JoomlaDay Algérie (#JD11DZ #sdw ) par Walid Laribi

 

 
L'événement tant attendu à savoir 'JoomlaDay' s'est achevé hier avec beauté à l’incubateur de ‘Sidi Abdellah’, tout le monde était surpris par le poids des conférenciers et la très bonne organisation pour une première fois en Algérie. Le groupe ‘Algérie Telecom’ était présent sur place, le sponsor officiel de l'événement nous à emmener vers un autre monde vu les conférences de qualité, des ateliers mais aussi des concours qui ont été présentés. Plusieurs intervenants étrangers ont resté bouche-bée devant cette organisation extraordinaire de la part des deux startUps 'PurePlayer' et 'Connext'.
 

La journée a commencé avec plusieurs conférences sur l'outil de création et de gestion de sites web ‘Joomla’, notamment celle de Mr. Jean D'alessendro sur la gestion de projet qui était très intéressante. Il a aussi parlé de l'importance de l'aspect 'beauté' dans un site web en disant qu'on a 4 secondes pour plaire à l'utilisateur, la 1ere seconde c'est par la beauté du site et les trois autres par la disponibilité de l'information recherchée. Les conférences ne se sont pas limitées à l'outil ‘Joomla’, car de l'autre côté on avait ‘Microsoft’ qui proposait ses produits, notamment ‘IE9’ (Internet Explorer 9), ‘WebMatrix’ et Windows Azure. les présentations était données par Mr. Raouf Chebri, Responsable du service développement chez Microsoft Algérie et Mr Bouabdellah Abdelmoumen, Etudiant en 5eme année à l'école supérieure d'informatique (ESI Ex.INI), MSP lead en Algérie (Microsoft Student Partner) et membre du club d'étudiant ‘CSE’ (Club Scientifique de l'ESI), La salle était pleine, et on suivait avec attention les trucs que nous montrait le jeune développeur! À la salle Al-Sufi, les membres de la jeune Start-Up ZeonSoft animaient une conférence sur le Data Mining et l’IA.
En parallèle, Il y avait d'autres conférences telles que 'Joomla et la sécurité' à la salle 'Khawarizmi' qui n'a pas pu recevoir tout ce monde qui courrait pour y assister, 'Création de composant Joomla' mais aussi 'comment créer une template' à la salle 'Al Kindi'. La journée s'est ensuite terminée avec beauté à la salle 'Abu moussa' où Mr Wissem Habboub de chez 'It Sollutions' nous a expliqué quelques aspects sur le ‘BI’ (Business Intelligence) et les systèmes d'informations d'aide à la décision.
La présence des membres organisateurs de l’école nationale supérieure d’Informatiques représentés par ces deux clubs le club scientifique de l'ESI (CSE) et ETIC ne peut pas passer inaperçue !
À l'accueil l’équipe logistique, l’équipe web dans les salles en train de tweeter et l’équipe presse dans la salle presse avec les journalistes. Ces jeunes étudiants actifs représentent fièrement la jeunesse Algérienne et les compétences cachées qui n’attendent rien que le signal pour se faire découvrir, Chapeau bas pour ces formidables ESIstes ;)

Je vous laisse avec les photos:

Mr. Jean D'alessendro qui donnait une conférence sur la gestion de projet

Mr. Raouf Chebri, Responsable du service développement chez Microsoft Algérie

Mr Bouabdellah Abdelmoumen, Etudiant en 5eme année à l'école supérieure d'informatique (ESI Ex.INI), MSP lead en Algérie (Microsoft Student Partner) et membre du club d'étudiant ‘CSE’ (Club Scientifique de l'ESI)

Les fondateurs de la prometteuse Start-Up ZeonSoft avec Zoubir (@schneller)

Farid ARAB prend des photos à la salle Al-Sufi lors de la conférence "Business Intelligence collaborative" par Wissem Habboub.

l'Equipe de CSE (Le Club Scientifique de l'ESI) Walid Laribi qui a écrit cet article avec Nassima qui tweetent en live.

Mr. Wissem Habboub anime la conférence "Business Intelligence collaborative".

Les Ateliers Joomla! à la salle Al-Kindi, Cyber-Park Sidi abdallah

Deux ingénieurs et ex étudiants de L’école Nationale Supérieure d'Informatique (E.S.I.) qui sont venus de loin pour assister à la semaine du web #sdw et surtout pour les ateliers Joomla!

Des comptes Microsoft DreamSpark VIP access offertes gratuitement aux Etudiants au niveau du stand MICROSOFT.

« Web Week » Algeria (La semaine du web) #sdw

The famous and long awaited « Web Week » Algeria starts today.
The Web Week, “La semaine du web” as it’s baptized , takes place in the Cyber-Park , Sidi Ablalah, Algiers from April 18th to 23rd is organized by Pureplyer.Inc and Connexte.Inc and mainly sponsored by “Algérie Telécome” and Alcatel Lucent. During six days, from 9am until 5pm a series of 4 conferences & free workshops take place in parallel, each day a theme. The program is as follows:
April 18^th: e-Business / Mobile Monday Algérie
April 19^th: Joomla! Day
April 20^th: SEO Camp day
April 21^st: e-Mobile/Networking
April 22^nd: Design/Start-Up weekend
April 23^rd: Start-Up weekend
For more information:
http://semaineduweb.com

#TEDxAlger - An Insider’s notepad scratches–(MR. Abdelhakim BENSAOULA)

Continuing the #TEDxAlger articles’ series concerning the TEDx held in the Higher School of Computer Science E.S.I. (ex: I.N.I.), Algiers.

11H11:
Zaki the host introduced to us someone; he called him “The Violin’s little man”. This young musician was no one but a student from the very same College where the event took place.

11H12: The student started playing some music.
11H15: Music stopped
As aforesaid in the first #TEDxAlger blog entry, the TEDx Day was divided into 4 themes, 3 speakers per each theme. As Mr. Mustapha FERFARA (The stock exchange’ guy) couldn’t come due to his work, there were only 2 speakers for the “Entreprendre en Algerie” part. After the music break, they passed to the next topic “Entreprise et Tech” (Business and Tech).

II. Entreprise et Tech (Business and Tech)

                 1. Abdelhakim BENSAOULA

Holder of many patents, some of them within projects with: NASA, NSF, US-AF and US-NAVY, Mr. Abdelhakim BENSAOULA is a Houston university graduate and he’s, actually, a professor at Aboubakr Belkaid university, Telemcen.


11H16:
- He studied Science and materials.
- During his studies, he started working with special people (he didn’t mention who are these SPECIAL People!), who design toys (I guess weapons or something like that, ‘cause he didn’t mention what’s these toys are, either!). One day he had to visit a partner company that has a good reputation in its field. These people’ job is designing TOYS and work on a prototype; afterwards they sell it to large companies for the mass production. He said:

“When I followed the address, I was expecting the headquarters to be a big structure or a skyscraper. But, I was shocked! It was just a 200m² flat. There weren’t many people there on the staff, Just 3 researchers and an assistant. This company has a turnover of tens of million dollars, simply because they have the knowhow! They have no stock, their job is: idea --> conception --> prototype; this is the real Entrepreneurship”

- He said, aloso:

“Afterwards, I got my diploma; But, I have never stopped studies”

11H21: Entreprise (Business)
- To be a successful entrepreneur:

· Never fear risks; have the initiative spirit, but say patient; see opportunities where people see impossibilities; hate routine; break the rules and swim against the stream.
· You can either satisfy a need in the market or just create a new one.
· Know 50% and learn the remaining 50%.

-Many successful businessmen have been asked: “what was the problem for you?”, they answered: “if I had just more time, I could do a lot more”. Hence, it’s not money the big issue in the success equation, but it’s TIME.
- The main scheme for a student to concretize his business is as follows:
Idea --> Team-->Share ambitions --> work on the idea -->Business plan--> fix any problem found--> launch your business with less money!
- Most of the largest Technology companies started with a budget of less than $2000!
- Take risks, there lies disguised opportunities. (I add something on this. I don’t know if you ever read Napoleon Hill’s books, ‘cause if you really want to think like successful business Gurus, I, strongly, recommend to you: “Positive Mental attitude” and “think and grow rich”. Besides taking risks and having faith, the thing all successful men through history’s pages had, is: “Something more”. I recall the story of an engineer –circa early 20^th century-who created an instrument to detect Oil in earth’ depths. He tried to sell it to Oil companies but they all refused it. During his journey back from Texas to his home town –Philadelphia if I’m not mistaken- he had to switch the train in Oklahoma. There something strange happened, his instrument started acting weird, and since he was frustrated and angry he took it and smashed it into pieces. A couple of months later, the Top news were: Large Oil fields discovered in Oklahoma!!! He just didn’t give it the last push. )
- He said:

“Take care of your dreams and they’ll take care of your later.”

11H30: Mr. Abdelhakim BENSAOULA left the stage

I’m done with the third speaker (Mr. Abdelhakim BENSAOULA). I’ll go for the next one (Mm. fadhila BRAHIMI) to-morrow in shaa Allah.
Peace out,

#TEDxAlger - An Insider’s notepad scratches–( Mm. Hind BENMILOUD )

 
I. Entreprendre en Algérie:

             2. Mm. Hind BENMILOUD

She is the first Algerian lawyer specialized in IT and cyber-criminality. She is also the president of the Algerian association of franchise.
 


10H01 :
- She studies computer science in the past, she even had a 9 months internship programming in COBOL. But, she converted to Law.
- She raised the question: Why is it hard to start business in Algeria?
- She started in 1991/1992, the very same period when terrorism started in Algeria. But Algerians defied it; they continued living their lives as normally as possible.
- She also said that in the Algerian (The comment of Majda showed me that I had misintrepreted what Mme.Hind BENMILOUD said,hence I apologize for this, but I keep the answer, not as a response for her, but for others') Foreign media they show only the Joumoua’a prayer (The Friday’s Prayer) rather than business and every day’s life’ issues. (Here I completely disagree! We are Muslims; they must show Friday’s prayer on TV, like they must also broadcast the Athan –the prayer call-. But, we also must not care less about science, politics, business, economy and daily life challenges. Most of people see it in Black& white. They’re either thickheaded fanatics or shallow-minded laics! Why can’t we just adopt the Malaysian model, where both Technology and religious principles are in harmony?!! Why just France, France and France?! If we have defects in Algeria, if we suffered from terrorism, if we’re still locked inside a black box of inferiority it’s because the Ignorance of those ruling over us and the isolation of the rich business people from their surroundings. We should stick to our OWN culture, religion, customs, language and characters. We have never been French and we will never be. There’s no pride in following everything people from the other side of the Mediterranean do, and there’s no respect for someone ashamed of his own gigantic cultural legacy. There’s a huge difference between openness and Mutation. I find it shameful for people living in Algeria not speaking a word in Arabic or Berber!! I cannot imagine a German who speaks only English, or an Indian speaking only Urdu while living in his homeland! Someone who doesn’t respect his own roots, culture and principles isn’t worth of respect. Social engagement is not only Charity! It’s promoting your native language, social values, philanthropy and welfare. It’s beyond material benefits or short-term consequences. Islam’s N°1 rule is the Nia = Intention. If the deed is only for boasting of showing off, it’s not accepted. What company accepts to do the good just for the sake of good; not just to LOOK GOOD?! )
10H05:
- She created her own Law firm.
- She has been a victim of an assassination attempt.
- She left Algeria and settled down in Tunisia. There she discovered the field of Business Law.
- She gained experience in Tunisia and decided to come back to Algeria.
- She said: “although I’m a jurist, I passed through the warrior’s path, it took me 2-to-3 months just to start my own firm; so, how would it be for a fresh graduate?!!”
- We’re living in a very difficult business context.
- The government vouchsafed many advantages for Foreign investors. But, investors didn’t play it right. They didn’t bring the knowhow to Algeria. Instead, they flew away with colossal amounts of money to their homelands, and as a result the Algerian government took steps backwards.
10H08:
- A couple of months ago, no one could foresee the Tunisian revolution. But, it did happen! In Algeria, We did it in October 1988. 20 years later, I’ve never been so uncomfortable, but yesterday when I met up with Youth in ETIC, I said: “There’s still Hope.”
10H10:

Mm. Hind BENMILOUD jumped off the stage.
My impressions:
- She was a bit more pessimistic about the Algeria economic status quo. I, myself, am skeptical, but what I wanted from this #TEDxAlger is to sweep away my fears, and build a positive state of mind, concerning the Algerian business opportunities by listening to older generations. But, if they have no faith in the future, what are we, the youth of today, expected to do?!! A Big question mark popping up from my head…
- Always, the same remark: The identity crisis! No word has been spoken in Arabic or Berber, the two official languages of the SOVEREIGNTY of Algeria. As long as we are considering Arabic as the cause of our decadence, we’ll always stay in the tail of the nations’ caravan. No plausible argument could be given upon this matter. e.g. Finnish, which is a young Asi-oralic language, could evolve, dramatically , in 60 years and be a language of technology. Nokia is just one example; China could launch its satellite’s when it used Chinese in Technical universities; Iran could acquire the nuclear High technology thanks to its language, and the list long…
I’m done with the second speaker. I’ll go for the next one to-morrow in shaa Allah.
Peace out,

#TEDxAlger - An Insider’s notepad scratches

Notice: The #TEDxAlger was a 100% French event. Hence, you’re going to come across atypical translated phrases from French to English. Notify me if there’s any anomaly.

The first Algerian TEDxAlger organized by mere students (Our fellow colleagues & friends in ETIC club) took part in the Higher School of Computer Science E.S.I. (ex: I.N.I.). There were different- if not contradictory-opinions about this event. I’ll write a blog entry about each speaker and what did he/she said according to my timeline. I’d also include some subjective critics between parentheses (and they are not just for the sake of criticism: p )
First off, the name: “TEDxAlger”! The TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) we all know and the “x” for independently organized, followed by the name of the city hosting the event, which is here “Alger”. Alger for the non-French speaker is Algiers the capital of Algeria. It was my very first remark since I heard of the event. Why “Alger”? Why not الجزائر (Al Jazair- the Arabic name of “Algiers”-), or “Algiers” the English name to stick to the universality of the event. But, sincerely, I didn’t expect the event to be 100% in French. Come on, I don’t think TEDxBeijing would be in Japanese or TEDxBogota would be in Zulu! I’ll come to this point when I finish u the series.
10:30 -->10:40
Ismail Chaib (iChaib on twitter) the Founder of ETIC club, an E.S.I. alumnus and a student in France, had the opening word, where he introduced Entrepreneurship and Change, and asked the question: “Why not?”. He said that it’s time for us to jump into the caravan to Baghdad of technology now, and It’s a must not a choice.

10:40-->10:44
A video about TED story and how it all started.
The day has been divided into a series of 12 presentations. Each 3 speakers talked about a theme, as follows:
 

Entreprendre en Algérie
Speaker	Mr. Abdelkader Aissaoui
Speaker	Mr. Mustapha Ferfera
Speaker	M. Hind Benmiloud
Entreprise et Tech
Speaker	Mr. Hakim Bensaoula
Speaker	M. Fadhila Brahimi
Speaker	M. Nesma Houhou
Success Story
Speaker	Mr. Hassan Khelifati
Speaker	Mr. Merzac Bagtache
Speaker	Mr. Akim El Sikameya
Entreprendre pour changer le monde
Speaker	Mr. Rabah Ghezali
Speaker	Mr. Hadj Khelil
Speaker	Mr. Abdelkader

 
I. Entreprendre en Algérie:
      1. Mr. Abdelkader Aissaoui:
A veterinarian by training, Mr. Aissaoui is the founder and CEO of Renault Trucks Algeria in 2002, the only subsidiary of trucks of a European manufacturer operating in Algeria. An entrepreneur at heart, Mr Aissaoui also has several business’ assets.
 
10H46 :
- He told us about his son’s birthday and that we should say every 3 minutes “You’re great, papa”, and we did it with enthusiasm :)
- He Introduced the CEA (Création d'Entreprises à l'Algérienne = Creating business the Algerian way ).
He said that there are 3 Actors in this equation:
This trinity is: The Individual, the Environment and the Company.
- A Company is like a train. People see it running, but few of ‘em have the change to get in.
- Studies and money aren’t enough to be a successful entrepreneur. You should have the HUNCH
- It’s hard to start your own business in Algeria due to the bureaucratic issues.
He went through the most important phases of the openness of the Algerian market:
In 1994:
He got his diploma, the very same year when Algeria became opened to importation (I don’t see importation and reselling as something beneficial for a country lacking,dramatically, the knowhow). At that time the market was almost virgin, and everyone has a place.
In 2000:
The government launched the programs : housing & work for everyone. So, no need for great ideas. All what you need is just be “inserted” (I don’t know how to be inserted in such market where the barons and high-profile entrepreneurs are monopolizing the game!!)
In 2005:
Cars’ market boom! No need for philosophy, creativity and bright ideas. Just sell –or resell- cars, there would, for sure, someone who buys. (Always no knowhow involved).
In 2011: Crisis!
 
-The market in Algeria is still virgin as a mermaid:
· 96% of the Algerian population is living in 10% of the country’s surface.
· One Sole Highway
· One single train!!
There are huge opportunities especially in the domains on civil engineering.
(I keep asking: Sahara got everything to be a second Eldorado or Huston! Gas, Oil, Gold, Water, Uranium, Silicon, etc.!!! why isn’t it so?!)
He finished with both of the Individual and the environment. He passed then to the COMPANY.
- The company undergoes three phases during its lifecycle:
Creation -----> Life -----> Death
· Creation: The Company is like a baby. It falls ill, it cries, it p*sses (The public laughed out loud), etc. the entrepreneur should do whatever it takes to gain experience. He must work 8 days per week (off the record: he said you should create a day between Fridays and Saturday). If you have the chance, the company evolves to phase two. It’s the growth or the company’s Life where it stands on its feet, gain its pace in the economical map, etc.
· Life: once the business is running, it’s no longer 1+1=2. But, it turns into 1+1=3 [You+ the Company+ The dynamic that keeps the development jamming gears spinning ]
· Death: It’s crying, tears , mucus and everything bad :p
 
- In Algeria: 100% of companies are familial (these statistics don’t seem to me accurate), there is no solid model or pattern to be steered by.
- How to guarantee your company’s life? He left the question unanswered or I simply didn’t hear the answer (I doubt if I couldn’t answer! I was writing down everything from timing to the audience’s applauses).
- He finished with a quote that I wrote only its first phrase :-(

“An ordinary chap who walks ,…”

 
 
My impressions:
- The speech was too vague, no detailed information on how REALLY succeed in a blurry (the opposite of transparent) market as the Algerian one, where Barons are taking over the greasy market shares, the rest fight over the crumbles.
- He didn’t introduce himself well (a typical Algerian defect. We tend to talk with others for hours without even telling our names –or basic information- or ask for the others’ name).
- I don’t think ReSelling is something Miraculous in a very rich country like ours. For me if there’s no added value or a knowhow acquired, it’s not real Entrepreneurship. ReSelling is just trabando on large scale (trabando is the parallel market where kids and poor people open up tables of small commerce, like selling cigarettes, shoes, underwear, socks, etc. ).
11H00: The speaker jumped off the stage, we applauded :)
Zaki Hamouli, the Animator, said: “Well Said, Papa!” and we laughed on it
I’m done with the first speaker. I’ll go for the next one to-morrow in shaa Allah.
Peace out,

“The keyboard is mightier than the pen", Will modern technology, such as the Internet, ever replace the book or the written word as the main source of information?

I’ve been absent lately and couldn’t update my blog. But, while surfing on Facebook today, I came across a post from someone asking people for help writing an essay. It was in one of the English learners’ Facebook groups (it’s Speak English!), I found the topic interesting, so I’d like to write about it.
The question was:

Will modern technology, such as the Internet, ever replace the book or the written word as the main source of information?

"The pen is mightier than the sword" is a metonymic adage coined by English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 for his play Richelieu. His line is perhaps more famous due to President Woodrow Wilson’s 1916 re-election speech. But, nowadays, we can modify this saying to turn it into “The keyboard is mightier than the pen" to describe the struggle taking place between Modern technology information systems and old-fashioned communication and information means.
I’m typing this text using my computer, I read the topic on the Internet and I’ll post it back via email. Where do ink and paper interfere in this simple process? They, simply, don’t!
I’m not a Hi-Tech enthusiastic, neither a feather and ink cartridges nostalgic. I’m just living my Zeitgeist*. Reading was and still our ultimate source of information, this is obvious. What has changed is, only, the means. Since the dawn of history tangible papers and scrolls (Papyrus was known in Egypt since 3000 B.C.) were the medium that contained information, either by transmitting messages or by archiving information in a form of a book. The dilemma actually, as in the question above, should we rely on Digital supports or on Written word as a source of information?
Honestly, there’s no correct or wrong answer, the only judge is the context. I would, hereby, demonstrate some pros and cons for each means. It’s up to the dear reader to decide whether to opt for the first or the latter.
 
The written word (Books):

Pros:

• Adequate for a cultivated person reading in order to enlarge one’s horizons and run into excessive information. For example, if you are reading a philosophy book, you would start by a long introduction, that has nothing to do with your research if you are an academic searcher, but it would be appreciable for you as a person seeking for extra knowledge.
• It helped a lot to protect the copyright since centuries, due to the high cost of making illegal copies.
• Reliable as a source of information, as a concrete printed support with author name and ISBN number (it helps to track the book).
• Ideal when in the bed or train (mobility).
• Many people do not have the facility to have a computer at home, or even don’t have access to internet
• They are more eco-friendly.

Cons:

• Information is sequential, i.e. one should browse the document sequentially from A to Z (an index will make it easier, but not too much) to get the information needed.
• The difficulty (a time taking process) of having one’s copy of a book from a library, especially if it’s in limited edition or a classified document (that would even impossible!).
• Limited use & availability of a book outside the countries where its language isn’t widely spoken (I, personally, cannot find Japanese books in my country).
• Information is purely visual, and deadpan. No motion or sound!

 
The modern technology’s (Internet)

Pros:

• Information is random, i.e. one doesn’t need to go through tons of articles or a whole book to find the data needed. All what’s required is a search engine like Google and a couple of keywords to attain the webpage containing one’s desired information. Search engines are indexing all the content available on the Internet ceaselessly; they made it possible to obtain millions of results as a response to a simple query.
• Information is no longer only text! It takes different forms: video, sound, photos, plain text, animations, etc.
• The costless & fast copying, publishing and sending process.
• In the web 2.0 era, information come to us. Social networks (like facebook or twitter) revolutionized the informing paradigm.
• People are linked together by the threads of their common interests & ideologies, not their geographical locations.
• The emergence of electronic books readers (Like Amazon’s Kindle) that produce different pages on their flexible screen. These screens should be like paper and very stable against miss-usage and very low-energy consuming.
• It allowed amateurs and unknown gifted writers to rise and make their way to the light thanks to blogs. (Yore, only famous writers or those having the approval of their editor could publish books)

Cons:

• As anyone can publish and modify the content, there are copyright and reliably serious concerns.
• The intangibility of the digital support, which leads to the age of digital darkness, if technology comes to an end and humanity runs out of electricity.

 
 
My personal opinion is: people opt for written text or modern technology as a choice induced by a very subjective preference more than a wise decision (Adult people prefer mainly written text because the only thing they have to do is to have it and start reading it. they’re not quite comfortable with technology. And youth prefer Technological gizmos because they’re acquainted with Hi-Tech, or just because it’s Cool).
 
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Zeitgeist*:n. (German) "spirit of the age", spirit of a specific period of history, cultural and intellectual characteristics of a particular era