Search results matching tag 'charity'

Get a Comic Relief Word Search here and donate

doverton — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:09:00 GMT

[updated so can be downloaded without a sign in]

Hi,

My 8 year old daughter has created a word search. It is a PDF file that you can print out and draw on, nothing more complex than that. If you would like to download it and play, please donate too.

Thanks

David

Technorati Tags: Comic Relief,Charity,if you only read one post today

Bill Gates one regret in life - from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

doverton — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:46:09 GMT

Someone posted about a speech Bill gave and while it is worth reading / watching the whole thing, one thing stood out - his regret and how it is now a focus for his life and money:

Bill Gates - Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

But taking a serious look back… I do have one big regret.
I left Harvard with no real awareness of the awful inequities in the world—the appalling disparities of health, and wealth, and opportunity that condemn millions of people to lives of despair.
I learned a lot here at Harvard about new ideas in economics and politics. I got great exposure to the advances being made in the sciences.
But humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries—but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity—reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.
I left campus knowing little about the millions of young people cheated out of educational opportunities here in this country. And I knew nothing about the millions of people living in unspeakable poverty and disease in developing countries.
It took me decades to find out.

I find it humbling to know what inequalities exist in the world and if I am honest, my small moves to change it are really not enough, but Bill Gates and the foundation are doing the right stuff. I need to find a way for me to do more of the right stuff.. until then it will be sponsoring others to do it and my monthly charity payments, but it sounds like I'm paying to ease my conscious .

The speech is very interesting and if you have seen Bill present without watching the video you will hear his voice and know when he pauses!!

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: Bill Gates, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Harvard

Helping people remember and proving that IT people are creative - DesignIT winner, and 10 other good causes

doverton — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 12:30:06 GMT

I read over at the IT Pros Are Artful. No, Seriously article that there is evidence that IT Pros are creative - well duh!! how else could every IT person I know worth their salt either do the magic of Star Trek's "Scotty" when nothing seems to work properly and cash is low or sell like the Best Salesman in the world. Anyway, here are some details.

Alzheimer’s Network Wins Top Prize
Said Dajani, a Web site manager at the Alzheimer’s Society, submitted a private communications network for Alzheimer’s patients, and a screen saver that acts as a memory aid for people with dementia. His entry earned DesignIT’s top prize.

An artist’s sculpture interpreted the winning technology design, related to Alzheimer’s disease.
Dajani received cash and will work with Microsoft technical evangelists to deploy his idea. The Alzheimer’s Society will receive £15,000 ($30,000 U.S.) to implement the system. Four runner-up charities will receive consulting services and software for ideas submitted on their behalf.
“Personally, I was extremely flattered. Ultimately it is all about making a product that is useful both to [caretakers] and people with dementia,” Dajani said. “I have been very impressed by the team from Microsoft. We have already had introductory meetings … and it is clear they are committed to making the project work.”
Juana Awad of the Slade School of Fine Art interpreted Dajani’s work as a sculpture that projected an 18-minute audio-video loop into a small glass. In the video, a woman looks out into the world through a veil that isolates her from her surroundings. The stark metal sculpture holding the glass evokes a “forceful medical tool,” Awad’s description said.
A Community of Unsung Creativity
“We don’t have a revenue target [with the contest], we have a perception and satisfaction target,” project lead Claire Smyth said. “We’re saying we’ll give IT pros the financial support to help a charity. In the process, they get to demonstrate their innovation and creativity, something they don’t always get the chance to do.”

ttfn

David

Technorati Tags: DesignIT, Charity, Microsoft

SBS 2003 R2 & CALsare now on the Academic Price list so you can sell SBS to schools again :-)

doverton — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 23:01:00 GMT

Hi guys,

I've just picked this up from one of our internats web chats and thought I would share it.

SBS will be on the Academic Price List and available in all languages (SBS Standard, Premium + 5 CAL packs) through Volume Licensing as of April 1st.

For FPP, retailers will be able to get the product as of May 4th.

This is great news and I have had it confirmed that it is on Wescoasts price list, plus some other distributors.

ttfn

David

Raise money for good causes by IMing

doverton — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 12:46:35 GMT

Lots of people have blogged on this before, but we need more people doing it.

Go here, follow the instructions to add to your Live Messenger and you are giving money. At the moment the organisations are US based, but I am happy to give to UNICEF, so it works for me.

How to do it:

i’m starts with you. When you start an i’m conversation you start giving.
Download the Windows Live Messenger instant messenger service. There's no charge and it's easy to download and use.
Place the text code corresponding to the cause of your choice into your Display Name.
Keep having i’m conversations so you can keep funding the cause doing the work most important to you.
Already have the version 8.1 of Windows Live Messenger? Start contributing using i’m

Organisations you can give to are shown on the left.

ttfn

David

Win £15,000 for a UK charity with a good design

doverton — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 12:33:57 GMT

In a nutshell, DesignIT is about recognising the IT community for its innovation and demonstrating how it can be used to benefit a charity in the UK. Feedback from IT professionals shows that while their practical nut-and-bolts contributions are clear, the creativity applied is often less appreciated. In order to highlight the elegance and finesse that underlies the best system solutions and prove that a creative use of technology can really change people's lives, Microsoft have teamed up with Computing, the leading business technology magazine, to invite IT professionals to meet this challenge.

To find out more: www.microsoft.com/uk/designit

Microsoft software for Charities in the UK

doverton — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:31:54 GMT

OK, so once upon a time I used to give out software for charities, but those days are gone. However, there is a fantastic deal available for charities via the Charity Exchange. The software is donated by Microsoft (and others) and then an administration charge is added. There are various criteria to be met to use the Charity Technology Exchange, but the overall pricing is VERY good for charities - and of course, if the software is discounted as this is the right thing to do, perhaps so should the services too ;-)

Anyway, the site can he found at http://www.ctxchange.org/ctx/browse_products/microsoft/default.asp and the prices include software assurance, so the Office 2003 and Windows XP prices entitle the charity to Office 2007 and Windows Vista Enterprise (as it is a Volume License).

An example would be a 50 seat SBS Premium solution with Windows XP and Office 2003 (both upgradable - also note that a previous Windows OS is required on the PC to load the Windows OS - it is an upgrade, not a version that can be installed on a bare hard disk)

SBS - £37

5 CAL Pack x 9 - £11 x 9 = £101

Windows XP Upgrades x 50 - £4 x 50 = £200

Office 2003 Pro x 50 - £11 x 50 = £550

Grand Total = £888 - +VAT - including Software Assurance

While I don't have UK prices, SBS would be $1,500, the CAL packs would be 9 x $495, Office is around $450 I think - so this marks a HUGE saving. These were the prices yesterday.

Now, tell me why every Charity can't upgrade?

ttfn

David