tech news
Facebook Launches “My Digital World” Across Sub-Saharan Africa
Facebook has launched “My Digital World” – a programme designed to equip the youth and general public across Sub-Saharan Africa with digital skills needed to navigate the digital world. My Digital World is a consolidation of all Facebook digital literacy programmes including Safe Online with Facebook, Ilizwe Lam, and eZibo and will be offered virtually this year to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic. Facebook has over the years trained thousands of people on digital literacy skills and is this year preparing to train close to 20,000 participants across Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire and Ethiopia on safe, responsible and beneficial usage of the digital platforms. “We remain committed to equipping young people and the general public across Sub-Saharan Africa with th...
Hybrid Cloud Environments Provide Cheap Security for Financial Service Organisations
Sourced from ZDNet. Worldwide, financial services organisations are turning to the cloud as the means to transform outdated legacy systems and commit to disruptive technologies. The size of the public cloud market is expected to top $354 billion by the end of 2022, a significant jump from the less than $197 billion of 2018. But instead of going the all-or-nothing route, the hybrid cloud is positioned to provide companies with a more secure way of leveraging their data. Yunus Scheepers, CTO at SilverBridge, discusses these security benefits at a time when Microsoft Azure data centres in the country are attracting attention from financial services organisations as a safer alternative to what their current on-premise offerings can provide. A hybrid cloud environment also provides risk-averse ...
4 Reasons to Love the Huawei P40 Pro’s AI Camera
Mobile technology is evolving so rapidly that it can often feel difficult to keep up. The instant you lay your hands on one smartphone, another outpaces it – particularly when it comes to photographic capabilities. Despite this, the Huawei P40 Pro has been dubbed one of 2020s best photo smartphones by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). And it’s not difficult to understand why – the device sports an impressive 50 MP Ultra Vision Camera, 40 MP Cine Camera, 12 MP SuperSensing Telephoto Camera, 3D Depth Sensing Camera on the rear and a 32MP Selfie Camera on the front. Thanks to its advanced camera setup, the Huawei P40 Pro gives users the ability to take great pictures with ease through its powerful AI features. Here’s a deeper look into four reasons why users will love this device:...
Telkom VS Gaming to Bring Esports League to Virtual Comic Con Africa
Sourced from Students Brands. The 2020 edition of Comic Con Africa will be held virtually for the first time ever. Comic Con announced that this year’s edition of the biggest event in the pop culture and gaming calendar will go ahead from 24 – 27 September 2020; bringing a virtual Con to fans in their own homes. “The (COVID-19) pandemic has forced all aspects of the sports fraternity to relook their approach. Luckily for us, nothing much has changed; VS Gaming continued to host its online leagues through this time. With the postponement of Comic Con Africa the VS Gaming flagship Masters tournament will conclude and the revised structure will be shared with our community soon,” says Wanda Mkhize, Telkom VS Gaming Spokesperson. In light of the new developments, Telkom VS Gaming in partnershi...
MTN, Cell C and rain Zero-rate Education Programmes for Youth
Major telecommunications companies MTN, Cell C and rain have zero-rated the OLICO Maths Education Programme which provides puzzles and problem-solving activities, competitions, games and weekly challenges to keep learners busy, connected and engaged. This decision followed the closure of schools in the COVID-19 pandemic’s local lockdown restrictions, which compounded learning challenges even further for the notoriously under-resourced youth in some of South Africa’s largest townships. Launched in 2008, the OLICO Maths Education Programme has provided effective and increasingly popular after-school tutoring and training in Alexandra, Diepsloot, Bosmont, Dunoon and Heideveld, and partners using OLICO maths content are working in Soweto, Ivory Park, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu and deep-rural Easte...
South Africa Looks to be Expanding its Nuclear Power Infrastructure
Sourced from the South African. South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has taken another step towards building a new nuclear-power program. On Sunday, the department had issued a request for information for 2500 megawatts of capacity, the ministry says in a statement. Submissions for the request will close on 15 September. Given the long lead-time of building additional new nuclear capacity, upfront planning is necessary for security of energy supply to society. @DMRE_ZA has published the RFI intended to commence preparatory work to develop plans for a future nuclear energy build programme. pic.twitter.com/bln7ZRdbh5 — Gwede Mantashe (@GwedeMantashe1) June 14, 2020 “This will enable the department to gain insight into the cost of the program, possible ownership structure...
Level 2 B-BBEE Rating Awarded to Networks Unlimited, Showing Continued Commitment to SA
Value-added distributor Networks Unlimited Africa has been certified as a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Level 2 contributor. This rating will assist both the company as well as its partners when it comes to competing in the marketplace. Networks Unlimited Africa distributes best-of-breed products and offers the latest solutions within the converged technology, data centre, networking, and security landscapes. CEO Anton Jacobsz comments, “This rating is a matter of great pride for us because it is not merely a certificate, but a recognition of the investment the company has made in its people – through both internal skills development, as well as the upliftment programmes and initiatives we have deployed and developed across all pillars of the B-BBEE codes.” “Networks Unli...
3 New Features Being Tested by WhatsApp that Could Come to Your Phone Soon
Image sourced from YoMZanzi WhatsApp is reportedly testing a series of new features with the latest batch of beta updates for both iOS and Android smartphones. One of the most interesting of these new features is multi-device login support. Multiple logins for various devices Possibly transforming the way we use WhatsApp, a multiple login feature is currently being tested within the beta version of the highly popular messaging app. No longer will users need to log out when switching devices, instead this feature it bent on streamlining the whole process. Gadgets Africa reports that at the moment, you can only have one mobile device signed-in to WhatsApp. The only other devices you can add are a further PC, Mac or use web browsers. You can swap between these but, only one can be logged-in a...
Is Company Culture Hindering Your Mobile Workforce?
Sourced from Tapscape While the mobile workforce has long been possible in theory, thanks to the ready availability of cloud technologies, many enterprises have continued to operate in a more traditional manner. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns around the globe have forced businesses to completely rethink the way they operate. This unprecedented situation has dramatically accelerated the mobility drive, and subsequently the adoption of the cloud. Most organisations were faced with the choice of enabling staff to work from home or ceasing to operate, and the cloud offers the ideal way to access technologies to facilitate this. There is no going back “While we may have moved down a level in our lockdown status, President Ramaphosa has stressed that those who are able to work re...
Telecom Giant Orange May Launch in Nigeria and South Africa Very Soon
Sourced from MSNBC. France’s largest telecom group Orange is considering entering the South African and Nigerian markets, according to its CEO. “It could make sense to be in economies such as Nigeria and South Africa,” Orange’s CEO Stephane Richard, says, according to a report by Reuters. “If one considers there are things to do, the time frame I am considering is rather a few months than a few years,” he continues. Richard declined to comment when asked about a possible interest in taking a stake in MTN. Orange and MTN Group have worked together to launch an African mobile payment company, Mowali. Orange has 208 million subscribers, while MTN has 257 million subscribers. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_e4d.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_e4d.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } They ar...
4 Ways Digitisation Can Unlock Africa’s Recovery from COVID-19
Four steps to achieve a digital society for all Africans and avoid the stalling of African digitisation: 1. Bridging the digital divide Broad-based digitisation, especially for those people at the bottom of the pyramid, is an effective measure to ignite and sustain economic growth, and it starts with ensuring access to digital infrastructure for all. A study by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) found that expanding mobile broadband penetration by just 10% in Africa would equate to an increase of 2.5% in GDP per capita. Yet, traditional models for investing in digital infrastructure do not stack up in many rural or remote areas, due to a combination of high deployment costs, regulatory barriers and poor returns on capital. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_101.td-a-rec-img{ text-align:...
South African Government Working on Plans to Re-Open Cinemas Across the Country
A new set of regulations gazetted by the SA government on Thursday shows that movie theatres might be opening again across the country sometime soon. Cinemas are currently closed, not allowed to operate during Level 3 of the national lockdown. For it now it seems that the new government regulations have included theatres and cinemas in an arrangement that allows competitors to negotiate amongst each other, and with their landlords in order to lower rent and allow for rent holidays. In normal times, these negotiations are restricted by South Africa’s competition laws. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_eae.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_eae.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “The Department (of trade and industry) has received representation from stakeholders in the cinema exhibition ind...
