tech news
Elon Musk Says People Will Eventually Consume Music Through Brain Chip
Headphones may soon be a thing of the past if Elon Musk has his way. The tech bro and Kanye loyalist believes his latest product, a brain chip implant, will be able to stream music directly into our brains. Neuralink, a startup recently co-founded by Musk, has been developing “computer-brain interfaces” with the intention of “helping humans keep pace with advanced artificial intelligence.” As TechCrunch further explains, the idea is to “implant gossamer-thin wires” — supposedly thinner than human hair — into a person’s brain. These would be connected to an external computer machine, but the aim is to one day make the connection between these two completely wireless. Musk first announced Neuralink last year, including details on “successful” experiments on mice and apes. He plans to reveal ...
Vodacom and Alipay Partner to Create a New Super-App
Vodacom and Alipay have partnered to create a super app that’ll allow South African consumers to manage their entire lives and business through their smartphone – which includes playing music, paying for morning coffees, listening to podcasts, sending money to family, paying utility bills, shopping online and ordering new stock for their businesses. According to the companies, the app will not only offer a stellar digital customer experience but will also bring to life a market place of goods and services tailored to the South African customer needs. This will be underpinned by a progressive digital payments ecosystem designed to serve both the banked and unbanked parts of the population. Customers and merchants will all find each other on one affordable platform, operated by Vodacom ...
Bolt Introduces New ‘Low-Cost’ Service in South Africa
Ride-hailing platform Bolt has launched a new low-cost category called Bolt Go – which is aiming to be the cheapest ride-hailing service in South Africa, with fares approximately 20% less than regular Bolt rides. The addition of the new low-cost category hopes to significantly lower the barriers to entry into the South African ride-hailing industry by empowering owners and drivers of hatchback cars to access the Bolt platform and earn an income. “Smaller hatchback cars are less expensive to purchase, have lower maintenance costs, and are more fuel-efficient to operate than Bolt’s regular larger sedan cars,” says Gareth Taylor, country manager for Bolt South Africa. “These lower operational costs also enable Bolt Go fares to be significantly more affordable.” The new more affordable service...
Uber Launches an Intercity Bus Service in Egypt
Uber has launched an intercity Bus service in Egypt – the first country globally to roll out this service – with the aim of connecting cities with the Uber app. The launch comes as part of Uber’s continuous efforts to adapt its technology to build a wide range of products that meet the needs of local markets. “We are honoured to witness another global product launch from Egypt, especially following the last few tense months across the country and the world. Egypt is an innovation hub and a fantastic environment for testing new products,” says Ahmed Khalil, GM of Uber Egypt. “By leveraging Uber’s technology, the new intercity service will introduce a convenient setting to move users between governorates. As we continue to invest in the Egyptian market, we remain committed to broadening...
Rain Launches the First Standalone 5G Network in Africa
Image sourced from MyBroadband Rain has rolled-out Africa’s first commercial standalone 5G network – powered by Huawei. The South African data-only provider currently covers suburbs in Cape Town including Sea Point, Claremont, Goodwood, Bellville, Durbanville and the CBD. “Standalone 5G will further improve 5G network performance with increased uplink rate, lower latency, and improved reliability, ushering in high-end cloud VR and cloud gaming services, more diversified enterprise and home broadband services,” says Khaya Dlanga, Rain CMO. “Standalone 5G will demonstrate how 5G is powerful in realising South Africa’s 4IR future. Powered by Huawei’s global leading 5G solutions, our Standalone 5G will enable the industry’s digital transformation in the future, such as smart healthcare, smart ...
Airtel Africa Expands Network with WorldRemit
Airtel Africa and WorldRemit have partnered to expand operations to Rwanda – which means Airtel Money is now available in DRC, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Niger. Airtel Money enables mobile money users to send local and international money transfers, make utility payments, pay merchants, save money in their mobile wallets, purchase airtime and access a range of mobile financial products. WorldRemit will enable customers from across the globe to receive money into Airtel Money wallets. Users can use the free mobile app; choose Mobile Money and Airtel as the operator, then follow the prompts. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_195.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_195.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “The connection to more Mobile Money accounts through Airtel Africa allows us to ...
3 Ways COVID-19 has Digitised Education
The introduction of the fourth industrial revolution has already been transforming the education sector over the past two decades, with technology allowing students to access education from anywhere at any time. This, however, has been fast-tracked due to the impact of COVID-19, with institutions having to close their doors to stop the spread. Although it has been an adjustment for both students and teachers, technology is revolutionising education and paving a way towards a better future in learning – according to Dr Andrew Hibling, CEO of EDGE Education. Hibling says that technology is changing education in 3 fundamental ways: how we learn; where and when we learn; and our interaction with learning materials. 1. How we learn /* custom css */ .tdi_3_18f.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.t...
Why Cybersecurity is Critical for the Healthcare Industry
Sourced from Getty Images. Healthcare institutions, particularly hospitals, have long been a tempting target for cybercriminals. These institutions hold massive amounts of extremely sensitive and personal data that can be exploited in various cyberattacks. Moreover, with healthcare receiving more funding and grants due to COVID-19, it’s become a (perceived) easy target. The reality is that within healthcare’s IT systems lie critical patient information such as ID numbers, credit card and banking details and other highly sensitive data such as patients’ HIV status that can be used to cause considerable damage. An ID number alone can fetch quite a price on the black market which is why the global healthcare system must stay ultra-vigilant and mitigate any damage and potential liability. Curr...
LG Begins Roll Out of 2020 TV Line-up
LG has announced the rollout of its 2020 TV line-up of seven new SELF-LIT OLED models – including the art inspired GX Gallery series, the real 8K 88” ZX Signature model, LG’s largest SELF-LIT OLED, the wallpaper thin WX series, 8K and 4K NanoCell Technology TVs and 4K UHD TVs. The new GX Gallery series models offer a unique minimalist aesthetic, made possible by OLED’s revolutionary panel technology, which does not require a backlight. This allows the television to integrate state-of-the-art picture quality in an ultra-thin form factor – the 65-inch model is only 2cm thin, without the need for a separate control box. The TV mounts flush to the wall, like a piece of art in a gallery. Producing images of unprecedented detail and clarity, the much-anticipated LG OLED 88” ZX Real 8K models del...
The Impact of EduTech in South Africa
COVID-19 has shone the spotlight on the importance of technology, especially within the realm of education. When schools around the country were forced to shut their doors, teachers and students needed to adapt to the prospect of continuing their learning online. While some thrived in these conditions, others struggled through. It became evident that not only is there a lack of practical resources available in South Africa’s less privileged communities, but also a lack of tech-related skills amongst South Africa’s youth. Ultimately, it is clear that the country has a way to go before overcoming many of the hurdles standing in the way of fully embracing the power of EduTech. However, the reality is that the use of technology in education, and all other aspects of daily life, is no longer op...
Fixed Wireless Access Unlocks a World of Opportunity
5G networks are now being built out, with performance and capacity gains available to be tapped by new use cases. One of the first will be fixed wireless access (FWA). Around half of all households in the world – over 1 billion – do not have a fixed broadband connection. Given the current speed and capacity of cellular networks with LTE and its evolution to 5G, there are opportunities for operators to deliver broadband services to homes and small and medium-sized enterprises economically using FWA. Fixed wireless access (FWA) connections are forecast to grow threefold and reach close to 160 million by the end of 2025, accounting for 25 percent of total mobile network data traffic globally, according to Ericsson Mobility Report. FWA in the broadband context /* custom css */ .tdi_3_acf.td-a-...
Only 20% of the Cybersecurity Workforce is Represented by Women
Women represent around 20% of the global cybersecurity workforce, according to a report released by Cybersecurity Ventures. This comes a mere two years after Frost & Sullivan pointed a menacing finger at the 1.8 million vacant cybersecurity seats by 2020 and the dearth of skills and people within an incredibly critical industry. There is a lack of female representation within this industry and a lack of actual skills needed to populate the growing number of requirements from organisations facing a rising cyber threat. The answer, according to Anna Collard, MD of KnowBe4 Africa, is to encourage women to cross-skill and expand into cybersecurity roles and to make the industry more welcoming as a whole. “Cybersecurity isn’t just ones and zeros, it’s the people factor, it’s understanding t...
