Cheap Android Tablets – Got one at R999.00

I was so exited when India announce their long awaited $35 android tablet; akaash they call it –a hindi phrase meaning sky. I have since been keenly following the Aakash story [1, 2] and also started digging for information to try and find out how datawind managed to lower their unit cost of production to a shocking $45 (the indian Indian government has formulated a grand plan to then subsidize it to $35 to indian university students). (more…)

Pay as You Earn Calculator – Zambia

There has been a lot of hype [1, 2, 3] about Zambia’s supposedly “Pro-Poor” 2012 budget… and rightfully so –it is perhaps the one most significant piece of evidence linking the Patriotic Front [4] to their Socialist agenda. The one thing everyone seems to be talking about though is the new PAYE Tax bands; and effective April 1, 2012 the new personal tax rates in Zambia be as depicted in table below. (more…)

Python-Mode – A Simple Vim Python Plugin

So I am fairly new to Python –I’ve been using it since August, 2011– and I must confess, its nothing less than amazing. Its amazing what a few lines of Python code are capable of doing; and if for some reason you do not believe what I am saying, perhaps this [1] might convience you otherwise. When I initially started using Python, Vim [2] proved sufficient. (more…)