by on 31 Jan 2009 7 Comments

Empowering poor people with Linux

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In today’s issue of Samedi Plus, one tiny article caught one of my eyes:

E-Inclusion Foundation: aubaine ou piège?

Le ministère de l’informatique a récemment mis sur pied un programme intitulé “E-Inclusion Foundation”. Destiné aux familles pauvres, il s’agit d’un programme de distribution d’ordinateurs “refurbished” qui ne sont plus utilisés par des pays développés.

Certains, pourtant, se demandent si une personne “computer illiterate” ne se retrouvera pris dans un engrenage négatif, dans le sens qu’il apprendra à travers des méthodes dépassées, qui ne sont plus utilisées dans le domaine de l’informatique.

I agree. But not because the computer is old as hinted.

The reason why I think this is not a good idea is that the computer is not important anymore. What is essential now is an Internet connection.

I wonder how many of those computer illiterates buying refurbished computers are rich enough to afford paying for a monthly ADSL subscription (please don’t mention 56k…)? Does it make sense to have a PC if you do not have an Internet connection? No! We’re in 2009 and everything interesting and valuable is online now.

One possibility

In a certain way, I prefer the Net PC from Mauritius Telecom. It’s available at Rs 4300 with a monthly subscription of Rs 490. Thirty hours of broadband Internet connection are available monthly (and this is much better than nothing.) Unfortunately, it comes with Windows, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook Express, Internet Explorer and Adobe Reader only. Bloody hell! As if the whole idea is to create a bunch of secretaries!

What would be perfect is something like the Net PC but powered by Linux with an enormous collection of open source software preinstalled (including internet, office and multimedia software and compilers/interpreters.) I believe that solution would be close to perfect and will empower poor people much more than giving them old computers with no Internet connection or a Net PC with secretarial software only.

If only I was the current Minister of Information and Communication Technology…

Filed Under: Education, Linux, Mauritius, News, Technology
by on 20 Jan 2009 34 Comments

A new generation of politicians

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Today is an historic day: George W. Bush will vacate the capitol. Phew. How could someone with an IQ of 91* rule the world is one of the most profound questions I’ve asked myself in my whole life. And the only reason I can think of is that he cheated (or, more probably, someone cheated for him.) During his term, he started two wars killing thousands of innocent civilians and wrecked the economy of the whole planet (and he invented a lot of words.)

Of course, today is historic for another reason too: Barack Obama will become President of the United States of America in exactly 3 hours and 13 minutes. And I have big hopes that he will inspire countless of young, intelligent and honest people to get into politics. And the old, stupid and dishonest will have to leave. My country, Mauritius, needs that… urgently.

* this is an urban legend.

Filed Under: Mauritius, News, Politics
by on 14 Jan 2009 52 Comments

Air Mauritius: Where did it go wrong?

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For years, Air Mauritius was one of the most admired companies in the whole country. In 2009, Air Mauritius is suffocating. Analysts predict that, for the 2008-2009 financial year, Air Mauritius will declare losses of around Rs 1,000,000,000 after having made a profit of Rs 675 million during the previous financial year.

Where did it go wrong?

  • Reason #1 is the hedging contract for kerosene negotiated by Air Mauritius until August 2010. This means that the company will suffer massive losses in 2009-2010 too. No wonder the Chairman of the Board as well as the financial manager have resigned… and others might follow.
  • Reason #2 is the worldwide recession. People are travelling less now because they do not want to spend their hard-earned cash on something which is not essential. I was talking to a friend yesterday who was telling me that Air Mauritius airplanes are routinely half-full (or half-empty depending on your mindset.)
  • Reason #3 is that the Air Mauritius service is, ahem, crap. When travelling from Malaysia in  2007, we had to endure an airplane which smelled of piss. No wonder people prefer Emirates. [I don't want to be mean but I also have to say that, given the large number of beautiful girls in Mauritius, I don't understand why so many Air Mauritius air hostesses are so ugly. Maybe this is a consequence of Reason #5.]
  • Reason #4 is the fact that Air Mauritius wastes too much money on trivialities: huge catering bills, reduced price and even free air tickets to all personnel, etc. In fact, I’m sure a lot of people perceive Air Mauritius as THE place to work if you love to brag. It is THE bragging company par excellence.
  • Reason #5 is the fact that a large number of the employees recruited every year are (i) political agents or (ii) family members of prominent political agents or politicians. This has been the rule for years now as far as I know. This implies that a substantial proportion of the workforce might not have the required aptitudes to do their job properly. [This is not specific to Air Mauritius. We all know that.]

One way forward is for Air Mauritius to stop being THE bragging company. Air Mauritius should become humble and realise that it is a tiny airline with substandard service and should do its best to enhance its products. Of course, this means that the top brass there should stop believing they are demi-gods and start working instead (and they should also take a pay cut.) Last but not least, the Air Mauritius trade unions leaders should be intellectually honest enough to say that some employees are not contributing anything to the company and should be fired… without golden parachutes.

Will that happen? I have some doubts.

Filed Under: Mauritius, News
by on 08 Jan 2009 15 Comments

Linux Training as from January 2009

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I am happy to tell you that my company, Knowledge Seven Ltd, is organising two Linux training courses in the coming weeks. Check this blog entry for more info:

Filed Under: Education, Knowledge7, Linux, Mauritius, News, Technology
by on 01 Jan 2009 29 Comments

2009 is here. Think big.

20090101-think-big

After all the economic and social problems we had in 2008, I believe that:

  • 2009 will be tough as a lot of big countries are in recession and Mauritius will inevitably suffer. The tourism industry and Air Mauritius for instance will have to adapt… or perish. Remember that major banks and factories in the USA, Europe and Japan are closing every day…
  • 2009 will bring a major shift in the way we relate to money and indulge in consumerism. Many of us, including a lot of young people, forget that working is first and foremost about saving money to have a good standard of living when retirement age comes. Working is not about using a major portion of one’s salary to buy the latest electronic gadget however tempting that may be… In 2009, people will have to be more prudent with their money and invest wisely. Remember to get all your needs first before considering some of your wants.
  • 2009 will be the year of Barack Obama and I hope this will have an influence on politics in our country. Politics in Mauritius is outdated. Old politicians have lost their ideals and have no vision. Many of the young ones (but not all) are just younger versions of the old ones… It is time for someone to come with a long term plan with feasible solutions to real problems we face in this country such as our inadequate education system, corruption, no equal opportunities, poverty, promotion not based on meritocracy, communalism, violence and, something I have realised lately, a lack of Mauritius entrepreneurs in high-tech and value-added industries compared to other countries.

People in Mauritius, as unfortunate victims of our education system, generally tend to think on a small scale. People here generally are not very confident in their own abilities and qualities. People here often are reluctant to innovate because of ki lot la pou dire. People still have this mentalité colonialiste here where we’ll do everything to prevent a fellow Mauritian doing things while, at the same time, revering any Tom and Jack however stupid he may be provided (i) he comes from abroad and (ii) he is white.

This has to change.

We have to start to think big. It’s time to understand that we are intelligent and can change things. It’s time for each of us to have an opinion and not be afraid to voice it… however strange it may be. Could you have imagined something stranger than someone with the middle name of Hussein becoming President of the USA? No? Me neither. But this is what is happening this month. So don’t hesitate to have strange ideas. History shows that people with strange ideas change the world. We need people with strange ideas to change Mauritius.

Happy New Year 2009 to you all. And don’t forget: Think Big!

Filed Under: Education, Mauritius, News, Politics