Author: Gugu Lourie
The teenagers who were hooked on Pac-Man in the arcades and amusement parks of the early 1970s are getting ready for retirement, but many of them have never stopped playing video games. In fact, it doesn’t look like they are going to stop gaming anytime soon. By Bob De Schutter The percentage of U.S. gamers who are over age 50 has increased rapidly, from just 9 percent in 1999 to 27 percent in 2015, according to the Entertainment Software Association’s annual reports. This is a global trend. In Europe, a 2012 study by the Interactive Software Federation of Europe found…
Google is introducing a new feature to Google Maps that will alert you about upcoming traffic conditions on the way to help you identify the quickest route. Google South Africa said on Thursday that the Google Map app will give you a heads up if congestion lies ahead, and how long you’ll be stuck in a jam. Traffic can be a major issue in Africa’s big cities, and trying to make your way out for a long weekend or get around can be problematic without proper planning. “You’ll also get the option to take alternate routes, including explanations for why one…
South Africans can now instantly compare 26 financial products from 106 financial institutions to be able to save money and to chose the products which best suits their needs. These range from loans (including personal and student loans), cheque accounts and debit cards all the way through to foreign exchange and unit trusts and the number and range of products is growing. Fincheck.co.za is modelled on the successful tech start-up Moneysupermarket.com, a British price-comparison website. Fincheck.co.za is simple to use and is totally independent and unbiased. It provides transparent, impartial and accurate facts and figures about similar financial services products…
The South African technology firm EOH has bought Aptronics, a local high-end data centre and end user computing space business that provides networking, virtualisation, servers, and storage and infrastructure solutions. The company will buy 100% of Aptronics for R194 million in cash and issue of EOH shares. The deal is subject to normal regulatory approvals. Anil Pema, CEO of Aptronics, believes that in joining EOH, Aptronics can bring a much wider range of value-adding solutions to its existing customer base, complementing its existing services. “The cultural fit and shared value systems of EOH and Aptronics made EOH a natural home…
Mario Shiliashki, PayU EMEA’s new CEO, was previously with MasterCard for around five years, where he was leading the eCommerce business globally in what used to be called emerging payments, now digital payments. Before that he was with PayPal for seven years where he spent two years helping to set up the European business. He spent his last three years at PayPal building the Asia business. With a depth and breadth of knowledge in the payment ecosystem, Mario has layered insights into where payments, payment providers and eCommerce is heading. Q&A with Mario Shiliashki, EMEA’s new CEO of PayU, owned by Naspers…
BitCo, a Tier 1 Internet and telephony service provider, is planning to install fibre network to service business in the Strijdom Park area near Randburg in the City of Johannesburg. The firm has commissioned cable infrastructure specialist Global Platinum Solutions (GPS) to lay the fibre optic network. BitCos managing director Jarryd Chatz says this initiative will provide businesses convenient and speedy access to a reliable high-speed fibre network for an unprecedented Internet experience. “GPS is committed to completing the project as quickly and quietly as possible.” “We assure businesses that all reasonable measures have been taken to ensure the work…
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has warned the public against a scam in which victims receive a text message stating that a SAPS case has been opened against them. The SAPS on Tuesday said once victims respond to the numbers that are provided by the fraudsters, money is extorted from them. The scam came to the police’s attention, after a case was reported in Rosebank, Johannesburg, in January 2016. It was followed by other cases with the same modus operandi that were reported in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, North West, and Limpopo. “The victims received a…
Google on Tuesday announced a commitment to train one million young Africans in digital skills in the next year. In realising this commitment, Google is supporting its partner Livity Africa to run two training programs: ‘Digify Bytes’ to give digital skills to young people looking to develop a digital career; and ‘Digify Pro’, a 3-month immersion program for digital specialists. These programs have already launched in Nigeria, Kenya & South Africa, and will be scaled to reach more people in the next 12 months. A group of 65 volunteer Googlers from around the world are helping the Livity team with…
One might be forgiven for thinking the Big Apple is a leading destination for developers simply due to its moniker. New York City is, in fact, described by Forbes magazine as one of the ‘top four big locations for start-ups and developers’. Amongst them is Brent Ozar. An award-winning SQL blogger, a Microsoft Certified Master and Microsoft MVP, Brent Ozar is a very smart guy who merely claims to “help people make SQL Server go faster”. He does this by helping DBAs (database administrators) to fully master their environments and drive the right architectural challenges with one week of intensive…
Open access fibre network and broadband fibre provider Metrofibre Networx has entered into a partnership with Link Africa, which will see the company replace all its Gauteng’s fibre links for its core network over the next two years with its own fibre infrastructure. Until now the company has leased the fibre links for its core networks, however, due to the high volumes and demand being experienced by the company, it has taken a strategic decision to replace the links and roll out its own fibre in a co-build agreement with Link Africa. The project will kick off in April 2016 and…
Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), South Africa’s provider of open-access fibre infrastructure, on Tuesday announced that it has acquired a significant minority stake in SA Digital Villages (SADV), which has a proven track record in the FTTH market segment. The transaction will see SADV reposition itself as a wholesale open access FTTH service provider in the South African market. SADV has been in existence for 8 years and is one the longest serving operators of FTTH networks in South Africa. SADV will leverage the DFA national fibre footprint to build and extend the reach of their open-access FTTH network. SADV will…
South Africa has joined the World Education Transformation Countries programme which shares different challenges and risks in the management of change and transformation of their education system. The programme is supported by the government of Finland in collaboration with the Microsoft’s Worldwide Education Initiative. The Department of Education said on Monday that South Africa, Finland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, the USA and Shangai State in China, rank among the first countries which joined the programme. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said: “We have had difficulties with introducing Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in our educations system, let alone utilising ICTs.…
Tonplaygo is a new popular culture or sports trivia app that rewards its players with loads of cash each week to connect with fashion and high-tech brands. The players play against each other and the clock, down to the last millisecond! The game is built as a Brand & Product Discovery Platform where featured brand products are actual prizes that can be won. By taking part in weekly gaming challenges, players have the opportunity to engage in an immersive and friendly way with trendy retail brands and tech products, with a large number of players winning their share of up to R40,000…
This is the first in our ongoing Kitchen Science series exploring the physics, chemistry and biology that takes place in your home. By Chris Thompson We are routinely warned by earnest websites, advertisments and well-meaning popular articles about nasty “chemicals” lurking in our homes and kitchens. Many tout the benefits of switching to a “chemical-free lifestyle”. The problem is: the word “chemical” is entirely misused in these contexts. Everything is a chemical – common table salt (sodium chloride), for instance, and even water (dihydrogen oxide). The chemicals in our diet are often categorised into four broad categories: carbohydrates, proteins, fats…
The wait is over. MTN is proud to announce the winners of the Upstream competition, who pocketed R1.25 million in cash and one lucky winner received a stylish BMW 328i Sport. Sharon Mungoni, from Soweto was selected as the winner of the BMW 328i Sport prize, while both Seipati from Durban and Yandisa Dweba from Margate won R500 000 each. And another winner from Mthatha walked away with R250 000 prize. MTN launched the Upstream competition in 2015 in partnership with Upstream, a leading mobile commerce provider of digital services over mobile devices, across 43 markets. Upstream has been a…
Nick Walker, the winner of a 10-week course at Singularity University in Silicon Valley, California, hopes to use his winning concept to start a stem cell storage bank in collaboration with scientists who are developing a cure for HIV. “Some of the most promising developments in HIV research are those using stem cells resistant to HIV,” Walker says. “My idea is to use available technology to set up a stem cell bank of HIV resistant cells where these cells are stored and dispensed as needed.” Walker was one of 48 entrants in the SingularityU South Africa Global Impact Competition which…
A young entrepreneur, who previously had to pay to access the internet, is now able to do research for his company from the free Wi-Fi that is provided by Ekurhuleni Municipality. Calvin Mathebula, a resident of Tsakane, has a company that designs t-shirts and caps. He said the free Wi-Fi has been a great help as he has just started his business and doesn’t have much capital. “I use the free Wi-Fi in the clinic to do research for my company and also to get tips on how to run a business,” Mathebula said. As part of enabling citizens to…
Interactive Intelligence PureCloud Engage designed to help contact centres accelerate business impact, deliver consistent outcomes, and innovate the customer and agent experience Nasdaq-listed Interactive Intelligence Group has launched a new customer engagement cloud service for businesses throughout South Africa. The unique PureCloud Engage architecture, along with its advanced functionality, fast deployment, and simple month to month subscription terms offer contact centres accelerated business impact, more consistent outcomes, and the most innovative customer and agent experience. PureCloud Engage was built from the inside out with the most stringent security requirements in mind. It also addresses contact centre pain points such as high…
The World Bank’s Global Findex financial inclusion study shows that 12% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa have mobile money accounts – compared to just 2% worldwide – and of these 64 million adults, 45% of them have only a mobile money account. By Mariana Kruger, General Manager for Private Sector at MTN Business South Africa This is a reflection that banks’ traditional models could be under threat unless they adapt and an opportunity exists in revolutionising trade finance and cross-border payments. The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Bank Payment Obligation (BPO) framework is a step toward enabling this revolution. Past experiences…
If you put water on the stove and heat it up, it will at first just get hotter and hotter. You may then conclude that heating water results only in hotter water. But at some point everything changes – the water starts to boil, turning from hot liquid into steam. Physicists call this a “phase transition.” By Moshe Y. Vardi Automation, driven by technological progress, has been increasing inexorably for the past several decades. Two schools of economic thinking have for many years been engaged in a debate about the potential effects of automation on jobs, employment and human activity:…
The MTN SA Foundation, in conjunction with the Department of Water and Sanitation, awarded a fully equipped computer laboratory to Reimolotswe Primary School on the 7th of April 2016. The computer lab was a first prize award for the Drama category of the Baswa Le Meetsi Project and competition. The Foundation sponsored the wining prize of a computer laboratory for all the categories and has built and furnished five labs for all the winning schools. The laboratories are the Foundation’s way of contributing to the national drive to improve the quality of basic of education. Educators use the media labs…
The Department of Energy has refuted claims that South Africa’s nuclear procurement process has been stalled indefinitely. The department says it has noted that a member of the opposition in the Portfolio Committee on Energy stated that the nuclear procurement process has been put on hold. “The department would like to refute these claims and place on record that in the same meeting that the member is referring to, Minister Joemat-Pettersson — while responding to a question posed by the member of the opposition on why the deadline for the release of the Request For Proposal (RFP) was not met…
By 2050, it’s expected that nearly 80% of South Africans will be living in urban areas. This massive acceleration in rural-to-urban migration was highlighted recently by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister Andries Nel*. By Dave Stevens, head: customer & data insights – T-Systems SA For South Africa’s cities, this influx brings new opportunities, but also a host of new challenges. To serve increasing numbers of inhabitants, cities will need to become more efficient with their service delivery and more engaging with citizens. Many are touting the concept of Smart Cities – where new technology is used to connect…
SingularityU South Africa late on Wednesday announced Nick Walker as the winner of the first Global Impact Competition (GIC) in South Africa for his work on creating a stem cell bank for curing HIV/AIDS. Nick is currently an innovation scientist for Next Biosciences. Rand Merchant Bank was the primary sponsor of the South African GIC, launched in February 2016, and as such enables Nick to attend Singularity University’s 10-week Global Solutions Program (GSP) in Silicon Valley later this year. On returning to South Africa after the GSP, Nick will have the opportunity to develop his project, supported by the SingularityU global…
Sage, an integrated accounting, payroll and payment systems firm, today announced the launch of a Global Accountant Partner Program to help accountants transform & grow their practices, learn from industry experts and simplify their relationships with Sage. As a new element of Sage’s Global Partner Program, the Global Accountant Partner Program provides a single, streamlined framework for Accountants partnering with Sage in every country. Available immediately in English for Sage global products, additional languages and the full product portfolio will be rolled out in October 2016. Based on a tiered program, designed by and for Accountants, the Global AccounHi Gugutant…