IT News
Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro won’t Ship with Earbuds or Wall Chargers
Apple has revealed that its iPhone 12 series will ship without earbuds or wall chargers. This, according to the tech giant, is part of its strategy to reduce climate impact across its entire business. “Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations and, by 2030, plans to have net-zero climate impact across the entire business, which includes manufacturing supply chains and all product life cycles,” reads an official blog post. “This means that every Apple device sold, from material collection, component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, charging, all the way through recycling and material recovery, will be 100% carbon neutral.” Apple goes on to say that the iPhone 12 Pro models were designed with the environment in mind – and for the first time, it’s removing the p...
How Solar Street Lights Bring Positive Change in the Environment
The provision of street lights is a useful public infrastructure that facilitates smooth navigation in the absence of natural light. One way of containing the ill effects of climate change is by switching over to energy-efficient LED solar lights. These absorb solar energy when the sun is out and convert it into usable electrical energy. Doing so repeatedly each day enables a solar street light to shed power during the nights. The light-emitting diode (LED) makes these lamps a practical alternative as they work on minimal current and last longer. As sunlight disappears, the energy conversion process comes to a halt, and the LED lamp relies on its battery for power supply. A viable alternative to traditional street lights is the solar-powered ones as the latter are environment-friendly. By ...
Africa Tech Festival 2020 Speakers Announced
AfricaCom and AfricaTech are anchor events of the new Africa Tech Festival, which will take place – online – from 10-12 November this year. Acknowledged as the world’s largest Africa-focused digital infrastructure and emerging tech event, the Africa Tech Festival has always attracted a stellar line-up of critical thinkers, analysts, futurists, keynote and inspirational speakers. 2020 will more than deliver on that reputation, with a stimulating array of visionary industry presenters, raconteurs and even some sporting greats. The Africa Tech Festival kicks off with an opening keynote address by Abe Wakama, founder and CEO of African Innovator Group, who will chair the keynote sessions on Tuesday 10th November. Below are just some of the more than 200 speakers who will be joining...
Sony could Record PS4 and 5 Users Voice Chats
Sourced from Bloomberg PlayStation users were surprised to discover that Sony’s latest 8.0 update could give the tech company permission to record voice chats – for moderation purposes. Not only did sony break every ps4 due to how bad the update was, they’re even recording us #PS4 pic.twitter.com/006eQznRdf — Mini (@_Minii17) October 14, 2020 According to The Verge, the update’s initial release notes “contained no mention of voice recordings”. But they have since been modified to bring clarity to the situation. “Following this update, users are seeing a notification about Party Safety and that voice chats in parties may be recorded. Voice chat recording for moderation is a feature that will be available on PS5 when it launches and will enable users to record their voice chats on PS5 ...
Uber Launches Medication Delivery Service in South Africa
Sourced from CNet. Uber South Africa and Medicare have partnered to launch an over-the-counter medication delivery service. “We strongly believe in reinventing pharmacy, and thanks to this partnership with Uber Eats this is made possible,” says Tim Knapp, CEO of Medicare. “Getting the medication South Africans need, when they need it, without the risk of leaving their home is just the beginning as we continue to explore how best we can bring access, convenience and reliability in our everyday needs.” According to Uber, the medication available will include both schedule 1 and 2 medicine. And consumers will be required to present their IDs on collection. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_93c.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_93c.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “Seeing how quickly locals...
A Story of a Woman in ICT
Growing up in Thabakgone GaMamabolo in Limpopo, I never conceived that I would find myself working as a fibre optic technician for one of South Africa’s largest ICT infrastructure companies. As a woman, I am one of very few. Despite all that is being done to increase female representation in male-dominated fields, it’s still very rare to find women in my field. This is for a number of reasons, a major one being that many are not necessarily looking into my type of work as a possible career. Although I have found it to be thoroughly rewarding, it requires me to be available at odd times and days of the week. It’s not a route that I likely would have taken had I had other opportunities that I could pursue but I am glad I did. I always say that the career found me. /* ...
The State of Cybersecurity in Africa
Sourced from IDG Connect Modern technologies require a certain level of skills when it comes to accessing information. While most countries have strict laws about internet security, countries all across Africa are falling behind the rest of the world. The digital era has brought many new forms of communication. Sadly, some use technology to steal information and compromise entire state governments. Africa is currently one of the fastest developing areas globally, and it’s estimated that over 1 billion Africans will have internet access by the end of 2022. That puts many people in danger as cybersecurity laws are still waiting for confirmation across the continent. Let’s take a look at the current state of things in Africa. Trends in Cybercrime Many countries in Africa face enormous challen...
Apple Unveils the iPhone 12 5G
Apple has officially unveiled the highly-anticipated additions to its smartphone range – the iPhone 12 5G, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Most notably, the iPhone 12 series marks the first time Apple devices will support 5G connectivity. The devices were launched at the tech giants ‘Hello, Speed’ event – watch it here. [embedded content] Apple iPhone 12 At first glance, the iPhone 12 looks remarkably similar to the iPhone 4 and 5 thanks to its flat, sharp edges. The device, which sits at 6.1 inches, comes with a “Ceramic Shield” glass cover and sports two rear cameras (both support night mode). It will be available for preorder on 16 October, ahead of its official launch on 23 October – the iPhone 12 is expected to retail for $829. Apple iPhone 12 mini Apple showc...
Rain Announces Appointment of New CEO
Image sourced from MyBroadband Rain has announced the appointment of Brandon Leigh as its newest CEO – effective from 1 March 2021. Leigh will be taking over from the telco’s current CEO, Willem Roos, who will move to a non-executive role from 1 March 2021. “Willem joined rain in January 2018 and played a key role in taking rain from a start-up business to an established player in the telecommunications industry in South Africa,” says Paul Harris, Rain chairman. “When Willem joined, we agreed to a three-year tenure, and so it is natural that Brandon, as an original founder, resumes the CEO role. Brandon has been the visionary behind rain and the ideal person to continue growing the business.” Harris adds, “We also have a six-month handover period ensuring a smooth transition.” According to...
Silver Peak SD-WAN Capabilities Facilitate your SASE Journey
There are many acronyms in the world of IT, and SASE – the Secure Access Service Edge – is one of the latest that is gaining traction. It comes from a Gartner report published a year ago, and has been gathering strength ever since. The report is entitled ‘The Future of Network Security is in the Cloud’, and in it, the global research and advisory firm introduces the term to describe the need for the combination of wide-area network (WAN) transformation together with security transformation at the edge, to enable enterprises to realise all the benefits of moving applications and workloads to the cloud. This is according to a recent Silver Peak blog written by Derek Granath, Silver Peak VP of product marketing, who explains that SASE (pronounced ‘sassy’) involves a certain amount of ne...
Vodacom and Rain Partnership Constitutes a Merger, According to Telkom
Telkom has approached the Competition Tribunal to declare the suite of spectrum arrangements between Vodacom and Rain as a merger – something that it believes should have been notifiable in terms of the Competition Act. The Telco says that the merger is notifiable because “the multiple agreements between Vodacom and Rain grant Vodacom use and control over the deployment of Rain’s spectrum, including the planning, rollout, maintenance and service of its radio access network”. According to Telkom’s Group Executive for Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations, Siyabonga Mahlangu, Vodacom’s ability to control Rain’s spectrum entrenches its position as a dominant player in a highly concentrated market. “It is important that the effects of spectrum arrangements on competition are scrutin...
Facebook Reveals New Messenger Design
Facebook has revealed a new look for Messenger including a new logo and default chat colour, as well as new chat themes. “We’re also adding features like selfie stickers and vanish mode, which are coming soon,” says the social giant in a blog post. “The new-look reflects a shift to the future of messaging – a more dynamic, fun and integrated way to hang out with your favourite people, on your favourite apps and devices” Facebook Adds New Shopping Tab to App As part of Facebook’s plan to create a place for users to discover businesses and shop for products, it is testing a dedicated shopping tab within the main app. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift to online shopping has rapidly accelerated, with an estimated 85% of people worldwide now shopping online,” says the social platfor...
