a family has lost a dear pet – they seek help from their local community to search for it

in every corner of the world, there is often small hubs for the local community where people use some kind of a notice board to announce and search for concerts, part time jobs, street renovations, a helping hand and missing cats.

the local community notice board exist because of our belonging somewhere

social media has come a long way with facebook, twitter as well as our own somewhere in… blog, aawaj and somewhere in… events, but the way i see it we all are still to crack the code for reaching real local.

aawaj local community as it started and as we not yet could finish

the sweet little black cat went missing from road no 96 in gulshan 2.  if it is still alive and exploring the world, it may not have strayed too far away.  it is the people living in the nearby area who are most likely to spot it.  if you find it, you will both mend the broken heart of a little child and give the cat back to a cosy home.  if not adding a plus to your karma at least make yourself feel a bit more useful.

in the meantime, we at somewhere in… should continue our efforts to go more local, much more local.

no more death by powerpoint, presentation by excel…

steve used his picture gallery and excel throughout the whole talk, who needs powerpoint?  excel is interactive and inclusive, powerpoint works as sleeping pills…

shovelling snow may not be the favourite hobby of steve, but a man´s got to do what a man´s got to do

after a brief history including start-ups, waterfall, early .dotcom, sexy marketing girls opening his eyes to co-location, fartsdumps in norway, snow shovelling in the US, rugby jerseys, mobile users in himalaya and girlie bars in kathmandu, the audience was fully in his hands:

explaining the OBTW factor that often messes up scrum estimation

i am obviously an OBTW (oh, by the way) guy that messes up sprints by suggesting new features.  scrum is very nice for disciplined work, but discipline is of less use when the product owner keeps on adding and then can´t understand why delivery delays…  we learned a lot about estimation, velocity, new feature addition rate, etc.  very useful, at least for me, to hopefully build better understanding with the developer teams.

ok, so we missed our estimate by a factor of three, but we all can improve through iterations

perfect predictions can be done only after seeing the agreed delivery in stable observation for several days, while the first estimates could miss by any factor between 0.25 and 4, as demonstrated by estimating the time needed to travel to dhaka airport.

thanks steve, your agile presentation gave us new insight and energy

steve, we do hope you will come back to dhaka and somewhere in…, we want to do more and bigger agile talks with you.

on the lighter note, steve seems to love norwegians, partly for their friendliness and partly because they so often get lost in translation:

Det er ikke farten som dreper, det er smellet. means “It’s not the speed that kills, it’s the bang.”. By using the Norwegian words for “speed” (fart) and “bang” (smell) one gets the phrase “It’s not the fart that kills, it’s the smell.”.

So I start to create a project with ZF2.0 . But I faced few problem to see the welcome screen . So here I describe how quickly you can set up a zf project .

First let us know the requirement of ZF 2.0

Assumption:

I assume that you have an idea for the following things :

1. how to setup mamp .
2. how to create virtual host .

Requirement :

1. Php 5.3

Download :

https://github.com/zendframework/zf2

Setup on MAMP:

I just want to show how to set up on mamp . I assume that you already set up

1. Now open your php.ini file located under

/Applications/MAMP/conf/php5/php.ini

2. Search for include_path and add the location of your zend framework:

include_path = ".:/usr/lib/php:/usr/local/lib/php:/Applications/MAMP/path of zendframework/ "

or you can include library/zend while you create a project . I will show in later while we create a project.

3. Zend Framework also comes with a shell script that will help you with RAD (Rapid Application Deployment), you can create a shortcut to Zend Tools in terminal by adding an alias to your profile under /etc/profile and make sure to restart terminal after you’ve done so:

alias zf2=/Applications/MAMP/svn/zendframework/trunk/bin/zf.sh

4. Test if the Zend Tool is installed correctly by showing the version:

zf2 show version

5. Finally navigate to the directory you’d like to create your first project in:

zf2 create project quickstart

And then I create a virtual hosts for local.quickstart.com and when I browse that i have seen a blank page . Then I try to find the error . so I open the php error file by this command : tail –f php_error.log

In that file I have seen lots of error message where most of the error messages are that files are not found.

So I have checked the files. I open a file controllers/indexController.php file . There I find nothing has been written . Same things happened for error Controller . So I have looked at the:
https://github.com/micrub/zf2-bootstrap

. And there I found that how to extend the controller and also how to extend the class. So now again browse the local.quickstart.com and now I have seen it works for me .

We, participants in the South Asian Meeting on the Internet and Freedom of Expression, having met in Kathmandu, Nepal, on 2-4 November 2011 to deliberate on the state of freedom of expression in our region in the digital age, and coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,

Considering the importance of social media and the Internet to the growth and advancement of democracy in our region,

Have adopted the following resolution:

Access to the Internet

1. We note with great concern that Internet penetration rates around the region remain abysmally low and hover at the most around 25 percent in any South Asian country. As access to the Internet has become an essential precondition for citizens to make full use of their right to freedom of expression in the digital age, we call upon the Governments of South Asia to rectify this situation at the earliest by facilitating and ensuring access to Internet infrastructure that upholds high quality services for all.
2. In addition to the provisioning of Internet infrastructure, we recognise the many barriers to equitable access of the Internet in South Asia, including identity, linguistic, cultural and gender based challenges. It is important that government and industry recognise these constraints and work collectively towards strengthening affordable, equitable access for all communities and peoples.
3. While markets can play an important role in providing affordable access to infrastructure, markets alone will not be able to ensure that the Internet reaches all communities or to satisfy all needs. For this reason, we urge our Governments to ensure that provisions for open or shared spectrum, as well as for community initiatives to use such spectrum, are included in policy. We call upon the people of South Asia to form and support a South Asian Internet user movement that will advocate for provision of quality Internet access.
4. In order to further promote access, including for marginalised groups, we also urge our Governments to, in cooperation with the relevant technical communities, develop, promote and offer at reduced or no cost quality hardware and free and open source software to promote cost-effective Internet access in all South Asian languages, and to also address Internet literacy needs. We urgently request industry to support such Government efforts in all ways possible, including by accepting Unicode as a standard at the earliest.
5. In addition to the provisioning of hardware and software as noted above, we also recognise the paucity of local language content on the Internet. Communities must be encouraged to create their own content via text, photographic, audio, animation or a combination of these means. It is only when our people can express themselves fully and freely will they feel part of a national fabric, which in turn contributes to regional stability.

Arbitrary filtering and blocking of content and criminalization of expression

1. We note with great concern that the possibilities the Internet allows for free expression are used around the region as an excuse to restrict free speech in unprecedented ways. We remind our Governments that freedom of expression is a corner stone of democracy that is carefully protected by a range of international instruments. In line with their obligations under these instruments, we urge our Governments to ensure that, online as offline, the blocking and filtering of content takes places only under very specific and restricted conditions that have been clearly and precisely established in law prior to the act of blocking or filtering. No blocking without a court order should be allowed to take place. In addition, we urge our Governments to make public lists of all blocked sites without delay.
2. We also call upon our Governments, industry and civil society actors to facilitate and promote a culture of tolerance and respect for freedom of expression. Rather than through filtering and blocking, hate speech should be challenged by allowing and encouraging more critical thought to flourish. Freedom of expression should be decriminalised.
3. Traditional print and broadcast media, also increasingly publishing, producing and curating content online, should collaborate with online media industries and related communities, including bloggers and citizen journalists, in strengthening and promoting freedom of expression online. This includes the promotion of better awareness of such standard-setting instruments as the Johannesburg Principles on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information among industry personnel and journalists, campaigners, bloggers and activists.

Intermediary liability

1. We are concerned that Internet intermediaries, such as social networking sites and Internet service providers, are insufficiently protected in South Asia. We strongly affirm that no Internet intermediary should be subject to liability for content of which they are not the author, until and unless they have refused to act in a timely manner on a court order to take down such content. Any restriction on or removal of content should be based on judicial order as well as fulfil the conditions noted in the section on arbitrary filtering and blocking above.
2. We also call for policy guidelines that define the role of ISPs and other intermediaries and their responsibility to their users, with the goal of protecting users’ consumer and human rights.
3. We call upon industry to take a proactive stance in ensuring that the consumer and human rights of their users are upheld at all times.

Surveillance, privacy and data protection

1. Throughout South Asia, the Internet is increasingly being used as an excuse by Governments to accord to themselves sweeping surveillance powers that are no longer adequately balanced by judicial review. We remind our Governments of their obligation under international instruments to ensure that online communications are delivered to recipients/users sans interference/inspection by the State or third parties. We strongly reaffirm that surveillance should be undertaken as the exception and not the rule, by clearly specified and identified implementing authorities only, guided by transparent surveillance procedures, and with each surveillance action clearly justified as well as restricted in time and backed up by judicial order. Once the surveillance ceases, the person or institution that was under surveillance should be informed of the fact that surveillance has taken place.
2. To ensure the highest levels of protection, the privacy of the citizen should be secured through explicit Constitutional guarantee. Policies for the restriction of privacy should be clearly defined and circumscribed, and could include the needs of public interest. States across South Asia should also introduce legislation, with redress mechanisms, on citizens’ data protection with a guarantee of non-disclosure of data. Such legislation should apply to governments and industry alike.
3. Industry should ensure that online privacy policies are precise and clear. All Internet users should be made aware about inherent limits to their privacy online, and educated on how to take adequate precautions to safeguard their digital identity and communications.

Governance of the Internet

1. We observe with great regret that multistakeholder mechanisms for Internet governance remain non-existent in our region. Recognising both the specific nature of the Internet and its development and the complexity of the many challenges facing its governance, we call upon our Governments to urgently allow for and adopt multistakeholder models of Internet governance as already well-established at the global level, such as at the Internet Governance Forum and ICANN, as well as in some national contexts, such as Brazil. We emphasise that the full involvement of all stakeholders, i.e. government, private sector and civil society, in the governance of the Internet is crucial if we are to ensure that the Internet’s benefits are to reach all in our countries.

Signed by:

JJ Robinson, Editor, Minivan News, the Maldives

Ujjwal Acharya, Chair, Digital Media Committee at the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), Nepal

Anja Kovacs, Internet Democracy Project, India

Aunohita Mojumdar, Contributing Editor (Kabul), Himal South Asia

Ahmed Swapan, VOICE, Bangladesh

Babu Ram Aryal, President, Internet Society, Nepal Chapter.

Geeta Seshu, Journalist and Co-ordinator of at Free Speech Hub at The Hoot, India

Syeda Gulshan Ferdous Jana, Head of Alliances/Co-Founder, Somewhere In Net, Bangladesh

Nabiha Meher Shaikh, Pakistan

Dilrukshi Handunnetti, Journalist and Lawyer, Sri Lanka

Binay Bohra, President, Internet Service Providers Association of Nepal

Bishakha Datta, Point of View, India

Sharmini Boyle, TV Producer, Sri Lanka

Bytes for All, Pakistan

Maraa, India

sflc.in, India

Centre for Internet and Society, India

the kathmandu statement was signed by people from these organisations

in early november 2011, i was in kathmandu as a participant of the south-asian meeting on the internet and freedom of expression arranged by the internet democracy project, in collaboration with point of view (india), the centre for policy alternatives (sri lanka) and global partners and associates (UK).

it was also highly encouraging that mr. frank la rue, UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression joined us for the full meeting.  for three days we shared experiences and status reports on the internet and how free our voices actually are, with participants from nearly all the south asian countries.

this is me with mr. frank la rue

from bangladesh it was me, syeda gulshan ferdous jana from somewhere in net ltd., and swapan ahmed who is the executive director of voice.  we concluded the meeting with the kathmandu statement which i will share in a separate post.  the last dinner together was a wonderful experience with a cultural show at a very traditional nepali restaurant:

an elegant and traditional nepali dinner, here with my friends anja, bishakha and sushmita

kathmandu and nepal was very charming and beautiful, but i only got to see this after the three day meeting was over.  i was lucky that arild and kinnori came to kathmandu the day before our meeting ended and we had a few days of sightseeing thereafter.   i just have to share a few nice memories from these days:

arild and kinnori at kathmandu darbar square

a good time and place to play

me and kinnori at the baktapur darbar square a late november evening

when you feel competition is eating into you and you know you have to go south or east to build capacity and get more power for your bucks, you may wonder how this best is done.   as i reside in dhaka, bangladesh since 1994 and have been an IT entrepreneur for six years, and also happens to be the president of the nordic chamber of commerce here, i have observed more than 50 nordic IT companies thats tried business here.   there have been many failures, there have been many successes.   in most cases, success comes when you send out one or more of your trusted persons to set up and run your business locally.

problems with the present ways of outsourcing:
if you lease a team, you never own the competence.
if you establish a joint venture, its difficult to balance expectations.
if you set up your own firm, the cost of failure is high.

our solution with low risk and high upside: lease-build-own
this story, illustrated by images from the film “outsourced”, is for those of you who are ready to send out your own person to dhaka.   we will show you how our model will make you succeed, in a much easier and proven way than poor todd anderson had to fight his way through in the film.

we pick you up on arrival, no chaos or confusion

imagine that you have chosen “jens”, your most versatile and motivated colleague to travel to dhaka to start your outsourcing venture and he leaves his nordic world saturday afternoon.   he is well prepared as our “starter-kit” documentation provided clear info about how life in dhaka will be and what he may need or want as preparation.   upon arrival in dhaka, he is received by us at the airport.

we will ensure a comfortable drive from the airport

no haggling with taxi drivers, no fear of the unknown, just a nice, relaxed ride into the city and his new home.

a cosy little home will be ready for you

in advance, we have arranged a suitable place to live, close to the working place and in the midst of all needed facilities.   we know how foreigners prefer to have their home and have ensured that everything is in place to the smallest detail.

our office is modern and fully equipped except there are no cows

after a good night sleep, we will bring “jens” to his new office, shared with us.   while todd anderson in the movie found himself in the middle of nowhere with holy cows in the office, “jens” will be pleased to find his desk in a very open, nordic style office located at the heart of gulshan 2 with all modern facilities and a friendly environment.

our equipment and power supply works smooth

no hassle of arranging office, power backup, cooling, communication, furniture or equipment, just plug and play from day 1.   “jens” is an experienced project leader and should focus on what he knows best, no need to waste months trying to be a jack-of-all-trades while setting up his own office.

we have selected core persons ready to work with you

to get started, we have already selected a tiny and seasoned core team to start with.   all it takes is a hand-shake, an introduction, a good cup of coffee and a white board to get the project work started.

you can enjoy all communication facilities as needed

“E.T. call home…”, indeed “jens” wants to report back home and proper lines and equipment for a video call back home is awaiting.   if required, we can easily lease time slots for large screen video conferencing with our neighbours.

we will professionally assist you in recruitment

“jens” should have one main agenda: to build the required capacity and skill sets needed to deliver as expected.   not many know the local software industry as we do.   we know whom to search for, how to get them interested and what terms and conditions are expected to sign up with the best.   this may be one of the strongest assets you find through a partnership with us.

your focus is fully on team building and project management

our unique outsourcing model ensure that “jens” can focus on what he does best: team building and project management.   most of the back-office tasks and personnel responsibility are taken care of by us for as long as needed.   when the day comes that it is no longer cost-effective to lease the team and you want to own the team, you are free to bring all or any with you to your own company that you have established with our support with two months prior notice. herein lies the beauty of the model:
* lease the selected people from us in the beginning, pay only a fixed monthly rate per head.
* grow your team with our assistance, instant return of people in excess, if any.
* own the team and transfer them to your own company without any sign-off fee or extra cost when you are ready.

you will not miss any festivals or fun while with us

we know that for your efforts to succeed, much depends on the well-being of your man send out.   one thing for sure, he will not miss any of the festivals or other events worth experiencing, whether in the local or the expat community.

our team will ensure that you get culturally integrated

further, a good cultural integration gives the best results, after all, “jens” needs to be a strong motivator for the team.   nothing gives better results than starting with a deep understanding of the local culture and behaviour.   with one leg in norway and one leg in bangladesh, we are the team that knows how to bridge cultures.

arrangements for travel and going home is taken care of

for all the “jens´es” moving abroad to start a new team, a life of adventure, challenges, fun and frustration is awaiting.   through this little story, we hope that you feel motivated to take the first step.   we will increase the adventure and fun, while professionally assisting with the challenges and ease the frustrations.

the model is very simple:  lease – build – own.    minimum risk, maximum upside!