Open Source and Digital TV Migration Updates in East Africa
Some interesting news stories in our neck of the woods that caught my attention recently:
Kenya is considering moving away from proprietary to open source software solutions for government bodies. As the article suggests, this move is not only a cost saving measure, but opens up opportunities for local software developers. I think other economies should follow this example. Read more
Also in Kenya, the migration to digital TV is moving rapidly, as the authorities increase incentives of importing digital TV ready equipment. Vendors are now able to import either over-the-air channels only set top boxes (STB) or premium channel STBs. This move means the prices of digital TV equipment will go down. Read more
Locally in Uganda, there’s still a whole lot of talk on digital TV migration, as providers still fight over who will distribute the signals. It looks likely that the initial switch date of December 2012, will be missed. A ban on TVs that do not have a DVB-T2 chipset is being implemented starting next year. Read more
How to create an encrypted USB drive in Linux using the command line
Recently, I was tasked to write a backup program for a small office. A key requirement was that the portable backup drive they are using needed to be encrypted since it would have to be ferried off site on a daily basis. The idea was that, if the drive fell in the ‘wrong hands’ during transportation, the client’s data would be secure. With encryption, I was able to meet this need.
I thought I would break the silence with a how-to on encryption using the Linux command line interface – not exciting but quite necessary these days.
Encrypting data in Linux is very simple, and I would highly recommend it for such things as USB flash and portable hard disks. Most Linux distributions come with an encryption tool called cryptsetup.
If you do not have it , install it using yum or apt-get depending on your package manager. For Red hat based distros, use
# yum install cryptsetup
As always, you need to backup your data before you proceed. I will assume you have already created a new partition on your device e.g. /dev/sdX1. If you need to partition, refer to the venerable ‘fdisk’ utility
Create the encrypted volume
# cryptsetup -v -y luksFormat /dev/sdX1
Confirm that you want to proceed by typing “YES”
Enter your passphrase when prompted. You will be asked to verify it
Once you have created the encrypted volume, you can proceed to format it
# cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/sdX1 mydata
# mkfs.ext3 /dev/mapper/mydata
Here you can choose other file formats such as FAT32, EXT4 etc
Create a mount point
# mkdir /mnt/mydata
Mount the new volume
# mount /dev/mapper/mydata /mnt/mydata
You can then write your data to the mounted and encrypted volume at /mnt/mydata
To close the volume
# umount /dev/mapper/mydata
# cryptsetup luksClose mydata
Note: if you are using a desktop such as GNOME, you will be prompted for a passphrase every time you insert the disk, so you do not have to mount the disk manually, but then again, we are talking about the command line here!
That’s it for now
Uganda’s transition to Digital TV. Where are we now? (II)
As reported in one of the local dailies, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has directed TV broadcasters to plan for digital TV using DVBT-2 capable equipment. DVBT-2 is the second generation of of Digital Video Broadcasting and ensures spectrum usage efficiency of up to 50% while providing for better quality HDTV. Uganda joins countries such as South Africa and the UK that have joined this standard. Read more at Daily Monitor
Considering that Uganda is already way behind in meeting the December 2012 migration date, I think this is a good move. The UCC directive may not be warmly welcomed by the existing providers who are using the older DVB-T standard, but I believe, this will open up the market to cheaper alternatives.
Throughout this process, I have been bothered, by the perception among our people that getting digital TV means signing up with one of the pay TV providers like DSTV, Star, Go or Zuku TV. May be the UCC needs to better inform Ugandans that the switch, will only cost one a conversion box or Zero if you already own a TV with a digital TV built-in tuner! By the way, those boxes, now that DVB-T2 is the preferred standard should be cheaper and even affordable when subsidized.
What do you think?
Mobile SMS gateway server using Linux
Like many parts of Africa, SMS messages in Uganda continue to play a big role in the way people communicate. For the majority, the mobile phone is the first tech device and as such the use of SMS messages to send information in bulk and real time makes it ideal in fields such as health. As a Linux administrator, this is something you can do at little or no cost.
I thought, I would share these GSM SMS/WAP gateways available for Linux
1.Kannel: By far the most widely used open source software. It can be used to serve the established user base with SMS capable handsets as well as the early adopters with their WAP terminals. Learn more at:
Kannel
2.SMS Server Tools: SmsTools
3.PointSMS: an easy-to-use program that enables you build your own SMS gateway. Learn more at PontSMS
Setting up an SMS gateway using Linux is fairly easy, and if you use kannel for example, you will be able to send and receive bulk SMS messages in no time. I have tested Kannel with our local mobile operators like Uganda Telecom, and it works pretty well using your typical 3G modem dongles, like Huawei E220, and E173s.
If you are interested in instructions on how to install and configure the server… drop me a comment.
UTL 3G – A painful experience
I’ve recently been testing 3G-based Internet access provided by Uganda Telecom. The test locations were in the Northern suburbs of Kampala. My experience with this connection type was not a good one. Here is why.
Depending on your location, the 3G signal is very weak. Typical strengths range anywhere form 0 to 19%.
The 3G signal seems to degrade through out the day and by 1 pm, the signal goes off. I was able to get the assistance of an engineer, when ever that was the case, however, after 7pm the connection would fail completely.
The Internet connection when successful is painfully slow. So much slow that it feels like your are using a GPRS/2G connection.
I’ve been told that this service by UTL will improve in the future, but for now, I would discourage anyone who wants to use a mobile 3G connection from this ISP.
While the UTL service is unlimited per month and at a competitive rate of 80,000/= (Uganda shillings), it is not worth the trouble.
Save your self the trouble and look at alternatives like Orange Uganda. Next I will see how the service from Orange and the other providers is like.
If yoou have any experience with UTL, and other ISPs, please share your experience in the comments below.
Remind: A Cool CLI based UNIX program
I have started a category on this blog featuring cool open source programs. These are mainly command line based, since that is where I spend most of my time. I will also pick those programs that have real life and practical applications.
Remind: As its name suggests is a reminder application. I use it to remind me of birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, etc
To install it: Use your favorites package manager such as apt or yum:
Using Yum: yum -v install yum
Typical Usage: remind [options] [filename]
e.g. remind ../mybirthdays
Typical contents of the file: mybirthdays:
REM 1 Feb MSG Peter’s birthday
This tells the app to remind you that it is Peter’s Birthday on Feb 1.
You can now script this command and do all sorts of cool things, like sending an email or SMS to your phone, when there’s a reminder.
For Help: Type ‘man remind’ to get a detailed how to
Happy New Year
Just a quick one to wish you a great year ahead!
The future of Connectivity
For all of you who keep tabs with what’s happening in Technology, I would recommend this 21-minute film, a very interesting video worth your time
PulseAudio – How to control the volume of individual applications via CLI
Using the Gnome interface, its pretty easy to adjust the volume of running audio based applications i.e. Go to sound Preferences >> Applications Tab. When using the Command Line interface (CLI) on the other hand, Its not that straight forward.
At the command prompt, run the following command:
pactl list | grep -A16 ‘Sink Input’ | more
The above command will give you details of your running streams or in ‘pulseaudio speak’ Sink Inputs (go figure). Take note of the Index number of the Sink Input you wish to control.
To control the volume of your application:
To mute: pactl set-sink-input-mute [sink Index no.] 1
To unmute: pactl set-sink-input-mute [sink Index no.] 0
To set Volume: pactl set-sink-input-volume [sink Index no.] 65535 (0-65535)
Uganda’s transition to digital television – Where are we?
With less than 16 months left, questions are being asked as to whether Uganda will beat the December 2012 deadline of switching from analogue to Digital TV. A couple of posts of interest:
UBC Not ready … Daily Monitor
Government Stops … New Vision
My observations so far:
There seems to be a lot of misinformation about the migration from analogue to digital TV. For example, the general public perception is that this switch would necessitate households to subscribe to a TV digital provider. There’s very little information with the exception of the informational TV ads that were run by Uganda Communications Commison (UCC) a few months back.
There’s lack of any serious pilot testing taking place at the moment. The only broadcaster currently transmitting a Free to Air signal is Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC). With more broadcasters allowed to run tests, I believe most early adopters would begin to switch.
Do you live in Uganda? What do you think?