Tibetan Geeks

News about Tibetans in technology, tech in India, and tech stuff of interest to Tibetans.

• October 2009 – Trainings in Joomla and Drupal, by expert Jisse Reitsma. Every weekend, 9am, at Common Ground in McLeod Ganj.

• July 2007 — Himalayan IT Project started in Sikkim http://www.himalayanit.org/ Ugyen Tsewang and friends have started a project to provide IT education and jobs to Tibetan and related communities in Sikkim, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong areas. In November 2007, an IT teaching team is going to Ravangla settlement and Gangtok in Sikkim, and Darjeeling in WB, to teach beginning and advanced web development and general computer use. The organisers will be looking for Tibetans who wish to join as teachers ... on a paid basis if they can get the funding!
• February 2009 Info-Activism Camp 14 October 2008 The Info-Activism Camp in India, February 2009 will bring together 120 rights advocates, technologists, designers and activists working in the global South to share skills and ideas on digital advocacy. Full story at Tibet Sun
• Past events

• Tibetan Luozang multilingual digital electronic pocket gadget - a product review at Phayul 5 October 2009 "The handheld device features an impressive array of edutainment functions: 34 dictionaries (Tibetan, Chinese, T-C, C-T, T-C-English); PDA (Palm Digital Assistant) application; database of language, cultural and historical entries in Tibetan and Chinese; trilingual WordPad; MP3 player, with USB interface with personal computer; and games." "The appeal of this Tibetan handheld gadget is its Tibetan-ness. There is truly a Tibetan keyboard, perhaps for the first time, and the default displays are in Tibetan. ... The feeling is that you are holding a Tibetan gadget, a Tibetan hardware, a product of indigenous innovation of strong yet very subtle native aspirations."
• US relaxes its grip on the internet http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8283310.stm 30 September 2009 The US government has relaxed its control over how the internet is run. It has signed a four-page "affirmation of commitments" with the net regulator ICANN, giving the body autonomy for the first time
• Firefox 3.5 is out 1 July 2009 The latest and greatest, fastest and safest, Firefox web browser version 3.5. Read about it at CNet, The Register, Computer World
• Google framed in China http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/18868/ 30 June 2009 The regime accused Google.cn (Google China) of providing easy access to pornography on the basis of fabricated evidence. This accusation provided the regime a pretext for shutting down Google search results that can provide links to politically sensitive Web sites. read more at The Epoch Times
• Companies appeal to China to drop Web filter plan http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090627/ap_on_hi_te/as_china_internet 27 June 2009 Global business groups have made an unusual direct appeal to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to scrap an order for PC makers to supply controversial Internet filtering software, citing security and privacy concerns.
  Just days before the deadline to comply with China's order, the letter from 22 chambers of commerce and trade groups representing the world's major technology suppliers adds to pressure on Beijing to halt the plan following an official protest by Washington.
  The order requires manufacturers to pre-install or supply "Green Dam Youth Escort" software with PCs made for sale in China beginning Wednesday. read more at Yahoo.com
• Teacher at Tibet University invents three-language keyboard http://chinatibet.people.com.cn/6686580.html 25 June 2009 Now, you don't need to memorize the keys to type in the Tibetan language. Recently, a special keyboard integrating Tibetan, Chinese and English was invented. read more at ChinaTibet.People.com
• Beijing Adds Curbs on Access to Internet http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/world/asia/26china.html?_r=1&ref=technology 25 June 2009 In the past month, central government officials have cited a need to control pornography in ordering that filtering software be preinstalled on all new computers sold in China starting July 1.
  They have also forced Google to disable a function that lets the search engine suggest terms and on Wednesday night even briefly blocked access nationwide to Google’s main search engine and other services like Gmail. Some users were still having problems accessing Google sites on Thursday night.
  In addition, Chinese bloggers say they have detected evidence of a concerted effort to stain Google’s image. They say that someone in Beijing manipulated Google’s software to make it more likely to suggest a pornographic search term during a state television broadcast.
  At the same time, the government seems to have stepped up harassment of human rights advocates. read more at NYTimes.com
• Tibetans [in Tibet] have access to Tibetan-language mobile phones April 2009 read more at Tibet.cn – "China Tibet Information Center" (PRC website)

• How much are we involved in combating the China propaganda? 27 May 2009, by Tashi Samphel I wonder how many of us ever use the internet as a platform to raise awareness about the Tibetan cause. Even our Tibetan government is not handling those issues. Sometime I wonder, does our government in exile have a specific strategy to resolve these kinds of issues? Finally, I suggest to our younger generation and educated ones, to create their own blogs and write more and more on the Tibet issue, to keep our struggle alive forever. read more on this site
• Made in China ... Working for Tibet – Images and stickers!
• Tale of cyber war: China and Tibet
  19 May 2009, by Lobsang Wangyal "Looking at all the top-level Tibet domains obtained by exile Tibetans, it would seem that Tibetans are web-savvy, and better than China at using the world’s new favourite media tool. " read more at TibetSun.com
• Welcome to the new Tibetan Geeks website "This website is going to be for the one who is already working at a professional level, who can share their knowledge, and the one who is fresh who can learn from this website. more
  — Tenzin Nyima DesignPala.com

• Tibetan-related tech news at Tibet Sun (Tibetan news site) Tech news of interest to Tibetans
• World and Asia tech news at SiliconValley.com (San Jose Mercury News, in US) From the center of IT
• World and India tech news at TechTree.com (India tech site) News about hardware, software, internet, security, mobile devices, ...
• World tech news at BBC.Co.uk (UK tech site)
• Tech forums at Phayul (Tibetan news site) Discussions and tech questions.

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