3arabawy BookMarx 02/19/2013 (p.m.)
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E-commerce in Egypt: A giant in the making – Economy – Business – Ahram Online
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Yet as much as it seems to make investors salivate, e-commerce represents only 0.2 to 0.3 percent of retail spending in Egypt, according to BCG. “We are only scratching the surface when it comes to e-commerce in Egypt,” says Omar Sodoudi, general manager of Souq.
Obstacles include low credit and debit card penetration in a population where only 9.7 percent of all adults have an account at a formal financial institution, according to the World Bank.
What’s more, even card owners in Egypt “are afraid to shop online,” says Jumia managing director Jeremy Doutte. To encourage buyers, online retailers have offered cash on delivery forms of payment in addition to secure online payment, and focused on providing strong customer services to build consumers’ trust in the entire process.
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Smart-phone apps meet wide array of battlefield needs — Defense Systems
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U.S. government, military to get secure Android phones – CNN.com
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Rapid Equipping Force bringing ‘solutions to battlefield’ | Article | The United States Army
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Smart phone charging increases cyber threat | Article | The United States Army
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“The main problem is that people are using their government computers to charge their phones with USB cables,” said Lt. Col Mary M. Rezendes, 1st Signal Brigade operations officer-in-charge.
Violators don’t realize that computers recognize their phones as USB devices and that their software puts the network at risk.
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Android in camouflage: How the military can utilize smartphone tech — Tech News and Analysis
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In addition, militaries wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel every time they wanted to take advantage of consumer or enterprise applications already in the market. Rather than enlist a developer to build a specialized expense-management app, commercial app developers could develop more-secure versions of their existing apps for military smartphones.
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U.S. Government wants military to use Android phones | Ubergizmo
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And if you’re wondering why the government has decided to go with Android instead of an alternative operating system like iOS – the government has the permission and ability to modify Android to suit its own purposes, while Apple has been reported to have denied the government such privileges.
The military will be given commercially available Android devices running a modified version of the Android operating system. It will be safer, more reliable and secure enough for storing classified documents, while retaining the core features of Android to function as a regular smartphone.
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An Android App For The Military – Government – Mobile & Wireless -
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Users log into RATS with a user name and password. The application lets them look at and annotate maps, communicate with and track fellow soldiers, take and send photos, and even watch streaming video from unmanned aerial vehicles.
Raytheon built RATS to address what Bigham says is a gap in the flow of information from military intelligence to soldiers in the field. With smartphones increasingly cheap and ubiquitous, the company decided to build an app that could run on a standard mobile device. It settled on Android 2.0 because of its open interfaces and standard SDK and because Android phones come with features like accelerometers, GPS, and touch screens that would appeal to soldiers, Bigham said.
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RATS works over standard 3G cellular networks. In areas where 3G’s not available, the Android devices could be connected to military radios via USB cable for use over available networks, Bigham said.
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Smartphones combine with tactical radios to boost ground troops | Article | The United States Army
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“We’re trying to find a way that we can stay in stride with commercial technology as much as possible, because it’s changed the way people look at the Internet (and) how they interface with a computer,” Carman said. For example, units could potentially receive new, upgraded devices every two years as part of the Army’s capability set equipping process, he said.
What is clear is that providing communications capabilities to dismounted Soldiers increases their survivability, lethality and effectiveness, said Col. John Zavarelli, program manager for HMS (Handheld, Manpack and Small-Form-Fit).
”It’s the guys that don’t get information – giving them the power of sharing information,” Zavarelli said. “We’re trying to give capability to the Soldier so that they can be dominant. We want to make our contribution to the dominant squad.”
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The Military’s Secret Weapon: Smartphones – Mobiledia
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First and foremost, the Pentagon plans to let recruits use Apple and Google phones in addition to aging BlackBerry handsets. The military uses 250,000 RIM devices, making it the company’s single biggest customer. But iPhones and Androids now outpace BlackBerrys, forcing the DoD to embrace the changing market.
Army and Marine corps members have been testing Apple and Google smartphones in military exercises for some time, using them to text, send GPS locations and file in-field reports. IPhones and Android models do well even during tests in desert conditions, suggesting they are appropriate for use in arid battle zones.
IPads, too, are increasingly useful in battle, as they now allow soldiers to guide drones using specialized software.
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‘Digital rodeo’ helps Army look at smart-phone apps | Article | The United States Army
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“We’re going to develop a second phase where we look at tactical applications that will connect the individual Soldier into the tactical network where that Soldier can see things perhaps now only a more senior commander would have access to,” said Walker. “So one of the things we will be doing with the 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division is running an exercise in the future where the individual Soldiers will have those phones and in tactical scenarios will do an evaluation – how do you employ this ‘ How do you organize for this’ What’s the proper way to train to use this’”
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Smartphones for all ‘makes sense in long run’ | Article | The United States Army
Very important read.
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Egyptian editor says he was forced out by Muslim Brotherhood | World news | guardian.co.uk
ABOUT 3ARABAWY
Hossam el-Hamalawy is an Egyptian journalist from Cairo
hossam [at] arabawy [dot] org