Author: Gugu Lourie
By James Allen-Robertson Artists including Beyonce, Daft Punk, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Kanye West and Madonna recently joined Jay Z in New York to launch Tidal, his artist-owned streaming service. Their two targets, poor audio fidelity and a loss of artist control, indicate a dissatisfaction with the way that consumers are treating music. The Tidal revolution hopes to convince consumers that music and creativity can be better in the age of digital streaming. Yet within a day of the announcement there has already been significant backlash. The internet is awash with scepticism of Tidal’s revolutionary claims. Though judgement should be…
By Staff writer MTN SA has become the first operator on the continent to release a Firefox OS-based smartphone using the latest version of the operating system. The mobile phone operator said the Alcatel OneTouch Fire E smartphone represents its commitment to provide its customers with the widest range of smart devices designed to fit every budget and requirement. Firefox OS is the first mobile operating system powered completely by Web technologies. Users get the performance, personalization and price they want in a smartphone packaged in a beautiful, clean, intuitive, and easy-to-use experience. It is designed for the Web in…
By Andrew Quodling Twitter’s new system for reporting harassment and threats to law enforcement comes after the platform has received serious criticism for its poor handling of harassment. The company’s chief executive, Dick Costolo, acknowledged the company’s failings in a leaked memo; We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we’ve sucked at it for years. It’s no secret and the rest of the world talks about it every day. We’re going to start kicking these people off right and left and making sure that when they issue their ridiculous attacks, nobody hears them. Complex problems…
By Matthew Lynch Mobile devices as teaching tools are becoming a more and more common part of the American education experience in classrooms, from preschool through graduate school. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 58% of U.S. teachers own smartphones — 10 percentage points higher than the national average for adults. Those teachers are building that tech-savviness into their lesson plans, too, by embracing bring-your-own-device policies and leading the push for an iPad for every student. In 2013, an estimated 25% of U.S. schools had BYOD policies in place and it’s reasonable to assume those numbers have risen…
By Ujuh The Shoprite Group is promising to introduce a smart trolley that can interact with a smartphone and play shopping guide in a move that feeds into the techie craze called internet of things (IoT). This comes with the introduction of a R50 refundable deposit for all trolleys. The largest retailing group in Africa, Shoprite, said in a statement the GPS enabled trolley will be able to direct consumers fast and effectively through their shopping list and also alert them to discounted products and promotions while in store. The group said it aim to convert and replace all its current…
The R2.7bn transaction by Telkom to buy fast-growing technology group Business Connexion (BCX) is edging closer and both companies sees the deal closing by 30 April 2015. Telkom bid for BCX, announced in June 2014, is still being reviewed by SA regulators, which in 2007 blocked Africa’s biggest fixed-line telephone group’s attempt to buy the technology firm. The regulator said at the time that the deal would have resulted in Telkom thwarting competition in the managed network service sector, which could have led to exiting of smaller players and lesser opportunities for consumer. Isaac Mophatlane, BCX CEO, said on Tuesday that…
By Kroshlen Moodley Now is the ideal time for Eskom to use advanced analytics to improve decision-making and better handle South Africa’s power crisis. Eskom has always used a degree of analytics to manage power supply. However, the big data it gathers from power plants, transformers, generators and other machinery only reflects events that have already happened, making decisions based on this historical data ineffective. Looking back vs looking ahead The biggest problem is that decision-making is reactive rather than proactive. Take infrastructure maintenance as an example. Many of South Africa’s power plants are operating well beyond their 30- to…
By Staff writer Talks between Telkom and Communications Workers Union (CWU) have deadlocked over voluntary severance and early retirement packages for staff members of the fixed-line telephone group’s non-core activities such as call centre that are being outsourced. Telkom said on Tuesday it has offered voluntary severance and voluntary early retirement packages to CWU members affected by the Section 197 process currently underway. This move follows after discussions between Telkom and CWU reached a deadlock. Two weeks ago, Telkom approached organised labour with an offer related to our current Section 197 process to outsource elements of our business to external…
By Ujuh The City of Johannesburg has embarked on a programme to roll out free internet and Wi-Fi access in public libraries in what the city described as a giant leap to bridge digital divide. The programme called e-World was launched by executive Mayor Parks Tau on Friday, 27 March 2015. The launch coincided with National Library Week, which this year was run under the theme “Connect @ your Library.” Tau said “Internationally, we are in a digital race. However, as a City and a country we are not running nearly fast enough. Through this programme we are lacing up…
After seven years of organic growth Teraco Data Environments – South Africa’s independent co-location data centre operator – is ready to put its foot on the acquisitive pedal to drive growth and expand its facilities. Executives will spend the year focusing on making sure that the company taps into strong growth in internet usage and the increased adoption of cloud services. The data centre market, which is one of the fastest-growing industries, is buoyed by increased internet usage and proliferation of smart devices in Africa as well as the rise in data centre outsourcing. The industry in SA is also…