Author: Gugu Lourie
by Megan Willis We live in an age where most of us have an online presence. Many of us have numerous accounts on social and professional networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn. And singles among us are increasingly turning online to find love. So how do the images we post of ourselves online influence the first impressions others form of us? While it’s often said we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, the reality is that we all do. It takes only the briefest glance of a face, for us to form first impressions on a range of social…
by Brooks Marmon Donald Trump’s bleak inauguration speech has attracted attention for, among other things, employing the phrase “America first”. The term was popularised by the famed aviator Charles Lindbergh and is associated with anti-Semitic and Nazi sympathisers who sought to keep the US out of World War II. But Lindbergh and the America First Committee are not the only 20th century white nationalists to use the term. The small band of racist whites in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, employed a version of it as protest against the onset of decolonisation and the spread of black rule across Africa. In the late…
by Gugu Lourie South Africa’s tech firm EOH is quietly tapping into the fastest growing industry of providing eGovernment solutions to support governments to provide public services online through one stop-platforms – an approach that makes it easier to access public services. According to the United Nations eGovernment Survey 2016 this approach makes it easier for people to interact with public administration and get adequate and holistic responses to their queries and needs. Encouraging innovation through e-government In an effort to make public institutions more inclusive, effective, accountable and transparent, as called for in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,…
by Core Gaming Core Gaming Systems announced on Friday that Nintendo Switch will be available for R5,599 in South Africa. The breakthrough home video game console, which not only connects to a TV at home, but also instantly transforms into an on-the-go handheld, will launch as part of the global roll-out on Friday 3 March. “Nintendo Switch offers a completely new gaming experience that South Africans will love – we are thrilled to introduce this unique gaming console locally at the same time as the rest of the world,” says Matthew Grose, General Manager for Core Gaming Systems. In addition to participating…
by Staff Writer Finding the right broadband service provider is proving to be difficult in South Africa as stiff competition for the customers pocket is hitting up, a Cape Town-based start-up is bringing a solution for data-hungry consumers. FiberTiger, a new comparison website that was launched in December 2016, helps you navigate the murky world of fibre packages and providers available in South Africa. The website features sliders for customers to select desired Internet service and network provider, download speeds, shaping, capping, capacity, data and pricing. . The comparison website was borne from a personal need to quickly and easily compare…
by Marietjie Theron-Wepener Ford South Africa has suffered huge damage to its reputation thanks to its poor handling of a crisis involving some of its Kuga cars. The global car manufacturer’s local operation has been forced to recall more than 4 000 Kuga Ecoboost 1.6 litre models manufactured between December 2012 and February 2014. Ford South Africa’s CEO Jeff Nemeth announced the recall after over 40 cases of engine fires had been reported. To aggravate the situation, one death allegedly resulted from a Ford Kuga exploding in December 2015. There can be little doubt that the Ford Kuga crisis has hurt…
by Staff Writer MTN, Africa and Middle East biggest mobile phone operator by subscribers, will work with Omnicom as its integrated global agency. The telco said in a statement that the appointment of Omnicom follows a rigorous evaluation process, which began in March 2016, when six major global agency networks were invited to tender. Three agencies proceeded to the second round late last year, with Omnicom selected based on having met the functional and commercial requirements. These requirements were scope of work and specialisation, industry and geographic track record, proposed resources (footprint, team and transformation agenda), and specified risk and financial parameters.…
by Craig Heckrath, product development manager at Intervate Many of us have experienced the simplicity and convenience of hailing an Uber. It certainly seems like the 180-degree opposite of South Africa’s fragmented, informal (and sometimes unreliable) public transport networks. But what if we could use the principles and the technology that made Uber great, and apply them to our urban public transport systems? Could we bring order to the chaos, and improve the lives of millions of commuters? The answer to both questions is a resounding ‘yes’. In fact, the sensors, the geolocation technology, and the strong smartphone penetration are…
by Staff Writer SAP Africa announced on Thursday that its skills development initiative, Skills for Africa, has been awarded the prestigious Hasso Plattner Founders’ Award for 2016. This is the highest employee recognition at SAP, awarded annually by SAP CEO Bill McDermott, to an individual or a team from around the globe. SAP Africa Skills for Africa affords participants the opportunity to develop world-class IT and business skills (with exacting global SAP certification) and then translates the training into internships and employment with customers and partners of SAP. In doing so, this programme contributes to creating sustainable workplaces for the…
by Fraser Allison If unexpected packages start showing up at your door, you might want to have a word with one of your smart devices. Earlier this month, a six-year-old in Dallas asked her family’s Amazon Echo smart speaker for a dollhouse. And Alexa, Amazon’s Siri-like artificial assistant, promptly ordered one to their house. A San Diego TV news show picked up the story, and inadvertently repeated it when one of the news anchors commented: “I love the little girl, saying ‘Alexa ordered me a dollhouse’.” Overhearing this, several other Amazon devices in homes across San Diego attempted to buy more…