technology news
Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Proven ‘Less Effective’ Against South African Virus
Image sourced from TimesLIVE A lab study by Pfizer and BioNTech has shown that its COVID-19 vaccine has proven ‘less effective’ against the South African variant by producing “lower levels of neutralizing antibodies”. According to Bloomberg, the results are “part of tests of its vaccine against a lab-created virus that had all the mutations found in the South African variant, which is thought to spread faster than earlier versions”. “The mutant virus has become a stumbling block for vaccine campaigns, with South Africa halting the rollout of AstraZeneca Plc’s shot after a study showed it didn’t work as well in preventing mild illness involving the variant first identified there”. The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine – of which South Africa has received one million doses – has proven ‘minimally...
Rectron To Distribute NZXT PC Gaming Solutions Across South Africa
Rectron has added NZXT software-powered hardware solutions for PC gaming to its portfolio. According to the company, NZXT is dedicated to providing “premium PC gaming products and services that combine affordability, functionality, engineering and design to achieve extraordinary gaming experiences”. Through this partnership, Rectron will distribute the complete range of NZXT products including the H series cases, AIO liquid coolers, Power Supplies, AER RGB series Fans & Accessories. “NZXT is a very valuable addition in significantly strengthening our PC gaming offering. As a leading developer in innovative gaming products, NZXT has established a passionate following among gamers seeking craftsmanship and value, and we are excited to bring a focused selection of their products to o...
Huawei Unveils the New AppGallery in South Africa
Huawei Mobile Services has launched its latest version of Huawei AppGallery, featuring a new and enhanced way to discover content for users in South Africa. According to the company, the update “empowers users to smoothly discover an array of new apps, games, and resources on the platform and delve deeper into high-quality editorial content and more exciting updates and engaging features”. The new features are expected to provide users with the best discovery experience, as it currently boasts a global user base of more than 530 million monthly active users. Informed by its users’ feedback, this new version is more than just a new look; it provides tailored and localised topics based on users’ unique interests, while showcasing trending apps and games with striking visuals complemented by ...
Do We Trust Robots More Than Ourselves?
People now trust robots more than themselves to manage their finances, according to a new study by Oracle and personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi. The study of more than 9,000 consumers and business leaders in 14 countries found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased financial anxiety, sadness, and fear among people around the world and has changed who and what we trust to manage our finances. In addition, people are rethinking the role and focus of corporate finance teams and personal financial advisors, according to the research. The global pandemic has damaged people’s relationship with money at home and at work, here’s how: Among business leaders, financial anxiety and stress increased by 186 percent and sadness grew by 116 percent; consumer financial anxiety and stress doubled, ...
Elon Musk’s Behaviour Labelled ‘Criminal’ Post Bitcoin Price Surge
Elon Musk has been accused of manipulating the price of Bitcoin by economist Nouriel Roubini. In an interview with CoinDesk, Roubini says that it’s “criminal behaviour” for Musk to take an individual stance on the crypto. This comes after Tesla invested $1.5 billion into the cryptocurrency, causing Bitcoin to reach a record high of $47,000. Commenting on @Tesla‘s $1.5 billion bitcoin buy on #CDTV First Mover this morning, @Nouriel said it’s “criminal behavior” for Elon Musk to take an individual stance on bitcoin to pump up the price before announcing Tesla’s investment. “Talk about a criminal enterprise.” pic.twitter.com/aSHPX5ayHM — CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) February 10, 2021 According to Roubini, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should...
How to Piece Together the IoT Puzzle
When first looking at an Internet of Things (IoT) project, you might think it looks cut-and-dry. Then the proverbial rug is pulled from under you. Surely, it’s just about devices and keeping them connected to the Internet, right? It SHOULD be easy; but in reality, most companies find that they’re facing a challenge that looks more like a jigsaw puzzle – and sometimes a few pieces have fallen on the floor. Thoughtfulness and planning are key to solving this IoT jigsaw puzzle. You need to know how the pieces fit with your wider enterprise IT landscape (apps/data/processes). In other words, you must become familiar with all your pieces, choose the right ones at the right time, and ensure you have a usable workspace to create your masterpiece. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_c00.td-a-rec-img{ text-ali...
FlySafair Unveils New Mobile App
FlySafair has officially launched a new mobile app for Android and iOS. The app has been designed to give users an easy way to search, book, and manage flights directly from their phone – while also adjusting to travelling in the New COVID-19 Normal. “We’ve been crafting an app for a while and now seemed like a great time to launch it because we were able to make a lot of adjustments to the features to ensure that they were relevant in this COVID-19 reality”, says Kirby Gordon, CMO at FlySafair. Aviation in South Africa took a massive knock after the announcement of level 3 restrictions in late December last year, with available seats on the market in January this year being a mere 45% of what they were in January 2020. “The aim of the app has been to make our customer’s experience with us...
5 Cybersecurity Threats to the COVID-19 Vaccine
Image sourced from TimesLIVE Cybercrimes have increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic with hackers becoming heavily resourced, especially now with nations across the world in the implementation stages of rolling out vaccines. Hackers have found sophisticated ways to target the organisations that have valuable data such as vaccine development, trials, etc. Here are X cybersecurity threats to the COVID-19 vaccine: 1. Cyber Espionage to Steal Vaccine Data A viable vaccine is valuable intellectual property. Beyond the pharmaceutical formula itself, even data on testing and drug trials can be valuable to an organisation working to develop its own drug. With countries struggling to secure an effective vaccine, such data is a tempting target. In late 2020, North Korean...
Safaricom to Bid on Opportunity to Expand in Ethiopia
Image sourced from Techweez Safaricom is now one of six companies vying for the chance to claim one of two Ethiopian telecoms licences. This is one opportunity that the telco has been waiting on and one that might grant access to a licence in an economy with more than 100-million people. This comes after the Ethiopian Telecommunication Authority (ECA) issued a statement last year announcing that the country would be open to selling a 40% stake in the state-owned company. In response to this announcement, Safaricom and, its parent company, Vodacom both expressed their interest in buying a stake in Ethio Telecom. According to Bussiness Daily, the ECA has “whittled the list down from a consortium of 12 that had expressed interest in entering the country’s telecommunications market”. The conso...
Mastercard Partners with MTN to Enable MoMo Customers to Transact Globally
Mastercard has joined forces with MTN to enable millions of MTN MoMo customers in 16 African countries to shop and pay online with global merchants. Through a Mastercard virtual payment solution linked to MTN MoMo (Mobile Money) wallets, consumers can now unlock a host of opportunities and shop from their favourite international brands online while in their home countries or travelling abroad. The announcement comes at a time when eCommerce and online shopping are reaching record levels across Africa. According to the Economy 2021 outlook conducted by the Mastercard Economics Institute, 20-30% of the COVID-19-related surge in eCommerce will remain a permanent feature of overall retail spending. And shopping through mobile is largely how consumers access these opportunities. Across Sub-Saha...
King Price and Secura Launch Emergency Response App in South Africa
King Price and Secura have introduced an app-based emergency response service, code red, in South Africa. In an emergency situation, app users can hit the panic button and the nearest armed response or emergency service vehicle will be dispatched. Code red taps into a network of more than 280 armed response companies, which connects to thousands of responders across all 9 provinces. Other services available to respond to a code red activation include the SA Police Service, metro, municipal and traffic law enforcement, ambulances, and fire and rescue services. “If you feel threatened, or if there’s a medical emergency, you open our app and tap on code red,” begins client experience partner at King Price, Wynand van Vuuren. “The code red control room will dispatch the closest linked armed re...
King Price and Secura Launch Emergency Response App in South Africa
King Price and Secura have introduced an app-based emergency response service, code red, in South Africa. In an emergency situation, app users can hit the panic button and the nearest armed response or emergency service vehicle will be dispatched. Code red taps into a network of more than 280 armed response companies, which connects to thousands of responders across all 9 provinces. Other services available to respond to a code red activation include the SA Police Service, metro, municipal and traffic law enforcement, ambulances, and fire and rescue services. “If you feel threatened, or if there’s a medical emergency, you open our app and tap on code red,” begins client experience partner at King Price, Wynand van Vuuren. “The code red control room will dispatch the closest linked armed re...
