Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society

Author: ttcsadmin

  • Telecom Authority of #Trinidad and #Tobago posts draft policy for (and proposed amendments to) the Telecommunications Act

    Telecom Authority of #Trinidad and #Tobago posts draft policy for (and proposed amendments to) the Telecommunications Act

    On May 6, 2013, the Ministry of Science and Technology of Trinidad and Tobago via the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT ; http://www.tatt.org.tt) have posted two documents for public comment. They are:

    The submission of comments must be made on or before Monday 3rd June 2013 (update June 28 2013) extended to July 9 2013.

    (Update : June 28, 2013 : TTCS Draft Comments posted)

     

     

     

    Proposed Policy to amend the Telecommunications Act of Trinidad and Tobago

    According to the Proposed Policy to amend the Telecommunications Act,

    The Policy is intended to amend the framework developed for the administration and regulation of the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors as set out in the Telecommunications Act.

    The Policy is thus intended to amend market regulatory rules to provide for the continued orderly development of the telecommunications and broadcasting
    sector after the liberalisation process begun in earnest in 2005. The policy therefore provides for the strengthening of the Authority’s powers in certain instances to
    mitigate against activity which may have a prejudicial impact on the sector and the wider economy.

    The policy also seeks to provide for appropriate competition regulation in the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors which will effectively close the
    regulatory gaps created by the passage of the Fair Trading Act Chap. 81:13. Section 3(g) of the said Act specifically excludes from its ambit, those companies
    which fall under the purview of the Telecommunications Act.

    The Proposed Policy to amend the Telecommunications further describes

    • the policy objectives,
    • an overview of recent developments in the telecom sector,
    • six key policy policy principles which the proposed act should adhere to, and
    • a summary of the proposed amendments to the Telecommunications Act

    View/Download the Proposed  Policy to amend the Telecommunications Act (PDF ; 432K) (Mirror copy of “Proposed Policy to Amend the Telecommunications Act”)

     

    Proposed Telecommunications Amendment Act

    This document is the proposed Telecommunication Act as it would look after the amendments were made to the Act. The modifcations or changes to the existing act are in bold.

    View/Download the Proposed Telecommunications Amendment Act (PDF ; 897K) (Mirror copy of “Proposed Telecommunications Amendment Act”)

    How to submit comments

    Persons wanting to submit comments can submit their comments online or via paper using the “Public Consultation Comment Submission Form-Draft Policy and Proposed Amendments to Telecommunications Act” (DOC ; 41K ; Mirror of “Public Consultation Comment Submission Form-Draft Policy and Proposed Amendments to Telecommunications Act”) form.

    Submission of comments must be made on or before Monday 3rd June 2013.

  • Contributing photos to Trinbago Scenes

    Contributing photos to Trinbago Scenes

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) welcomes submissions to Trinbago Scenes provided it meets the following requirements :

    • YOU must be the sole owner of the copyright to that photo. This means you must have taken the photo yourself with your camera and not obtained the photo via any third party or equipment or have signed any agreement assigning your copyright to any other parties.
    • The location featured in the photo must be within Trinidad and Tobago. Emphasis is on nature scenes.

    Keep in mind, you still retain the copyright to your photo. In effect, you are licensing the photo to TTCS for use in Trinbago Scenes only.

    The TTCS reserves the right to reject any photo submitted.

  • Usage agreement for TTCS Trinbago Scenes

    Usage agreement for TTCS Trinbago Scenes

    Note :All photographs on the the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) websites (http://www.ttcsweb.org and https://www.ttcs.tt/) are copyrighted to their respective photographers. All rights are reserved.

    You have limited rights to personally view the images with your web browser and to use them as your personal computer’s desktop wallpaper on your own computer.

    If you want to use a photo from TTCS in any other way, you have to contact the copyright holder (the photographer) of the photo. The email address of the photographer is underneath each photo on the TTCS website. If not, you can email info@cs.tt

    You may not use these photos on any web page, commercial or non-commercial, for profit or non-profit, without proper permission from the photographer. Also, these photos may not otherwise be altered, cropped, reproduced, or distributed without proper permission of the photographer.

  • Bing Maps features updated satellite imagery and driving and walking directions to venues in Trinidad and Tobago

    Bing Maps features updated satellite imagery and driving and walking directions to venues in Trinidad and Tobago

    Microsoft’s Bing Maps of  Trinidad and Tobago have improved a lot since we first looked at satellite imagery of Google Maps of Trinidad.

    Here’s a satellite map of Port of Spain, Trinidad. Note the NAPA building indicating the satellite imagery is more recent than that of Google Maps.

    screenshot of a satellite image of Port of Spain Trinidad using Microsoft Bing Maps on May 3 2013
    screenshot of a satellite image of Port of Spain Trinidad using Microsoft Bing Maps on May 3 2013

    However, more interesting is an outcome of Microsoft partnering with Navteq – the ability of getting driving and walking directions to venues in Trinidad and Tobago. Its not 100% accurate, but impressive nevertheless.

    Here is a screenshot of Bing Maps showing driving directions from Port of Spain Hospital to San Fernando General Hospital.

    screenshot taken May 3, 2013 of Bing Maps showing showing driving directions from POS General Hospital to San Fernando General Hospital,
    screenshot taken May 3, 2013 of Bing Maps showing showing driving directions from POS General Hospital to San Fernando General Hospital,

    And here is a screenshot of Bing Maps showing driving directions from Crowne Point, Tobago to Scarborough, Tobago.

    Bing Maps screenshot taken May 3 2013 showing driving directions from crowne point, tobago to scarborough, tobago
    Bing Maps screenshot taken May 3 2013 showing driving directions from crowne point, tobago to scarborough, tobago

    And here’s the links to go to Bing Maps directly to try it yourself :

     

  • “Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses” Report published

    “Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses” Report published

    From the Organization of American States’ (OAS) press release dated May 3rd 2013 :

    The Organization of American States (OAS) through the Secretariat of Multidimensional Security (SMS) and the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICITE) released today the report “Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses.”

    Prepared in collaboration with the company Trend Micro, the report illustrates and analyzes cybersecurity and cybercrime trends in the region. The document contains detailed information on cyberthreats in the Americas, and for the first time incorporates the perspectives and experiences of OAS Member State governments.

    The Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, affirmed that “this research responds to the needs of regional governments to confront cybercrime, which is increasingly frequent and threatening, due to the accelerating evolution of technology.” He added that “to evaluate and effectively combat cyber threats, countries need detailed and reliable threat information, which this report provides. It represents a significant advance, considering that a study like this has not yet been carried out in our region. Organized crime now utilizes modern technology and in certain cases these criminals have more resources at their disposal than countries can dedicate to scientific development. We need to change this.”

    The report found an overall increase in cyber attacks; an increase in “hacktivism,” or politically motivated hacking; internet-assisted money laundering; and attacks against critical infrastructure. Other trends discussed include levels of malware, spam, and wire fraud.

    You can read the rest of the OAS press release at
    http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-173/13

    Trend Micro has also blogged about the publication of the “Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government responses”

    http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/the-state-of-cybersecurity-in-latin-america/

    PDF of the report can be downloaded at
    Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses (PDF ; 2.3MB)

  • All Purpose Windows troubleshooting and upgrading USB or DVD drive

    All Purpose Windows troubleshooting and upgrading USB or DVD drive

    Here is a collection of software I always store on a USB drive or burn on a CD before going to troubleshoot a home user’s Windows PC which is typically running Windows XP/Vista/7/8.

    Usually, the problem is due to spyware and/or virus infection and rarely problems with the hardware.  On the flash drive are folders for each step I take (Step 1, Step 2, Step 3, etc) ; each folder contains the software I need to accomplish the step.

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  • Interesting Mac OS X Programs

    Interesting Mac OS X Programs

    Moved to page Interesting MacOS programs

  • 20 years of the Free and Open World Wide Web

    20 years of the Free and Open World Wide Web

    Twenty years ago on April 30, 1993, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) published a statement making available the World Wide Web (WWW) technology it invented on a royalty-free basis for anyone to use.

    To mark the 20th anniversary of the publication of that document,  CERN (the acronym stands for “Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire”) has restored the first website (which documented the WWW project) at its original URL at http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html.

    Screenshot of the first website at http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

    CERN has also announced a project to “preserve the digital assets that are associated with the birth of the web at http://info.cern.ch/.  

    Visit  http://info.cern.ch/ to learn more about the history and work by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989 to create the World Wide Web.

    Vinton Cerf  (co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols that allows devices on the Internet to communicate to each other) and Robert Cailliau  (who collaborated with Tim Berners Lee on the WWW project at CERN)  have also written articles on the 20th anniversary of CERN’s publication of the WWW technology.

  • History of Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes) in Trinidad and Tobago

    History of Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes) in Trinidad and Tobago

    This is a historical record of the Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes) which were in operation in Trinidad and Tobago between 1986 and 2000.

    A BBS was a computer system that allowed users to connect to the system (typically via dial up modems). Users logged in could chat, email, download files, post messages in forums for other users to read and respond to. BBSes were a precursor to what many persons do on the Internet today, social networking, downloading files, chat, reading and posting in forums or on email lists.

    Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) in Trinidad and Tobago were a popular means of communications beginning in the late 1980s even though personal computers were expensive and few persons actually had one at home. That scenario began to change by the early 1990s as prices on computer hardware began to decrease and modem speeds increased.

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  • “Google Now” application available for iPhone and iPad ; video ad features Port of Spain, #Trinidad

    “Google Now” application available for iPhone and iPad ; video ad features Port of Spain, #Trinidad

    The “Google Now” application that Google promises to deliver “the right information at just the right time” is now available on the Apple iPhone and iPad.

    Previously, “Google Now” was only available on phones/tablets running Android last year (2012).

    You can read more about what Google Now does on Techcrunch or on Google Now’s website.

    However, when the ad for Google Now for the iPhone and iPad focuses on live flight updates as the time approaches and/or as you approach the airport, the illustrated ticket in the video shows a flight from Houston to Port of Spain, #Trinidad (17 seconds into the ad). Although there is no Gate C26 at the Piarco Airport in Trinidad and Tobago.