Top Stories
Airbnb and SnapScan Join Forces to Encourage Local Spending in South Africa
Image sourced from The Tyee Airbnb has partnered with SnapScan to launch ‘Support Jozi, Shop Local’, an initiative that aims to aid the recovery of SMEs by driving traffic to smaller businesses, and delivering a much-needed economic boost to local communities. Using the SnapScan app, locals and visitors alike can now buy goods and services in 20+ Jozi businesses, chosen and recommended by local Hosts on Airbnb. People using SnapScan in these locations will also earn cashback vouchers called ‘Jozibucks’, which can then be ‘spent’ in the shops throughout March, driving additional revenue for the local businesses. The vouchers are funded by Airbnb. The “Support Jozi, Shop Local” initiative aims to encourage an inclusive recovery of the sector, by providing a platform to showcase small local b...
Netflix Launches ‘Fast Laughs’ to Rival TikTok and Reels
Netflix has launched a new short-form video platform called Fast Laughs. The service is expected to give users an inside look at funny clips from Netflix’s library of series. “Wanna see something funny? On Netflix, this one little question opens up lots of possibilities from hilarious series and films to laugh-out-loud stand-up specials,” reads a statement from the company. “That’s why we’re launching a new Fast Laughs feature for mobile devices. Fast Laughs offers a full-screen feed of funny clips from our big comedy catalogue including films (Murder Mystery), series (Big Mouth), sitcoms (The Crew) and stand-up from comedians like Kevin Hart and Ali Wong.” Users can access the service through the bottom navigation menu by clicking on the Fast Laughs tab. Clips will start playing – wh...
Free Stratus Webinar: New Strategies for a ‘Digital Everything’ Future
When it comes to the world of work, 2020 will be remembered as a year that accelerated technological change. The recent “Cloud in Africa” report revealed that cloud technology was vital in helping businesses manage the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Among the common uses of the cloud was edge computing technology — a distributed model where computing takes place near the physical location that data is being collected and analyzed, rather than on a centralized server. This innovation allowed organisations to maximise asset performance while also increasing the efficiency of employees and assets — which is especially key during a time when IT teams are trying to do more with less. To help more organisations implement a successful path towards a digital transforma...
WhatsApp’s Introduces Voice and Video Calling for the Desktop App
WhatsApp has announced that private and secure one-to-one voice and video calls are now available its desktop app. The calls are end-to-end encrypted which means that WhatsApp can’t hear or see them, whether you call from your phone or your computer. “With so many people still apart from their loved ones, and adjusting to new ways of working, we want conversations on WhatsApp to feel as close to in-person as possible, regardless of where you are in the world or the tech you’re using,” says the messaging platform. “We’re starting with one-to-one calls on the WhatsApp desktop app so we make sure we can give you a reliable and high-quality experience.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_b63.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_b63.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } To make desktop calling more u...
Scammers are Selling Fake COVID-19 Vaccines for up to $1,200
Underground scammers are selling fake COVID-19 vaccines. The majority of sellers originated in France, Germany, the UK, and the USA, and the prices per dose range from $250 to $1,200, with an average cost of about $500. Scammers and buyers usually get in contact via encrypted messaging apps like Wickr and Telegram, while payments are requested in the form of cryptocurrency, primarily Bitcoin. The majority of these underground sellers have made between 100-500 transactions. With the information available to Kaspersky experts, it’s impossible to tell how many doses of the vaccine being advertised online are actual doses (many medical facilities have found themselves with leftover doses) and how many advertisements are a scam. “You can find just about anything on the Darknet, so it’s not surp...
Microsoft to Enable End-to-End Encryption for Teams
Microsoft is set to enable end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for Teams by the first half of this year. Jared Spataro, Corporate VP for Microsoft 365, says that this will address users’ security and compliance requirements. “Teams will support E2EE for one-to-one Microsoft Teams calls, providing an additional option for conducting sensitive online conversations.” He goes on to say that IT will have full discretion over who can use E2EE in the organization. E2EE for Microsoft Teams one-to-one ad hoc VoIP calls will be available to commercial customers. Microsoft Word to Introduce New Text Predictions Feature Microsoft is set to introduce text predictions for Word. This new feature is expected to help users write “more efficiently” by reducing spelling and grammar errors. /* custom css *...
Nigeria has the Least Affordable Internet, Global Report Shows
Nigeria has the least affordable internet in the world, according to the Digital Quality of Life Index by Surfshark which takes in to account the quality of digital wellbeing in 85 countries (essentially 81% of the global population). In Nigeria, people have to work for 27 minutes 55 seconds to afford 1GB of mobile internet while the global average is 10 minutes. To pay for the cheapest broadband Internet, Nigerians have to work for 33 hours 42 minutes. The overall affordability is measured by combining the affordability of the cheapest mobile and broadband plans available in Nigeria. And essentially, people in 75% of the researched countries have to work more than the global average to afford the Internet. “Any country’s digital advancement has a tangible relation to its economic pot...
Apple Expected to Unveil a Foldable iPhone
Image sourced from 9to5Mac Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo believes the tech company could launch its first foldable iPhone by 2023, but only if it can “solve the foldable mobile device’s key technology”. The iPhone is expected to be between 7.5-8-inches when unfolded, making it larger than the iPhone 12 Pro Max. According to 9to5Mac, a foldable form factor will be “the most radical change to the iPhone since the introduction of the iPhone X — when the company redesigned the entire phone with an edge-to-edge display without a Home button”. Front Page Tech’s Jon Prosser believes “the foldable iPhone could cost less than rival offerings from the competition”. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_155.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_155.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } [embedded content] Apple s...
5 Surprisingly Simple Ways to Keep Hackers Out of Your Zoom Call
The COVID-19 remote work exodus has seen billions of people working from home, which means video conferencing apps have exploded in popularity. At the forefront is the service Zoom. However, with Zoom’s explosive popularity came a series of highly publicized security issues. To unpack this, ITNA’s Jenna Delport chatted with Gabe Goldhirsh, VP MEA at digital risk protection company, ZeroFOX. According to Goldhirsh, Zoom administrators are responsible for establishing security parameters that affect internal employees as well as any external parties that may join the organization’s Zoom meetings. Here are five ways to keep users safe and hackers out: Enable password requirements for ALL remote meetings whenever possible within the tool. Password enforcement at the administrati...
Twitter could Ban Users with COVID-19 Misinformation Strike System
Image sourced from Mission Statement Academy Twitter will start labelling tweets that violate its COVID-19 guidance policy – this essentially includes content containing misinformation about the virus as well as vaccines. Since introducing its COVID-19 guidance, Twitter has removed more than 8,400 Tweets and challenged 11.5 million accounts worldwide. The new labels are expected to include links to official public health information or the Twitter rules – which is an attempt by the social platform to help users find credible info and partner with the experts. In an official statement, Twitter says “we will begin applying labels to Tweets that may contain misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to our continued efforts to remove the most harmful COVID-19 ...
MTN Nigeria Subscribers Grow to 76.5 Million
Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) MTN Nigeria has published its financial year results – ending December 2020 – which reveal an increase of 12.2 million mobile subscribers to total 76.5 million. The telco also recorded: Active data users increased by 7.4 million to 32.6 million Service revenue increased by 14.7% to NGN1.3 trillion Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 9.7% to N685.7 billion EBITDA margin declined by 2.5 percentage point (pp) to 50.9% Profit before tax (PBT) grew by 2.6% to N298.9 billion Earnings per share (EPS) rose by 0.9% to N10.1 MTN Launches Supersonic AirFibre in South Africa MTN has launched its Supersonic AirFibre offering in South Africa. The product is said to overcome distance and a lack of infrastruct...
Legal Tech CEO Shares 10 Leadership Tips for Women
Women in Tech (WIT) Conversations is an all-women virtual forum launched recently to spark interaction and impart professional insights for the advancement of women in the South African tech space. A collaboration between legal technology firm, LexisNexis South Africa, and information technology vendor, Dell Technologies, the sessions see some of South Africa’s foremost women in technology sharing their professional experiences. Those interested in attending the next WIT Conversations event on Monday, 8 March 2021 at 14:00, commemorating International Women’s Day, can register here. During the first event in the series, held on on 18 February, LexisNexis CEO and Chairperson of the Board, Videsha Proothveerajh, shared insights under the theme, Love Lessons in Leadership. /* cust...
