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Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa Prepare for Massive Demand in Data Services

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Since the onset of COVID-19 and the consequential lockdown, reliable and fast Internet connectivity has become a vital requirement for businesses and individuals working and learning from home. Expansion in the digital economy and the resultant exponential growth in demand for connectivity is driving the laying of underground fibre-optic cable to feed internet-hungry homes and businesses. It is arguably the highest-growth industry in South Africa today, outstripping other sectors of the economy – even before the current crisis. That’s according to Jessica Spira, Business Development Director at Rand Merchant Bank (RMB). The bank was the joint mandated lead arranger and co-funder of an $8.7-million (R16-billion) senior debt financing package provided to Community Investment Ventures Holding...

Politics

Silver Peak SD-WAN: as Simple or Complex as Required to Maximise Business

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The ‘business of business’ is not always easy on the ‘business of telecommunications’. Mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, closures, new applications and new business needs – which are all staples of the corporate world – can make designing and managing an enterprise wide area network (WAN) into a never-ending, complicated task.  So says Duane Henigin, Senior Systems Engineer at SD-WAN solution provider Silver Peak. Writing in a blog entry, Henigin notes that: “Most likely your Wide Area Network (WAN) has grown in complexity over time or you have inherited a network with its own challenges… Add in the constant balance between dependability and performance with cost and you have just scratched the surface of architecting and managing an enterprise WAN.” Henigin says that software-de...

Politics

Johannesburg Fintech to Launch an All-in-One Video Conferencing App

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Sourced from Innovation Village. Johannesburg-based Cassava Fintech International (CFI), a subsidiary of Econet Global, has announced the release of ‘Sasai TeamTalk’, a voice and video conferencing service that takes up to 20 people on one call. The service, coming at a time when many countries have imposed restrictions on movement to curb the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus, will be available through Sasai, the all-in-one super App from Cassava Fintech, that allows users to chat, pay and explore a vast range of services and content. Announcing the new service, Darlington Mandivenga, CEO of Cassava Fintech International says “We believe the timing of this mobile conferencing service could not have been more appropriate. Families, communities, social groups such as religious organization...

Politics

MultiChoice to Provide Free Online Learning and Entertainment

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Image sourced from The Vanguard Nigeria As South Africans continue to adjust to new ways of living and working, MultiChoice South Africa has expanded its content selection, value and reach. The multimedia producer is opening up a world of online learning, series and movies to its DStv customers from 19 May 2020. “As the nationwide lockdown continues, MultiChoice continues to provide an uninterrupted video entertainment subscription service with the best available content,” says CEO of MultiChoice South Africa, Mark Rayner. “We’re always looking for new and creative ways to add value for our customers – most recently during the current COVID-19 period.” Online Learning Udemy is a leading online learning platform, aimed at professional adults and students. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_052.td-a-re...

Politics

Huawei Y7p – South Africa’s 1st HMS Device

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Image sourced from Huawei Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Huawei has recently launched the Y7p smartphone to the South African market. The Huawei Y7p is available in Midnight Black and Aurora Blue from around R3,995 and is available through most major retailers. Thoughts on the Huawei Y7p The device is sleek and stylish. In classic smartphone fashion, the Huawei Y7p is a rectangular slab complete with rounded corners and slim but accessible buttons along the right side. It’s fitted with an impressive fingerprint sensor and triple-camera setup on the back while the front sports a powerful 8MP selfie camera. Before purchasing this device, it’s important to note that it is the first phone in South Africa to come with Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), Huawei’s new ecosystem. And while HMS lo...

Politics

Google Rolls Out Game-Changing Update to Chrome

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Sourced from Forbes. Google is rolling out tabbed grouping for Google Chrome. The update aims to address the problem of working with larger numbers of tabs at once. The new feature makes it possible to group related tabs together and treat them as a single entity for ease of navigation and management. The company is already in the process of upgrading the feature with new options; collapsible tab groups are now available to test in the Canary build of Chrome 85. If you have already experimented with tab groups, users will almost certainly have noticed that when tabs are grouped together they actually end up taking up more space than before because of the label you assign to them. In response to that, Google has come up with a simple solution which should perhaps have been included right fr...

Politics

3 Digital Solutions from Vodacom to Get South Africans Back to Work Safely

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Sourced from Tech Cabal As businesses across South Africa start returning to work, the safety of employees and customers is of paramount importance. This means that employers will have to make extra changes to their regular operations in order to open and stay safe. Technology can play a critical role in helping businesses implement these back-to-work protocols through the use of IoT (Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence) and analytics. With this in mind, Vodacom has unveiled three digital solutions to support businesses as they navigate their return to work post-lockdown. 1. Thermal Cameras One of the primary symptoms consistent with COVID-19 is elevated body temperature. The use of thermal imaging cameras previously applied in the manufacturing industries can be applied ...

Politics

Platform Simplifies Access to COVID-19 Interventions in Nigeria

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Sourced from Mail & Guardian. Beating Corona Nigeria, the country’s leading virtual intervention database has restructured its model to help disadvantaged Nigerians in need of interventions connect with the relevant non-profits. The platform itself kicked off last month, 9 April, and has recorded a massive amount of data. It continues to actively connect interveners to the people who need access to interventions. After recommendations to resolve the platform’s challenges with making interventions accessible, the database was pivoted towards a new model. With this pivot, the intervention database properly complements the core of the platform’s mission. Some of the major updates on the platform now allows for a search bar that can enable interventions to be easily found, a breakdown of a...

Politics

HIV-Fighting Strategy Could Help Against COVID-19

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Sourced from Getty Images. While vaccines for the world-stopping coronavirus could be months, or even years away – there are some researchers who are looking to see if they can stop people who are at high risk of getting sick in the first place. The Verge writes that this is a proven strategy and preventative drugs have been used for decades to help people protect themselves against malaria, and more recently, against HIV. There has never been an effective vaccine against HIV, but now people can take a daily medication that reduces the risks of contracting the disease from sexual activity by 99%. Known as Pre-Exposure Prophylactic, or PrEP, the drug is used to prevent disease in people who haven’t yet been exposed to it. “We have an incredibly powerful tool that can, for myself personally,...

Politics

Is the US Trade Ban Limiting China’s Tech Dominance? Huawei Thinks So

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Image sourced from Al Jazeera Last week US President, Donald Trump extended the national trade ban by another year – a move which a senior Huawei Technologies executive believes is “really designed to safeguard American dominance of global tech”. Similarly, Head of Consumer Electronics at Huawei, Richard Yu says “The so-called cybersecurity reasons are merely an excuse. The key is the threat to the technology hegemony of the US”. The order prohibits American companies from buying, selling or using any hardware from Chinese technology companies in fear that it will result in ‘cyber-exploitation’ by China. Already in 2019, President Trump claimed that Huawei is a threat to American national security. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_ea4.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_ea4.td-a-rec-img img{ ma...

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New Windows 10X OS Struggling to Perform Basic Functions

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Sourced from The Sun UK. Microsoft has spent a good while now pushing for a single version of Windows that can run on every type of device, and while the company hasn’t managed to achieve this as well as they might have liked in the past – now the company seems to be close to finally reaching that “one Windows” ecosystem. Enter Windows 10X. A new edition of Windows 10 designed for dual-screen devices like Microsoft’s upcoming Surface Neo. The operating system is also slated to be introduced to all devices running a Microsoft OS in the near future. That’s the plan, at least for now. Now, according to MS Power User, Microsoft is not satisfied with the performance of a number of Win32 apps when virtualised in 10X. When in the background, these apps are struggling to perform basic tasks such a...

Politics

Facebook and SANBS Partner to Increase Blood Donations in South Africa

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Facebook, the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) and the Western Cape Blood Service (WCBS) are working together to encourage people to donate blood. Starting on Monday, 18 May 2020, South Africans who are over 18 years old will have the option to sign up as blood donors on Facebook, be notified when blood donor centres near them have an urgent need for donations and invite friends to donate. With South Africa being the first African country that Facebook has launched this feature, this initiative comes at a crucial time as the country starts to see a significant drop in blood donations as a result of people staying home to prevent the spread of COVID-19, despite health institutions like the World Health Organization saying it is still safe to donate blood. How It Works /* custom ...