Author: Gugu Lourie
South African companies can now optimise their IT team’s value delivery, with the recently-released IT4IT™ Reference Architecture Version 2.0, launched by The Open Group in October 2015. The IT4IT™ Standard was created by members of The Open Group: the global vendor-neutral IT consortium aimed at furthering adoption of open architecture, as well as creating standards such as TOGAF®, an Open Group standard. It is essentially a blueprint for a vendor-neutral reference architecture and value chain-based operating model. It provides the structure and tools for organisations to manage their IT function as if it were a business in…
There was to have been a conference in Malaysia last week called Love and Sex with Robots but it was cancelled. Malaysian police branded it “illegal” and “ridiculous”. “There is nothing scientific about sex with robots,” said a police chief. By Sean Welsh However, others believe there are many interesting and important aspects of intimate robot partners that are worth researching and discussing. There is a lot of science in Ava and Kyoko, the sexually capable robots in the movie Ex Machina, for example. Concepts raised in the film include the Turing Test and the Mary’s room thought experiment of…
Human beings inherit many genetic traits directly from their parents. However, cultural traits – tools, beliefs and behaviors that are transmitted by learning – can be passed on not only by parents but also teachers and peers. By Nicole Creanza and Oren Kolodny Many animals have learned behaviors, but people are uniquely good at building on existing knowledge to innovate further. This capacity, known as cumulative culture, was captured by Sir Isaac Newton when he said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” We can see evidence of this cumulative culture in the archaeological…
EXL, a Nasdaq listed business process solutions company, celebrated the opening of its new call centre in Cape Town on Tuesday. By Carin Smith, NewsAgency The centre will support all regions that have customer relationships or processes conducted in English, particularly relevant to companies in the UK and Europe given cultural similarity and time zone advantages, according to Rohit Kapoor, vice chair and CEO of EXL. The centre, situated in Cape Town’s tallest building, the Portside Tower, currently employs 60 people, but this is expected to increase up to 3 000 jobs over the next three years. “We’re committed to growing…
The HP Elite x2 is an incredibly versatile tablet that offers the productivity of a full notebook with the convenience of a tablet perfectly designed for the mobile professional. “We designed the HP Elite x2 to be thin, light and powerful in a way that captures the simplicity and elegance users will love while also delivering the durability, serviceability, security and manageability IT departments need to enable true mobile productivity,” said Frank Brassart, director, commercial mobility, personal systems EMEA, HP Inc. New level of design and performance The Elite x2 is a premium design from HP, crafted from milled…
Trade union Solidarity on Tuesday accused pay-TV channel M-Net of discriminating unfairly against white people. The allegation comes after M-Net has indicated in a recent advertisement that only black, Indian and coloured candidates may apply for a paid internship programme offered by M-Net’s Magic in Motion Academy. According to the advertisement up to 20 individuals can be accommodated in the programme. Dirk Groenewald, head of Solidarity’s centre for fair labour practices, said the advertisement does not comply with the provisions of the Employment Equity Act. “The said advertisement boils down to nothing but the total exclusion of white people and…
Merck is planning to launch its Muse Auto CD4/CD4% System, a portable instrument for monitoring the progression of the HIV/AIDS virus, throughout Africa. By Staff Writer The portable device has received regulatory approval in Nigeria, Cote d’lvoire, Cameroon and Angola, and is pending in South Africa. Of the more than 35 million people infected with HIV worldwide, 25 million live in Africa alone – and only 19 million are aware of their status, according to a 2014 UNAIDS report. Many patients in this part of the world, particularly those in rural areas, lack access to regular medical care. Treatment is often hindered by…
Global leading sexual wellbeing brand, Durex launched an international campaign calling for the creation of the world’s first official safe sex emoji, ahead of World AIDS Day on 1 December 2015. Research conducted by Durex reveals emojis play a vital role in young people’s conversation around sex with 80% of 16-25 year olds finding it easier to express themselves using emojis and over half of respondents regularly using emojis when discussing sex. 84% of 16-25 year olds said they feel more comfortable talking about sex using emojis. More worrying is the rise in apathy towards engaging in safer sexual practices…
The technology industry’s love affair with the so-called ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) continues unabated. Technologists in almost every industry are touting the future of connected sensors, devices, components, and actuators – all pumping information into a sprawling network of cloud services. By Michael Frans, head of business operations: Automotive at T-Systems South Africa The automotive industry is regarded as one of the verticals most perfectly primed to capitalise on The IoT, and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication advancements. In recent years, high-tech companies like Tesla, Apple and Uber have raced into leading positions in the automotive and transportation arenas. New technology has…
The Competition Tribunal of South Africa has agreed to indefinitely postpone a hearing regarding a R7bn merger between Vodacom and Neotel. By Gareth van Zyl, NewsAgency This comes after Vodacom released a market update earlier on Monday, saying the company is exploring a “revised transaction structure” regarding the Neotel deal. Vodacom in its statement said the revised transaction discussions “will directly impact the extent of the approval being sought from the Competition Tribunal and the scope of the Competition Tribunal hearing”. The Competition Tribunal then on Monday morning announced a delay in the meeting, which was expected to hear challenges from…