In Uganda today all entertainment shopping arcades are filled with what most refer to as Plasma and LCD screens; they seem to be the in thing these days both in people’s homes and entertainment centers.
But the puzzling Question is what the difference between plasma and LCD TVs is and which of the two is durable and cost effective considering Uganda’s cost of living.

Plasma and LCD technology — what's the difference?
Plasma and LCD panels may look similar in appearance, but the flat screen and thin profile differ. Plasma screens use a matrix of tiny gas plasma cells charged by precise electrical voltages to create a picture. LCD screens (liquid crystal display) are in layman's terms sandwiches made up of liquid crystal pushed in the space between two glass plates. Images are created by varying the amount of electrical charge applied to the crystals. Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses, as you'll read below.
Is there a difference in picture quality between plasma and LCD screens and normal CRT TVs?
It's not what's happening behind the screen that's important — it's how the screen performs as a television that matters most. , hence plasma and LCD sets produce excellent pictures. Some home entertainment specialists and gamers still say CRTs produce the best overall images (although the latest plasmas are particularly good, and LCD sets are quickly catching up in terms of quality with advances like LED backlighting).

The ADVANTAGES of Plasma over LCD are:

1. Larger screen size availability.
2. Better contrast ratio and ability to render deeper blacks.
3. Better color accuracy and saturation.
4. Better motion tracking (little or no motion lag in fast moving images).

The DISADVANTAGES of Plasma vs LCD include:

1. Plasma TVs are more susceptible to burn-in of static images.
2. Plasma TVs generate more heat than LCDs, due to the need to light of phosphors to create the images.
3. Does not perform well at higher altitudes.
4. Potentially shorter display life span - this used to be the case. Early Plasmas had 30,000 hours or 8 hrs of viewing a day for 9 years, which was less than LCD. However, screen life span has now improved and 60,000 hour life span ratings are now common, with some sets rated as high as 100,000 hours, due to technology improvements.

LCD television ADVANTAGES over Plasma include:

• No burn-in of static images.
• Cooler running temperature.
• No high altitude use issues.
• Increased image brightness over Plasma.
• Lighter weight (when comparing same screen sizes) than Plasma counterparts.
• Longer display life used to be a factor, but now LCD and Plasma sets both have at least 60,000 hour or higher lifespan.

DISADVANTAGES of LCD vs Plasma televisions include:

• Lower contrast ratio, not good rendering deep blacks.
• Not good at tracking motion (fast moving objects may exhibit lag artifacts) - However, this is improving with the recent implementation of 120Hz screen refresh rates and 240Hz processing in higher-end LCD sets.
• Not common in large screen sizes above 42-inches as Plasma. However, the number is growing rapidly, with 46 and 47-inch screen sizes becoming more common, and some LCD sets having a screen size as large as 65-inches also available to the general public.
• Although LCD televisions do not suffer from burn-in susceptibility, it is possible that individual pixels on LCD televisions can burn out, causing small, visible, black or white dots to appear on the screen. Individual pixels cannot be repaired; the whole screen would need to be replaced if the pixel burnout becomes annoying to you.
• LCD televisions are typically more expensive than equivalent-sized Plasma televisions (although trends are changing), especially when comparing EDTV Plasmas to HDTV-LCD Televisions.

In Summary

Which is better value for me right now: plasma or LCD?
If you're in the market for a large screen television — and we're talking 50 inches and above — then we'd suggest a plasma screen. LCDs can give you better resolution; plasma still has the edge in terms of picture quality. One other thing to lookout for, whether you opt for plasma or LCD, is an integrated HD digital tuner — some TVs still have analog tuners, which look pretty terrible on a large screen.
At the end of the day (17-inch to 42-inch TVs), LCD is the only way to go if you want something slim and tasteful. And the best thing is that LCDs are getting cheaper all the time.
There has also been a lot of debate surrounding use in bright environments versus dark, cinema-like conditions. The traditional wisdom is that LCD performs better during the day due to its backlighting system, and that plasma in a dark environment, as it uses a glass front. Nonetheless, products like the non-reflective Pioneer Kuro plasmas and LED-backlit LCD panels with their better blacks completely turn this logic on its head. That said, plasmas do generally perform better in the dark, and models with an anti-reflective coating — such as the new Panasonic plasmas — are the best all-rounders.
If you're a true high-def junkie who's keen to see every pixel of a 1080p source reproduced as is, then LCDs are seemingly the way to go. However, 1080p is quickly becoming the norm, with many LCDs now featuring 1920x1080-pixel resolutions. Budget LCDs and plasmas on the other hand feature either 1366x768 or even 1024x768 (720p) resolutions. If you're buying a screen 50 inches or larger, there's now no reason to get anything less than 1080p.
Despite the current HD buzz, there is still very little content available in 1080p — especially when compared to the infinite amount of SD content like TV programs and DVDs. At present, Blu-ray, and some HD downloads, are the only sources that can do 1080p, and free-to-air is only 1080i.
But it isn't all about the resolution — it's not the pixels, it's what you do with them. Most modern TVs, and even budget ones, will accept a 1080p input, and it depends on the quality of the scalar on-board as to how good a picture you'll get. The big names — Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and LG — usually have very good image processors that can resize the source content — whether it's a DVD, Blu-ray or FTA — to the resolution of your screen without a problem.

Now that you have read about the main differences between plasma and LCD TVs you may have decided which one is right for you. They both have stunning, clear pictures and most models offer amazing widescreen viewing - so you can't go far wrong with either! However, it's worth considering where you are going to watch your TV and for what main purpose you will use it. If you are looking for a smaller screen to put in a TV, bedroom or small living room - LCD is probably your best bet. If you're looking for a home cinema screen, then a larger plasma model may be the one for you.

Google  has a giant target on its back. Microsoft has been on a spending and deal-making spree to grow Bing , recently signing a huge search deal with Yahoo. And with Bing starting to steal some market share from Google, it’s proving to be a formidable opponent. Oh, and now you can’t count out Facebook  either, which justlaunched a new realtime search engine.

Google’s not taking any of this lying down. Secretly, they’ve been working on a new project: the next generation of Google Search. This isn’t just some minor upgrade, but an entire new infrastructure for the world’s largest search engine. In other words: it’s a new version of Google.http://www2.sandbox.google.com (This is for test you can use it to compare with the current one)

The project’s still under construction, but Google’s now confident enough in the new version of its search engine that it has released the development version for public consumption. While you won’t see too many differences immediately, let us assure you: it’s a completely upgraded Google search.
Google specifically states that its goal for the new version of Google Search is to improve its indexing speed, accuracy, size, and comprehensiveness. Here’s what they wrote:
“For the last several months, a large team of Googlers has been working on a secret project: a next-generation architecture for Google’s web search. It’s the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions. The new infrastructure sits “under the hood” of Google’s search engine, which means that most users won’t notice a difference in search results. But web developers and power searchers might notice a few differences, so we’re opening up a web developer preview to collect feedback.”

Alexa.com of recent published a list of most accessed websites around the world. We decided to compliment these results with website outlook’s evaluation results of each website. Websiteoutlook.com evaluates how much a website is worth on the market. See the 10 most accessed websites around the world. Give your comment.

1. Google [google.com]
Enables users to search the Web, Usenet, and images. Features include PageRank, caching and translation of results, and an option to find similar pages. The company's focus is developing search technology. Google.com is estimated to be work $2.41 Billion USD and generates revenue approximately $3.3 Million USD daily.

2. Yahoo! [ yahoo.com ]
Provides free email accounts, search options, chartrooms, clubs, magazines on almost all general fields, the latest News, Finance, Sport and Entertainment. Yahoo.com is estimated $1.2 Billion USD and generates revenue of $1.6 Million USD daily.

3. Facebook [ facebook.com ]
Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. Facebook.com worth $602.25 Million USD and estimated to generate $825,003 Million USD daily.

4. YouTube [ youtube.com ]
YouTube is a way to get your videos to the people who matter to you. Upload, tag and share your videos worldwide! Youtube.com estimated worth $803 Million USD and generates $1.1 Million USD daily.

5. Windows Live [ live.com ]
Search engine from Microsoft. Your life. Your stuff. One place. Windows Live. Instant messaging, e-mail, photos and files—with you online, wherever you go. Live.com is estimated worth $481.8 Million and makes $660,000 USD daily.

6.Microsoft Network (MSN) [ msn.com ]
MSN is Microsoft's portal, offering MSNBC News, sports, MSN Money, games, videos, entertainment & celebrity gossip, weather, shopping and many more. Msn.com estimated worth $401.5 Million USD and makes $550, 000 USD dialy.

7. Blogger.com [blogger.com ]
Blogger is a free blog publishing tool from Google for easily sharing your thoughts with the world. Blogger makes it simple to post text, photos and video. Free, automated weblog publishing tool that sends updates to a site via FTP. Blogger.com estimated $301 Million USD and makes $413,000 USD daily.

8. Wikipedia [ wikipedia.org ]
Wikipedia is a free online, web-based and collaborative multilingual encyclopedia, born in the project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Wikipedia.org estimated worth $344 Million USD and generates almost $472,000 USD daily.

9. Baidu.com [baidu.com ]
The leading Chinese language search engine, provides "simple and reliable" search experience, strong in Chinese language and multi-media content including MP3 music and movies, the first to offer WAP and PDA-based mobile search in China. Baidu.com estimated worth $267 Million USD and generates $367,000 USD daily.

10. Myspace [myspace.com]
Social Networking Site. Find friends & classmates, meet new people, listen to free music & build playlists, share photos, watch videos. Estimated worth $219 Million USD with $300,000 USD daily revenue.

Tell us what you think. Which are your most accessed website.

Timothy  Berners-Lee born 8th June 1955 London, England, is among the famous people we have in the ICT World. Berners-lee invented the World Wide Web (WWW) making the first proposal for it in March 1989.
On 25 December 1990, with the help of Robert Cailliau and a young student staff at CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucleaire), he implemented the first successful communication between an HTTP client and server via the Internet. Berners-Lee background:
Tim Berners-Lee's mother and father were both mathematicians who were part of the team that programmed Manchester University's Mark I, the world's first commercial, stored program computer, sold by Ferranti Ltd. One day when he was in high school Berners-Lee found his dad writing a speech on computers for Basil de Ferranti. Father and son talked about how the human brain has a unique advantage over computers, since it can connect concepts that aren't already associated. For example, if you are walking and see a nice tree, you might think about how cool the park is under the trees, and then think of your backyard, and then decide to plant a tree for shade behind your house. Young Berners-Lee was left with a powerful impression of the potential for computers to be able to link any two pieces of previously unrelated information.
Education:
-    1969 to 1973: Attended Sheen Mount primary school and Emanuel School in London.
-    1973 to 1976: graduated from Queen's College at Oxford University with a 1st class degree in physics.

In 1977: worked for two years as a software engineer with Plessey Telecommunications on distributed systems, message relays, and bar coding.
He then joined D.G. Nash, where he developed a multi-tasking operating system and typesetting software for intelligent printers.
In 1980, joined CERN as a consultant, while at CERN he proposed a project based on the concept of hypertext, to facilitate sharing and updating information among researchers.
It was because CERN was so large and complex, with thousands of researchers and hundreds of systems, that Berners-Lee developed his first hypertext system to keep track of who worked on which project, what software was associated with which program, and which software ran on which computers. While there, he built a prototype system named ENQUIRE.
Berners-Lee named his first hypertext system Enquire, after an old book he found as a child in his parents house called Enquire Within upon Everything which provided a range of household tips and advice. The book fascinated young Tim with the suggestion that it magically contained the answer to any problem in the world. With the building of the Enquire system in 1980, and then the Web ten years later, Berners-Lee has pretty much successfully dedicated his life to making that childhood book real.
1981 to 1984: left CERN and worked at Image Computer Systems Ltd, in Bournemouth, England as Technical Design Lead, with responsibility for real-time, graphics, and communications software for an innovative software program that enabled older dot-matrix printers to print a wide range of advanced graphics.
In 1984, he returned to CERN as a follow. CERN was the largest Internet node in Europe, and Berners-Lee saw an opportunity to join hypertext with the Internet. He said “I just had to take the hypertext idea and connect it to the Transmission Control Protocol and domain name system ideas and — ta-da! — the World Wide Web."
In March 1989, he completed a project proposal for a system to communicate information among researchers in the CERN High Energy Physics department, intended to help those having problems sharing information across a wide range of different networks, computers, and countries. The project had two main goals:

• Open design. Like Robert Kahn's design for TCP/IP, the hypertext system should have an open architecture, and be able to run on any computer being used at CERN including Unix, VMS, Macintosh, NextStep, and Windows.
• Network distribution. The system should be distributed over a communications network. However, Berners-Lee thought that there might be an intermediary period when most of the research material was carried on individual CDROM's, which never became necessary.

In 1990, with the help of Robert Cailliau, produced a revision which was accepted by his manager, Mike Sendall. He used similar ideas to those underlying the ENQUIRE system to create the World Wide Web, for which he designed and built the first Web browser, which also functioned as an editor (WorldWideWeb, running on the NeXTSTEP operating system), and the first Web server (info.cern.ch), CERN HTTPd (short for HyperText Transfer Protocol daemon).

The first project Berners-Lee and Cailliau tackled was to put the CERN telephone book on the web site, making the project immediately useful and gaining it rapid acceptance. Some CERN staff started keeping one window open on their computer at all times just to access the telephone web page.
Since CERN had been connected to the ARPANET through the EUnet in 1990. In August, 1991, Tim posted a notice on the alt.hypertext newsgroup about where to download their web server and line mode browser, making it available around the world. Web servers started popping up around the globe almost immediately. An official Usenet 8 newsgroup called comp.infosystems.www was soon established to share info.
Berners-Lee then added support for the FTP protocol to the server, making a wide range of existing FTP directories and Usenet newsgroups immediately accessible through a web page. He also added a telnet server on info.cern.ch, making a simple line browser available to anyone with a telnet client. The first public demonstration of the web server was given at the Hypertext 91 conference. Development of this web server, which came to be called CERN httpd, would continue until July, 1996.
In 6 August 1991, the first Web site built was at CERN, and was first put on line. It provided an explanation of what the World Wide Web was, and how one could use a browser and set up a Web server.
In June 1992, CERN sent Berners-Lee on a three month trip through the United States. First he visited MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science, then went to an IETF conference in Boston, then visited Xerox-Parc in Palo Alto, California. At the end of this trip he visited a old friend Ted Nelson, then living on a houseboat in Sausalito. Interestingly, Nelson had experience with film making, Berners-Lee had experience working with lighting and audiovisual equipment in the amateur theater, and Tom Bruce, who developed the first PC web browser called Cello, also worked professionally as a stage manager in the theater.

In April 30, 1993, CERN provided a certification for web technology and program code move to public domain so that anyone could use and improve it.
In 1994, Berners-Lee founded the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) at MIT. It comprised various companies that were willing to create standards and recommendations to improve the quality of the Web. Berners-Lee made his idea available freely, with no patent and no royalties due. The World Wide Web Consortium decided that its standards should be based on royalty-free technology, so that they could easily be adopted by anyone.
In 2001, Berners-Lee became a patron of the East Dorset Heritage Trust, having previously lived in Colehill in Wimborne, East Dorset, England.
In December 2004, he accepted a chair in Computer Science at the School of Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, England, to work on his new project, the Semantic Web.
In June 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Berners-Lee will work with the UK Government to help make data more open and accessible on the Web, building on the work of the Power of Information Task Force.
He was also one of the pioneer voices in favour of Net Neutrality,[and has expressed the view that ISPs should supply "connectivity with no strings attached", and should neither control nor monitor customers' browsing activities without their express consent.

Recognition:

1. In March 2000 he was awarded an honorary degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University.
2. In 2003, he received the Computer History Museum's Fellow Award, for his seminal contributions to the development of the World Wide Web.
3. On 15 April 2004, he was named as the first recipient of Finland's Millennium Technology Prize, for inventing the World Wide Web. The cash prize, worth one million euros (about £892,000, or US$1.3 million, as of May 2009), was awarded on 15 June, in Helsinki, Finland, by the President of the Republic of Finland, Tarja Halonen.
4. He was awarded the rank of Knight Commander (the second-highest rank in the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II, as part of the 2004 New Year's Honours, and was invested on 16 July 2004.
5. On 21 July 2004, he was presented with the degree of Doctor of Science (honoris causa) from Lancaster University.
6. On 27 January 2005, he was named Greatest Briton of 2004, both for his achievements and for displaying the key British characteristics of "diffidence, determination, a sharp sense of humour and adaptability", as put by David Hempleman-Adams, a panel member. In 1999, Time Magazine included Berners-Lee in its list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
7. On 13 June 2007, he received the Order of Merit, becoming one of only 24 living members entitled to hold the award, and to use 'O.M.' after their name. (The Order of Merit is regarded as a personal gift bestowed by the reigning monarch, and does not require ministerial advice.).
8. On 20 September 2008, he was awarded the IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award, for conceiving and further developing the World Wide Web IEEE.
9. On 21 April 2009, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.
10. On April 28 2009, he was elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.
11. In 2009, he won the Webby Award for Lifetime Achievement.
12. In October 2009, he will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

I can’t wait to have a 10MB link in my house, be able to download 1GB file in 10mins, be able to call my sister in USA without a buffering signal.
I can’t wait to watch some of my favorite movie series like 24, Boston legal online with an HD quality online.
Just imagine with this marine cable you will be able to access your favorite sites that you know are really heavy and so annoying to download that you actually have to keep your self busy by either making a cup of coffee or take a bath for it/them to fully display. Sites like Youtube, omg, cnn, bbc will be accessed in less than a second.

Its true Africa is born again from the slow speeds. This has been made possible by 3 companies who have or still installing a marine cable across the Indian Ocean connecting East Africa to the rest of world through India.

First company; SEACOM launched its services in Africa on July 23, 2009.
It announced that its 1,28 Terabytes per second (Tb/s), 17,000 kilometers, submarine fiber optic cable system linking south and east Africa to global networks via India and Europe has been completed and commissioned.
The backhauls linking Johannesburg, Nairobi and Kampala with the coastal landing stations were established.
SEACOM assured unprecedented opportunities, at a fraction of the current cost (did you hear that? A fraction of today’s cost), as government, business leaders and citizens will be able to compete globally through a network as the platform to drive economic growth and enhance the quality of life across the continent.

Second company; EASSY (Eastern African Submarine cable System) is also in its final stages of completing the delivery of its marine cable to Africa. This project is funded by Eastern Telecom companies, governments and countries like South Africa , Mozambique , Madagascar , Tanzania , Kenya , Uganda , Burundi , Rwanda , Botswana , Somalia , Sudan , Mauritius , Zambia , Comoros Islands and Djibouti are driving the project. We hope to have it fully up and running in less than 10 months (almost mid 2010).

Third company, TEAMs (The East African Marine System) this was spearheaded by the government of Kenya to link the country to the rest of the world through a submarine fiber optic cable. This of course came as result of Kenya thinking South Africa wanted to control the EASSY link. So far the 1st phase has been completed as according to E-marine. This cable will be connecting East Africa to the rest of the world through U.A.E and the estimated deployment is 4900km.

By end of 2010, Africa will have over 100GB of bandwidth and that means we shall be in position to own at least 1mb in our offices, homes and again we will be that competitive when it comes to the online business. Let us all keep our fingers crossed because the best is yet to come.