Saudi Information Ministry takes up e-governance program

RIYADH: The Four Seasons Hotel hosted a ceremony on Monday to mark the launch of a groundbreaking Ministry of Information project and kickoff an era of electronic government.

However, the event, which was celebrating the completion of the Al-Wathiq project, was marred by the absence of female journalists, who were not allowed into the venue. Al-Wathiq will be used to analyze, develop and restructure the Ministry of Information’s procedures. It will also scrutinize policies and identify weak points.

The project includes training administrative staff so they can start applying the concept of electronic government. One of Al-Wathiq’s key missions is to specify the Ministry’s roles and responsibilities, which include organizing structure, services, information technology, data and procedures.

“Electronic government is a concept that should make life very easy, facilitate better communication and simplify the implementation of procedures” said Minister of Information Abdul Aziz Khoja, adding it was only a matter of time before the concept of electronic government was implemented.

Khoja pointed out that applying electronic government within the ministry would be completed within three to six months. Meanwhile, no one could explain why female journalists were not allowed to attend, raising the question of whether they needed special permits to cover similar events. Event organizers were unable to comment, while the ministry was apparently not aware of their absence.

Source: Arab News

Non Latin (non English) Domain names coming to the Web

As expected, regulatory body ICANN has approved plans to let web addresses be written in non-Latin characters in a move that it calls the “biggest technical change” to how the Internet works since its invention four decades ago. The vote was announced at the last day of the non-profit group’s Seoul conference.

The proposal would mean that domain names could be written in the languages such as Greek, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi or Cyrillic and be understood natively by the machines that connect computers together over the web.

Source: Techcrunch

Web 2.0 Summit (San Francisco, Oct 20-22nd)

Only the Web 2.0 Summit brings the intelligence, innovation, and leadership of the Internet industry together in one place at one time. Through incisive plenary sessions, cut-through-the-hype onstage conversations, rapid-fire “high order bits” and “show me” presentations, visionaries and executives across key industries will present their unique perspective on the Web’s future-in-flux and how the tools and principles of Web 2.0 are impacting their businesses.

At the summit one can learn what business models are working, what’s next on the horizon, and how all of this will affect your own business. Web 2.0 Summit is brought to you in partnership with O’Reilly Media, Inc. and TechWeb and moderated by John Battelle, Program Chair, and O’Reilly CEO and founder, Tim O’Reilly. Attendance at Web 2.0 Summit is limited to maintain an intimate setting and foster dialogue among all participants. Registration is by invitation only. Stay updated on the Web 2.0 summit 2009

GITEX 2009

The region’s largest IT event starts in Dubai today. Gitex 2009 the Gulf’s IT Exhibition is one of the most anticipated IT events in the calendar. This year the much awaited MS Windows 7 will be released to the public. Visit Gitex 2009 for more up to date information.

WebVideo: Lootmaar.com [a Pakistani ebay]

Adnan Haider is a young man and the co-founder of Lootmaar.com, Jehan Ara, President of P@SHA talks to Adnan about entreprenuership and his perspective on what the good, bad and ugly is of operating a dotcom. Lootmaar.com is Pakistan’s version of eBay.

Please review the video on CIO Pakistan’s WebStudio Site.

Aquilent wins $4M DOT.gov contract

Web technologies company Aquilent has won a $4 million contract from the Department of Transportation to support the agency’s DOT.gov site.

The contract brings Aquilent’s new contract wins to $13 million for its fourth quarter of 2009.
Under terms of the contract Laurel-based Aquilent will provide Web site design and development, including related analysis, information architecture, testing and branding.

The company also will integrate the new site to work with Microsoft Corp.’s SharePoint server and Web software for businesses, assess the department’s overall Web strategy, policies and management, and Acquilent will provide additional services to help make information better organized and accessible.

“Aquilent is honored to be selected to help DOT utilize technology solutions to further innovate for greater transparency and connection internally and with citizens,” said Aquilent CEO David Fout.

The contract is for one base year plus three option years to extend the work.