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Google Setting Up a Presence In Kenya

Reader wana forwards the news that Google is establishing a base in Sub-Saharan Africa. What advanced infrastructure exists on the African continent is mostly in South Africa, and a blogger from there speculates on what Google might have been thinking in choosing Kenya over SA.

176 comments

  1. Number one search? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Food or water? I'm racing to get my ads up.

    1. Re:Number one search? by bladesjester · · Score: 1

      Maybe they figure that, with the money they have in the bank, they could effectively buy the country and define "evil" legally to be whatever they want it to be.

      The frightening thing is that part of me thinks this isn't as far fetched as it might sound at first blush. They have, after all, been getting kind of questionable of late.

      --
      Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
    2. Re:Number one search? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They are going to Kenya for the same reason companies have been going to India and China. CHEAP LABOR!

      It's a little thing called offshoring.

    3. Re:Number one search? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Well, I don't go around quoting the CIA much, but that's just a religious preference.

      I wasn't trolling, it was a poignant joke, modded +2 funny.
      Ok, obviously I wasn't anonymous enough for CIA people. Merde.

      Google's decision was an economic and political one, though they *probably have more than 1 or 2 reasons.
      Sorry to say, I don't think humanitarianism or cultural development are in the top 2. Maybe top 10?

      The Q: Is it exploitation to hire capable, hard working people in a developing nation and pay them the minimum wage?

      I suppose that depends on who you ask. We'll see what people say in 10 years. If it flops, would google stay?

      (So mod unto me, so will I mod unto you) - anonymous coward (the real one)

    4. Re:Number one search? by the_womble · · Score: 4, Interesting
      I spent several months in Kenya, working on a system for a major financial institution. My experience was:
      • Corruption is rife: much worse than in South Asia
      • Levels of competence in IT are low
      • Ethnic tensions and the huge gap between the rich and the poor make the country unstable
      • Violent crime is common, and often really vicious
      • Promotion in many organisations is on influence, not merit.
      • There is a significant brain drain
      • Kenyan fast food is horrible: it makes the big international chains look like beacons of quality
    5. Re:Number one search? by al77 · · Score: 1

      Any story about Africa has to do with food and water?

    6. Re:Number one search? by Pollardito · · Score: 2, Funny

      if they're only living to 55 on average it's probably not worth investing in Viagra adwords

  2. Only in Kenya by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Damn, now every time I search something, I get stuck in the head that "only in kenya" song with tigers and lions dancing.

    1. Re:Only in Kenya by MuscaDomestica · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Only in Kenya Lions and Tigers - Kenya we got the lions only in kenya , going to kenya, we got lions, we got the tigers, only in kenya , got lions and tigers only in kenya , we got norway, kenya oh kenya where the giraffes are and the zebras kenya kenya kenya kenya kenya we going to kenya we can't believe it (free snorkel with every visit)

    2. Re:Only in Kenya by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 4, Funny

      I believe the lyric is "forget norway"

      http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/kenya/

      --
      liqbase :: faster than paper
    3. Re:Only in Kenya by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      we got lions, we got the tigers, we got Google, only in Kenya

    4. Re:Only in Kenya by bladesjester · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You beat me to it. That video was the first thing that I thought of when I saw the headline =]

      --
      Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
    5. Re:Only in Kenya by macserv · · Score: 1

      You know, in his defense, for a good while my friends and I also thought it was "We got Norway". It wasn't until I saw the lyrics written that I thought differently.

  3. Re:Forget Norway by zmollusc · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    TFA doesn't mention the free snorkels. Wtf?

    --
    They whose government reduces their essential liberties for temporary security, receive neither liberty nor security.
  4. fairplay by wwmedia · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    "Google understands that this is an impediment and is willing to go to the extent of buying international bandwidth that locals don't have to pay the current considerable premium they are."

    free/cheap bandwidth for africa, fairplay to google! wonder what evil master plan is behind this idea?

    1. Re:fairplay by bladesjester · · Score: 1

      The fact that, if played right, Google could effectively control the country?

      --
      Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
    2. Re:fairplay by TheRaven64 · · Score: 5, Funny

      One of the biggest exports of Kenya is (decent) coffee. Google is staffed by geeks. Do I really need to connect the dots here?

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  5. Why Kenya? by Rimbo · · Score: 4, Funny
    1. Re:Why Kenya? by al77 · · Score: 1

      Infact there are lots of Kenyan Doctors and Engineers working in SA.This was due to President Mois bad leadership hes no longer the leader though. SA blacks due to white apertheid didn't get good education or didn't go to school at all so they have along way to go before catching up with Kenyas educated work pool. The current govt is trying and Kenya has continued uninterrupted to produce and educated work force. Kenya hasnt had wars like some African countries.

    2. Re:Why Kenya? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As soon as I read the title of this post, that song started in my head

  6. Kenya by OverlordQ · · Score: 4, Funny

    where can you see Google?
    only in kenya
    come to kenya we've got Google!

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  7. Why not Kenya? by internetcommie · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Not to be rude to anybody, but I've heard government corruption is a bigger problem in Kenya than South Africa...

    1. Re:Why not Kenya? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Possibly but I'd say you are less likley to be murdered in Kenya than South Africa. Have you ever been to Johanesburg? Every home is like a small prison with high walls and even security services that come on alarms... just recently a noted photographer was critically injured when a head sized piece of cement was thrown through his windshield, something they apparently wish to reduce the instances of down there around Capetown.

      I went to a hotel there and we were advised not to walk on the street at any time, night or day.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    2. Re:Why not Kenya? by internetcommie · · Score: 1

      That would make Kenya an even better place for a big corporation. The government officials they buy are likely to survive for a while, which will save them money. And, minor issue of course; the employees are likely to live till the next work day too.

    3. Re:Why not Kenya? by ChatHuant · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Possibly but I'd say you are less likley to be murdered in Kenya than South Africa. (...)

      I went to a hotel there and we were advised not to walk on the street at any time, night or day.


      Well, I've been to Nairobi, and it's quite similar - all homes in Karen and Langata (the rich suburbs of Nairobi) are small fortresses, with alarms, barbed wire, fences and dogs. You see askaris (armed policemen) everywhere in downtown Nairobi, and, when arriving at a hotel, they inspect the underside of your car for bombs. And from what I read, Nairobi and Jo'burg take turns being the crime capital of Africa. Especially lately, because of the war in neighboring Somalia, armed robbery and other attacks have grown a lot.

      But except for the crime problem (which is worst in Nairobi), and for the widespread corruption (which you'll find almost everywhere in Africa) Kenya is a great place to visit, and one of the more advanced countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The education levels are fairly high, you see lots of schools everywhere, even in the impoverished countryside areas. So Google's decision to go to Kenya isn't totally unreasonable.

    4. Re:Why not Kenya? by fishbowl · · Score: 0, Troll

      >all homes in Karen and Langata (the rich suburbs of Nairobi) are small fortresses, with alarms, barbed wire, fences
      >and dogs.

      Like Cincinnati!

      --
      -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    5. Re:Why not Kenya? by al77 · · Score: 0

      Corruption is a bigger problem in US and Uk than in Kenya. The numbers in US and Uk are mindboggling.

    6. Re:Why not Kenya? by mks113 · · Score: 1

      I call BS on this one. While I'm sure the $$ figures are higher in the west, it affects the rich who want something done that isn't quite above board. In Kenya the common people have to pay bribes to get the simplest government work done. Drivers expect to pay bribes at every police check (every 5km or so). You pay bribes to pass a driving test, to get a title deed. You name it, it costs money "under the table".

      There are three ways to get things done in Kenya, have a friend in the right place, pay some money under the table, or wait -- and wait and wait.

    7. Re:Why not Kenya? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      See: the arms trade, BAE Systems, slush funds for Saudi Princes, etc.

    8. Re:Why not Kenya? by slamb · · Score: 1

      Well, I've been to Nairobi, and it's quite similar - all homes in Karen and Langata (the rich suburbs of Nairobi) are small fortresses, with alarms, barbed wire, fences and dogs. You see askaris (armed policemen) everywhere in downtown Nairobi, and, when arriving at a hotel, they inspect the underside of your car for bombs. And from what I read, Nairobi and Jo'burg take turns being the crime capital of Africa. Especially lately, because of the war in neighboring Somalia, armed robbery and other attacks have grown a lot.

      I've been there as well, and that's not quite my impression. I stayed a couple nights at a house in Karen. There were fences and dogs, yes. (Big dogs, but not the kind that would tear an intruder to shreds. More the kind you'd have on a farm anywhere in the world.) No alarms or barbed wire, though there might have been if a nearby military base didn't make it largely unnecessary. However, my hosts told me that was more to prevent theft than violent crime.

      We went through poorer (supposedly insanely dangerous) areas as well - my host took us along in a Land Cruiser as he looked for car parts in the Industrial City, and my friends and I biked through Dagoretti Market on our way out of town. Again, our hosts warned us about theft but told us we'd be safe enough. And we made it. There was one guy who yelled obscenities as we went by, but almost everyone was friendly and curious about the three wuzungu with fancy bicycles. (Actually, that held for my entire trip through Kenya and Tanzania, which was rather off the beaten path.) In fact, we saw a lot of genuine hospitality and kindness.

      As for the armed policemen...yeah, I saw those, too, and I heard stories of widespread small-scale corruption. My host described a typical one: a policemen told another guy he needed to pay some ridiculous made-up-fine. The other guy let the policemen talk himself out, handed him half the claimed fine in cash, said "fuck off and go have lunch", and drove away.

    9. Re:Why not Kenya? by ChatHuant · · Score: 1

      Jambo, mzungu!

      I biked through Dagoretti Market on our way out of town

      You're a braver man than me, Gunga Din! :)
      I went through Dagoretti too - but in a Land Rover; scary place, but we didn't get attacked either.

      In fact, we saw a lot of genuine hospitality and kindness.

      I have to agree; I had very good experiences in Kenya (and got some great photos); I took the reasonable precautions (don't run at night around waving wads of banknotes ;) ), and nothing bad happened. The only complaint I may have was the hard sell here and there, for touristy stuff. And even that wasn't as bad as you get in other places, like Egypt or Turkey

    10. Re:Why not Kenya? by al77 · · Score: 1

      I call BS on this one. While I'm sure the $$ figures are higher in the west, it affects the rich who want something done that isn't quite above board. Please white people crap. If you follow the trails of corruption in Africa it always poins to a white dude or white corporation. whites are the most corrupt people on earth. For example Recross pretends to be saving sick african children while all that money goes into expatriate salaries and stealing. In Kenya the common people have to pay bribes to get the simplest government work done. Drivers expect to pay bribes at every police check (every 5km or so). You pay bribes to pass a driving test, to get a title deed. You name it, it costs money "under the table". There are three ways to get things done in Kenya, have a friend in the right place, pay some money under the table, or wait -- and wait and wait. Just look at your post for a supposedly intelligent guy. I lived in Kenya all my life and never payed a bribe. Which Kenya are you talking about? All you posts have nothing related to the above topic. just social garbage. Google is far much better of in Kenya than SA.

    11. Re:Why not Kenya? by al77 · · Score: 1

      I call BS on this one. While I'm sure the $$ figures are higher in the west, it affects the rich who want something done that isn't quite above board. Please white people crap. If you follow the trails of corruption in Africa it always poins to a white dude or white corporation. whites are the most corrupt people on earth. For example Recross pretends to be saving sick african children while all that money goes into expatriate salaries and stealing. In Kenya the common people have to pay bribes to get the simplest government work done. Drivers expect to pay bribes at every police check (every 5km or so). You pay bribes to pass a driving test, to get a title deed. You name it, it costs money "under the table". There are three ways to get things done in Kenya, have a friend in the right place, pay some money under the table, or wait -- and wait and wait. Just look at your post for a supposedly intelligent guy. I lived in Kenya all my life and never payed a bribe. Which Kenya are you talking about? All you posts have nothing related to the above topic. just social garbage. Google is far much better of in Kenya than SA.There's more tech talent in Kenya.

    12. Re:Why not Kenya? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, bet you didn't expect someone from Cincinnati to have mod points, eh? Or to abuse said points as they have?

  8. so by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looks like Google caught a case of Jungle Fever.

  9. More Expansion? by syntaxeater · · Score: 1

    I don't have a link to the article infront of me, but they are also opening up a 1200-1600~ acre shop in Council Bluffs, IA as well. There hasn't been any details given on the type of development being done there, but this new Google expanding is deffinitely getting interesting.

  10. Space Elevator by zzztkf · · Score: 4, Funny

    I know Google is going to build the space elevator to go to the orbit. Kenya is better than SA for that purpose.



    1. Re:Space Elevator by White+Yeti · · Score: 1

      Kenya is actually not a bad spot for space launches. The San Marco launch site is disused, but the facilities still exit and ground operations continue.

      I also see that Kenya is relatively well connected (example), including to the Intelsat network.

  11. Google conspiracy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Never seen so many trolls on one topic. Maybe google hired them to keep discussion away from this topic. Only one explanation.
    They're going for World Domination!

  12. They evaluated by dotpavan · · Score: 4, Funny

    ..Nigeria, but the Nigerian Prez rejected Google's offer via email which said "Eric Schimdt would like to invest millions of dollars in Nigeria, but first, send $500 to our Western Union"

  13. About geography by Koookiemonster · · Score: 2, Funny

    Kenya is in the middle of the continent -- does that make any difference?

    1. Re:About geography by maubp · · Score: 1

      No, Kenya is NOT in the middle of the continent. Its on the east coast straddling the equator.

    2. Re:About geography by Scotch42 · · Score: 1

      Nairobi's economic power is in the hands of the idian community. I've been there as volunteer to install a workstation in an hospital. I was invited by the national delegates for Kenya for some M.D. association. He was indian...

      I stayed 15 days with him there. I met a lot of well educated indian business men who told me whenever they wanted to hire, they put theirs ads in Bombay only and get their manpower by charter from India...

      India produce a lot of IT workers...

      connect the dots!

  14. All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by ZachReligious · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Google is simply moving into a country that is on the technology curve, but behind enough that they can have MAJOR influence over new policy. Imagine having your own government to run. Who wouldn't do it?

    ... Seriously though, what other search / advertising players have taken the 2nd and 3rd world economies seriously at all? If this "test" goes well for them, they could have a major head start at monetizing the internet in the rest of the world (Where most of the population is). Remember for a lot of people, AOL *was* the internet. Now imagine in 10 years that 4/5ths of the worlds population thinks that Google is the internet. Everything else will cease to be relevant.

    1. Re:All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by moderatorrater · · Score: 1

      Remember for a lot of people, AOL *was* the internet...Now imagine in 10 years that 4/5ths of the worlds population thinks that Google is the internet. Everything else will cease to be relevant Yes, because AOL drove all their competition out of the market so very thoroughly.

      My guess is that Google's trying to tap otherwise untapped markets for talent. It's advertising for south african jobs and it's setting up in the middle of the continent rather than the southern tip. With Google's resources, they should be able to attract anyone with mathematical skills in the (well educated) country and its neighbors. They can do this while building up the African economies and tech base, which will open up markets to them (and allow them to be the first, but not the only, player there) and give them good will around the world.

      Besides, what's the benefit of owning a country's government? What would that allow them to do for their business that US laws won't allow them to do here?
    2. Re:All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by AaxelB · · Score: 1

      I think a decent proportion of the current population using the web does think Google is the internet...

      I mean, if somebody set it up for them and Google is their homepage, then when you click on the internet, it's just Google! Then you type something into Google and it takes you to a list of the internet! Therefore, what is the internet but Google? They've got no reason (well, not really, but, you know, it happens) to think otherwise.

    3. Re:All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by hyperstation · · Score: 0

      Now imagine in 10 years that 4/5ths of the worlds population thinks that Google is the internet. Everything else will cease to be relevant.

      something like 40% of the world doesn't even have access to clean water. you think google could take care of that first?

    4. Re:All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by Darundal · · Score: 1

      A lot of things that are illegal here in the US but that aren't there, and that they could make sure stayed not illegal.

    5. Re:All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by moderatorrater · · Score: 1

      But what are these things that are illegal here but would benefit google if they were legal?

    6. Re:All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by amber_of_luxor · · Score: 1

      Besides, what's the benefit of owning a country's government?

      Taxes would be one item. Being able to do projects without getting permission from umpteen different agencies whose rules conflict with each other, to do that project would be another.

      What would that allow them to do for their business that US laws won't allow them to do here?

      Move YouTube to Kenya, and tell the *AA that US Copyright Law does not apply to YouTube, since the servers are not based in the US. Now if the any of the companies that object to YouTube content want to fight it out in a court in Kenya, they can argue jurisdiction in a Kenyan court.

      Amber

      --
      Wind Beneath Thy Wings
    7. Re:All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by mks113 · · Score: 1

      Kenya is in the middle of a huge IT boom. The fibre sure would be nice. Our community has about 300 computers connected via a 64kb/s ISDN microwave link and a 768kb/s satelite downlink. For the privelege of half a typical DSL line, we pay about $3200/month.

      They actually are putting down a fibre cable about 5km from here. That would simplify things dramatically -- if there were any access points to it!

      In Kenya policy is decided by the highest bidder. Everyone else ignores it. You can't possibly follow all the laws here, so you pick and choose those that are most likely to be enforced.

      Apart from that your choice is to bribe inspectors to ignore violations, or bribe lawmakers to change them.

    8. Re:All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by khallow · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The only problem with this scenario is why would Google do this? First, I don't see how Google would have enough resources to do this. Second, it doesn't help their business. And I don't see compelling public good present either.

      ... Seriously though, what other search / advertising players have taken the 2nd and 3rd world economies seriously at all?

      Microsoft. And keep in mind, there's local business as well. The big US search engines and advertisers aren't the only ones on the planet.

      Now imagine in 10 years that 4/5ths of the worlds population thinks that Google is the internet. Everything else will cease to be relevant.

      Sounds nice, but what does Google get out of it? Remember they already dominate in global advertising and have laid the infrastructure for keeping that position. My take is that Google is just setting up server farms and fiber network like they do in the US and elsewhere. They just started in Kenya because local conditions were more favorable than in South Africa. I don't see some deep strategy here (well no deeper than building more of their sophisticated infrastructure) nor do I see the need for it.
    9. Re:All your Sub-Saharan Countries Are Belong To Us by RobertLTux · · Score: 1

      Umm you do know that high end computers have this habit of being water cooled? Google will need to buy or build a water source for just that reason and i would bet that if they did build it
      1 the 'extra" cap would be used for people
      2 even if they had to tap the output from the plex cooling it would be vastly cleaner than what got sucked into the plant.

      Trust me (or Google) they will take care of the folks nearby the Plex.

      --
      Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
  15. Re:Google Knows: +1 Informative by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Dumbass attempt at social engineering with that fake informative tag. It's useless on Slashdot, nothing social works on nerds.

  16. Iowa == Kenya? by internetcommie · · Score: 1

    And what does Iowa and Kenya have in common? Apart from being located very centrally on two different continents, of course!

    1. Re:Iowa == Kenya? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      And what does Iowa and Kenya have in common?

      You've obviously never been to Iowa.
      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
    2. Re:Iowa == Kenya? by internetcommie · · Score: 0

      You didn't answer my question!

      (btw. I live in Iowa City)

    3. Re:Iowa == Kenya? by PopeRatzo · · Score: 1

      See, now I love Iowa City, but it hardly seems like it's actually in Iowa.

      Iowa is my favorite US state name, though.

      --
      You are welcome on my lawn.
  17. SA? by jimbo3123 · · Score: 1

    I had to read the whole summary and all the way to the second paragraph of the linked article to find out that SA = South Africa (not San Antonio or Santa Ana) or any other SA location.

    Even there, it was very ambiguous. It says "They have advertised for South African personnel so the chances ..."

    --
    There should be a moderation category "Dumbest Comment EVER"
    1. Re:SA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Welcome to the world Jimbo... SA is used, and understood, globally. Just like USA and UK.

    2. Re:SA? by moderatorrater · · Score: 1
      From the summary,

      What advanced infrastructure exists on the African continent is mostly in South Africa, and a blogger from there speculates on what Google might have been thinking in choosing Kenya over SA Probably just skimmed over it.
    3. Re:SA? by mjwx · · Score: 1

      South Australia.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    4. Re:SA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i thought it was San Andreas

    5. Re:SA? by mks113 · · Score: 1

      I know "*THE* Linux expert in Kenya. They will need to import some talent.

    6. Re:SA? by teh+kurisu · · Score: 1

      You're right, but for the wrong reason. According to the ISO, 'SA' is the 2-letter country code for Saudi Arabia. South Africa (Dutch: Zuid-Afrika) uses the 'ZA' designation.

  18. Here's the deal. by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 0, Troll

    Here's the deal. Indians and Chinese will soon cost as much as Americans. Google is, contrary to what most Slashdot's with their rose colored glasses think, a BIG HUGE MEGA CORPORATION.

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    If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
    1. Re:Here's the deal. by geekoid · · Score: 2, Insightful

      and?

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  19. Having been to Kenya by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love Kenyans. I want to see them do well. If Google is going there, great. I wouldn't work for Google no matter what they paid me but if their presence means more money for the local population, I'm all for that.

    Asante sana Google. Do some good with the power you have.

  20. They still need one more site... by Megane · · Score: 1

    GPO Official: Ankwat i odr inkerat Gobi Desert dot com...

    SUBTITLE: 'THIS NEW SERVER COMPLETES THE ENCIRCLEMENT OF THE GOBI DESERT'

    GPO Official: Ik artwar, hyaddin... (etc.)

    SUBTITLE: 'GOOGLE.COM IS NOW IN A POSITION TO ACHIEVE COMPLETE WORLD DOMINATION'

    --
    #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    1. Re:They still need one more site... by Breakfast+Pants · · Score: 1

      And just when they think they have won; ZOMBO.COM beats them silly.

      --

      --

      WHO ATE MY BREAKFAST PANTS?
  21. Kenya is at the forefront of e Africa ICT rev... by arcite · · Score: 5, Informative

    Kenya is currently in negotiation with UAE to build (FINALLY) the first Fibre optic line ($110 million)(which will connect Kenya to Oman and the rest of the world ushering in a new era of cheap high speed internet...as opposed to relying on expensive vsat technology. Only then will data centres, voip ect... become universal. Perhaps Google is anticipating the next stage of the ICT revolution in E.Africa that will happen when the government finally (hopefully) builds the line in a year or so (negotiations are still being held up for the time being). More info here http://allafrica.com/stories/200706251543.html [p] I'm in Dar es Salaam ATM using the so called 'free' wireless' in my hotel room and its dreadfully slow (atleast it works). The fibre optic line will be heaven!

  22. Google's plan for world dominance... by writermike · · Score: 1

    1. Hire programmers.
    2. Open facility in place known for making good, strong coffee.
    3. Dangle said coffee in front of programmers noses.
    4. Move programmers to Kenya
    5. ???
    6. Profit!

    --
    If Nalgene water bottles are outlawed, only outlaws will have Nalgene water bottles.
  23. How will they power this? by r_jensen11 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When I think of Africa, I think of VERY large areas that, to put it mildly, are miles away from an electrical grid. How does Google plan on powering this? Unless this thing is in Nairobi (which I'm guessing it would have to be,) would they have to use solar power?

    On a related topic, maybe Google will actually pay attention to Google Maps for Kenya, and especially Nairobi?

    1. Re:How will they power this? by timmarhy · · Score: 0, Troll

      americans... duh they can build a power plant? where do you think think your power comes from now? the hot air eminating out of bush?

      --
      If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
    2. Re:How will they power this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      americans... duh they can build a power plant?
      Are you sure about that?
    3. Re:How will they power this? by AfricanImpi · · Score: 1

      If that's your conclusion when thinking of Africa, might I suggest you get yourself an education? Every major city and town in Kenya is connected to the country's national electricity grid, as are most rural towns. In addition, the Kenyan grid is connected to all other southern African electricity grids via the Southern African Power Pool, allowing them to draw on the additional shared power when needed. Trust me, Google's not going to have to use solar panels to power its Kenyan office.

      And yes, part of the reason for this move is to improve the sub-Saharan African localisation of Google's products, especially Google Maps. There is a fairly large Google user base in the region, so the company is keen to improve its service offering and get a foothold in the door early, as all predictions are that internet usage there is going to skyrocket in the next few years even more so than it's doing already.

    4. Re:How will they power this? by benzapp · · Score: 1

      Actually, Nairobi is not as backwards of a place as you seem to think. A number of international corporations have office towers there. Infrastructure is largely there, but their biggest problem is most certainly crime. To be fair, South Africa has certainly become a shockingly dangerous place as well since the end of apartheid.

      Why don't you read up on it a bit.

      --
      I don't read or respond to AC posts
    5. Re:How will they power this? by Tacticus.v1 · · Score: 1

      Simple solution.
      Don't hand the contracts to haliburton and co. if you want something done.

    6. Re:How will they power this? by nimblebrain · · Score: 1

      There's a fair amount of town and city electrification there. Nairobi might make an okay place for them, but it really is crime-ridden in a lot of spots, and Kibera is a freaking huge shantytown on the edge. Someone was shot out in open daylight not too far away from one of our co-safari travelers. Karen is a pretty nice suburb, as close as you can get to a "North American" feel. We didn't brave any transport to get us to the business center of town - the one you always see in pictures that makes you think the rest of Nairobi would be really nice. Nairobi's a mile-high city, and is not as freakishly hot as I would have imagined.

      The rest of Kenya that we saw varied a lot. As far as towns go in Kenya, Nakuru was my favorite by far. Apart from a number of annoying vendors where safari buses stop, it was a decently relaxed place with some nice grocery/department stores and less pestering than usual, and right next to a game park that contained pretty much half of every kind of animal we saw in Africa. I vote for them to set up base there :)

      Google Maps Kenya needs a legend for the roads for number of spines broken, though. They essentially killed the railway so that officials could have their own little trucking companies that are habitually overloaded. Yeah, Google will have to settle for somewhere with an airport.

      --
      Binary geeks can count to 1,023 on their fingers :)
    7. Re:How will they power this? by al77 · · Score: 0

      You go to Kenya for a Safari then pretend to know the whole of kenya. very pathetic individual. I have been shot at several times in US too. And theres far more chance of being shot here than Kenya. Kenyans dont carry guns. Here almost everyone has a gun. The other week somebody was shot because of pepper at some restaurant. imagine pepper. what about the lunatic who killed over 30 students. Drugs and other stuff. I mean im just trying to compar. Your mentality is that you expected Kenya to be really nice. I mean every country has its dark side. So much for an Tech post.

    8. Re:How will they power this? by nimblebrain · · Score: 1

      Usikisi hivyo.

      You go to Kenya for a Safari then pretend to know the whole of kenya. very pathetic individual.

      Where did I claim to know the whole of Kenya? The information on corruption, the trucks, the state of the roads, and what to do in case we were carjacked, came from talking with Kenyans, my pen pal, my guides, and those with whom I was practising Kiswahili.

      Your mentality is that you expected Kenya to be really nice.

      Ukiyasoma maneno niliyayoandika (if you read the words I wrote)... I expected Nairobi to be nicer than it actually was. When I got to Nairobi, we took a small walk from where we were staying, and it made me very uncomfortable. I liked many parts of the country. I quite liked Nakuru and Eldoret, and Naivasha was beautiful.

      You also presume by your tone that I am comparing it with the U.S. (where I do not live). No, I have traveled to a number of different countries, and I am judging by how safe the local people make me feel. Foreigners stick out in Kenya and attract a lot of unwelcome attention.

      I know countries have their dark sides. Cities, too. Even nice cities. Things are always the most dangerous when people get desperate. If you have been shot at in the US at all, then you would have a skewed view of the rest of the country. So much for a tech post indeed.

      I hope the UN Habitat/Safer Nairobi initiative makes some headway. I would like to take my soon-to-be-born children back there someday, so that David can see them, and perhaps so that they can GMail their friends videos of nyumba (gnus) marching across the Mara.

      --
      Binary geeks can count to 1,023 on their fingers :)
    9. Re:How will they power this? by mks113 · · Score: 1

      Nairobi is the only place that they could reasonably put this. With a population of about 3 million (10% of the country) and the place to go for anyone who has any education.

      Power only goes out once or twice a day, but every computer sold in the country comes with a UPS, so it isn't that big a deal. Any power-dependant business has it's own backup generator.

      Of course we just had a 48 hour internet outage because a microwave link belonging to the telephone company went down for some unknown reason.

    10. Re:How will they power this? by JohnFluxx · · Score: 1

      > a game park that contained pretty much half of every kind of animal we saw in Africa.

      Do they cut the animal in half lengthways, or sideways?

  24. Future OB comment?? by IgLou · · Score: 1

    In Google Kenya, Kenya googles you!

    Nope, it just doesn't flow right...

    --

    Oops, how did this get here?
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  25. I think you mean by geekoid · · Score: 1

    Gvator

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:I think you mean by jagdish · · Score: 1

      I think you mean Goolevator

  26. You know what's wierd by geekoid · · Score: 5, Interesting

    it wasn't until about 10-12 years ago coffee became and indicator of nerd/geek.

    until I was 35, almost nobody I knew or worked with drank coffee. I wonder if it is a fallout from the dot com era of everyone working late nighters for start ups.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:You know what's wierd by grazzy · · Score: 1

      Bah, mistakenly moderated your comment offtopic. Posting to fix that :)

    2. Re:You know what's wierd by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, you should review when Jolt Cola hit the market. I'm not sure about coffee in particular, but caffeine has long been linked with geekdom--if anything, it's probably that some of the geeks grew up and acquired the taste.

    3. Re:You know what's wierd by CRCulver · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That was, I should think, the OP's point. While caffeine has been linked to geekery, it used to be had through Jolt Cola. The love of coffee is something new, and probably due to the spread of Starbucks and other expensive coffee chains.

    4. Re:You know what's wierd by Per+Abrahamsen · · Score: 4, Informative

      Uh, geeks were also working late night in my time as a young geek (the 80's), and the older geeks told similar stories of their all-nighters from the 60's and 70's. But cola, not coffee, was the preferred medium for Caffeine.

      Geeks don't work late because of any dot-com bubble, but because we like the quiet and because the work is too exciting to leave.

    5. Re:You know what's wierd by NeilTheStupidHead · · Score: 1

      From what I've seen, today's future IT people measure their geekdom by the amount of Red Bull (or similar energy drinks) consumed. The coffee bar in the CS building at my old school had a mini-fridge literally stuffed full of the stuff. Some of my co-geeks still drink mass quantities of Red Bull, a few have discovered coffee, but I can't think of one of them (not a statistically large sample to be sure) that drink as much coffee as we do in the run of a normal day (which may not be day at all or may, at times, be several). ^>^

      --
      Lose: misplace or fail || Loose: not bound together
    6. Re:You know what's wierd by captainjaroslav · · Score: 1

      No, but I know what's "weird." Sorry.

      Anyhoo, I would imagine it might have something to do with all the tech companies that set up shop in Seattle and the rest of the Pacific NW, where coffee culture has been big long before there was a Starbuck's on every corner. (I can't say it technically predates Starbuck's, since the original SB store opened in, I think 1974, and I was only born in 1971, but growing up in Portland, I can attest to the fact that coffee was a big deal before I ever heard of SB.) Somehow, in the PNW, geek culture and coffee culture collided, and the ripples spread outward. That's a theory anyway.

      --
      I'm just sayin'.
    7. Re:You know what's wierd by The+Raven · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'm of the opinion it's due to the greater age of the average geek. Teens, 20s? Cola. 30s, 40s? Not every geek makes the switch, but you're more likely to be drinking coffee and abandoning the sugar as you get older. Just a statistical trend, but I suspect that's part of the reason for the switch to coffee as a prototypical nerd drink.

      --
      "I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.
  27. FYI by arcite · · Score: 1

    They don't call it Nairobbery for nothin... ;0)

  28. No by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 1
    How would it help?

    If you wanted an African base, then South Africa is a lot easier to travel to (more airlines etc) and has far better infrastructure.

    WTF does Google want to do in Africa anyway? If they want to access programmers etc, then they should target South Africa which holds probably 95+% of the African programmer talent.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
    1. Re:No by dabraun · · Score: 1

      Actually, Ethiopia is the central air hub in Africa simply because Ethiopian airlines (more modern than you may think) is based there (yes, I've been there).

    2. Re:No by amber_of_luxor · · Score: 1

      If you wanted an African base, then South Africa is a lot easier to travel to (more airlines etc) and has far better infrastructure.

      South Africa has a major crime problem. The cost for physical security of their staff and facilities will probably be more than that of all of their other expenses combined. Whilst security in Kenya is an issue, it is not nearly as bad as South Africa. (You don't have to worry about the number of times your female staff are raped. In South Africa, an onsite rape clinic is cost effective, because each of your female employees will be raped at least once a year. And not necessarily by non-employees.)

      Telkom's broadband service would be more reliable if it used, and relied upon RFC 1149. Customer service is to Ticketmaster as broadband is to Telkom. Kenya will be getting three or four fiber optic lines within a year. That provides more redundancy that South Africa will have until Telkom is dissolved,and the only thing the Ministry of Telecommunications regulates is the old Dutch East India Company post drops.

      South African IT consists of MCEs who can barely play Minefield. They don't have a clue as to what LAMP is, much less be able to set it up. Google (Kenya) can train people that haven't been brain damaged by the MCE, thereby jump-starting a pan-African IT revolution. This would go very well with their "do no evil" philosophy.

      South Africa is stuck at the southern end of the continent. Kenya is much closer to the geographic center, from which Google can spread tentacles north, south, and west. I doubt that Google wants to replicate Cecil Rhodes' failure in constructing a railway from Cape Town to Cairo.

      WTF does Google want to do in Africa anyway?

      Setting up shop in a country that is fairly easy to influence legislation in one's favor. Africa is an extremely untapped market, for pretty much everything. Google is taking a gamble that African economies will go up, and the countries will remain relatively stable. If both of those things do happen, then they are looking at a significant increase in both revenue, and streams of revenue. If neither of those things turn out, it simply means that they have better system redundancy than they currently have.

      Amber

      --
      Wind Beneath Thy Wings
    3. Re:No by Clifton+Beach · · Score: 1
      Where are mod points when I need them?

      South Africa has a major crime problem. The cost for physical security of their staff and facilities will probably be more than that of all of their other expenses combined. Whilst security in Kenya is an issue, it is not nearly as bad as South Africa. (You don't have to worry about the number of times your female staff are raped. In South Africa, an onsite rape clinic is cost effective, because each of your female employees will be raped at least once a year. And not necessarily by non-employees.) There are 3 kinds of lies: Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics. You're not supposed to use them all at the same time. Yes, crime is unacceptable in South Africa & needs serious attention, but it's not as bad as you make out and unlikely that it would be a dealbreaker for Google.

      South African IT consists of MCEs who can barely play Minefield. They don't have a clue as to what LAMP is, much less be able to set it up. Google (Kenya) can train people that haven't been brain damaged by the MCE, thereby jump-starting a pan-African IT revolution. Get real. South Africa has good all-round IT talent. There would certainly more than enough good IT people clamouring to work in a Google office. I expect the real reasons are more likely to be the location and the surrounding population within easy reach of cellphones & wi-fi access.
      --
      42 hidden comments
    4. Re:No by raju1kabir · · Score: 1

      Yes, crime is unacceptable in South Africa & needs serious attention, but it's not as bad as you make out and unlikely that it would be a dealbreaker for Google.

      I beg to differ. How many people do you think would want to relocate from Mountain View - where you can lock your bike by leaning it down on the ground, and then sit in the park until midnight with your brand-new MacBook Pro - to Johannesburg - where people get lethal anti-carjacking systems installed in their vehicles?

      I sure as hell wouldn't. As someone who's experienced both extremes, I'd say the ambient crime level is a crucial quality-of-life factor, and South Africa is about as bad as it gets on this planet of ours.

      Get real. South Africa has good all-round IT talent.

      For Africa. But please q.f. Brain Drain.

      There would certainly more than enough good IT people clamouring to work in a Google office. I expect the real reasons are more likely to be the location and the surrounding population within easy reach of cellphones & wi-fi access.

      I don't understand what you mean. You think Nairobi has more wifi users than Joburg or Cape Town?

      Kenya is located a few short ms away from Europe, the Middle East, and India, as the packet flies. And South Africa, for that matter. It's got a reasonably well educated population, for the region, and something approaching stability. It's on a coast soon to be blessed with life-giving fibre-optic cable. Labour costs are very low, English is widely spoken, and people would be very grateful for a nice white-collar IT job. It's an unconventional choice but far from an illogical one.

      --
      "Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." -- GBS
  29. Life expectancy isn't always a good predictor by stomv · · Score: 4, Interesting

    of how long you'll live. Why? The skew caused by child mortality. According to UNICEF child mortality statistics, a child born in Kenya is over 3 times more likely to die before five years old than one born in China, over 4 times more likely to die than one in Mexico. Plus, AIDS infection rates are much higher in Kenya, resulting in more deaths of people in their 20s and 30s.

    Are food and water a problem? Sometimes, sure. But, the bigger problems are child mortality and AIDS. That's what's making the life expectancy a paltry 55.

    1. Re:Life expectancy isn't always a good predictor by mks113 · · Score: 1

      Actually, the skew is more based on AIDS. There is a huge mortality of the 20-30 year old group due to AIDS. Yes, infant/child mortality is higher than average, but the 10-15 year drop in life expectancy is due almost entirely to AIDS.

      It is a different world here. Death is accepted a part of life. In the west, it seems to be something that is to be prevented at all cost.

    2. Re:Life expectancy isn't always a good predictor by timeOday · · Score: 1

      of how long you'll live. Why? The skew caused by child mortality. According to UNICEF child mortality statistics, a child born in Kenya is over 3 times more likely to die before five years old than one born in China,
      I don't know why you consider child mortality a "skew"; personally I'm very glad I didn't die as a child, and very glad that none of my children has died. In fact, if life expectancy had to be 55 years, I think it would be better if it were the young that were living, since the quality of life is less when your body is old and broken down by untreated diseases.
  30. gr8 stuff by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    nice choice google - let's hope it's near the beach for um water cooling that datacentre

    http://www.kenyanview.com/Hotel-watamu-beach-Ken_0 5.jpg

  31. Re:Kenya is at the forefront of e Africa ICT rev.. by flyingfsck · · Score: 1

    Actually, there is an undersea fibre-optic cable that runs all the way around Africa, sponsored mostly by South Africa and Nigeria. All Kenia has to do is connect to it.

    --
    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
  32. Re:GNAA unveils "New for Jew Thousand and Six" pro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...it's 2007

  33. MAMBA by flyingfsck · · Score: 1

    MAMBA == Miles And Miles of Bloody Africa

    Anyhoo, after South Africa and Egypt, Kenia is the most developed country in Africa and also one of the most peaceful and stable.

    --
    Excuse me, but please get off my Pennisetum Clandestinum, eh!
  34. Network security? by CPE1704TKS · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Will this Kenyan network be on the same corporate network as the rest of the Google offices? If I were a corporate spy and wanted to infiltrate Google this would probably be my point of choice. It's far away from the main headquarters, the society isn't as developed or rich, so if you bribe employees with $10-20k, they would probably let you do whatever you wanted and give you whatever access you wanted.

    It's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy though, because if you don't treat the Kenyan employees like full-fledged employees with full privileges, it will probably cause resentment and make them even more likely to take bribes, etc.

    I wonder if this is a consideration for them.

    1. Re:Network security? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see... because in California you can't bribe an employee with $10-20 grand. Especially if they are a lower-level but privileged employee (like a secretary).

      You are either delusional or naive.

    2. Re:Network security? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      It's almost a self-fulfilling prophecy though, because if you don't treat the Kenyan employees like full-fledged employees with full privileges

      As an Australian that has seen offshoring I'll point out that this is google and they have done this sort of thing before. It's not the typical US offshore operation that arrives with a lot of noise and young management chosen by nepotism, marvels at the low wages and no need to pay health care but imposes lower than usual conditions (ie. another 100% of normal work hours in unpaid overtime), bullies the "savages" (word used by imported management at Telstra but a common attitude), doesn't care about the high staff turnover and then makes some major stuffup and implodes.

    3. Re:Network security? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      $10-20k represents about a decade's worth of employment in Kenya, if the annual salary is $1200.

      $10-20k represents about 1-2 months salary in Silicon Valley, if the annual salary is $100k

      I think if you offered someone 10 years pay it will be a lot more attractive than offering someone 2 months pay. You get more bang for your buck with bribes in Kenya than you can in Silicon Valley.

  35. a few very good reasons by RobertLTux · · Score: 2, Interesting

    1 kenya is probably one of the only "green field" areas left NOT on the south pole
    2 Google could buy the IT/Infrastructure
    3 Built in security (lions and other savan predators)
    4 OLPC start node

    --
    Any person using FTFY or editing my postings agrees to a US$50.00 charge
  36. Forget Norway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Where can you see google, only in Kenya. Come to kenya we got google. Forget Norway. Kenya...

    http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/kenya/

  37. So it was google all along! by Esc7 · · Score: 2, Insightful
  38. If youre going to buy a government by voss · · Score: 2, Interesting

    buy it completely. Google cant afford South Africa...it can probably afford Kenya.

    The GDP of south africa is 201 billion, The GDP of Kenya is 17 billion, the Net worth of Google 150 billion.

    1. Re:If youre going to buy a government by al77 · · Score: 0

      Google will never afford Kenya. its not happening anytime soon.

    2. Re:If youre going to buy a government by voss · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You dont have to buy the entire country you just buy the government.

  39. Peaceful? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Mungiki hysteria seems like a military coup in the making. All the rumors that they are being funded by members of government/parliament, if there is a conspiracy I'd sooner suspect someone is intentionally spreading those rumors rather than them being true, and accusations of the police/courts not being able to handle the threat are a perfect set up for it.

  40. Duh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Better coffee.

  41. working at google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, I don't really understand why still people want to work for google after reading some reports.

  42. Reader wana forwards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If reader wana forwards it, why dona the reader forward it?

  43. Re:Kenya is at the forefront of e Africa ICT rev.. by enrevanche · · Score: 1

    So all they have to do is send a diver out with a patch cable?

  44. Forerunners by Namarrgon · · Score: 1

    Obviously they've found the Ark, or some other Forerunner facility.

    When Google mentioned the Great Journey on their prospectus & SEC filings, I really didn't think we'd be seeing this as the next Google Datacenter...

    --
    Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
  45. More like Snoreway! by MS-06FZ · · Score: 0, Troll

    Main Export: Tree

    --
    ---GEC
    I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand
    1. Re:More like Snoreway! by teh+kurisu · · Score: 1

      Population: crab.

  46. For those who don't get the reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't get the joke? See the original Kenya animation at Weebl's World.

  47. Good News for Africa by magixman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The fact that Google is setting up in country other than ZA is a very big vote of confidence for the continent. I am not in a position to understand the business aspects of the deal with respect to communications infrastructure or regulatory frameworks but I think that if you want to win the hearts and minds of Africans you have to look into the future and see beyond just South Africa which has been the "safe" choice for western-based international businesses.

    1. Re:Good News for Africa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, and ZA is becoming less and less the "safe" choice for western businesses, IMO.

      My reasons for saying so are of course anecdotal, but let's try in any case: Infrastructure planning and development has not kept up with the economic growth experienced. Examples: traveling the 40 km from Pretoria to Johannesburg might take you at least 1.5 hours during rush hour, which is from around 5:00 to say 10:00 in the mornings and again from 15:00 to 20:00 pm - that's if there are no accidents or governmental motorcades, in which case it will take even longer. The single electricity supplier can't keep up with the demand and load-shedding outages are a regular occurrence where I live and work (I'm told by an internal source that they were told after 1994 to put expansion plans on ice since the new government wanted to privatise the utilities - which has not happened yet, 13 years later). Whereas ZA was previously largely self-sufficient re. fuel (Fischer-Troppsch petroleum from coal) - news reports just this morning stated that ZA might need to import 1 billion liters of fuel a year. Yeah, cost of living is not coming down. Prices of building materials inflate by around 12% a year and cement is being imported to augment the local production.

      Oh, and let's not forget the stranglehold of the local telephone monopoly on international telecommunication (including the Internet).

      I won't go into the political restrictions, except to say that a high-profile company like Google can't afford to be connected to bribery, but also due to it's unique culture might not want to give away a large portion of its control for virtually nothing. And then there's the so-called "succession struggle" in the ruling party. Well, let's just say that the more moderate, liberal-leaning and intelligent candidates that might be a better choice under the circumstances are too bound up with lucrative BEE business deals to worry about politics and do not have the necessary support of the broad masses, while candidates with the old communist rethoric (the rich vs. poor, white vs. black line of thinking) have a much better appeal to the masses that make up the largest part of the ruling party's constituents. Interesting times lying ahead.

      All in all, there's some simmering going on under the surface that might provide for some nice future instability.

      I must confess that I don't know the Kenyan situation at all, but since Google in all likelyhood is going to roll much of its own infrastructure in any case, it might as well do it where there is more of a legislative and logistic vacuum for it, and where it can contribute to welfare and stability much on its own terms.

      (Yes, I was born in ZA and lived here most of my life (except for some short secondments to Canada and Switzerland) and love the place to bits - but society really sucks at the moment, almost worse than pre-1994.)

  48. "What're they going to do tonight, Brain?" by Captain+Sarcastic · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    "Same thing they do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!"

    --
    Strike while the irony is hot! -- The Freethinker
  49. Re:Number one search? SA epidemic XDR-TB! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    According to some, South Africa is now experiencing an extremely scary epidemic of
    XDR-Tuberculosis. That is multiple drug resistant to all known therapies, has a death rate of eighty five percent of those infected, is airborne, and kills on an average of sixteen days after onset. This is usually before the tests have time to come back and they are already burying you! Google probably knows this and ran, not walked, to Kenya. That is about as far as one can go and still not be in the crosshairs of some moslem terrorist or subject to some sharian craziness yet still be in Africa and be able to access the Thawte servers. The other logical choice would be Nigeria for modern infrastructure and English speaking local population. They will want some local workers, probably a lot of them. Please everybody pray for the poor souls suffering and yet to be suffering in South Africa. Such a calamity should not happen to an enlightened country such as this. There is no justice in the world!

  50. Reminds me of Brunner's book "Stand on Zanzibar" by Captain+Sarcastic · · Score: 1

    For those of you who are familiar with the book and were able to make sense of it, you may recall that one of the plot lines was that a large high-tech company was planning on basically taking over a small African country's economy... and that there were even some execs who were looking at how to let the inhabitants benefit from this as well as the stockholders.

    Perhaps Google is looking to, if not completely take over the Kenyan economy lock, stock, and barrel, but at least become a dominant player there... and from there perhaps into the rest of the African continent.

    And maybe they might have enough people there who are idealistic enough to want to make sure that the Kenyans benefit from this... and from there perhaps the rest of the African continent.

    --
    Strike while the irony is hot! -- The Freethinker
  51. Re:Iowa == Kenya == Oklahoma ?? by big-giant-head · · Score: 1

    They are also building a data center in pryor oklahoma.... Oklahoma and Kenya are third world countries so they have that in common... hmmmm Oklahoma has cows, Iowa corn, Kenya Coffee??? Don't know, if they open a data center in Wisconsin then they are clearly going to start making their own beef nachos ( corn, beef and cheese) to go with the coffee from kenya...

    --

    So Long and Thanks for all the Fish.
  52. isn't it obvious? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    of course it's about all the safari
    and then tigers, panthers, leopards and whatnot u get to see.

    and surly after along exhausting morning, the missing apple a lunch time
    in the bush will get your coolie to say "iphone masta".

  53. Kenya makes a lot of sense by Error27 · · Score: 4, Informative

    There is currently one fiber cable in Africa. It's called SAT3. It goes down the west coast to South Africa and then over to India.

    It's run by Telkom in South Africa. Telkom has close ties with the government to kill all IT development and competition in the country. As a result, SAT3 is only 5% utilities and costs more than satelite broadband. South Africa is where broad band goes to die.

    Kenya is opening up their markets and allowing competition. This year and next, they are going to be building 3 or 4 cables through Kenya. Right now the plan is for three down the coast and one through Sudan.

    Tanzania has a fiber network. Zambia is building a fiber network. Botswana has a fiber network. Uganda and Burundi are building networks. It's an exciting time for Africa.

    Every year African businesses spend $4 billion on Satelite. That money leaves the economy forever instead of paying for univesities and hospitals.

    1. Re:Kenya makes a lot of sense by xhydra · · Score: 0

      For starters i would like to thank you for giving the first reasonable response to this thread.
      Its amazing how slashdotters think Africa is all about disease, famine war and Game park safaris. I am an African myself and am disappointed that first world slashdotters are so out of touch with my world.
      The views expressed in the forum reflect the mistaken sentiment most first world people have of the true African situation on the ground.

      This misconceptions are what keep investors out of Africa and shut African businesses out of Global markets

      Anyhow here is a link to further elaborate why Kenya is a suitable .








      I have excersised restraint up to this point but i cant hold back any longer .....F&^^ck all the slashdotterz who think Africa is one big game park.

      --
      "Drawing closer to world domination, keystroke by keystroke."
    2. Re:Kenya makes a lot of sense by wamatt · · Score: 3, Informative

      Let me just say the OP is completely correct. I'm a South African and work in the data center industry. Choosing Kenya was based solely on one thing: international fibre pricing. The cost of replicating their data at our pricing even the mighty Google couldn't afford.

      I do feel Google's decision was a bit short-sighted though, as from Nov 2007 Telkom's (SA Telco monopoly) SAT3 exclusivity agreement will end along with its decade long tranny of all international fibre into SA. Other players (Neotel, Vodacom etc) will be able to get access to the SAT3 cable and pricing is going to plummet through the floor.

      For Google they probably couldn't wait that long to make a decision. Kenya or Egypt would be the next choice in Africa in terms of growing IT industry. Egypt being to far north to be of benefit left Kenya with its more liberal policy and burgeoning industry.

    3. Re:Kenya makes a lot of sense by Sparkitus · · Score: 1

      Just to add some facts to your FUD. SAT3 is indeed an undersea cable that runs down the west coast of Africa but it is not "run by Telkom in South Africa". It was developed by a consortium from a number of different countries along the west coast of Africa and Telkom happened to be the company within South Africa (SA) that coughed up the money to have a landing point in SA (around USD70 million IIRC). While Telkom has had total control over access to SAT3 (with regards to SA consumers only) since it's inception, that monopoly will end on 01 Nov 2007 where upon access will be granted to other players in the broadband market at near cost rates. That said there are two other undersea cables in the works that will terminate in SA and local loop unbundling is scheduled to be complete by 2011. As it is more than 75% of the population (around 30+ million) have a cellular telephones (GSM services have been in place for over 14 years now). Both Neotel (a new fixed line competitor to Telkom) and Vodacom (the largest cellular network in SA) are both moving ahead with rolling out their own national fibre networks to compete with Telkom. GPRS, EDGE and 3G services have been available through the two largest cellular networks for a number of years now and more than one operator will be rolling out WiMax broadband within the next 6 months. So while I agree that South Africa's not currently a broadband meca (from a cost point of view) I believe it currently is and will continue to be a lot better off than most other African countries.

  54. google in kenya by al77 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's about time. Many big foreign corporations Africa headquarters are based in Nairobi. GE recently moved it's Africa office to Kenya from SA as an example. Nairobi is also the host city of several United Nations agencies like UNEP and HABITAT as well as other international organizations. Kenya is also strategically located on the map of Africa unlike SA. Most of the current innovations are truly African driven unlike SA where most of the economy is still dominated by whites. Also SA Blacks have alot of catching up to do education wise. Kenya's Telecomunications sector is exploding. Kenya Airways has been voted consistently the best airline in Africa. Nairobi also has the most airline connections to other cities from Africa than any airline in Africa. It's therefore the ideal hub. Even Richard Branson was in Nairobi last month to launch Virgin airlines from Nairobi to London. Hes also eyeing investments in other areas like telecomunications. Kenya has a huge educated pool of workers. Kenya even sends the most number of students to study in America than any African country. And also Kenya has been a haven of peace in Africa no civil wars and the kind. Kenyans are always in a hurry, friendly and are agressive as this SA website says: http://www.africaalmanac.com/top20townscitys.html Lastly Kenyans love nature Kenya is beautiful and famous for its Safaris and world beating Athletes Even the word "Safari" is Kenyan Swahili for travel. Lastly theres enuff coffee for google geeks so expect some great code. There's no reason why not to choose Kenya.

    1. Re:google in kenya by SimNerd · · Score: 1

      People should realize that Kenya has allot to offer just as Google have discovered. Talk of not finding enough competent IT people in Kenya is just crap. The Kenyan universities churn out hundreds of IT graduates each year, google coming in will go along way to creating employment for these youngsters. With the fiber optic cable due soon it will link Kenya and the rest of East and Central Africa with fast and reliable and cheap internet access. The Kenyan Government had to pull out of the first cable plan that the South African government wanted to regulate ( a major drawback) to most corporate clients like Google. The Kenyan economy has grown by over 6% this year and is expected to keep growing due to the stability that the current Government has provided to the country, so all this talk of ethic chaos and violence is just a storm in a tea cup. How many African economies do you know that are thriving so much that a company (safaricom) can make 17 billion Kenya shillings ( 250 million USD) as profit before TAX? Kenyan companies (Safricom, Kenya Commercial Bank etc ) have beaten their South African competitors hands down in recent awards due to their performance. The Kenyan Stock Exchange has grown tremendously the past years and is second only to the South African counterpart in Africa. The reasons why Kenya is a great choice are so many, besides am writing this from my desk in Kenya, Mombasa where am designing software for use by European companies. :-)

  55. Nonesense by al77 · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Guys you come to Kenya for a few months then pretend to be experts about African life. Any idiot can guess theres more corruption in US and Asia than Africa and the numbers are far bigger than you think. Being from UK infact UK is more corrupt and you are the guys who stole from Africa and murdered Africans while building your country. You have the blood of slave traders and murderers and criminals in you. So dont pretend to be the nice guy here. I would rather here crap from an American than a British idiot. Also this post was about Technology and google setting up base in Kenya. What has kenyan food got to do with it? I love Kenya and Kenyan food.

  56. Why Kenya? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There are a number of reasons why Kenya has been chosen over South Africa.

    1. SA Telkom has bandwidth monopoly in South Africa. In Kenya 3 undersea Fibre optic lines will be built to connect Kenya to the rest of the world within the next year - one goverment, two private. Any company can lay fibre in the country. There are two doing that currently. ICT is fair game in Kenya!

    2. Kenya and East Africa has been leading in the telecommunications revolution. Celtel Kenya a mobile phone provider scrapped roaming charges for Kenya Uganda Tanzania, a world first, and has now extended coverage to DRC Congo, Congo and Gabon.

    3. Safaricom another mobile phone provider has introduce Mpesa - a way of paying using your mobile phone also a world first!

    4. Kenya has more MCSE certified professionals than South Africa. What South Africa has is a better overall infrastructure over Kenya so most Kenyans once certified go to work in South Africa.

    ICT is mostly about solving problems which are plenty in Kenya.

  57. I was in Kenya last year... by Garcimore · · Score: 1

    And I must say, it's pretty obvious that where ever you look, you will find that most of the advertising is for telecom and mobile phones. The local potential for distributing communications goods is great. But even more obvious is that the only places where you will find electricity and running water (appart from a few average size towns) are where the tourists hang out on safaris.
    While travelling there with my wife, the first thing that came to our mind was how wonderful it would be to have a proper computer map of the areas we were visiting. We had a GPS unit but no map! Considering that tourism is much more profitable than coffee, you can imagine that Google, with it's satellite mapping technology, has a nice card to play here.

  58. Re:Kenya is at the forefront of e Africa ICT rev.. by jmugambi · · Score: 2, Informative

    that's not true... The SAT-3 Cable does not go 'all the way around Africa' It's on the west coast of Africa, thus Kenya does not connect to it There ought to at least 1 Fiber Optic cable within 1-2 years connected though. There's a race to see who'll deploy this cable: TEAMS EASSY is being deployed by Alcatel-Lucent - http://allafrica.com/stories/200706050685.html FLAG - being pushed by KDN which is a party to the other two cables :) In Kenya, the incumbent telco - Telkom Kenya (http://www.telkom.co.ke) and KDN (http://www.kdn.co.ke) are racing to put up Fiber all over the place, and connect to Uganda. Soon enough communication infrastructure won't be a bottleneck to development

  59. You call those negatives? by arcite · · Score: 2, Informative
    I lived/worked in Kenya for 2 years - in recent times.

    Corruption is not just rife, its a way of life. Police are the worst. However, one can avoid most corruption by learning how to work the system. Particularly it is possible to get things done by getting to know the right people.

    Nairobi has a growth rate of 5% a year, perhaps more. It will be a mega city in 20 years. The fact is that you can either look at IT competence, lack of safety, or rampant corruption as a negative, or you can look at it as an emerging market that has tremendous possibilities. The risk is great, but the potential payoff is equally so.

    And yes the fast food does suck, why would any sane person eat fast food in kenya? They have the freshes vegetables (many are exported to europe), some of the best coffee, and excellent locally raised beef/chicken.

    1. Re:You call those negatives? by the_womble · · Score: 1

      And yes the fast food does suck, why would any sane person eat fast food in kenya?
      Because I needed to eat something quickly and get back to the client's office.
  60. keep connecting the dots by arcite · · Score: 1

    There are a few Asians who appear to control most things at first glance, but it is the political puppet masters who pull their strings (majority of which are Kenyans from the old regime. Of course, its kept hush hush for obvious reasons...

  61. Politics and stability? by simong · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Google has to be very risk averse so I can't see them settling in SA. There is an issue around recruitment in that there are quotas that have to be filled by black candidates (not too sure of the details) and there just aren't the candidates to fill the jobs. Many companies work around this by being based in the Maldives or somewhere and hiring in 'contractors' but this isn't a solution for long term operations. In addition, while the general political situation is nowhere near as bad as Zimbabwe, SA's cities are viewed as being increasingly lawless and unstable, something which is also not in Google's (or any big company's) interest. A technologically savvy, cheap, flexible employment base must be a number of ticks on Google's shopping list as well as good infrastructure or potential for good infrastructure, stability and those emolients that bring business in. This could make Nairobi a key location on the communications map.

  62. At least it's not in Snoreway... by GoatMonkey2112 · · Score: 1
  63. Only in Kenya by dinomite · · Score: 1

    May all of your days be ruined by repetitive music:
    http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/kenya/

  64. Re:Huge penis failure by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fo the'shizzle, bro.

  65. Some more speculation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you base offices and datacentres in a relatively developed area, it is inevitable that you will in many ways be fitted into some form of existing network. Whether that is the local housing network, the local internet provider network, the local public transport network, the local electricity network.. Maybe part for urban space, part for social reasons. For your business to work properly it is important that the other businesses around you work properly.

    While this has benefits it also puts you at risk to breakdown in networks outside of your control. In Kenya I assume they will (literally) build everything up themselves and hence be insulated from third party service failure.

  66. Why Kenya..? by kaarigar · · Score: 1

    It is easy to explain why they chose Kenya - they will have a lot of code-monkeys available for hire there.

  67. Seems like false information by krazo · · Score: 1

    http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/med ia/google-150806.htm

    Doesn't seem like Google is setting up in Kenya as opposed to South Africa. They're simply setting up in Kenya. I think they're already in South Africa.

    As far as "Why Kenya?" Kenya is an obvious choice for setting up in East Africa. Nairobi, while a bit of a crime ridden hell hole, is the central point for anything in East Africa. If you set up in Nairobi, you get Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and probably Ethiopia, malawi and northern mozambique.

    Obvious reasons to set up in East Africa are the ones given in the article: improving maps and localized content. They'll hand wave at providing local content for East Africans but let's be honest: There's no money in that. It's about tourism. East Africa is a huge tourist destination and a damn difficult place to get info on. Having lived, worked and travelled there extensively, I know there's a huge market for mining information OUT of the region to supply to the world and that's all google really does anyway. They want to connect the world to the region. If they happen to connect the region to the world as a byproduct, then that's a happy secondary result.

    And lastly, I'm sure they want to influence local legislation. They have serious issues in China. East Africa isn't a rapidly growing economy, but it is growing. I'm sure they'd like to be proactive about avoiding political issues in an economic region they will want to eventually focus on more heavily.

    If any company did this out of the goodness of their heart, I'm sure it would be google. But every corporation is a slave to the bottom line and Google has shown that they have to be too. The business model here is providing maps and targetted ads to potential safari goers both back home and while they're in the region. Anything else that comes out of it will be a happy secondary benefit.

  68. Using a GSM blackberry in Kenya!! by systemeng · · Score: 1

    I went to Egypt and Kenya on vacation last year. I took a GSM blackberry with me. I had better data service in Kenya watching elephants walk by than I get here in alabama in the US. I was literally walking down the street in Mombasa googling for the e-bay price of various stuff I wanted to buy in the tourist shops: Specifically, Indian made replicas of sextants. It's a strange experience to be admiring the great pyramid in Egypt or a group of giraffes in Africa and then get e-mail from texas about the woes of your software architecture. I had identical experiences to Mombasa in Nairobi also getting better GSM service than in Egypt. The kenyans have a long way to go but they have been so far behind for so long that they have skipped several generations of technology that we are cursing but can't get rid of because they haven't depreciated to zero yet. Incidentally, in the nicest part of Nairobi, the shopping mall is just like the ones anywhere else with the exception that the shelves seem very slightly less well stocked and the fact that it is guarded by kenyan army personnel with automatic weapons. They also have atm's from 5 different banks, newspapers, movie theaters, fast food, etc. While I was there in Nairobi, I stopped by the local office of Fisher Scientific since they had their office across the street from my hotel. I saw invoices for a local brewery on the desk there as well as a nice display of lab glassware. In short, while the Kenyans do not effectively maintain roads, or sidewalks, and they've had to effectively sell the train system to the South Africans (Rode on the train with two guys from Rift Valley Railroads, the SA company that had just taken over the railroads), they do grok technology. While the power grid in Nairobi and Mombasa is a bit flaky and the rural areas have nothing, the kenyans are working towards industrialization. I saw some interesting factories being built on the train ride between Mombasa and Nairobi. I suspect that one could get very rich over there buy starting a factory to do technology because there is a lot of labor available and most of the Kenyans I met seemed to work very hard. My friends from Rift Valley Railways said that the kenyans worked hard when they knew what to do but if there was a lapse of leadership, they'd just come to work every day and sit at their desks doing nothing even if the mission of their department had ceased to exist decades ago. At any rate, I've gotta get back to signal analysis.

  69. http://hellkom.co.za/ by drac0n1z · · Score: 1

    This is what they were thinking, http://hellkom.co.za/ . It Rand/$ is at 7.22. These are the typical costs. 30GB International and Local (512k account) R989 incl VAT 30GB International and Local (1024k account) R1399 incl VAT (Both accounts allow for 1 concurrent connection, and have a hardcap at 30GB's) These accounts work out to less than R50 per GB! The ADSL line is R413 for a 1Mbps. So it works out at $250 per month for 30G. Now there are some accounts, where you can get uncapped for R1400 a month in total, that is $193, but these accounts were a limited offer. Internet costs are very expensive, thanks to a monopoly telecommunications industry. Keep in mind these uncapped accounts, will give you about 40kbyte/s on torrents with enough seeds. Think a prison break episode on Pirate Bay seeds.

    --
    This is my sig.
  70. violent crime by drac0n1z · · Score: 1

    South-Africa is number 1 for homicide in the world, it is safer in Iraq, than in South-Africa. Go figure why so many South-Africans flee the country.

    --
    This is my sig.
  71. Correction. by Aqua_boy17 · · Score: 1

    No silly. It's "In Google Kenya, Safari browses you!"

    --
    What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?
    1. Re:Correction. by IgLou · · Score: 1

      PERFECT! Too bad no one mods day old posts.

      --

      Oops, how did this get here?
      09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  72. Re:Kenya is at the forefront of e Africa ICT rev.. by BeanThere · · Score: 1

    SAT3 has two parts, one going along the west coast and another on the east, so in effect it does go 'all the way around Africa', but the east part goes nowhere near Kenya - it would still be a big mission to connect to it. The other problem is that SAT3 is heavily controlled by the South African Telkom company, a horrible monopoly that gouges as much as they can get away with - this is one of the reasons Kenya wants to build EASSY in the first place, to not be dependent on the INSANE gouging by a South African company. In other words the problem isn't just a technical one that they're trying to work around. If I recall correctly some of the delays in EASSY are being caused by Telkom (who obviously don't want it built unless they also have a lot of control over it).

    "Soon enough communication infrastructure won't be a bottleneck to development" -> no, but economic/monopoly forces will continue to be. It's not just enough to have multiple cables, you need market competition too. Bandwidth in South Africa is ridiculously expensive because the government protects a monopoly (corruption, crony capitalism etc.), so most of the capacity on SAT3 isn't even used. It wouldn't take much for something similar to happen in Kenya. I hope not though. If Kenya can get EASSY going in a way that is competitive with Telkom then it will have positive knock-on effects for large parts of Africa, but I'm not holding my breath.

  73. google in kenya by al77 · · Score: 1

    Kenya is actually a decent country. I mean if you go to Africa every country has it's own issues with poverty and this is not restricted to Africa at alone. I mean i have seen worse cases in places like India and the numbers there are worse because of the huge population. Even US has it's own problems with poverty there are several hundred thousand homeless people in LA alone. I was in Nairobi and Mombasa and Malindi recently the cities were fairly clean. Nairobi infact amazed me. It's developed so much since the lasttime i was here and it's more organized. Nairobi has most of the stuff you will find in any major city the west only thing they don't have is a subway. There are slums in Kibera & Mathare but they have started to build new houses to replace them. There's a plan to actually do away with them so i'm sure the nexttime i visit Kenya they might be gone. I met a few of the current leaders and they seem determined to change a lot of things. There also seems to be lots of new investments especially in Telecommunications, agriculture and construction. Tthe economy is also doing good. I was there when Sir Richard Branson launched his Virgin Airlines. If you look at the statistics Kenya looks like the place to be in Africa. The Kenyan Airline Kenya Airways is the best in Africa. Kenyas cellphone sector is crazy. Companies are making crazy profits. They even have great Cell Apps you can now transfer money on your cellphones even read newspapers i know his is not new in the west but i was impressed. Kenya is the biggest exporter of horticultural products like fruits and flowers to the European Union. It's also the biggest exporter of tea in Africa 2nd in the world. Its Also one of the biggest coffee producers in the world. Infact Kenyan coffee has one of the best blend in the world. You can confirm this at starbucks. Many countries use Kenyan coffee and tea to blend theirs. Losts of big world corporations Africa headquaters seem to be in Nairobi. Even UNEP is based in Nairobi. Even GE is shifting to Nairobi from SA. They have probably the best educated pool of professionals in Africa. English is also spoken widely in Kenya. Kenya sends the most number of students to study in US and UK than any other African country. You can check the statistics at the state dept. Kenya also has the best Athletes in Africa. Theres just great drive among Kenyans and they are smart and suave. There's also a good mix of locals and foreigners in Kenya. Kenyans are enthusiastic and seemed more knowledgeable than the people i met in other parts of Africa. Kenyans know more about other countries and are more aggressive and friendly. There's also a good mix of both modern and traditional plus its a beautiful country with good nature. . On the otherside if you go really deep into Kenya theres still alot to be done. Hopefully the new leaders will work hard and build their country. I will definately visit Kenya again I love Safaris and Mombasa. I would urge most people who view Africa as a wasteland or hot place or por place to visit first hand and not just stay in their hotels but go deep and talk to the regular folks thats how you will learn about Africa. By the way my Kenyan colleague tells me that Nairobi is near the Equator so it's not hot at all the weather is always nice. Like now it's cold in Nairobi because when its summer in Europe it's really cold in Kenya. S Africa by the way is great too. Google should be fine in Kenya.

  74. Brain hurts.... by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 1

    And children are not human or what?

    If you have a one year old baby and my 99 year old great grand dad hit by a bus tomorrow, the average life expectancy is still 50 between both of them.

    What you are saying is stating the bleeding obvious....

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
  75. In those countries you don't eat quickly by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 1

    You take your time, you need to adapt to the ways of the locals...

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
  76. Re: by xhydra · · Score: 0

    Its kinda strange how instead of anger I feel intense nostalgia.

    Remember back in the days when "Anonymous Coward" did not have to be Anonymous Coward to voice such an opinion.

    Anonymous Coward misses those days too so why don't we get together and we can reEnact the past just for good ol' times sake.
    Don't get me wrong I DO NOT miss the opression and the discrimination. What I miss is the FIGHT against it and the expression of black Power and solidarity.

    Nowadays all thats on offer to fight against is pale shadows of the past such as Anonymous Coward.

    --
    "Drawing closer to world domination, keystroke by keystroke."