entertainment, powering chaff cutters or even powering a brooder for chicks.
If it is about lighting, there better be something for people to do with the light. And in any case, there can be alternative cheaper ways of powering a 5W bulb in a single roomed house near the equator.
The focus should be on economic development. Electricity will follow on demand. Alternatively, a mix of grid and off-grid solutions can be explored to avoid using a hammer to kill a fly.
Tools have always defined mankind. Every attempt to make work easier led to search for tools or external power that could help human beings. This dates back to prehistoric times when people started using tools and most of these were hand powered.
When all work involves manual labor, one sure way of increasing productivity adding more power to the work. Animals would be used to help in carrying loads, ploughing land or just any work where muscles were needed. This limited how things could be done.
Disruption
Once in a while, a new technology or a new way of perceiving the world shows up and triggers a great change both socially and economically. Such was the First Industrial Revolution.
The background to this was the Agricultural Revolution which had managed to feed people; hence people could focus on solutions to other problems. With surplus food, ready investors, people willing to take risks and ready supply of resources like coal for power, a great innovation was obviously lurking.
In the mid-1700, man began to understand and use different energy source. People learnt that they could harness the power of steam and convert it into motion. This is what gave the rise to the use of steam engine and was Central to the First Industrial Revolution.
Steam Power
The immediate application of steam power is the steam engine which allowed for different things to be done. Ships could sail any time and for long distances. Factories could mass produce goods because there was a supply of power to keep it running. Many things that were done by hands could now be done in centralized place – the factory.
This led to shift from a lifestyle where everything was centered around farms to where people moved to urban areas and they were involved in production of goods and services that would be used all over the world. For example, textile industries sprung up in Great Britain and the products could be shipped to many places all over the world.
The major disruption was the chain effect that followed. It became possible to make railway lines that would cut across countries thus making movement of goods and people possible. Steel girders could be used to make skyscrapers. Life gradually changed.
This period of the First Industrial Revolution ran from 1765 to 1870 and saw a rise in many applications of steam power. Transport, agriculture and manufacturing were changed because of steam powered machines as opposed to animal power or hand-drawn tools.
Mechanization led to urbanization and the way of living was altered. Goods could move far because of steam powered ships. Textile industries thrived. It was a major leap for humanity.
Negative Impacts
It was not all rosy as we may want to imagine.
The negative effect was that people moved to work in factories where working conditions were not good. They would work for long hours and even children would also work in factories. Those who could not get jobs formed a huge population in urban areas.
People had been used to a quiet farm life where life was slow and the weather controlled most activities. This time they were to work in factories where the clock controlled everything.
Summary of the First Industrial Revolution
Use of machines (mechanization) led to increased productivity and efficiency.
Steam power took over from muscular power.
Steam engines powered trains and ships, allowing goods and people to move great distances over a short time.
The factory as opposed to the farm became the center of the economy.
Population shift from rural agriculture to work in factories in urban areas.
Mass production led to reduced costs of goods.
The textile industry was among the first to use mechanized production methods.
For a long time in history, Engineering was considered to be a man’s field where a woman would occasionally show up. The image of an engineer was that of a muscular person wearing a helmet and covered with grease or some form of dirt, depending on the field where they were working. That seemed repulsive to the image of what the world wanted an ideal woman to look like. It was supposed to be a man’s world, and it was.
Today, the image of an engineer is quite different. Engineering cuts across many areas of life and it is not just about steam engines and coal power plants. The image of an engineer has changed. However, something still remains the same in most of the developing world.
A Man’s World
As the world celebrates the International Women in Engineering Day on 23rd June, one thing that is evident is that Engineering still remains to be largely a man’s world, and this has a cost. This is because in meeting scietal and consumer needs, we cannot depend on the views of one gender and expect to come up with solutions that will perfectly solve the problems we are facing. That never works.
It might be the reason why we are so concerned about connecting all schools to the electrical grid before we can think of connecting all of them to water systems. I appreciate the place of electricity (and I am an electrical engineer), but it is a warped thinking to assume that the health and hygiene needs of children are not as critical to the learning of students.
In my engineering class (ten years ago), women constituted less than 10%. I do not think that has changed much, although great strides are being made. However, I would want to add to the case for having more women in engineering, for those who think that it does not matter.
We need Diverse Teams
Diversity is key when it comes to innovation, and this applies also to gender diversity. From design, to manufacturing, to the business side, diverse teams always win.
To effectively build solutions that solve the challenges in the world today, we need both men and women in order to understand those problems, as well as figure out solutions that can work. We also need diversity in terms of backgrounds and if we are solving problems that involve water scarcity in Turkana, we need to have people in Turkana involved. That is how it works.
We cannot build a world where half of the people are not involved. It will not work.
In my team at Truehost Cloud, which is a technology company, we have a team that has at any point been always 50% women on average, and this has been one key to success. We have a team that deeply understands customer needs because it is diverse. This has been one pillar of our success.
Women are Competent
The skills needed in engineering are not reserved for one gender. We have many women who have excelled in engineering, and the few ladies who were in my class not only continue to excel where they are today, but in many cases, outshine their male colleagues.
Throughout history, we have many examples of women who made remarkable contributions to the world through engineering. Unfortunately, a girl living in rural Kitui may not know much about them to spur enough motivation to be an engineer. This is why we need these stories to be told so that we can spur the next generation of women in engineering, because they are competent.
It is not about adding pretty faces to the engineering world. It is about making the world sustainable and finding solutions that best fit the world today.
On a normal day, Stephen Odhiambo works to build furniture along Ngong road. He is good at what he does, based on the video that has been circulating online. But being good is not good enough for business. You need to make a sale. That is what matters.
It is for this reason that Stephen Odhiambo displays his furniture along Ngong road in Nairobi. Like many others of his colleagues, Ngong Road is an established furniture heaven in Nairobi and most do not even formal stalls. It is simply a roadside display of furniture. Willing buyers will see furniture that they like and will stop to buy. That is how it works.
Furniture on Sale along Ngong Road
But is there more to the roadside display? Can these people make more money from other locations outside Ngong Road? It turns out yes, and the tool needed to achieve this is in their hands.
Stephen Odhiambo took a video of his foldable table/seat and shared with potential buyers on WhatsApp. One would expect the clip to circulate in various groups and a few inquiries. But something bigger happened.
The Tweet
The clip got into the hands of one Mohammed Hersi who shared it on Twitter.
Stephen Odhiambo has received more than 800 orders. In short, orders worth KShs 20 million in just a week! How did that happen?
The person who shared the clip in the Tweet is a well-known figure in the Tourism industry. He also has almost 300 thousand followers on Twitter. These would be people very likely to buy his product. The power of a single Tweet was manifested here.
Lesson
Stephen Odhiambo will need help to fulfill all those orders because it takes him four days to make one piece. He will need a team, and collaboration with other people if he is to meet the demand. This is one of the hardest parts in business. Building a team that can deliver is not easy. I hope he can pull this.
But it is even worth noting that he is not the first to make such a table/bench. There are many videos of it on YouTube. Most likely, he found one online and decided to make it. It is good if you can come up with a new idea, but you are not doomed if you cannot.
You do not need to be the inventor of something to benefit from it. You can implement many ideas that exist because the world is big enough and there will still be a market.
I am sure today almost every other furniture maker is busy trying to replicate what Stephen Odhiambo did, and soon the supply will be flooding. May the best win.
In an agricultural based economy, any area that receives low amounts of rainfall and lacks access to underground or surface water for irrigation ends up with very limited options. One such area is Northern Kenya which is characterized by annual average amounts of 150 – 450 mm, making it majorly suitable for nomadic pastoralism.
The Bigger Kenya
Northern Kenya houses 38% of the Kenyan population and covers 70% of total landmass in Kenya. The distinct characteristics of this vast land is the abundance of development challenges such as poverty, hunger, lack of quality health services, limited number of schools, gender inequality and many others.
With limited resources and options for improving the quality of life, one of the easiest ways to escape poverty is through education. However, this has always proved to be a challenge in Northern Kenya.
More than 50% of children in Northern Kenya live more than 11 km from a secondary school, making it very hard for students to make it to school and back home every day. Consequently, there are so many children who are out of school at any given point. A survey of 3 counties in the region once found that more than 50% of households had a child out of school.
There are many factors that contribute to low school enrollment in Northern Kenya and many of these would require multiple solutions cutting across different sectors. For example, the opportunity cost for education in the region is too high. If one enrolls in school, they miss out on being trained on the most relevant skill in the area – keeping cattle. Due to other factors, students may not do well in school and are not likely to get into the formal job market, thus they are neither useful in their home places and cannot sustain themselves in urban areas.
Thus, telling a child to go to school in some parts of Northern Kenya could be equivalent of telling a child from a working class family to venture into football instead of education. Success could come, but as an exception.
Although there is no silver bullet that can solve all the problems, one gap that needs to be exploited in the simplest way possible is use of simple digital technologies.
Mobile Connectivity
At the moment, Safaricom which has the widest network coverage in Kenya has 96% of the population covered with 2G network and 93% with 3G network. In Northern Kenya, the government has intervened to have telcos put up mobile networks in some non-profitable areas like very remote locations and majority of the population have some access to the network.
The area lacks access to electricity but receives a lot of sunshine with at least 8 hours of sunshine every day and this makes it ideal for use of solar power. Generally, solar power would be adequate to power most digital technology devices in Northern Kenya all year round.
With mobile network and possible source of power, what can be done to help improve the quality of education?
Some of the challenges that need to be solved are:
Low population density making it to have schools within the reach of every child.
Nomadic lifestyle that means families are sometimes on the move.
Poor infrastructure making it hard to provide and monitor services.
Social inequalities making girls less likely to attend school.
High opportunity cost of education.
Rampant insecurity and cattle rustling.
Shortage of teachers, and low quality of teaching due to many untrained teachers.
Most of these problems require government intervention and a long term strategy, but there is a place for engineers to design products that can fit people in these areas. This could be:
Creating apps that can help these kids learn English in a language that they understand, such as M-Lugha has done.
Creating digital mentorship channels to encourage young people to stay to school and show them possibilities in education – a sort of penpals.
Labs that are powered by solar.
Using content loaded tablets to empower teachers like it is being done by Bridge.
Using climate data and satellite images to predict where pastoralists will be moving to and thus plan appropriately to keep the children learning.
