tech news
5 reasons you don’t want to miss DTC2020 this October
The highly anticipated Digital Transformation Congress virtual event is set to dominate the digital transformation conversation in South Africa this October. Over 200 local and international industry leaders and senior executives will convene on the 07-08 October 2020, for two days of top-level content, case studies, industry tracks and plenty of networking opportunities.Here are 5 reasons why you should join them: 1. You’ll be in good company – DTC 2020 offers a superior virtual networking experience with the biggest names in the African technology arena. Meet and engage with top of the line speakers, exhibitors, and delegates from organisations such as Transnet, Accenture, Transunion, National Lotteries Commission, Momentum, ABSA New business – This is a premier business develo...
Apple Announces Bundle Package for Music, TV, and Gaming Services
Apple will offer a bundle package of its streaming music, TV, gaming, and iCloud services. Under the banner of Apple One, the bundle brings together Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage for the monthly price of $14.95. Two other tiers of Apple One will also be available: a “Family” plan priced at $19.95 per month, and a “Premier” tier which also includes subscriptions to Apple News+ and Fitness+ in addition to 2GB of iCloud storage for $24.95 per month. Apple plans to roll out their bundle packages this “fall” with a 30-day free trial for new users. The announcement of Apple One was made during Apple’s “Times Flies” presentation on Tuesday afternoon. The media company also revealed that Apple iOS 14 would launch tomorrow (Sept. 16th), and detailed new iterations...
BTS Share Trailer for New Video Game BTS Universe Story: Watch
BTS may not be able to go on a world tour right now due to coronavirus, but that won’t stop them from connecting with fans worldwide. The record-breaking K-pop stars and Netmarble have just released the trailer for BTS Universe Story, a brand new video game that stars all seven members of the South Korean group, which will be available to play around the globe. Don’t mistake BTS Universe Story as a follow-up to their 2019 mobile game BTS World. Instead, this is an “interactive social game” that plays out like a totally fresh RPG. By following the main objective, fans can participate in a pre-determined plot where each choice impacts later gameplay. However, the game also boasts additional modes, such as “Story Creation”, where users can form an in-game story from scratch, and “Collection”,...
ProLabs Enables Campus Network Upgrades to Facilitate Online Learning
A number of key South African universities have reported good progress with online learning for their students since the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the country’s lockdown situation. This is encouraging, as it means the wheels of learning are able to continue turning, but it also brings serious issues around data and bandwidth provision. So says Marcel Fouché, networking and storage general manager at value-added distributor, Networks Unlimited Africa. He explains, “Before the pandemic, growing data consumption meant that the demand for bandwidth had already resulted in a race between consumers’ appetites and providers’ best efforts to supply it. Today, as the world moves ever more swiftly into remote working and learning, the implications for bandwidth are more critical than ever.” “Uni...
Telkom SA Signs Roaming Agreement with Telenor
Image sourced from Bandwidth Blog Telkom South Africa and Telenor have announced the signing of a three and a half year Managed Roaming agreement that will enable Telkom to improve the roaming retail offering to its end users. Through this agreement, Telenor will be responsible for the full end-to-end wholesale roaming process for Telkom. Meanwhile, Telkom will be able to utilize the Telenor wholesale roaming group platform and leverage on the group scale in terms of cost and revenue. “We have a long-standing and important relationship with Telenor. Their extensive roaming coverage combined with the vast experience and competence is significant in providing our end users with the desired roaming experience,” says Althon Beukes, CEO of Telkom’s Wholesale division, Openserve. “Partnering wit...
LG Wing Dual-Screen Smartphone Unveiled
LG has officially unveiled its new smartphone – the LG Wing – a dual-screen device with a swivelling form factor. [embedded content] The tech company says that the LG Wing’s two displays and ‘revolutionary’ form factor can facilitate new ways to engage with certain apps and features, ‘making it far easier to multitask’. “Users can watch their favourite movies in all their widescreen glory while searching for information about their favourite actors or discussing the movie via chat with friends.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_008.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_008.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “Swivel Mode can also prove handy when driving, allowing users to follow map directions on the Main Screen reserving the Second Screen for calls, which on other phones would cover the map...
Jumia to Introduce New Pick Up Stations in Ghana
Jumia has expanded its delivery service with the introduction of new pick-up locations across Ghana – something that the company hopes will allow customers to receive their orders faster while saving money. With over 20 pick up stations already operational in Accra and Kumasi, new stations will open in the Western and Central Region. Preparations to expand to Koforidua, Ho, Aflao and Tamale are also in the pipeline. The eCommerce reports that more than 25% of its consumers are from remote, rural areas who haven’t always been afforded the choice to find more affordable products. However, with the introduction of these pick-up stations, consumers will be able to find MORE flexible payment options. Consumers in the Western and Central Regions can now also choose the cash on delivery payment m...
ZACR Launches Domain Security Feature
The ZA Central Registry NPC (ZACR) has revealed that has launched Registry Lock, a new feature that prevents ownership and other details of domain names (under its management) from being fraudulently changed. “Registry Lock is a function that can now be activated at the Registry level to prevent the unauthorised transfer of domain names for the following domain name extensions: co.za| net.za |org.za|web.za as well as the four gTLDs of .africa |.capetown |.durban and .joburg,” says ZACR CEO, Lucky Masilela. “The process is quite seamless, as it requires our channel partners (EPP-accredited Registrars) to provide the Registry with a passphrase via a telephonic validation process to enable changes, such as updates, transfers and deletes to be processed on a selected domain name. Manual interv...
Buying Tech Gadgets To Stay Productive As You Work From Home
When the world’s biggest work-from-home experiment started at the beginning of the year, no one thought it would stay around for so long. Unbelievably, a large number of companies plan to make it a permanent arrangement. Most of them will have to continue it for a foreseeable future. The bottom line is that you will have to work remotely for quite some time, so it becomes essential to look for ways to give your best. While you may already have the basics, now is the time to invest in more tech gadgets that would help you stay productive as you work from home. So if you have a gadget shopping spree in mind, here are a few ideas that would help you do it smartly: Get to know what’s around in the market When it comes to tech gadgets, there is always something new around the corner. Whether it...
ByteDance Rejects Microsoft’s TikTok Bid
Sourced from Gadgets 360. Microsoft has confirmed that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has rejected its bid to acquire the video-sharing platform – the acquisition would allow Microsoft to own and operate the TikTok service in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The tech giant revealed that it would have made ‘significant changes’ to the way that ByteDance and TikTok deal with security, privacy and online safety – something that it believes would have been good for American users. In a statement, Microsoft says, “ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft. We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users while protecting national security interests. To do this, we would have made significant chan...
Oracle Reportedly Wins TikTok Bid
Sourced from Cosmico Oracle and ByteDance have reached a “technical partnership” for TikTok’s US operations, according to The Wall Street Journal. This, however, does not include the sale of the popular video-sharing app. A number of people familiar with the matter believe that Oracle will address the national security concerns surrounding TikTok, raised by the Trump Administration. Sources told FT that the US tech company was already in “preliminary talks with TikTok owner Bytedance, and was working with a group of investors that already holds a stake in the Chinese company.” This comes shortly after Microsoft revealed that ByteDance has rejected its bid to acquire TikTok – the acquisition would’ve allowed Microsoft to own and operate the TikTok service in the United States, Can...
Cell C Makes Changes to Board
Image sourced from Town Press Cell C has appointed David Shimkins to its board, as one of the shareholder representatives for Net1. Shimkins will replace Paul Edwards with immediate effect. In line with Cell C’s shareholder agreement, Net1 can appoint two directors to the board. The Net1 representatives will be Alex Smith and David Shimkins. Net1 recently made these changes to its board. Shimkins is said to be a highly proficient deal executive with a deep knowledge of debt and capital markets and experience across a variety of industry sectors. He is the founder of Nitinol Capital, a company that invests in and facilitates alternative debt and equity transactions. Prior to this, he was a partner at Calculus Capital and Capital Investment Advisory and also held positions at Grin...
