tech news
Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Certificates for Sale on the Dark Net
While the global roll-out of COVID-19 vaccinations continues to accelerate, it’s worth remembering that only around 1% of the world’s population have received their full course of injections. Billions are still waiting for their first dose, which inevitably leads those people to question exactly when they will get it. Especially as plans are being made internationally to allow those that have been vaccinated, or can prove they have had a recent negative test, the freedom to travel to other countries, attend large-scale events, take a new job, and more. So there’s a strong and growing demand for vaccinations and test results because of the greater freedoms they will give to people. And of course, there will always be people who don’t want to wait for their official vaccination, or for an of...
Huawei Mate40 Pro to Launch in South Africa
Huawei is set to launch its newest flagship smartphone – the Huawei Mate40 Pro – in South Africa on 1 April 2021. The device is expected to combine innovative features and striking design elements that elevate the user experience. It also has a strong focus on 5G performance, trendsetting design ethos and smartphone videography. The Huawei Mate40 Pro continues with its smartphone design trend thanks to its iconic Space Ring design with its unique colourways of Mystic Silver and Black. This is then complemented upfront with the ultra-curved Huawei Horizon Display, which curves at 88 degrees, allowing for a completely borderless and futuristic viewing experience. By curving the display to this extent, Huawei also gives users the option to use the volume rockers either with the physical ...
New MVNO Launches in South Africa
Shoprite has launched k’nect mobile – its own mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). This offering – which piggybacks off the mobile network infrastructure of Cell C – is expected to offer competitive rates and several other rewards to customers. k’nect mobile’s airtime, data bundles and rewards only expire after 60 days, rather than the more common 30-day expiry. Call and data rates are as follows: 50c per minute all day k’nect to k’nect calls 99c per minute all day calls to other networks 15c per megabyte for any size data bundle, up to 1GB k’nect mobile also offers the following Xtra rewards: 10% free on recharge 10% Xtra for Xtra Savings cardholders 5% Xtra when recharging via Money Market Account Double airtime rewards on Xtra Savings airtime deals Other rewards include early access ...
3 Things Affecting Internet Connectivity in South Africa
Loadshedding, cable theft and vandalism not only disrupts the supply of electricity and internet connectivity in households but also has a significant effect on the economy. Criminals steal infrastructure such as copper cables and electrical equipment to make easy money and with each incident, thousands of homes are left without electricity for many hours or days. Businesses that have no access to generators have to close and unfortunately lose money as they cannot operate during that period. Many small businesses have become heavily reliant on the internet to be able to conduct their business operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a disruption to internet connectivity due to cable theft and vandalism can place such businesses at a disadvantage. “Copper line theft has a significant impac...
Innominds Joins IoTFA 2021 as Gold Sponsor
Leading provider of digital transformation services, Innominds is set to steer the innovation conversation as a Gold Sponsor of this year’s Internet of Things Forum Africa — taking place from 25 – 26 March. Business leaders and tech heavy-weights alike will hear how the California-based innovator powers the Digital Next initiatives of global enterprises. Under the theme “Enabling Enterprise Transformation with IoT”, Raj Ganti, President of Strategic Accounts at Innominds, and Sairam Vedam, Chief Marketing Officer at Innominds, will tackle transforming the future of AgTech. Register for this free virtual summit and get to grips with taking your IoT pilots from project phase to real-world production. Uncover Emerging Technologies, Data Protection, Ethics and Security in a connected wor...
Telegram Introduces Voice Chat Feature for Channels
Image sourced from The Independent Telegram has released a new update that includes recordable voice chats, rich lists of participants, raise hand mechanics, invite links for speakers and listeners, voice chat titles, and a way for public figures to join voice chats as their channels. Here’s a closer look at all the new features and how to enable them: Limitless Voice Chats Admins of channels and public groups can now host voice chats for millions of live listeners. No matter how popular a talk gets, new people will be able to tune in. Telegram says that this is like public radio reinvented for the 21st century. To start a Voice Chat, open the profile of any group or channel where you’re an admin, tap (⋮) or (⋯) and select Start Voice Chat. /* custom css */ .t...
Combined Rubrik and IDC Report Addresses Data Sprawl in the Modern Enterprise
Image sourced from Gerd Altmann, Pixabay Data sprawl – referring to the fact that valuable data is now commonly spread across multiple physical locations and different repository types – is one of the most critical IT issues that a modern organisation will have to manage. Not only does this expanse of data create issues for an organisation around its effective use, it can also negatively affect its security measures. This is according to a recent report from IDC, the global market intelligence firm, and cloud data management company Rubrik, which commissioned the IDC White Paper study and which involved just over 800 respondents in North America, Western Europe and the Asia/Pacific region. The white paper reveals that: Companies are not leveraging data to its fullest extent, causing ...
5 Things to Keep in Mind when Creating the Perfect Password
Sourced from Travellers Using a strong, original and memorable password is one of the first things you can do to make sure you’re protected from cyber-threats. With that in mind, here are five things you can do to create the perfect password: 1. Remember the longer the betterWhen it comes to your password, try to include as many unique characters as possible – this makes it more difficult for hackers to crack. Mix letters, numbers, and punctuation and, when possible, include both uppercase and lowercase letters. Made up or altered words are better than actual words. You should go for passwords that are a minimum of 12 to 14 characters in length. A longer password would be even better. 2. Avoid obvious number combinations like calendar dates or phone numbersDon’t use account numbers, b...
INTERVIEW: Strengthening the ICT Sector in Ethiopia
The ICT sector is fast-growing. To unpack this, Co-founder and CEO of iceaddis – Ethiopia’s first innovation hub and tech incubator – Markos Lemma talks to his experience of the East African country’s innovation ecosystem: How do you picture the development of ICT in Ethiopia? When we started iceaddis in 2011, Internet penetration was less than 1% among the population; and the role of ICT was limited. 10 years have passed since then; the internet penetration rate is around 19% today. We have seen significant progress in infrastructure, service provision, human capital and research. There are key players in the ICT sector and there is political willingness to advance this sector. In this regard, the contribution of the private sector is unneglectable. The Ministry of Innovation & techno...
Airtel Africa to Sell $200 Million Stake in Mobile Money Business
Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Africa is set to sell a minority stake – worth $200 million – in Airtel Mobile Commerce BV (AMC BV) to global investment company, The Rise Fund. “The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including necessary regulatory filings and approvals, as necessary, and the inclusion of specified mobile money business assets and contracts into AMC BV,” reveals the company. According to TechCrunch, this deal values the mobile money business at $2.65 billion with operations across 14 African countries, including Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria. “Our markets afford the substantial market potential for mobile money services to meet the needs of the tens of millions of customers in Africa who have little or no access to banking and financial services, and this dema...
First Overland Fibre Network Deployed in DRC
Liquid Intelligent Technologies has deployed the first overland fibre network in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This expansion is expected to connect millions of DRC citizens and thousands of businesses to the ‘One Africa’ broadband network totalling more than 73,000 kms across the African continent. Furthermore, Kinshasa and most major cities in the DRC are now connected directly to the world, linking to such cities as London, San Francisco, and Singapore, and many other global economic hubs. The DRC route is also part of the first-ever complete East to West network in Africa, offering low latency, high bandwidth fibre connectivity and high availability. “The completion of this project is part of the strategic vision to connect the African continent to the rest of the world,” say...
Twitter is Testing a New Way to Watch YouTube Videos on iOS
Image sourced from Mission Statement Academy Twitter is testing a feature that will allow users to watch YouTube videos directly from their timeline. At the moment, users have to leave Twitter and open YouTube in order to watch a video. Here’s a sneak peek at what this will look like for Twitter users: Starting today on iOS, we’re testing a way to watch YouTube videos directly in your Home timeline, without leaving the conversation on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/V4qzMJMEBs — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) March 18, 2021 “The current test on iOS will be a four-week experiment,” reveals a spokesperson for Twitter. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_04e.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_04e.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Twitter is Testing a New Way to Post Images Twitter is testing a new...
