Monthly Archives: December 2011

Titanium Mobile: java.net.UnknownHostException error when using the AVD emulator

Doing some local development with Titanium and I noticed that when using the xhr object to hit my localhost server (idxdot.dev), and testing using the emulator, I got this error: (TiHttpClient-1) [7,236164] HTTP Error (java.net.UnknownHostException): idxdot.dev E/TiHttpClient( 417): java.net.UnknownHostException: idxdot.dev E/TiHttpClient( 417): at java.net.InetAddress.lookupHostByName(InetAddress.java:513) E/TiHttpClient( 417): at java.net.InetAddress.getAllByNameImpl(InetAddress.java:278) E/TiHttpClient( 417): at java.net.InetAddress.getAllByName(InetAddress.java:242) E/TiHttpClient( 417): atContinue reading “Titanium Mobile: java.net.UnknownHostException error when using the AVD emulator”

“Driving a Rolls Royce on a dirt road”: How not to create African software

Herman Chinery-Hesse is Ghanian and runs SOFTtribe, one of Africa’s largest software companies, and he is not a happy camper. In a must read interview with Kernel Mag if you are interested in African software, he details the woes that his business is facing in winning government contracts. Highlights: All too often, the Ghananian softwareContinue reading ““Driving a Rolls Royce on a dirt road”: How not to create African software”

West Africa and the push for E-Government

Slowly but surely, West African countries are following the lead set in East Africa in pushing E-Government. In Ivory Coast, a seminar was held last week (December 14th to the 18th 2011) on the topic of e-government moderated by Mr Georges M’bra, of the government’s scientific committee. The Ivorian government wants to modernize the administrationContinue reading “West Africa and the push for E-Government”

E-Book: African Apps in The Global Marketplace

I ran into this e-book totally by mistake, but nothing happens by coincidence in my book so here you go. It’s an e-book by Andrew Mugoya and you can download it from here on the AfriApps marketplace, which if you didn’t know offers great apps written African Developers. Here is a synopsis of the book byContinue reading “E-Book: African Apps in The Global Marketplace”

Have you heard about Konza City?

When it comes to ICTs, Kenya has demonstrated that it is deservedly one of the leaders in the new Africa. I was recently directed to learn about Konza City by Amadou Daffe of Coders4Africa, who came back impressed with the Kenya and its ICT community from a recent trip to Kenya for a conference. WhatContinue reading “Have you heard about Konza City?”

Mobile: Comparative View Between Kenya and South Africa.

I’d like to direct you to this article by Mariska Du Preez titled “Mobile Technology: a comparative view between Kenya and South Africa“. Some hard numbers are given from research on the mobile market in both coutries, as well the state of the developer communities. With populations roughly equal (42 M Kenyans to 50M SouthContinue reading “Mobile: Comparative View Between Kenya and South Africa.”

African Mobile Tablets: A Reality

I ran into this recent article  from the sharp African Tech Evangelist Robert Alai discussing the topic of African tablets with Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe, an inventor who holds a patent on a microchip used in minimally invasive surgical robots. I’ve first heard about African tablets earlier this year around June from this Engadget article about the WayContinue reading “African Mobile Tablets: A Reality”

Mobile App Highlight: Dropifi from Ghana

From VC4Africa, the winners of the recent Startup Weekend in Accra with their app Dropifi (not be confused with this Dropify, or this one for that matter): “Dropifi is a messaging platform that seeks to bridge the relationship gap between visitors to a website and the business owners. Many websites, if not all, have aContinue reading “Mobile App Highlight: Dropifi from Ghana”