News and Notes Roundup: April 20
April showers bring more NDItech News and Notes Roundups. Forget about the cherry blossoms and all the freshly bloomed flowers around town, it’s our compilation of the freshest links in popular tech and tech4dem that really make this season so great. As always, feel free to tweet or email us (@nditech/[email protected]) with any tips for keeping our roundup hot as the weather continues to warm.
This week’s look into “Tech History” begins with a notable release that occurred 22 years ago on April 22nd (which also happens to be Earth Day for those who weren’t already aware). On that day in 1993, version 1.0 of the world wide web’s first graphical interface software, Mosaic, was released. Although obviously things have come a long way since then, Mosaic will always be the browser perhaps most credited with helping to popularize the world wide web. Another notable anniversary this week comes on the 23rd of April. That will be the 10th anniversary of the first-ever YouTube video. In case you were wondering, the video is called “Me at the zoo”, and currently has over 19 million views despite not being all that interesting.
Now, time for the links:
Popular Tech News:
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Ranking U.S. Presidential candidate web privacy
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What if tech companies cave to the Kremlin’s data demands?
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China is said to use powerful new weapon to censor Internet
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As encryption spreads, U.S. grapples with clash between privacy, security
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“To defend civic space, let’s get serious about cyberspace” - blog on the Open Gov. Partnership site by Nathaniel Heller
ICT and Development:
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3 Key Elements for Integrating Technology in M&E
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Research from Pew on development of communications technology in emerging countries
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Facebook finally pulls in WhatsApp - allowing users to send FB statuses to WhatsApp users
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A solar powered soil sensor for farmers and gardeners
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Examining tech solutions to natural disasters
Mobiles:
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Using mobile phone data to estimate food security
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Mobile phones are revolutionizing personal finance in sub-saharan Africa
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Schools seek refund over $1.3bn iPad project
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Mozilla bringing low cost smartphones to sub-Saharan Africa in hopes of capturing share of growing market
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Development as freedom in a digital age - a report from the World Bank