Karabow: Hardware, Software, Services

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are my personal opinions, and do not necessarily represent those of Karabow.

We have been hard at work for over a year now and, while we are still trying to put finishing touches to some of the projects we have been working on, I believe it's not too early to start sharing some of our activities and progress with the wider public. We are Karabow , and Karabow is hardware, software, services.

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Hardware

Hardware is the starting point of our dream, and the end of most of our efforts. We are very passionate about the devices we are building (and will be building), and we can't wait to share them with the wider public. We will start from the basic devices and work our way up to the flagship devices.

Importing Knowledge

Currently the bulk of our hardware endeavours is done outside the borders of Nigeria. One of our major long-term goals is to import all major pieces of knowledge for hardware design and manufacture to the country. This is a journey of a thousand miles, and we are willing to tread this path one step at a time. We know the future we desire, and we know it's in our hands to bring it to pass.

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Software

While hardware may be our primary focus, software provides a strong opportunity to differentiate our devices from the pack. That is, while we try to build our devices as compelling as possible, we also put great efforts into the pieces of software that come with them. Our software efforts range from application software (apps) to system software (like custom kernels and ROMs), but they all serve to add values to our devices and to the lives of those using our products.

Open Source Player

Karabow is also going to be a very active player in the open source space. Currently we have projects like Melon OS and Pluginizer being developed on GitHub (https://github.com/karabow-inc/). Some projects are being developed off GitHub or in private repositories, and we will be opening up such repositories soon, as well as adding more open source projects to GitHub. There is a deep respect for "side-projects" at Karabow, and a good number of these side-projects will also be making it out as open source projects.

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Services

We recognise that the skill set we possess in-house will be of great benefit to a lot of organizations that may not be in a position (or may not be willing for various reasons) to possess such. That is why we intend to set up KaraHub (http://www.karahub.com/). KaraHub will render services ranging from graphics content development to app development. KaraHub will also seek to connect developers (including graphics developers) with job opportunities, and (in the distant future) provide affordable conducive workspaces for developers.

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#NotWithABang

We don't necessarily intend to start with a bang. We are a young company, and we want to grow organically. This #NotWithABang mentality will be reflected in many of our early products and decisions, including how we present ourselves online.

For our hardware enterprise, this implies we will be starting with a limited number of feature phones and simple devices, and grow from there until we get to release our flagship phones. One of such simple devices is the Fundy (http://www.karabow.com/Fundy_Tab) tablet for kids. This is not the most original item that will come out of Karabow, but it is a necessary step. This product has already helped us establish good relationships with schools and other institutions, relationships we will be exploiting when our fancier items are ready for the market. Fundy is also important financially, in that it is our first source of steady income. In February 2016 (the first month of sales) we made a modest N 90,000 in sales. By the end of the first quarter of the year we had made N 235,000 in sales. As for this second quarter we have already sold tablets worth over N 800,000, with more orders on the line. These numbers may be small in the grand scheme of things, but we are exactly where we planned to be at this point in time.

For software, #NotWithABang implies we will be releasing our consumer products, but in humble steps, building up a modest clientèle even before we are ready to publicly announce such products. We will also be releasing some developer tools we built to help us develop those products. This is exactly the step we have taken with our Unify (http://unifyedu.com/) school information management system. Unify is still under development but we already have a few schools testing it out, and more lined up. Unlike Fundy, we don't expect much from Unify in the next six months as schools try it out for free. But, beyond that, its returns are tremendous. Unify, however, is not just about the finances; it's more about the data it gets to collect from the schools and institutions using it. When I think about the analytic engines and artificial intelligence we can build around such data I get excited for the future of Karabow.

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It's All About the Journey

We have a clear vision of where we are going to. But we also realize that the journey will be a long one. There are more projects in the pipeline, projects that are exceedingly more interesting than the ones described above. I can hardly wait. But I also recognise that this journey must be taken one step at a time. So while we keep our destination in mind, we have decided to enjoy the journey. This is going to be one awesome adventure, and we hope you ride along with us.

Do not forget to like our page on facebook (https://facebook.com/karabowng) , and follow us on twitter (https://twitter.com/karabowng).

Yours truly,
Chieze Franklin,
Software developer, Karabow.

Thank You (2016 Edition)

On this beautiful day, and as a proud Christian, let me begin by thanking God for keeping me to see yet another year of my life. He remains faithful, even in my unfaithfulness.

I will also like to thank all well-wishers. May we all always have causes to celebrate.

Let me use this year's edition of my birthday celebration to thank some very special people who have helped shape my life as a software developer to this point. The words herein are in no way sufficient to express how much you have done for me, and how much you mean to me. Please accept my gratitude.

I would like to thank Aremu Oluwaseun Francis. You, more than any other person, opened the door to the world of software development for me. My very first steps as a developer were taken under your tutelage. VB.NET, C#, Windows programming, ASP.NET, Web API; the list of the stuff you taught me goes on an on. Because of you I am married to Windows *smile*.

Next, let me thank Chidiebere Ikenna Nnadi. To you, you did nothing more than just give me materials on Android development. But those materials created a new hunger in me. For the first time I could see a world way bigger than Windows and Microsoft. I may be married to Windows but because of you I started a very fierce affair with Android *wink*.

Last (but by no means the least) on my Thank You list today is Aliyu Muhammed (Andromadus MobileXP). From my very first days as a programmer I have been fascinated by the concept of an operating system. I would often daydream about being part of a crazy group of programmers who are working on this crazy operating system. I have often tried to find books and materials for operating system development, but something was always missing - a human guide. In Andromadus I have found that guide. I now have access to tools for building operating systems, as well as access to others who have gone before me in this field. To be honest I haven't been a very dilligent student in the space but I'll catch up. Operating system programming is something I thought I would be doing by 28 or 29 but now I am ahead of my time-table. With this new knowledge I feel almost complete as a software developer.

The future also looks promising. With a friend like Samuel Adeshina, who is consistently the top rated Nigerian PHP developer on PHP Classes (http://www.phpclasses.org/) I will definitely get my hands dirty in the field of artificial intelligence, and with Abdul Saidu I have already taken my first steps in game development.

Obviously, the list of those who have influenced me as a software developer goes way beyond this. And I am grateful to every one of them.

Before I conclude this post, let me just chip this in. Most of the software solutions I find myself working on these days are development tools: tools for fellow software developers. So a few weeks ago I decided to make it a hobby releasing fun apps for "regular" people every year, on my birthday. I had wanted to release a web API for interacting with a chess-playing bot, but found the time at hand really limited. I then decided to make an age-telling twitter bot. You would tweet a picture of your face to it, and it would guess your age (amongst other things) and tweet that back to you. Yes, you guessed right, it uses Microsoft Project Oxford (https://www.microsoft.com/cognitive-services/) behind the scene. I, however, couldn't overcome my laziness to see the project through. With no pet project to talk about this year, let me use this opportunity to just mention a project we at Karabow have been working on for some time now - Unify (unifyedu.com). The project is in it's VERY EARLY stages, although we already have certain institutions trying it out. I'll write more on Unify at a later date to discuss some of the pieces of technology we had to develop in-house in order to build Unify.

Friends matter. If you can find people to point you to the right direction, happy you!

P.S: Today is a very special day indeed, even the Cosmos agrees. Today the transit of planet Mecury across the face of the sun can be witnessed from Earth, an event that occurs as rare as 13 times in a century (http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2016/05/05/guide_to_the_mercury_transit_on_may_9_2016.html).