Friday, March 31, 2006
Now MIRS is thinking bigger. Talks are under way to introduce a kosher phone to Jewish communities in the United States and other nations possibly later this year. Israeli Arabs — about 20 percent of the population — have also taken notice of the phones as a possible option for those trying to protect conservative Islamic sensibilities.
Some Arab cell phone providers see the same attraction. They have sought information from MIRS via envoys from Jordan, which has a peace treaty with Israel, said Burstyn, who declined to give further details of the contacts.
"This was a unique product for a unique brand of customer," he said. "But we see some potential beyond this niche market."
The kosher phone is an example of demand leading the way for supply.
In late 2004, a special rabbinical panel was formed to study how to bridge the need for cellular phones and ultra-Orthodox codes. The community was torn.
Some saw the phones as a non-threatening convenience. Others believed the sophisticated "third generation" phones offered an unhealthy freedom: the ability to download pornography or allow young people to make furtive contact with the opposite sex — which is highly restricted in ultra-Orthodox society. The conservative magazine Family called the multitasking new phones "a candy store for the evil impulse."
The rabbis' solution — find a cell phone that's only a phone.
"They saw the future and were frightened," said one of Israel's most prominent attorneys, Jacob Weinroth, who was asked by the rabbis to approach Israel's four main cellular companies with the idea of the pared-down phone. "In 10 years, we may have commercials coming over the phone. Maybe gambling, dating. The community wanted to keep the cell phones, but not allow this commercial world to enter their communities through them."
Mirs — Israel's smallest cell phone in terms of market share — was the first to take the challenge. But instead of simply blocking the non-call services, the new phones were specially engineered with hardware to prevent upgrades or sharing chips with other handsets.
The kosher phone was ready last March, backed by an unusual sales force: 80 men and 10 women from Israel's ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods who went through a crash course in cell phones and door-to-door pitches. The classes were arranged to accommodate synagogue prayer schedules and Torah studies.
"These people were figures in their community. They weren't nobodies. They started spreading the word in synagogues and wedding halls," said Matanel Shalom, chief of marketing at Sales & Direct Marketing Ltd., a Tel Aviv-based company hired to market the kosher phone.
By summer, more than 20,000 kosher phones were sold. But it was just a foothold in an estimated market of at least 180,000 cell phone users among Israel's 500,000 ultra-Orthodox. Two of Israel's other three cell phone players have developed their own kosher phones. The options now come in a range of styles and colors — from staid black to enamel red.
"If you think about it, the (ultra-Orthodox) religious community is not going to movies and other things. These days, the kind of phone you carry is part of who you are," said Shalom. "Some rabbis didn't like it, but that's the reality."
# posted by Unknown : Friday, March 31, 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
[via Virtually Islamic
http://virtuallyislamic.blogspot.com/]
JEDDAH, 27 March 2006 — As Dhuhr prayer commences, the imam calls the devoted to stand in line and fill any gaps between them. The mosque is a near-perfect atmosphere for peaceful, quiet self-reflection and piety. Suddenly the ambience of the holy place is shattered by the hip-hop beats of Los Angeles rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. The worshippers turn their head to look at the offender. Tsk-tsk. Once again somebody didn’t turn off his cell phone!
“There is no hope for them,” says Khaled Muhammad, imam of a mosque in Jeddah’s Al-Rawdah neighborhood. “I warn them time and time again against bringing mobile phones inside mosques. If these people were meeting with their company boss they would turn off their phones. Why is it when they’re meeting with God they don’t extend the same courtesy?”
Khaled Muhammad told Arab News that he has given up on trying to curb the sounds of pop music that pop up during prayer, choosing simply to ignore the annoyance and hope that fights don’t break out.
This mini-drama plays out day in and day out in mosques across the Kingdom, and imams like Khaled Muhammad find themselves in a constant fight against disrespectful mobile owners. And this fight is sometimes taken over by other Muslims inside the mosque, which can occasionally lead to fisticuffs.
Syed Abdul Razzaq, an Egyptian who attends the mosque in Al-Rawdah where Khaled Muhammad leads prayers, said that he has witnessed many confrontations inside the mosque, verbal and otherwise.
“One time, about a minute into Asr prayer, one of the phones started ringing with some loud music. The man did nothing. The music continued to break the silence inside the mosque over and over again for about three minutes, all the way through the prayer. Afterward, people were just glaring at the rude man. He didn’t seem to care. His phone rang again and, this time, he answered it.”
Then, according to Abdul Razzaq, some old-timers took it upon themselves to teach the man a lesson in manners.
“Some elderly men didn’t like his behavior and began shouting at the man. The imam at the time was trying to calm the hostile situation, but he couldn’t do anything about it at that point. Four people ganged up on the guy and began beating him right there inside the mosque. They took his mobile phone and threw it against the floor, shattering it.”
Complaints from imams are increasing. They say despite warnings and posted signs at mosque entrances people are simply not respecting the sanctity of the mosque. The problem has even led to lengthy Friday sermons during which the faithful are told to switch off their phones.
Arguments and confrontations like the one described by Abdul Razzaq seem to be commonplace. More respectful worshippers get offended at the smaller group of careless individuals, thus creating a division inside the mosque that can lead to cursing and arguments.
Abu Ahmad, from Jeddah, said that his mosque’s directors considered installing a wireless device that impedes mobile signals, but they ruled it out after learning that these same devices can interfere with pacemakers in people with heart ailments.
“I hate mobile phones because of what I see every single day in the mosque,” said Ahmad.
“I’ve seen the mobile ringtones confuse worshippers and even the imam himself. There’s no point in leaving mobile phones on while praying because you’re not going to answer it.”
Some mosques, such as the one in Madinah visited recently by Arab News, are taking a more deliberate approach by using doormen to search people as they enter. Some attendees complain that this method makes the mosque feel like a wedding hall, where doormen are often used to make sure nobody enters with camera phones.
Hashim Al-Emam, who attends the Madinah mosque, approved of this method. “I think it’s a good idea,” he said. “If verbal warnings and signs are not clear enough for these people then a major step should be taken to end it with force.”
One incident relayed to Arab News by a worshipper in Madinah that took place in a mosque in Riyadh helps to illustrate the ubiquitous nature of this problem. One of the old men in the mosque volunteered to give a lecture on the importance of turning off mobile phones in mosques. While giving the lecture, his mobile started playing this all-too-familiar tune. Embarrassed, the old man said this illustrated another point: That often a ringing mobile phone inside a mosque is a matter of forgetfulness rather than overt disrespect.
# posted by Unknown : Monday, March 27, 2006
Friday, March 24, 2006
[via Virtually Islamic]
By Huda al SalehRiyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat- Sheikh Abdullah Al Manee, a prominent Member of the Saudi Council of Senior Ulama (scholars), has called for the initiation of dialogue in Saudi Arabia to include all four schools of thought within Saudi society, as well as the various Islamic factions such as the Shia and the Sufis. He has suggested that the best way to supervise such a dialogue is through a royal decree. Moreover, in an interview with Asharq Al Awsat newspaper in Riyadh, he called for the necessity to codify the jurisdictional rulings in Saudi courts, as they would play a major and decisive role in hastening the judicial process. He further expressed that the base of judicial reform is to maintain the penal code, which is open without codification according to the interpretation of the judge. Finally, Al Manee expressed his wish that the Saudi ruler prohibit the speculation of the stock exchange.
The following interview with Sheikh Abdullah Al Manee sheds further light on his opinions:
Q) Why are there many interpretations of the same text, which consequently leads to several sub-rulings of the same text?
A) The text is open to a number of interpretations. This however, does not mean that there are contradictions, as the scholars adopt those concepts that are best suited to the conditions they face. The nature of this dynamic justifies multilateral variations even if the adaptation of one scholar differs to another.
Q) Do you consider the variations in religious opinions healthy?
A) Variations in interpreting the religious text are not a new phenomenon. Many companions of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) had different opinions about the same texts. For example, you have Ibn Abbas's school, which is known for opting for the softer edicts, on the other hand you have Abdullah Ibn Omar's school which is characterized with being more careful. Moreover, there is such a wide spectrum of opinions for a varied number of companions such as Abu Bakr, Omar, Ali, Othman, Abdel Rahman Ibn Aouf, and Saad Ibn Abi Waqas. The same phenomenon of varied opinions lasted until the next generation of the companions. In fact, the four schools of Islamic Law sprang from this generation.
Q) Who has the right to choose one interpretation over another?
A) Anyone who is qualified for Ijtihad. However, his opinion has to be based on rationalism not emotion. Those who lack knowledge have to follow and abide by a particular school of law.
Q) How is a person qualified for Ijtihad?
A) He must have acquired the tools of Ijtihad, which will give him the ability to understand the rules and fundamental basis of Islam and Sharia, as taken from the Quran, the Hadith, and the sciences of the Arabic language.
Q) What is your opinion of those who call for quarterly and annual sessions with representatives of the four Islamic schools of thought?
A) This is a very positive idea because Allah has ordered Muslims to unite to seek the truth. The major academies of Islamic Jurisprudence today, are nothing more than a practical implementation of God's orders. Such academies include the Jurisprudence Academy of the Islamic Conference Organization, the World Muslim Association, the Authority of Prominent Scholars in Saudi Arabia and the Egyptian Islamic Research Academy.
Q) What about dialogue with the different factions such as the Shia and Sufis?
A) Serious dialogue is the key to unity, taking the Prophet Mohammad as a model, when he took part in dialogue with the Christians in his Mosque. It would be even more valid to develop dialogue between the Islamic factions. Nevertheless, this dialogue should always be according to the way and tradition of the Prophet Mohammed. In my opinion, the ground is set for a fruitful dialogue, but only if people want to seek the truth without any factional bias.
Q) Is there anything wrong with convening such meetings from the religious point of view? If not, what is currently preventing this?
A) There is nothing wrong with it, but who rings the bell? We need certain authorities to adopt such approaches. therefore, we hope that the national dialogue may expand to include religious dialogue also. If the foundations are laid, there should be no problem, as long as all opinions and statements expressed are respected by all.
Q) Do you think that the Saudi House for Fatwa should call for these meetings and this idea?
A) I do wish that the ruler would call for these meetings, yes.
Q) Some argue that there is a gap between the prominent scholars and the students in this subject area. What do you think?
A) I do not think that this is true. The young students always refer to the prominent scholars. I stress that there is no split. We should expand the circle of communication through a number of meetings in which several issues can be addressed.
Q)in light of the recent stock market crash, What do you think about stock market speculation? Is it legal or do you consider it gambling?
A) The issue of shares has reached a serious level. In effect, it has now paralyzed Saudi Arabian economic activities, with respect to imports and exports. The state no longer prospers on people's fortunes. Yes, of course I call for an end to it.
Q) If the stock prices continue to deteriorate, will you issue a fatwa against the stock market?
A) I hope our ruler prohibits it before it is too late.
Q) What do you think about the increase in the number of cases of domestic violence and sexual harassment in Saudi society?
A) Until recently, Saudi society was clean and innocent. Unfortunately, it has changed due to several factors. Among these is the household staff that has come from different societies, also, the spread of satellite television and internet, which has introduced pornography. Finally, the employment of women has led to mothers leaving the house and leaving their children with foreign maids or nannies all day. This has had an especially negative impact on society.
Q) There is wide public discontent related to the delay in the issuing of verdicts in judicial litigations in Saudi courts, especially regarding personal legal cases. What is your opinion on this subject?
A) The reason for this is that there are not many judges in Saudi. There is no more than 800 judges for a population of 26 million, meanwhile much smaller countries, in size and populations, have double that number of judges.
Q) Do you see any necessity in codifying the laws in light of the frequent disagreements between judges and the delay in the examination of judicial litigation?
A) I have been calling for such a move for over 25 years. I called for codification according to the four schools of thought, not only the Hanbali School. If an official party took on this responsibility it would undoubtedly reduce differences and would constitute a strong factor in hastening the verdict in judicial proceedings. It would also make rulings much clearer for litigants before going to court. I would like to emphasize that codification would be one way of judicial reform in Saudi.
Q) What about the codification of the penal code, do you support such a move?
A) The law cannot be changed, manipulated or reinterpreted.
Q) What about the codifying of Tazeer punishments (punishments which are not clearly defined in the scriptural texts)?
A) Of course; I do not think it should be codified; however, these should be left to the discretion of the judge.
Q) What is your opinion on the victories of Islamic political parties across the region such as Hamas in Palestine, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Islamic party in Algeria?
A) Democracy means that whomever the people choose should rule and this was the case in the three countries that you mentioned. Unfortunately, those who called for democracy placed obstacles in its way, such as the European and American position towards Hamas, using democracy only as a pretext.
# posted by Unknown : Friday, March 24, 2006
Thursday, March 23, 2006
via jankari
Lors de la présentation du responsable de la division Internet de Maroc Telecom, Amine Trabelsi, pendant le séminaire du spam qui a eu lieu récemment à Rabat, un chiffre a retenu mon attention.
Chaque mois, transitent 40 millions de emails sur la plate-forme de messagerie d'IAM , soit le double de ce qui est traité par la Poste au Maroc (20 millions de lettres par mois).
Conclusion : le e-mail est devenu le moyen privilégie de la communication au Maroc d'autant plus que la seule plate-forme de Maroc Telecom gère plus de 330.000 boîtes e-mail
Sous l’effet du boom d’internet au Maroc avec ses 4,5 millions d’internautes et 300.000 abonnés, l’usage du courrier électronique est devenu partie intégrante du quotidien d’une large frange des marocains.
Pour preuve, à travers le Data Center du Maroc Telecom, le Royaume dispose de plus de 330.000 boîtes e-mail dont l’échange mensuel dépasse le seuil de 40 millions de courriers électroniques. Surprise : les marocains s’échangent plus par e-mail que par voie postale puisque ce chiffre représente le double de lettres postales traitées par la Poste chaque mois.
Néanmoins, le revers de cet engouement pour le e-mail n’est autre que la croissance de la nuisance numérique des boîtes électroniques sous l’effet de l’assaut massif des courriers indésirables, connus communément sous l’appellation générique « le Spam ».
A titre indicatif, en 2003, environ 80% des messages échangés sur la plate-forme de Maroc Telecom étaient des spam.
Pour faire face à ce fléau mondial, IAM a mis en place d’une stratégie qui s’articule sur trois axes. « Notre démarche de lutte et de prévention anti-Spam est basée sur trois principaux volets : le déploiement de solutions techniques, la sensibilisation des internautes et la coopération internationale », explique le jeune chef de la division Internet Maroc Telecom, Amine Trabelsi.
Ainsi, pour le premier aspect relatif à la sensibilisation et l’éducation des internautes, IAM a publié récemment une charte ant-spam. «Cette charte qui définit les bonnes pratiques pour une meilleure communication avec le e-mail, précise les modalités pour intégrer une ‘White List’ pour les opérateurs de l’e-mailing et aussi limite le volume du e-mailing à 10.000 email par opérateur par jour», a rappelé M. Trabelsi, lors du séminaire international qui s’est déroule, hier, à l’INPT de Rabat, sur la thématique du Spam dans les pays francophones.
Sur le volet technique de sa croisade contre les courriers indésirables, l’opérateur a pris une série de mesures destinées à réduire l’avalanche du Spam qui s’abat sur les boîtes e-mails de ses clients. Il s’agit notamment de la mise en place de règles de contrôle anti-relay et des passerelles SMTP Spam in et out.
Pour le marché d’accès internet résidentiel (ADSL et Dial Up), IAM a établi, en outre, un système de gestion pour le port 25 avec des adresses IP dynamiques tout en commercialisant en parallèle via son réseau d’agences des solutions Spam à installer au niveau du PC. Prochainement, IAM prévoit aussi le déploiement d’une solution Spam au niveau des webmail-clients.
Baisse du taux de Spam de 25% en 2006
Sur un autre registre, la division internet a adopté des procédures de sécurisation des passerelles de messagerie de ses clients. Cette dynamique de sécurisation est adossée par une offre commerciale « passerelle Spam & anti-virus ».
Sur le volet de la coopération internationale, Maroc Telecom a adhéré à plusieurs instances et groupes de travail internationaux. Il s’agit notamment du groupement « GIAIS » initié par Microsoft, et qui regroupe plusieurs ISPs dont notamment AOL, CableVision, T-Online…
IAM participe également aux travaux de l’Internet gouvernance forum.Cette stratégie qui mixe le technique avec l’éducatif, a permis de réduire la recrudescence du Spam dans le cyberespace marocain. « en 2006, le taux de Spam a baissé à 25% », révèle M. Trabelsi sur un ton confiant.
Selon le baromètre qualité du dernier trimestre 2005, le taux de satisfaction des clients du service de messagerie d’IAM a atteint le niveau de 92%.
Enfin le taux de disponibilité du service SMTP est aujourd’hui de l’ordre de 99,9% avec un temps de transit d’un message inférieur à 4 secondes.
# posted by Unknown : Thursday, March 23, 2006
3G mobiles 'change social habits'
By Adam Blenford BBC News website
So-called High Street hedonists use 3G mobiles while shoppingIncreasing use of 3G mobile phones can change the way people communicate and create new social trends and tribes, a behavioural study has suggested.
The study said the combination of still and video cameras on modern phones, and the advent of high speed data transfer, can inspire a generation of users.
Bloggers, film-makers and clubbers all benefit from 3G phones, it said.
Analysts Future Laboratory said the report was the first ethnographic survey of 3G use across the UK.
3G is the next generation of mobile phone technology, offering a wide range of high speed mobile services, including video calling and messaging, e-mail, games, photo messaging and information services.
Free to use
Researchers studied the phone habits of 10 groups of friends between the ages of 16-35 over six weeks in a range of UK cities.
Click to see who uses 3G phones in the UKThey identified a range of new behavioural patterns among those using 3G phones, which were free of charge for the duration of the study.
New technology on offer allowed a diverse range of personalities to express themselves creatively in different ways, the report said.
3G USERS
Social gatekeepers: Fulcrum of a social network and use 3G mobiles to keep friends up to date
Piratopians: Creative outsiders who use 3G phones to make short films and other broadcasts
High Street hedonists: Use phones to show off new purchases, take pictures of items or asked for instant opinions from a dressing roomAlfred Tong, one of the report's authors, admitted that allowing free use of the phones encouraged heavy use, but said the study offered a glimpse into a 3G future.
"Without the constraints of price, we hope these results illustrate how people will use 3G as the technology spreads," he told the BBC News website.
The report's authors dubbed the new generation of mobile phone users Generation C, with C meaning content.
As well as offering bloggers the chance to post instantly to their own sites, researchers saw 3G phones used as a counterpoint to retailing, socialising, and as a tool for documenting their lives.
Analyst Ben Wood said he welcomed the study, but said that most mobile phone users remain concerned about looks, cost and battery life above all else.
"It's very hard to get people to discover these services and to use them," he said.
3G operators were still seeking ways to maximise income from multimedia services without putting off customers, he added.
'Andrew Marr effect'
According to mobile network 3 which commissioned the study, almost two-thirds of current 3G users (62%) are men.
It set up the UK's first 3G network and currently boasts 3.6 million customers.
Historically, if lots of people start to use mobile services they are very viral and will spread
Ben WoodResearch Vice-President, GartnerBut the technology is most popular among the more affluent 25-34 age group, not the 18-24 age group often targeted by advertisers.
Men used the technical capabilities of their phones more extensively than women, the report suggested, often adopting fictional personas to make amateur news reports, dubbed the "Andrew Marr effect" by researchers.
Some women used their phones to take pictures of taxi drivers in an effort to guarantee personal safety.
The increasing use of camera and video capabilities has already opened up new opportunities for phone users to contribute to news coverage on TV and online.
And the time-honoured blind date could soon fall out of fashion, if the report's conclusions are correct.
More and more people might use 3G phones to check out a potential date before meeting them, or use video calls as part of an interactive dating service.
Some exceptionally tech-savvy young men, the report found, won the hearts of women simply by impressing them with the use of their hi-tech tool, labelled natching by the Future Laboratory.
That might appear one unlikely new development, but the pattern of mobile phone growth has always bucked the prevailing trends, analyst Ben Wood said.
"What we have seen happen historically is if people start to use new services, especially in some demographic groups, they are very viral and will spread.
"If you had sat in a focus group about text messaging 15 years ago and I told you that soon we would be sending billions of these each year you would have said I was mad."
Click to go back
# posted by Unknown : Thursday, March 23, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Marché de la téléphonie mobile
Au terme de l’année 2005 le parc des abonnés mobile a atteint 12 392 805,
soit une croissance annuelle de 32,73% (9 336 878 abonnés au 31 décembre 2004).
L’évolution de la clientèle du mobile a été maintenue avec un rythme trimestriel
soutenu tout au long de l’année 2005. Cependant, on note que la croissance la
plus importante a caractérisé le troisième trimestre avec 11,74% avant de finir
l’année par une hausse relativement faible de 3,34%.
Par conséquent, cette bonne performance du segment de la téléphonie
mobile s’est répercutée positivement sur le taux de pénétration qui a gagné 10
points en une année en affichant 41,46% à fin décembre 2005 contre 31,23% une
année auparavant.
A travers l’analyse des graphiques d’évolution des parcs des deux opérateurs
qui partagent le marché du mobile on remarque que tous les deux ont réalisé des
performances similaires en gardant deux courbes parallèles durant toute l’année
2005. En terme de part de marché, l’opérateur historique détient les deux tiers du
parc mobile avec 66,46% du marché et 33,54% pour son concurrent Méditel. Ces
chiffres sont pratiquement les mêmes que ceux de 2004 (67,54% pour Maroc
Télécom et 32,46% pour Méditel).
En ce qui concerne la répartition des clients du mobile par type
d’abonnement on constate qu’il n’y a aucun changement dans la structure du
marché par rapport à l’année dernière et que le prépayé prédomine toujours avec
une part de 95,07% (95,09% à fin décembre 2004) contre 4,93% pour le postpayé.
On note également que les deux types d’abonnement ont terminé l’année avec
une hausse assez remarquable en enregistrant une croissance de 32,70% pour le
prépayé et de 33,35% pour le postpayé par rapport à la même date de 2004.
# posted by Unknown : Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Marché de la téléphonie mobile
Au terme de l’année 2005 le parc des abonnés mobile a atteint 12 392 805,
soit une croissance annuelle de 32,73% (9 336 878 abonnés au 31 décembre 2004).
L’évolution de la clientèle du mobile a été maintenue avec un rythme trimestriel
soutenu tout au long de l’année 2005. Cependant, on note que la croissance la
plus importante a caractérisé le troisième trimestre avec 11,74% avant de finir
l’année par une hausse relativement faible de 3,34%.
Par conséquent, cette bonne performance du segment de la téléphonie
mobile s’est répercutée positivement sur le taux de pénétration qui a gagné 10
points en une année en affichant 41,46% à fin décembre 2005 contre 31,23% une
année auparavant.
A travers l’analyse des graphiques d’évolution des parcs des deux opérateurs
qui partagent le marché du mobile on remarque que tous les deux ont réalisé des
performances similaires en gardant deux courbes parallèles durant toute l’année
2005. En terme de part de marché, l’opérateur historique détient les deux tiers du
parc mobile avec 66,46% du marché et 33,54% pour son concurrent Méditel. Ces
chiffres sont pratiquement les mêmes que ceux de 2004 (67,54% pour Maroc
Télécom et 32,46% pour Méditel).
En ce qui concerne la répartition des clients du mobile par type
d’abonnement on constate qu’il n’y a aucun changement dans la structure du
marché par rapport à l’année dernière et que le prépayé prédomine toujours avec
une part de 95,07% (95,09% à fin décembre 2004) contre 4,93% pour le postpayé.
On note également que les deux types d’abonnement ont terminé l’année avec
une hausse assez remarquable en enregistrant une croissance de 32,70% pour le
prépayé et de 33,35% pour le postpayé par rapport à la même date de 2004.
Marché de l’Internet
A fin 2005, le parc total Internet a atteint 262 326 abonnés en réalisant une
augmentation globale de 27,1 % au cours des trois derniers mois, de 131,8 % par
rapport à fin 2004 et de près de 331,4 % depuis décembre 2003.
Le parc des abonnés Internet bas débit, en comptabilisant les utilisateurs de
l’option d’accès Internet sans Abonnement, est passé de 48 510 en décembre 2004
à 13 187 en décembre 2005, faisant état d’une chute annuelle d’environ 73%.
Depuis décembre 2004, le nombre d’abonnés Internet ADSL est en
augmentation continue avec une croissance annuelle de près de 294 % en passant
de 62 960 abonnés en décembre 2004 à 248 013 abonnés en décembre 2005. Par
contre, le parc des liaisons louées (LL) Internet a connu une baisse de 33,76% avec
1126 en décembre 2005(1700 abonnés en décembre 2004). Cette tendance
pourrait être expliquée par un effet de substitution des accès LL au profit des accès
ADSL.
La répartition des abonnés par mode d’accès donne toujours l’avantage à
l’ADSL avec une part de marché de plus en plus importante de 94,5% à fin
décembre 2005 contre 61% à la même date de l’année précédente. La bonne
performance du parc ADSL est due principalement aux récentes baisses tarifaires
qui ont encouragé les abonnés à opter pour l’Internet via ADSL.
# posted by Unknown : Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
In 1979 Elizabeth Blunt was sent to Nigeria by the BBC to cover the country's elections, as the then military head of state, General Olusegun Obasanjo, prepared to hand over to an elected civilian government. She recently returned to the country to revisit some of the people and places she had known all those years ago.
Business is booming for Nigeria's mobile phone sellersI was back in Nigeria recently, and trying to find a woman called Dada who I had met on my first visit to the country, 27 years ago.
I peered at my faded notebook. "She used to live in Lamido Crescent. Off Korauo Road, it says, near Hadeija Jamahare..."
My colleague was getting impatient. "Don't you have her cell phone number?"
Cell phone number. How quickly people forget.
Of course she did not have a cell phone number. There were no cell phones in 1979, not even those great big things the size of a house brick that we used to carry around.
Nigeria in those days was a country almost entirely without working telephones, a communications black hole More to the point, she would not have had an ordinary telephone number in 1979 either.
Or at least it would have been purely theoretical.
There probably was a telephone somewhere in her house in Kano, but the chances of it working were so slim that I had never bothered writing the number down.
Nigeria in those days was a country almost entirely without working telephones, a communications black hole.
A nightly pre-booked call to London came through only twice in six weeks.
My reports on the elections had to be sent by telex, and read aloud by a colleague in London. I spent an awful lot of my time in the Breadfruit Street telex office.
'Gobbledygook'
Breadfruit Street was in the old part of Lagos island.
One day on my way to the telex office I was swept aside by a group of men in white Ku Klux Klan style hoods, with buckets on their heads. Night soil men still emptied the latrines of the capital.
The telex office was cramped and noisy. I sat there in the afternoons, as a generator throbbed outside the window and the sweat trickled down the backs of my knees, banging out my reports on a blind punch.
This produced a ribbon of punched paper tape. Unless you could read holes you had no idea what you were typing.
One false move with the shift key and you produced a string of gobbledygook.
After years of struggling with their moribund telephone system Nigerians are still entranced by their mobiles On the day the election result was announced I stormed into the telex office to find two oil company staff ahead of me in the queue. Their office lines were down and they each had two carrier bags full of punched tape to send.
I made them an offer. If I told them the name of their new president, would they let me jump the queue and send a quick newsflash to London?
The deal was done, the message was sent, and then it was back to the punch, to bang out the details.
Costly conversations
I went back to Breadfruit Street, but the telex office had vanished.
No-one I asked even knew what a telex office was. Many of them had shiny new cell phones pressed to their ears. After years of struggling with their moribund telephone system Nigerians are still entranced by their mobiles.
The mobile phone companies have done more to tackle youth unemployment than any government project Everyone seems to have a mobile phone. Many have two or three, each tuned to a different network.
It must be swallowing huge amounts of their disposable income, because even making brief business calls I used up $10 (£7) worth of credit every couple of days. And all around me Nigerians were engaged in long and animated conversations.
But their money is at least supporting a whole new sector of employment.
Telephone entrepreneurs
In any big town you just have to look around and there will be a boy within hailing distance ready to sell you a top-up card.
Girls are less likely to be scampering about in traffic jams with strings of cards. But give them a picnic table, a red, yellow or green umbrella, and a "make your calls here" sign, and they are set up in the telecommunications business.
The mobile phone companies have done more to tackle youth unemployment than any government project.
Being able to make phone calls has transformed working life in Nigeria.
I am used to thinking of it as a place where getting one thing done a day is an achievement. On my last trip I allowed so much time that I finished three days early.
And it is the mobile phones which have finally banished the traffic jams.
In the days when you could not call anyone, you just had to get on the road and go to their office.
After two hours stuck in the traffic the chances were that you would find the office empty. They were in another jam somewhere, going to see someone else.
But for a journalist it was not all bad.
Nigerians are very polite, and when you finally turned up on their doorstep, hot and bothered and unannounced, they could hardly refuse to see you.
Now you have to call ahead and give them the chance to say no.
Quick communications
And for better or for worse, news travels faster.
In the past, details of a religious riot in the far north might take days to reach the south of the country.
Internet cafes are sprouting like mushrooms It would only be when the bodies finally started arriving in their home towns that the tit-for-tat killings would begin.
At least that gave the authorities some time to prepare. But now, however hard they try to sit on the news, the cell phones start buzzing immediately.
For a visiting journalist, life is certainly easier, but I did get the odd flashback, especially when trying to get into my e-mail.
Thanks to an oppressive military government which restricted development of the internet, Nigeria still lags behind other countries in the region.
The aspiration is certainly there. Internet cafes are sprouting like mushrooms, every one promising a fast broadband line. And perhaps their claims are true, but you are sharing that one line with a packed roomful of fellow surfers.
I sat there waiting for the e-mail to open, the generator was throbbing outside the window and the sweat was trickling down the back of my knees.
And I never found my friend from Kano.
Dada, if you hear this, brave the rigours of the internet cafe, and send me an e-mail.
# posted by Unknown : Monday, March 20, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Service 1- Daily Hadith (sayings of the prophet)
Service 2- Daily Quran (translation of quran)
Service 3- Daily Dua (daily prayer)
Service 4- Learn Islam (education for children)
Service 5- Woman in Islam (daily guidance for woman)
Welcome to Muslim Text. Join now, and start receiving spiritually enlightening and uplifting text messages daily, which will inspire and motivate you. Our daily SMS will make learning fun and bring you closer to Allah. At home or office, it’s easy to stay in touch with your spiritual side with Muslim Text!
Subscribe today, and start receiving a Daily Dua like this: Allah you have power and I have none. You know all and I know not. Allah I beg help from you alone; Ask forgiveness from you alone, and turn towards and praise you for all the good things, as I hasten eagerly to you.
In the month of fasting we send special Hadith & Quran translations related to Ramadan. On Eid day you will receive a special DUA for this momentous Holy Day. Whatever day it is on the Muslim calendar, we will help to keep you in touch. Get closer to Islam by subscribing now!
Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all his prophets to everyone. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy and forgiveness. Allah has sent us the Quran. The Quran is not like any other book. It is the timeless speech of Allah that serves to guide us in this life and the hereafter. Therefore when we receive a daily translation on our mobile phone it serves to remind us of Allah’s words and heightens our spirituality. The Hadith (sayings of the prophet) provides general knowledge of such fundamentals as the belief in Allah, the message of the prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), the Last Day etc. Our daily Hadith text will help you to remember the general moral prescriptions of Islam to do good, avoid evil, perform prayer, fast in Ramadan and so on. Our Learn Islam service sends daily text messages to your children’s mobile phone. Children use their mobile phone for many other reasons apart from Islam. A daily Islamic SMS text will serve to enhance their deen and improve their knowledge. They can then forward this message to their friends and help spread Islam. 
To subscribe, click here. To receive a free text message tomorrow click here. |
# posted by Unknown : Tuesday, March 14, 2006
 Nazir Daud saw a gap in the market for a Muslim text service |
A mobile phone text messaging service which aims to boost the quality of life for Muslims has been launched. It sends daily uplifting messages to "spiritually enlighten" its users.
The service was the brainchild of Dundee entrepreneur Nazir Daud, who saw an opportunity to make the most of a huge growth in text messaging.
Users are able to receive a host of different services, including messages from the Koran, the Muslim holy book, and daily prayers.
Mr Daud, 41, partly drew on his family's devout Muslim background as inspiration for the service.
 |  Most people don't have time to think religiously every day  |
He added: "I read somewhere that text messaging was growing at a phenomenal rate and was catering for all sorts of subjects, but nobody had ever provided a service like mine before.
"I thought that because the Muslim community made up a large bulk of the population, there was some sort of market for it."
Mr Daud, originally from Malawi in Africa, said modern day hectic lifestyles often left little time for prayer.
"Most people don't have time to think religiously every day," he said.
Family service
"Most people are so caught up in their work that they forget their spiritual side, so this service serves as a reminder that there is more to life than just work.
"I wanted to send messages that enlighten and uplift them and I wanted it to be a service for the whole family."
The service, for which Mr Daud charges from £15 a month, also sends out daily Hadith, the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, and messages for women and children involved in Islam.
It also runs in line with the Islamic calendar, taking into account times of fasting or special holy days.
# posted by Unknown : Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Saturday, March 11, 2006
By Mark Ward
Technology Correspondent, BBC News website, in HanoverTV choice
And this is where the mobile industry comes in as it is rapidly producing handsets for any and every conceivable demand.
And what consumers seem to be demanding, if the launches and the show are any guide, is TV on their mobile phones.
At the Cebit trade fair Nokia showed off its N92, which is due to launch later this year, which has a DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds) tuner built in as well as access to an electronic programme guide so you can plan what you watch on your handset.
Similarly LG launched its V9000 TV playing mobile at Cebit that has a screen that can be swung around 90 degrees so it is the right shape to show TV programmes.
Other TV capable handsets were available from Benq-Mobile - which took over the mobile arm of German hi-tech giant Siemens - and Samsung.
Mobiles companies compete to keep up with consumer demands
# posted by Unknown : Saturday, March 11, 2006
Investigating new user experience challenges in iTV: mobility & sociability
This workshop is a discussion platform to unfold the design of future interactive television (iTV) scenarios characterized by pervasive communications in contexts of entertainment, work and government, with special attention to the social character of the usage of this media and the implications for interface design.
# posted by Unknown : Saturday, March 11, 2006
Friday, March 10, 2006
دبي - العربية.نت
تمكنت الشرطة السعودية من إلقاء القبض على شاب كان قد خطف غلاما وأرغمه على الفاحشة. وكانت الأجهزة الأمنية في العاصمة السعودية الرياض تلقت بلاغين متعاقبين من والدي قاصرين، قال الأول إن سائق سيارة حمراء اعترض ابنه (11 عاما) أثناء خروجه من منزله محاولا إرغامه على ركوب السيارة، وعندما شاهده جاره قام بإنزاله من السيارة ولاذ بالفرار.
أما البلاغ الثاني بحسب صحيفة "الجزيرة" السعودية السبت 25-12-2005 فكان من أحد الوافدين عن فقده لابنه بعد أن خرج لغرض التسوق من متجر قريب من المنزل وعندما افتقده خرج للبحث عنه وتفاجأ بوجود بعض أغراض ابنه والحاجيات التي اشتراها من المتجر مبعثرة بالقرب من المنزل.
وقامت الشرطة في منطقة النسيم بالربط بين البلاغين لاحتمال أن يكون الجاني فيهما واحدا، وتم تعميم أوصاف الجاني والسيارة التي يستقلها على الجهات الأمنية كافة ودوريات الشرطة التي اشتبهت في إحدى السيارات التي تنطبق عليها أوصاف السيارة المبلغ عنها وتابعتها وأمرت قائدها بالوقوف لكنه لم يستجيب ولاذ بالفرار.
وبعد مطاردته في أحياء عدة، تمكنت الشرطة من توقيف الجاني الذي عثر بحوزته على "موبايل" يحوي مقاطع تصوير للغلام المخطوف وهوعار من الملابس، ومقاطع للمتهم وهو يمارس فاحشة اللواط بالغلام. ووصف المجني عليه الذي وجد بداخل "شنطة" السيارة أن الجاني قام باختطافه من داخل الحي بالقرب من منزله بالقوة وفعل فيه الفاحشة اللواط بالإكراه ثم صور فعلته وصوره وهو عار من الملابس. واعترف الجاني بارتكابه لما نسب إليه من تهم.
# posted by Unknown : Friday, March 10, 2006
 |
 |
|
الرياض - حنان الزير
كشفت تحقيقات الجهات الامنية في السعودية ان الهاتف المحمول الذي تم ضبطه مؤخرا مع الشاب العشريني المتورط في قضية فعل الفاحشة مع طفل صغير يحتوي خمسة افلام تفيد بقيامه بفعل الفاحشة في غلام آخر.
وبين الهاتف المحمول التفاصيل الدقيقة لفعل الفاحشة في الغلام حيث قام بتجريده من ملابسه وارتكاب فعلته المشينة وتوثيقها بالفيديو.وتحقق هيئة التحقيق والادعاء العام بمكة المكرمة مع الشاب الذي لم يكتف بجريمته النكراء بل اقدم على توثيقها بفيديو الهاتف المحمول الذي عثر عليه بحوزته.
وكانت احدى دوريات الجهات الدينية في السعودية "هيئة الامر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر" قد استوقفتها استغاثات غلام حول جبل السيدة استدرجه ذلك الشاب الى قمة الجبل في محاولة منه لفعل الفاحشة به.
واشار الغلام لموقع تواجد الشاب الذي تمكنت الهيئة من الوصول اليه والقبض عليه وتسليمه لشرطة العاصمة المقدسة التي احالته بدورها لدائرة التحقيق في قضايا العرض والاخلاق.
وتشير المعلومات الى ان الفريق المكلف بالتحقيق في القضية يتابع تحقيقاته بهدف التوصل الى الغلام الموجودة صورته في الفيديو بعد أن تم ايقاف المتورط رهن التحقيق لحين العثور على الضحية، ومن ثم احالة الجاني الى القضاء لاصدار العقوبة الشرعية بحقه.
الشيخ احمد قاسم مدير ادارة القضايا والتحقيق بفرع هيئة الامر بالمعروف والنهي عن المنكر قال ان ما تم ضبطه مع الشاب من افلام فيديو قرائن قوية ترشد إلى البينة، ومتى ما استوفى التحقيق حقيقة تلك الافلام وثبت تورط الطرف الأول، فانه يعزر تعزيراً شرعياً من قبل القاضي وقد يصل الحكم الى حد الحرابة بوجود قرائن اخرى.
# posted by Unknown : Friday, March 10, 2006
 | | الأستراليون يصطحبون جولاتهم إلى قبورهم |
لم يعد الموت يشكل عائقا أمام العلاقة القوية التي أصبحت تربط بين الأستراليين وهواتفهم المحمولة، فقد ذكرت صحيفة إيج الأسترالية أن منظمي الجنائز لاحظوا في الآونة الأخيرة زيادة أعداد الأشخاص الذين يطلبون دفن موتاهم مع هواتفهم المحمولة. وقال أحد منظمي الجنائز في ملبورن للصحيفة إنه تلقى هذا الطلب ثلاث مرات مؤخرا وأضاف أنه طلب مضحك أكثر من أي شيء آخر. وذكر أن شخصا ما قال له ذات مرة لقد كانت والدتي تحب هاتفها المحمول ولا تتركه أبدا لذلك نريد أن نضعه بجانبها. وأشارت الصحيفة إلى أن 18 مليون شخص يمتلكون هواتف محمولة في أستراليا التي يبلغ عدد سكانها 20 مليون نسمة. وقالت إن هناك قواعد تنظم عملية دفن الهواتف المحمولة مع المتوفى منها ضرورة قطع الخط التليفوني. أما في حالة إحراق جثة المتوفى مع هاتفه المحمول، فيتعين نزع البطارية حتى لا تنفجر أثناء مراسم الإحراق. |
|
| |
# posted by Unknown : Friday, March 10, 2006
Sunday, March 05, 2006
 |
| سعد الدين العثماني: تجربتنا تختلف عن العدالة والتنمية التركي (الجزيرة نت) |
حاوره عبدالسلام رزاق
مع الصعود الذي حققته ما تسمى بحركات الإسلام السياسي برز حزب العدالة والتنمية المغربي، فعلى الرغم من حداثة مشاركته في الحياة السياسية والبرلمانية، إلاّ أنه يخطو خطوات ثابتة إلى الأمام ويقدم خطابا سياسيا يقوم على تأصيل فكري يجذر المفاهيم السياسية المدنية في التعامل مع الحياة السياسية الواقعية، وفي الوقت ذاته يحافظ على التواصل مع جذوره الإسلامية.
إلا أن هناك أسئلة عن مستقبل الحزب ومدى قدرته على تجاوز الاختبارات الانتخابية المقبلة في ظل عوامل دولية ومحلية وإقليمية متداخلة، رؤى الحزب وخططه للمرحلة القادمة كانت حصيلة هذا اللقاء الذي أجرته الجزيرة نت مع أمينه العام سعد الدين العثماني.
هل أنتم في حزب العدالة والتنمية مرتاحون لممارسة دور المعارضة؟
لا يمكن الحديث عن راحة في العمل السياسي فكل موقع له متاعبه، وإنما الاختلاف في درجة المسؤولية الملقاة على عاتق أي مشارك في العمل السياسي حسب موقعه في الخريطة السياسية، وكذا حسب حجمه داخل البرلمان، من معارضة إلى مشاركة في الحكومة.
ما هي حصيلتكم في هذا الجانب؟
يعرف المتابعون للشأن السياسي في المغرب وخارجه أن حزب العدالة والتنمية قد أسهم بشكل كبير في إعطاء الدفء للعمل السياسي وضخ الجديد المفيد فيه. كما أسهمنا بشكل كبير في تفعيل الرقابة البرلمانية، بالإضافة إلى الكشف عن ملفات الفساد، وإثارتها. حيث كشف الحزب عن تلاعب بالمال العام، وناهض الامتيازات التي لا تليق ببلد فقير كالمغرب.
هل يفهم من ذلك أنكم مستعدون للانتقال من العمل في المعارضة إلى المشاركة في الحكومة؟
أي حزب سياسي يمكن أن يكون في موقع المعارضة، كما يمكن أن يكون في موقع المشاركة في الحكومة وتدبير الشأن العام. وهذا ينطبق على حزب العدالة والتنمية لكنه مرتبط بشروط المرحلة وبالخريطة السياسية التي ستفرزها الانتخابات التشريعية العامة التي ستجرى سنة 2007. نحن لسنا حريصين على المشاركة بأي ثمن، وفي الوقت نفسه لا نرفض ولا نتهيب من المشاركة.
ألا تساوركم مخاوف من الفشل والسقوط في ذات المطب الذي سقط فيه بعض الأحزاب المغربية؟
لم يعد يخفى على أحد أن الواقع المغربي يعيش حالة من التدهور في مجالات متعددة اقتصادية واجتماعية، نتيجة سياسات مرتبكة. لكن خطابنا ونحن في المعارضة غير مبني على المزايدات السياسية، ومن مبادئه التدرج في التغيير، والتأني في الإصلاح، والموضوعية في تقييم باقي الفرقاء.
وقد نواجه بقوة الآراء والقرارات التي نراها ذات أثر سيء على بلدنا، كما نثمن أيضا المقترحات السديدة التي تأتي من غيرنا. لهذا فإن حزب العدالة والتنمية إذا تم له أن يسهم في حكومة مقبلة سيسعى إلى الحفاظ على مكتسبات الحكومات السابقة وسيتحمل بشجاعة مسؤولية معالجة الاختلالات على حسب قدرته وبتعاون مع الأطراف الأخرى المشاركة.
ولدينا الثقة في قدرة مناضلينا ونزاهتهم في الدفع بعجلة الإصلاح، تسندنا في ذلك الديمقراطية التي ننتهجها وتقاليدنا في التواصل مع المواطنين لينخرط الجميع في ورش الإصلاح.
هل تتوقعون تكرار تجربة العدالة والتنمية التركي في المغرب؟
لا شك أننا نختلف في بعض الاجتهادات مع حزب العدالة والتنمية التركي. والسبب في ذلك أن السياق السياسي المغربي وطبيعة الملكية بالمغرب، يختلفان عن السياق التركي وطبيعة نظام تركيا، القائم على العلمانية، وعلى دور للجيش وتأثيره في السياسة. كما أنه لا يمكن استنساخ تجربة ما وإسقاطها على واقعنا. لذلك فإننا نستفيد من مختلف التجارب التي سبقتنا لنصقل تجربتنا الخاصة.
إذن كيف تتوقعون أن تكون علاقتكم مع الملك؟
نحن ننطلق أولا من خلال قراءتنا لتاريخ المغرب، من أن الملكية أسهمت بشكل كبير في توحيد المغرب وفي إشعاعه حضاريا على مستوى أوروبا وأفريقيا. وقامت بدور رئيسي في استقرار المغرب سياسيا في الماضي والحاضر. وعلاقتنا بالملك مثل باقي الأحزاب السياسية دون فرق، لأنه خارج الأحزاب، وهو ملك جميع المغاربة بمختلف توجهاتهم.
هناك أحزاب سياسية ترى بأنكم ستعمدون إلى تغيير توجهاتكم السياسية مباشرة بعد وصولكم إلى الحكم؟
لنا اليوم تجربة واسعة في تدبيير شؤون عشرات البلديات، ولم يكن هناك تغير في توجهاتنا، بل ثبات عليها ومحاولة لتطبيقها في الواقع. ولنا برنامج سياسي مكتوب ومطبوع ومتداول سنعمل على تطبيقه إذا تم لنا يوما ما المشاركة في الحكومة.
السياسات الاقتصادية والتنموية للمغرب تقوم على وجود مصادر تمويل تعتبرونها أنتم مخالفة لقواعد الشريعة الإسلامية، هل ستقومون بإزاحتها أم ستسعون إلى التعايش معها؟
مقترحاتنا في المجال المالي بمجلس النواب تنطلق من التدرج والواقعية وغاية ما نطالب به هو أن نندرج في إطار توجه دولي، يسمح بتنوع أدوات التمويل وفتح مجال التنافس بينها. لذلك انتقدنا باستمرار انغلاق نظامنا البنكي وعدم مواكبته لتطورات الأنظمة البنكية العالمية، على الرغم من تأكد ضرورة ذلك بالنسبة لاقتصاد البلاد.
ما هي أولوياتكم في تحقيق تجربة سياسية واقتصادية مغايرة في المغرب؟
أولوياتنا واضحة. فالمغرب على الرغم من الجهود التي بذلت لحد الساعة لم يستطع أن يشهد إقلاعا اقتصاديا، وازدادت مشاكله الاجتماعية. والحكومة بدأت تعود إلى اللجوء للدين الخارجي لتمويل التسيير والمصاريف العادية للدولة. ونظن أن السبب يكمن في عدم إدخال عدد من الإصلاحات البنيوية والأساسية. ونذكر منها إصلاح الإدارة بمعالجة الفساد وتبسيط الإجراءات وإصلاح القضاء حتى تتحقق أيضا أهداف تخليقه وتحديثه ونجازته. وكذلك إصلاح التعليم بما يرفع من جودته وجعله يتكيف مع حاجات المجتمع والاقتصاد الوطني.
كيف تتصورون مستقبل المغرب خلال العشرية المقبلة؟
للمغرب مؤهلات بشرية وطبيعية كبيرة، وإن كان اليوم يعاني من عدد من الإشكالات الاقتصادية والاجتماعية، فإنه يرتكز على تلك المؤهلات وعلى التقدم المهم الذي حققه سياسيا لبناء مستقبل أفضل. هناك وعي متزايد بالتحديات التي تواجهها البلاد، وهناك تطورات تتسارع في الساحة السياسية والإعلامية وغيرهما، هناك حيوية وحراك هو المعول عليه ليشهد المغرب المزيد من التحولات الإيجابية في اتجاه تجاوز الاختلالات.
وإذا تسلحت الطبقة السياسية بالشجاعة والتجرد اللازمين، وتسلحت الدولة أيضا بالشجاعة لإدخال الإصلاحات الضرورية، فإن المستقبل سيكون أفضل.
العلاقات المغربية الأميركية كانت على الدوام مصدر انزعاج دائم بالنسبة لكم، كيف ترون التعايش مع السياسة الأميركية مستقبلا؟
 |
| العثماني: الإدارة الأميركية صارت مصدر إزعاج في العالم (الجزيرة نت) |
لا أريد أن أتحدث عن تاريخ العلاقة المغربية الأميركية فهي قديمة، وما أريد أن أوضحه أن الإدارة الأميركية (الحالية) صارت مصدر إزعاج للعالم أجمع بسبب اغتراراها بقوتها وجبروتها، وتاريخها الحديث حافل بالاستهتارها بالقوانين الدولية، وتدخلها السافر في الشؤون الداخلية لعدد من البلدان، ودعم عدد من الأنظمة الدكتاتورية والانقلابات العسكرية. وقد عانى العالم العربي والإسلامي الذي ينتمي إليه المغرب من الحصة الكبرى من ذلك، ولذا يتوجب علينا، بوصفنا طرفا ضعيفا في المعادلة، الاعتماد على التنمية الذاتية بالأساس، بدل الاتكال على ما هو خارجي. ويجب أن نحرص على أن لا تكون المصالح الأميركية على حساب مصالحنا، وأن نؤكد على التوازن في العلاقات الدولية حتى تكون المصالح المشتركة هي الحكم والهدف.
وإذا انبنت السياسة الأميركية يوما ما على مبادئ الحوار والسلم ورعاية المصالح المشتركة، وتوقفت عن احتلال العراق ودعم الكيان الصهيوني في احتلاله واعتداءاته ضد الفلسطينيين، فلن نكون إلا مساندين لمزيد من التقارب والتعاون مع أميركا. وفي انتظار ذلك فإننا ندعو إلى التواصل الفاعل مع المجتمع المدني الأميركي والأكاديميين والإعلاميين الأميركيين ومختلف الجهات ذوي المواقف المنصفة.
المؤشرات السياسية تسير في اتجاه جعل إسرائيل قوة إقليمية في منطقة الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا هل سياستكم تجاه إسرائيل ثابتة، أم أنها خاضعة لمنطق الظروف السياسية ومصالح البلد؟
لا أدري ما معنى قوة إقليمية؟ فإسرائيل اليوم قوة إقليمية بمعنى من المعاني. فهي موجودة. لكنها قوة احتلال، وقوة تتمرد على القرارات الدولية وترفض تطبيقها. وهي قوة ترتكب الانتهاكات تلو الانتهاكات ضد الشعب الفلسطيني، وتستمر في احتلال القدس ومحاولات تهويدها وتهديد المسجد الأقصى. ومواقف حزب العدالة والتنمية مبدئية وواضحة في دعم الشعب الفلسطيني ودعم مقاومته للاحتلال، وفي الدفاع عن القدس والمسجد الأقصى. ولن نتخلى عن هذا الدعم وهذا الموقف.
___________
الجزيرة نت
# posted by Unknown : Sunday, March 05, 2006
Friday, March 03, 2006
[via Virtually Islamic]
David Hencke, Westminster correspondentThursday March 2, 2006
The GuardianIt certainly was not part of Britain's plans to win the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq. But the Foreign Office has been apparently paying for an adult sex chatline in a Baghdad street for 17 months without knowing it.
The Foreign Office has had to tell MPs that an investigation into how a diplomat lost two satellite phones in Iraq has nothing to do with terrorism but more to do with a budding entrepreneur and a telephone porn network.
FO officials had already admitted that the lost phones had cost them £594,000 in unauthorised phone bills but it is now bracing itself for an extremely critical report from the Commons public accounts committee on how it came to pay phone bills, which at one stage hit £212,000 in one month, without asking questions.
Sir Michael Jay, permanent secretary at the FO, told MPs: "All the pattern of usage of these phones ... points to some kind of criminal activity ... It was almost as though they were taken and used as a kind of mobile phone booth at the end of the street where anybody could come along and use them.
"After that, they appear to have been used for a couple of scams based on what are known as personal numbers and premium numbers."
Sir Michael said the premium rate numbers were used for betting agencies or adult phone lines, and that one of the FO phones had been "on virtually full time with the person who is, as it were, making the call getting some benefit from it."
Sir Michael said initial inquiries had revealed a series of blunders. The phones were already activated when they were sent to Baghdad and they were not properly logged in - so no one realised at first that they had been stolen. None of the bills were initially challenged until people realised the phones had gone missing. The rules at all embassies have now been changed and no phone is sent abroad already activated for use.
Edward Leigh, chairman of the committee, told him: "In terms of this mobile phone being on permanently at the end of a street in Iraq, that gives a whole new meaning to winning hearts and minds in Iraq, but it is quite serious."
Austin Mitchell, Labour MP for Great Grimsby, whose phone had been swiped and used to dial a betting agency, asked if the FO had tried to get its money back.
Since the disclosure, Richard Bacon, Tory MP for Norfolk South, has made further inquiries: "It appears that they haven't been able to find the culprit or trace the phone. You would have thought having spent hundreds of millions of pounds setting up a sophisticated listening centre at GCHQ it would be very easy to trace a satellite phone and who was operating it in Iraq. But it doesn't appear anything was done. It just beggars belief that the FO kept paying the bills."
Sir Michael has promised to try to get the money back. But so far the only thing FO staff appeared to have done is to try to ring the premium rate number. Sir Michael told MPs they did not get a reply.
# posted by Unknown : Friday, March 03, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
(from left to right): Hamad Obeidallah, Senior Vice President Commercial, Emirates Airlines; Salem Al-Shair, eServices Director, Dubai eGovernment; Hassan Al-Serkal, IT and Compliant Manager, Dubai Financial Market; Sharad Agarwal, CEO, Cyber Gear.
This makes Dubai eGovernment the first in the Middle East to launch such a portal.
Users who want to utilize the eServices can log on to the Dubai eGovernment portal, www.dubai.ae. Its advanced technology allows mobile device users browsing these services to access the specifically-designed mobile portal, whereas those who log on to the portal via PCs will have access only to the main Dubai eGovernment portal.
'The launch of a Mobile Portal was imperative considering the major increase in mobile penetration in Dubai and more importantly taking into account the increase in the number of people who are constantly on the move and dependent on their mobile phones for accessing information,' said Salem Al Shair, eServices Director, Dubai eGovernment. 'We are now focusing on utilizing innovative channels in eServices provisioning and have adopted a multi-channel approach in an integrated manner.'
Surfing
'Another factor that will ensure the success of this new portal is the growing demand among consumers for mobile phones and PDAs that allow them to access the Internet. Offering eServices through mobile phones ensures that a large section of the population has access to these services and also guarantees a high degree of security and privacy,' he added.
The Mobile Portal is the result of public private partnerships that Dubai eGovernment has achieved to provide a range of electronic services to enhance customer service. Dubai eGovernment believes that the private and public sectors have important roles to play in the creation of a digital economy.
The services that can be accessed through the Mobile Portal have been divided into six categories: Traffic, Islamic, Financial, Travel booking, Dubai Information and Entertainment. Our partners in this initiative are the Dubai Government departments, Emirates Airline, Dubai Financial Market and Cyber Gear.
Some of the services available under these categories are visa information from Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD), Prayer Timings service from Awqaf and services from Dubai Police such as traffic fine enquiries and payments.
In addition, users can make Emirates Airline online flight booking, check the arrival and departure of flights from Dubai Civil Aviation Department. Users of the portal can also search for hotels, search for products in specific malls, be informed on sales and promotions taking place around Dubai, get updates on latest movies, find out the weekly television schedule for One TV, find a nearby embassy or consulate, use the currency converter service, as well as access valuable information from the Dubai Financial Market in the form of Mobile Quotes and Live Quotes. Mobile Quotes give the name of the company, Latest Deal (LD) price, volume and changes in stock prices, while Live Quotes gives the current stock rates for all companies.
The Mobile Portal was launched after an in-depth Mobile Portal survey conducted recently by Dubai eGovernment to assess the feasibility of providing Government services via the Mobile Internet as an innovative channel, for Government Department services, meeting customer needs and increasing usage of online services.
# posted by Unknown : Thursday, March 02, 2006
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Straw Polls' of GSM subscribers carried out by Spot On Public Relations, the Middle East's first and leading technology public relations and marketing communications agency, have highlighted a major untapped opportunity in the marketing of advanced mobile services by Middle East GSM operators.
The surveys, carried out in two of the region's key benchmark markets, the UAE and Jordan, found that public awareness, understanding and adoption of 'advanced' mobile services such as mobile Internet access and content based services is low, while subscribers are feeling confused by the complexity of such services. 'There's undoubtedly a disconnect here between mobile subscribers and service providers and it would appear to be related to the way that services such as these are being communicated to subscribers. There's a school of thought that says mobile operators in the region need to think like IT companies in their marketing of these services, rather than talk like IT companies,' said Alexander McNabb, group account director at Spot On Public Relations. 'The opportunities for operators are huge, not just in revenue terms, but in differentiating themselves in the region's increasingly competitive markets.' The surveys, interviews carried out among 50 randomly selected members of the public in the UAE and 100 in Jordan, highlight the fact that although many more subscribers are using MMS (multi-media messaging service) services, few are aware of the potential for mobile Internet access and content services. In both markets, over 70% of subscribers did not download content to their mobiles, preferring to use MMS to send and receive pictures on a 'peer to peer' basis. Some 54% of the subscribers surveyed in Jordan and 44% in the UAE used their camera phones to share pictures. Some 31% of the subscribers surveyed in Jordan viewed the mobile content available to them negatively, a figure that leapt to over 70% in the UAE. 'A key concern is the future. If people aren't buying Internet and content access today, then you have to ask how adoption of broadband access services such as 3G can be built. The technology roadmap is clear, but subscribers appear not to be aware of just how they can use the mobile services being offered to them today, let alone in future,' said McNabb. Another area highlighted by the survey was the high awareness of 3G technologies in Jordan, a market without a working 3G network (58% of those surveyed were aware of 3G) against the UAE, where the national 3G network was launched over a year ago (62% were not aware of 3G). In both markets, over 60% of subscribers viewed adoption of 3G negatively and do not plan to buy a 3G telephone, with some 58% of respondents seeing 3G purely in terms of a videophone technology. 'Most people in both markets had heard about 3G purely through word of mouth or personal research, which would tend to lead to the conclusion that there's a marketing issue behind the reactions we saw in the survey,' said McNabb. Subscribers surveyed in both markets felt confused by the packages, technologies and facilities being offered to them by their operators. 74% of respondents in the UAE and 50% in Jordan found the services provided by their operator confusing, while 82% of respondents in the UAE and 47% of respondents in Jordan didn't think that operators explain their services and benefits well to customers. 'We don't see these as problems so much as opportunities. These are fundamentally communications issues that can be solved easily through the application of audience based communication, targeted awareness raising programmes and subscriber information campaigns. The long term benefits for operators, in terms of differentiating services and raising not only short term revenues but long term adoption are massive,' said McNabb. The results of the survey are being presented at the Arab Advisors Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference 2005, organized by the Arab Advisors Group, which will be held in Jordan between 11th -12th June 2005, Under the Patronage of H.E Nadia Saeed, Minister of Information and Communications Technology. The conference which was held for the first time last year has attracted regional key players in the media and telecom industries.
# posted by Unknown : Wednesday, March 01, 2006
TRANSACTION BOOKS: AND THEIR SERIES ON MOBILE COMMUNICATION
Call for papers
Transaction books
and their series on Mobile communication
(under the general editorship of James E. Katz),
is proud to announce:
The Mobile Communication Research Annual:
Volume I, The Reconstruction of Space & Time through Mobile Communication Practices
Rich Ling and Scott Campbell (eds.)
We seek the best and most interesting examples of relevant scholarship for our first volume of a projected series on the topic of mobile communication research.
The volume’s theme will be "The Reconstruction of Space and Time through Mobile Communication Practices." The proliferation of wireless and mobile communication technologies gives rise to important changes in how people experience space and time. These changes may be seen in many realms of social life, such as the transformation of public into private space and vice versa, the blurring of lines demarcating work and personal life, and new patterns of coordination and social networks. Recent scholarship has tried to make sense of these changes in space and time. For example, Manuel Castells argues that advances in telecommunications have contributed to new spatio-temporal forms, which he describes as "the space of flows" and "timeless time." According to Castells, these new forms mark a shift in the importance of the meaning of a place to the patterns of the de-sequenced, networked interactions that occur in that place. The purpose of this special issue is to continue and deepen the dialog on how space and time change as a result of the lower threshold for interaction due to mobile communication technologies.
Abstracts of 200 words describing the proposed papers are due by 17 March 2006 with those accepted due in final form by 1 September 2006. Submissions may be in the form of empirical research studies or theory-building papers and should be 5 – 7000 words (in English). Papers are preferably new work but if material from other venues is available it will also be considered for publication. Send your abstract to either Rich Ling or Scott Campbell.
About the editors:
Rich Ling (
richard-seyler.ling@telenor.com) is a sociologist at Telenor's research institute located near Oslo, Norway and he has also been the Pohs visiting professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan. He is the author of the recently published book on the social consequences of mobile telephony entitled The Mobile Connection: The cell phone's impact on society and along with Per E. Pederson the editor of the book Mobile Communications: Renegotiation of the Social Sphere. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in his native US. Upon completion of his doctorate, he taught at the University of Wyoming before coming to Norway on a Marshall Foundation grant. For the past ten years, he has worked at Telenor R&D and has been active in researching issues associated with new information communication technology and society with a particular focus on mobile telephony. He has led projects in Norway and participated in projects at the European level.
Scott Campbell (
swcamp@umich.edu) is Assistant Professor and Pohs Fellow of Telecommunications in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan. His research explores the social implications of new media, with an emphasis on mobile communication practices. His recent studies have investigated cross-cultural trends, mobile phone use in social networks, and use of the technology in public settings. Scott’s research has appeared / is forthcoming in Communication Monographs, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Communication Education, New Media & Society, Communication Research Reports, Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, and other scholarly venues. Prior to joining the University of Michigan in 2005, he worked in the US wireless industry, earned a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, and spent three years teaching and conducting research at Hawaii Pacific University on the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
About the series editor:
James E. Katz is the director of the Center for Mobile Communication Studies at Rutgers University and author of Magic in the Air (Transaction, 2006). His edited or co-edited books include Perpetual Contact (with Mark Aakhus), Machines that Become Us, and Mediating the Human Body (with Leopoldina Fortunati and Raimonda Riccini). His next edited book, tentatively titled Mainstreaming mobiles: Wireless Communication and Social Change in a Global Context, will be published by MIT Press.
About the publisher:
Transaction Publishers, a leading independent publisher of social scientific books, periodicals and serials, is undertaking a new series of books on mobile communication. Transaction's mission is scholarly and professional inquiry into the nature of society. Located on the campus of Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, Transaction Publishers is dedicated to the expansion of the social sciences and is committed to the enhancement of public, professional and scholarly awareness by reaching the widest possible audience for work done by researchers. http://www.transactionpub.com/
Editorial board
Ken Anderson Intel corporation, US
Naomi Baron American University, US
Manual Castells Annenberg Center, University of Southern California, US/Spain
Akiba Cohen Tel Aviv University, Israel
Nicola Doering Ilmenau University of technology, Germany
Jonathan Donner Microsoft Research – Bangalore, India/US
Gerard Goggin University of Sydney, Australia
Nicola Green University of Surrey, UK
Leslie Haddon University of Essex, UK
Keith Hampton Annenberg School, University of Pennsylvania, US
Joachim
Höflich Erfurt University, Germany
Mizuko Ito Annenberg Center, University of Southern California, US/Japan
Shin Dong Kim Hallym University, Republic of Korea
Ilpo Koskinen University of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland
Patrick Law The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
Christian Licoppe Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications, France
Sonia Livingstone London School of Economics, UK
Steve Love Brunel University, UK
Kristóf Nyíri Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
Leysia Palen University of Colorado, US
Raul Pertierra University of the Philippines, Philippines
Madanmohan Rao Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, India
Anxo Roibas University of Brighton, UK/Italy
Harmeet Sawhney Indiana University, US
Gitte Stald University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Hidenori Tomita Bukkyo University, Japan
Jane Vincent University of Surrey, UK
Barry Wellman University of Toronto, Canada
Peter B. White La Trobe University, Australia
# posted by Unknown : Wednesday, March 01, 2006
The Ras Al Khaimah Economic Department is introducing a service in a tie up with Etisalat that will send an SMS to commercial licence holders 10 days before their licences are due to expire, reported Gulf News.
# posted by Unknown : Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Etisalat has launched an anti-spam facility on mobile phones. Any subscriber wanting to have their name removed from an SMS list need only send an SMS to 1011 with the name or short code of the spammer and their name will be immediately deleted from the list.
# posted by Unknown : Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Visiting Research Fellowships: The Meaning of the New Networked Age
Annenberg Center for Communication
University of Southern California
The Annenberg Center for Communication (ACC) (
www.annenberg.edu) at the University of Southern California invites applications for up to eight postdoctoral positions and one visiting scholar position. These Visiting Research fellows will take part in a major multi-disciplinary research initiative to explore the "The Meaning of the New Networked Age: Innovation, Content, Society, and Policy." We welcome researchers from various disciplines including anthropology, architecture, the arts, business, communications, computer science, design, economics, engineering, history, international relations, law, library science, neurosciences, political science, rhetoric, and sociology.
ACC is a research institute devoted to the study of new media from a multi-disciplinary perspective. We are in a period of fundamental transformation in the nature of the networks that connect people, information, objects, and locations. But, what does it mean and what, if anything, should be done to guide the process? The ACC research program will explore the drivers of these changes, their meaning, and their implications for business and government policy.
The 2006-2007 theme investigates the structure and evolution of today’s political, social, cultural, technological, and knowledge networks. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
How new technology is transforming politics and citizen engagement worldwide,
Communication law and policy
New models of intellectual discourse and citation,
Peer-to-peer cultural production and distribution,
The emergence of pervasive mobile and wireless networks.
The ACC intends to convene a multi-disciplinary cohort of scholars to focus on a topic of pressing concern not well addressed in more established disciplinary and departmental institutions. The visiting fellows will work with the ACC’s senior fellows and also will be expected to pursue their research in residence at the Annenberg Center during the 2006-2007 academic year. They will collectively be responsible for organizing one conference and a monthly speakers series, and to attend two weekly Fellows’ seminars of graduate, postdoctoral, and faculty fellows on the theme of the meaning of the new networked age. They may not hold any other appointment during the period of the fellowship.
The postdoctoral fellowship is intended for scholars who have completed their Ph.D since 2001, but we also will consider researchers with at least four years of relevant, real- world experience. The ACC fellowship carries a stipend of $45,000 in addition to a limited amount of funds to support research and relocation expenses.
The visiting scholar position is intended for a mid-career scholar with a well -established track record and demonstrated leadership and expertise related to the theme. The stipend will be commensurate with the scholar’s current position. ACC will also provide a limited amount of funds to support research and relocation expenses.
Applicants should clearly indicate whether they are applying for a postdoctoral position or the visiting scholar position. Applications should include a CV, a cover letter including a personal statement, and a brief statement of research goals in relation to the theme. Three letters of recommendation are to be sent directly by the writers (letters may also be faxed to 213-747-4981). Address all application materials to Elizabeth Harmon, Annenberg Center for Communication, University of Southern California, 734 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90089-7725. Email contact:
eharmon@annenberg.edu. The deadline for receipt in our office is April 30, 2006.
# posted by Unknown : Wednesday, March 01, 2006
