You are the opportunity and it is your responsibility to knock on the door to your destiny. You start by preparing yourself to recognise opportunity when you see one. Have an open mind in all situation. Then you will have to pursue and seize opportunity as you develop your strength. The one opportunity that is accessible to you NOW is being able to steer yourself to a productive goal through the growing awareness of “who you are”, “what you can be” and “how you can channel what you have got to turn your dreams into reality”. Nobody can do this for you. So, you owe yourself a lot by committing to this.

You have to create opportunity. This is your responsibility and don’t let anybody deceive you that they can do this for you. It is your call to develop the capacities you need to move towards opportunity. Your starting point will be to work on your thinking. What normally comes to mind when you are faced with challenges? Do you see adversity or opportunities? Your thinking has to align with your goals. Your thought must be able to direct your energy towards fulfilling your dreams / goals. This won’t come easy but you must fight for your right to fulfil the opportunity that God gave you to use your life well. You can do this in your mind when you support yourself.

You have to constantly focus on developing your creative and imaginative power instead of worrying. Don’t bother yourself with what other people think or say about you. Always remember that opinion doesn’t change potential. Moreover, you must stop complaining about your unfortunate past and open your eyes to the opportunities that exist for you. One thing that complaining or focusing on the past does is that it robs you of the future. While it is true that you may have limitations, you need to focus on the opportunities that abound. Search for your creative powers so that you can move towards your opportunites. Leave the camp of those whose major work is to criticize everything. The best they can do is to take you further away from recognising your opportunities.

Finally, know that our world is full of so many opportunities. There are countless number of businesses yet to be started, softwares yet to be written and even exams to be written. The frontiers are not all closed and the doors are not yet shut. Every new day creates a platform for us to move forward and create exciting new opportunities. The ball is in our court. Also, the amount of opportunities that we create is independent of what others can create. God has blessed us with everything we need. Will you waste God’s resources? Answer the question within yourself but make a commitment today to develop the strength you need to seize your opportunity…

Are you still Passing Over Opportunities Repeatedly?

a

Technorati Tags: opportunity, dreams

a

a

A SMS service called GotItSussed.com offers a new range of text message services aimed at people who want an easy way to improve their vocabulary or expand their knowledge.

The knowledge service offers a number of options: Fact of the Day / Science / Environment / History / Arts & culture. You need a paypal account to enjoy this service.

a

a

a

a

Google signed up about eight new hires per day in 2005- a lot of them from Microsoft, many among the smartest people on the planet at what they do. Google is on track to spend more than $500 million on research and development in 2006, and last year it launched more free products in beta than in any previous year. Name any long-term technology bet you can think of– genome-tailored drugs, artificial intelligence, the space elevator–and chances are, there’s a team in the Googleplex working on an application.

The question which raises the most widely debated question in business is now: What kind of company will Google become in the coming decades? Chris Taylor put this same question to scientists, consultants, former Google employees, and tech visionaries like Ray Kurzweil and Stephen Wolfram. They responded with well-argued, richly detailed, and sometimes scary visions of a Google future. Visit Chris Taylor for four very different scenarios for the company.

a

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) announced in Abuja that two sub-groups had been set up by its technical branch on GSM Roaming to address the core issues of interconnectivity of regional networks and tariff harmonisation that will facilitate the introduction of a region-wide roaming facility in West Africa by December 2006.

Observers have often deplored the prevailing situation in the sub-region whereby it is easier to put a call by GSM to countries in Europe or America than access a line in a country in West Africa, despite the proximity.

According to the ECOWAS Secretariat, the first group would make proposals for strengthening trans-border interconnectivity to ensure the free flow of intra-community calls through improvements in telecommunications infrastructure. The second is expected to review the proposals already adopted by GSM operators on tariff harmonisation and billing.

Interestingly, leaders of the African Union (AU), at their recently concluded meeting, also adopted the report on the implementation of the project for the creation of a unified telecommunications numbering space for Africa.

ECOWAS Secretariat said yesterday in Abuja that the two groups have already approved actions plans indicating critical activities to be undertaken towards the realisation of the project, which was originally approved during the January 12th, 2006 29th Ordinary Summit of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in Niamey.

Meanwhile, the technical group has also proposed some measures for implementation under a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) involving member states, telecommunications regulators in the sub-region and GSM operators that will enhance the creation of an environment conducive for the realisation of the project.

a

Separately, Google also announced an internet video service deal with US chip giant Intel. The company said it planned to allow users of Intel’s new Viiv digital entertainment platform to use its search technology to locate and watch videos on the internet.

The agreement between Google and Intel was unveiled on Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where Google co-founder Larry Page is due to make a keynote address later on Friday. Mobile operators have struggled to boost revenue from services which allow phone users to surf the web.

But Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said he believed most people would in the future access the internet using their mobile phones.

“People are going to spend all their time on it eventually,” he said.

Motorola said it planned to launch special Google-enabled phones, which would give users access to the world’s biggest internet search engine at the touch of a single button, later this year. Eventually the company plans to embed Google technology in all of its future phones.

a

Kierian Enechi, chief marketing office, Reltelwireless, announced the package in Lagos at a ceremony to unveil a range of value-added services introduce by the company for subscribers on the network. Enechi said that call center operators can now make a profit of about N3,000 per week, using a minimum of three Reltel N500 special discount cards, called Bonuscard Plus, while operators who invested up to N7,000 on the cards could make up to N70,000 per month.

He noted that the incentives were fallouts of the company’s re-branding programme, following the technical support provided to Reltel by the Chinese Telecommunications giant, Huawei, which is now powering the network to sustain its position in the market. According to him, the new partnership with Huawei has yielded new products and services, these include, the Reltel digital wireless fax terminal which has effectively made the company the first fixed wireless operator to deploy fax services in Nigeria. He said the fax facility goes for N30,000.

Enechi re-affirmed that Reltel had started providing short message services (sms) to other networks within and outside Nigeria including mobile networks. Others value added services, he noted, include call waiting, forwarding, locking and conferencing which had been perfected on the network.

He said that the company has slashed calls to GSM lines in order to give every telephone user an opportunity to talk, and that Reltelwireless had also maintained its round-the-clock free intra-network calls policy. The Reltelwireless CMO added that the company had also introduced Internet recharge card in its determination to encourage more people in the country to use and explore opportunities on the Internet without difficulty. It would be recalled that Reltel invested about N3 billion recently in its network expansion deal with Huawei to position itself as the first among equals in the fixed wireless business in the country.

The company has since commenced services in Port Harcourt, Nnewi and Onitsha in addition to Lagos, Nigeria’s business hub.
Reltel has also launched an ambitious expansion programme that would soon take its services to more Nigerian cities, including Abuja, Ibadan, Enugu, Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna and Benin.

a

The promotion, tagged “The ‘WOW’ Purchase“, provides corporate individuals and organizations a flexible and cost convenient opportunity to own HP-Compaq NX61 10 Celeron or Centrino Business notebooks equipped with full internet access provided by Netnearu Hots pots /Globacom’s GPRS-enabled SIM cards.

The package also comes with two years warranty, WI-FI (wireless fidelity) capacity that allows internet access within locations providing internet cloud (Wi-fi Hotspots), and insurance policy that covers theft, loss and fire.

It is available for either N1 1,999 or N1 4,916 monthly installments depending on the specification and has a two-year repayment period.

Speaking at the launch of the promotion in Lagos Globacom’s Chief Operating Officer, Mohamed Jameel, said the package tied in with the “‘network’s philosophy of empowering Nigerians technologically and giving them access to the information superhighway.

He stated that Globacom’s introduction of the 2.5G technology at launch ensures that Nigerians are availed the very best in information and communications technology. This, he explained, made it possible for Globacom to offer GPRS internet access on the WOW Purchase package.

Explaining the scheme, Chioma Iwuchukwu, SPO Country Manager, HP, said, “people will not only have the opportunity to own notebooks with warranty at affordable prices in a pay as you earn scheme’ but also enjoy two years of internet access through the Globacom GPRS network or at NetnearU hotspots around Lagos with an Insurance policy that covers theft or damage”.

According to Oladele Oyelola, the Executive Director, Retail Banking (Upcountry) of First Bank, the package offers a convenient, mobile and functional product for upwardly mobile and busy executives in a bid to enhance their productive capacities. The package, he explained, is available at all First Bank major branches nationwide and may be accessed individually or as a group of employees of a corporate body.

“The scheme provides both financial and technological convenience at its best,” he added.

Also speaking at the Iaunch,-Kaycee Kennedy , the CEO of NetNearu, an IT solutions provider with a vision of internet access everywhere, explains that “the package is an offer of convenience to many Nigerians who are in dire need of efficient communications tool. What we have done is to provide an affordable means of owning a laptop and having access to the internet which will tremendously enhance overall effectiveness”.

Wi-Fi capacity for notebooks and Wi-Fi Hotspot for Internet access for the Product is provided by NetNearU, while Hewlett Packard offers the HP Compaq NX61 10 Celeron and Centrino Business Notebooks and warranty for the product.

First Bank Nigeria Plc is underwriting the financial and insurance capacity for the Product. Globacom ensures twenty-four hours internet access anywhere with its GPRS-enabled SIM cards, while Redington Nigeria Ltd – HP Authorized distributor – will stock the product and release to Point of Sale at Microsys Analysis Inc.

a

Which means soon (Yahoo is thinking the first half of 2006), with my Yahoo! Messenger I would be able to see when my MSN Messenger are online without logging in to my MSN messenger. Moreover, I would be able to share IMs and emoticons, easily add new contacts from either service to the respective Messenger Lists, and more.

I am sure this is what most of us have been asking for it.

And Yahoo is delivering they called the world’s largest IM community. It’s a wonderful bridge that makes staying in touch easier and more enjoyable for everyone. Hm… I just hope Yahoo can speed up this process as I cant wait to experience this

a

a

The venture, Google Base, could lead to a vast expansion of its content and signal grander ambitions for the king of online search-related advertising. Google’s stated mission is, after all, nothing less than organizing the world’s information.

Launched as a “beta test” early Wednesday, Google Base has the potential to make instantly available a vast sea of content including — but not limited to — recipes, job ads, photos, DNA sequences, real estate listings and individual standalone databases.

Normally, it takes Web “crawlers” days or weeks to scour the Web and feed Google’s main search engine with updated information, but they usually can’t penetrate content buried in databases. This tool will make locating anything that’s been uploaded nearly instantaneous, provided it finds users willing to provide the content.

Submitters will also be able to describe what they uploaded with keywords — making searches and filters easier and more reliable.

“This is all part of our efforts to make it really easy for anyone with information to make it accessible from Google,” said Salar Kamangar, vice president of product management at Google. “We just felt like this piece was just missing before.”

What’s less clear is exactly what Google plans to do with what it amasses. The Mountain View-based company said the primary purpose of Google Base’s release is to study and improve how the information is collected and categorized. Kamangar said the company eventually wants to integrate the results with results from its main search engine, its local search site, which identifies results by geographical location, and its shopping comparison service, Froogle.com.

As it stands, Google Base has no mechanism for transacting business, whether buying a car or applying for a job. But its patrons — a job listings service, say — will be able to provide links in whatever they upload to commercial sites that do.

If Google goes commercial with the new service, which is widely expected, it could pose a formidable threat not only to traditional classified businesses such as newspapers but also online sites like eBay and Craigslist. Speculation has been further fueled by a patent application for a service called Google Automat that helps would-be sellers generate advertising. The company also is known to be working on an online payment system. Hm… what is Google actually up to? Well, it is becoming more interesting as the end users would now have many options.

And last month, Web surfers stumbled on an early version of Google Base that invited people to list things like a used car for sale and a party planning service.

“Honestly I think there is no master plan other than ‘Let’s put this tool out there and see what people do with it,”‘ said Danny Sullivan, editor of the industry newsletter Search Engine Watch.

Data uploaded to Google Base can be transferred one item at a time or in bulk. There’s no limit on how many items users can send, though the database currently restricts the number of pictures in each submission and does not support video or audio. Submitters are invited to choose from an existing set of item types or can enter their own category. In another step, each entry can be tagged with labels that are either suggested by Google or defined by the user.

If a recipe is submitted, the initial category might be “Recipe” while tags could be created describing the type of cuisine, serving size, level of spiciness and main ingredient type. People looking for recipes could then refine results by clicking on the tags. Google Base attempts to get around the problem of spelling variations by suggesting attributes based on what other people have associated with their information in the past, Kamangar said.

“This is really an experiment for us,” he said. “We’re going to be very open to shifting and changing it depending on how it goes.”

CareerBulder.com also is hoping to make its data — job listings — accessible to more people, said Richard Castellini, CareerBuilder’s vice president of consumer marketing.

So, if you run a business that offer classifieds, you might find Google Base a helpful way to increase your traffic, but that decision could end up haunting you if Google decides to launch tools to complete transactions. This will just amount to getting in bed with the enemy

a

In 2003, leaders at the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) agreed that by 2015, more than half the world should be in reach of the net.

The world is still a long way from that goal.

Are there still stark inequalities in access? How can poorer nations benefit from the digital revolution? If you are involved in any technology projects, let’s have your comments and experiences.

a

It can also be held and used like a handheld games console and can function as a TV. The green machine was showcased for the first time by MIT’s Nicholas Negroponte at the UN net summit in Tunis. He plans to have millions of machines in production within a year.

The laptops are powered with a wind-up crank, have very low power consumption and will let children interact with each other while learning.

“Children will be able to learn by doing, not just through instruction – they will be able to open up new fronts for their education, particularly peer-to-peer learning,” said Mr Annan.

He added that the initiative was “inspiring“, and held the promise of special and economic development for children in developing countries. Visit BBC for details.

a

An excellent article what Google Sitemaps is and how it can help you to get indexed by Google can be found at the searchenginewatch blog.

Features:

* Comes as a WordPress Plugin
* Is easy to install
* Has a user interface where you can customize all parameters like change frequencies, priorities etc.
* User interface available in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese
* Generates a static XML file in your Blog directory (Filename is customizable)
* Can generate a gzipped version of the sitemap
* Generates a sitemap for homepage, posts, static pages, categories and archive pages
* Calculates a priority for each post, based on the number of comments (You can also turn this off)
* The XML file gets automatically rebuilt if you change/edit/create/publish a post
* Can automatically tell Google about changes via Google-Ping
* You can include external pages which aren’t generated by WordPress or are not recognized by this plugin
* You can define a minimum post priority, which will override the calculated value if it’s too low
* Includes a WordPress filter for other plugins which can add their pages to the sitemap

Download:
English version: Download Icon English

Multilanguage version: Download Icon Multi-Language English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, Simplified and Traditional Chinese

Requirements:
This plugin requires WordPress 1.5.1.1 or better. If you are using an older version, I strongly recommend you to upgrade to the latest version. You can get it at the WordPress Download Page.

Installation:
Simply download the Zip-Archive and extract all files into your wp-content/plugins/ directory. Then go into your WordPress administration page, click on Plugins and activate it. After that you will have a new menu point called “Sitemap” under the “Options” menu. You can alter the default change frequencies, filename and other options there. Click once on “Rebuild Sitemap” to create your sitemap the first time.

The script needs write access to your Blog directory. Check out the WordPress Codex.

a

According to Mitchell Elegbe, managing Director, InterSwitch, Operation Cashless seeks to achieve among other things, the promotion of the use of Nigeria debit card, awareness creation about the availability of channels where electronic transactions can be performed. These channels are Point of Sale (POS) terminals, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Internet and mobile.

Operation cashless is being launched alongside the deployment of PoS terminals in the country. The terminals act as a complement to the ATMs which are already running. InterSwitch has appointed nine Independent Service Organisations (ISOs) to work in conjunction with the banks on the InterSwitch consortium to appoint merchants and deploy the PoS terminals at strategic locations.

Also Operation Cashless seeks to take into consideration the non banking populace. For the non banking category, cash cards will be introduced into the market and hence these people can transact with the card in the usual way as with the Nigeria debit card. Prior to mergers and acquisitions, there are 33 banks on the InterSwitch network which are currently issuing debit cards.

Elegbe is however optimistic that mergers will not affect the process as the number of transactions will not reduce despite reduction in the number of banks in operation. According to him: “on the contrary, banks will now have a lot of money to give out more cards.”

There are currently 1.2 million active cards in circulation in the country. InterSwitch and the certified ISOs plan to deploy 50,000 PoS terminals across the country in the next three years. According to Bayo Adeokun, chief executive officer, Electronic PayPlus Limited, one of the ISOs, security measures have been put in place to ensure that the PoS terminals are tamper-free.

“We have adopted international best practices and the usual things such as firewalls and passwords,” he said.

The ISOs, which must be backed by a CBN accredited bank will provide support services, buy and deploy PoS terminals create awareness and enable merchants view their transactions online via the Internet. The PoS terminals can be rolled out anywhere in the country where there is GSM or GPRS network.

Enumerating the benefits of Operation Cashless, Elegbe noted that it will reduce the incidences of armed robbery as Nigerians will not carry cash around, exposing themselves to robbery. It will also reduce pilfering by staff of the PoS merchant because every transaction will be through the terminal while also ensuring that there will not be cases of fake currency. The difference between the InterSwitch PoS terminals and the current terminals in use is that transaction with the InterSwitch terminals is online while the merchant would need to open an ePurse when using the other terminal because it is offline.

a

Features of the Z520a include:

* Quad-band GSM
* Bluetooth
* 128 × 160 pixel display with 65K colors
* VGA camera
* Speakerphone
* 16MB memory

Besides the new tech specs, the Z520a is lighter and smaller than the Z500 which was knocked for its size. Cingular is selling the handset for $69.99 with a new service contract.

a