technology news
Instagram Accused of Collecting Users Private Biometric Data
Facebook-owned Instagram is being sued over allegations that it “illegally harvests the biometric data of users”, according to Bloomberg. “In [a] new lawsuit, filed Monday in state court in Redwood City, California, the company is accused of collecting, storing and profiting from the biometric data of more than 100 million Instagram users, without their knowledge or consent.” The report goes on to say that if found guilty of privacy violations, the company could be expected to pay $1000 per violation — “or $5000 if it’s found to have acted recklessly or intentionally”. Instagram Debuts Reels to Rival TikTok Instagram has rolled out a new way to create and share videos – Reels – to rival popular Chinese app, TikTok. The social media platform says that use...
Nutanix Hybrid Cloud Infrastructure Rolls Out on AWS
Cloud computing solutions company, Nutanix has announced the general availability of Clusters on AWS. This roll-out hopes to extend the flexibility and ease of use of the company’s hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) software, along with all Nutanix products and services, to bare metal Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances on Amazon Web Services (AWS). With this announcement, Nutanix aims to deliver hybrid cloud infrastructure — one that allows businesses to accelerate their digital initiatives and optimize spending, priorities further amplified in the age of COVID. Additionally, customers will be able to take advantage of the company’s full software stack on the private and public cloud. This includes unstructured storage solutions Files, application orchestration solution ...
Women in Tech: Kholiwe Makhohliso, VP of Software AG
In a predominantly male-dominated industry, Kholiwe Makhohliso has carved a name for herself as a diverse leader in the ICT sector as Country Manager and Vice President of Software AG – a German-headquartered global software company. Makhohliso’s experience spans over two decades with a career that has been meticulously nurtured in both public and private sectors. Her growth as a revered executive in the ICT industry is owed to her risk-taking nature, resilience, and an unwavering belief in offering her clients the best solutions for their needs whilst also ensuring that her teams thrive in a holistic world-class working environment. “I have never taken it to heart that it’s a man’s world,” says Makhohliso. “I grew up with men, but I was never aggressive some people believe I’m way too sof...
Kaspersky Extends Reach to West Africa
Kaspersky has partnered with Pan-African distributor company, First Distribution, to expand its security software portfolio into West Africa. First Distribution currently distributes Kaspersky in Southern Africa and East Africa. The addition of the new territory means it now covers the full region for non-Francophone sub-Saharan Africa. Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is said to be constantly transforming into security solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection and a number of specialised security solutions and services to fight sophisticated and ev...
Dell Introduces New Latitude Chromebook Enterprise
Dell has officially unveiled its new Latitude 7410 Chromebook Enterprise – a ‘2-in-1’ business laptop that the company says boosts productivity with on-the-go power, sophisticated security and fast connectivity features employees need. This device comes at a time when businesses around the world are looking for innovative ways to keep their employees connected from anywhere. “This is not just another Chromebook,” says Rahul Tikoo, senior VP of Dell Technologies. “Our latest Latitude Chromebook Enterprise is designed equal parts for employees and IT managers adopting Chrome OS in the enterprise. Employees will appreciate its sleek design and collaboration features that help them navigate new work dynamics, while IT managers have the management and security features they ex...
Microsoft Launches Safe@Home Hackathon to Tackle GBV
Microsoft South Africa is partnering with NPO’s, 1000 Women Trust and TEARS Foundation, to launch the Safe@Home Hackathon which aims to address gender-based violence in South Africa. Hackathons are aimed at finding solutions to specific challenges through collaborative brainstorming and programming in a short space of time. The Safe@Home Hackathon will look to facilitate collaboration to create and develop technology-based solutions that will work in the context of South Africa’s unique circumstances and challenges. “Gender-based violence is one of the most pressing and critical challenges South Africa faces: President Cyril Ramaphosa identified it as the second pandemic our country is currently battling and a war that is being waged against our women and children, with over 40% of S...
Rubrik Go: a Flexible IT Offering during Uncertain Times
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change,” said the renowned genius and theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein, and cloud data management company Rubrik is taking this to heart in its latest offering which delivers flexibility at its core. Rubrik is distributed throughout Africa by value-added distributor, Networks Unlimited Africa. Rubrik Go, the company’s new subscription purchasing programme, applies a Software as a Service (SaaS) model and enables customers to enjoy future innovation through one simple and predictable subscription licence. “In these current uncertain times brought about by the global COVID-19 lockdown situation, the ability for customers to have flexibility with their IT arrangements is extremely useful,” comments Risna Steenkamp, General Manager: ESM Divi...
vivo Launches Y30 Smartphone in Kenya
vivo has unveiled the Y30 smartphone in Kenya – just one month after it announced the launch of the V19. The tech manufacturer says that the Y30 smartphone combines its Ultra O Screen, AI Quad Camera and 5000 mAh battery in a high-end device with a unique body structure and moderate price tag. Chronicling the brand’s growth, Arthur Xian, CEO of vivo Kenya, highlighted the company’s efforts to make revolutionary smartphones that will usher smartphone enthusiasts into an era of endless possibilities on mobile devices and exceptional photography experiences. “The flexible display and design market this 2020 is growing unexpectedly. The technology is expected to expand further and diverse. Our goal is to dominate in the flexible display market by introducing new products with enhanced pe...
5 Reasons Why Connectivity Will Enable the Workplace of the Future
While the workplace of the future has long been possible, few businesses were adequately prepared for the speed and urgency at which they would need to develop such an environment — until the global COVID-19 pandemic fast-tracked digital transformation. Seemingly overnight, organisations were faced with two choices: they could either rethink their traditional ideas on productivity and ultimately rely on new technologies and infrastructures to create a productive remote-working environment or they would need to cease operations. Many embraced the challenge and chose the former, marking a mass work-from-home migration. Of course, reinventing the traditional office presented its obstacles, but one thing was made abundantly clear: the virtual workplace of the future can be anywhere that is s...
Sony Unveils Noise-cancelling Headphones
Sony has launched its highly-anticipated WH-1000XM4 noise-cancelling headphones – the latest addition to its 1000X range. The tech company says that these headphones deliver “Sony’s best noise-cancelling performance, reducing high and mid-frequency sounds”. With two microphones on each earcup, Sony’s Dual Noise Sensor technology captures ambient noise and passes the data to the trusted HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1. A new Bluetooth Audio SoC (System on Chip) senses and adjusts to music and noise at over 700 times per second. Using a new algorithm, the HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1 applies noise cancelling processing in real-time, allowing the listener to focus more on the music they love and blur out unwanted distractions. Edge-AI analyses music in real-time and r...
Sabiss: The New Recruitment Platform in Africa
Sabiss is the new job search platform dedicated to candidates on the African continent. Its goal is, on the one hand, to allow companies to have easy access to the profiles and skills they are looking for and on the other hand, to facilitate the job search for African residents, by centralizing offers from countries in Africa, but also from other continents. Sabiss is therefore aimed at talents in Africa looking for a job or an internship, but also at companies all over the world, wishing to strengthen their team with newly qualified recruits. For applicants, access to the platform and its services is free. Once they have registered and completed their profile, they have access to all job offers, can apply for an unlimited period or can benefit from advice on finding a job via the blog. Fo...
Trump Signs Executive Order to Ban Business with TikTok
US President, Donald Trump has reportedly signed an executive order that aims to prohibit all transactions with TikTok’s parent company, Bytedance. This order – which is expected to come into effect in 45 days – is meant to “address the national emergency with respect to the information and communication technology supply chain”. US President Donald Trump has reportedly signed an executive order that aims to prohibit all transactions with #TikTok’s parent company #Bytedance.Click To Tweet “The spread [of apps controlled by the Chinese government] continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” reads the order. “The United States must take aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security.” INBOX: @rea...
