Author: Gugu Lourie

I wonder if you are as staggered as I am at the recent furore around Nintendo’s new mobile game, called Pokémon Go. By Gillian Hughes With the Pokémon franchise having already dominated the respective worlds of children’s TV, trading cards and handheld video games, this new app sees players use the camera on their mobile phone to search for and capture their favourite digital monsters in streets, parks, schools, and effectively anywhere else that they can reach. It may have not have even been two weeks since its initial release in the US, but Pokémon Go has proven to be one…

Hands up if you’ve heard of Swift Playgrounds? No, it’s not some new start-up providing quick playdates for bedraggled parents, although that might be interesting. By Michael Cowling Swift Playgrounds is the new programming tool, introduced by Apple in June at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference, based on the Swift programming language the company introduced a few years ago. What makes Swift Playgrounds interesting is that it provides a first-party computer programming platform that can be run entirely on an iPad, no computer required. While Apple has been slowly adding features to the iPad over the past few years, this represents…

The BMW M Division has developed an exclusive special edition of the world’s most successful high-performance business sedan, setting yet another highlight in the current BMW M5 model range. With power output increased to 441 kW and a maximum torque of 700 Newton metres, the BMW M5 “Competition Edition” ranks among the most powerful automobiles in the model history of the BMW brand. The BMW M5 “Competition Edition”, which comes as standard with an M dual clutch transmission featuring Drivelogic, sprints from 0 to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds. A distinctive personalised look, the standard Competition Package and a comprehensive range of optional features render…

Vodacom, South Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator, announced on Thursday that it has increased its stake in Internet of Things (IoT) player XLink Communications for an undisclosed amount. By Gugu Lourie The move provides Vodacom with an asset that is a big player in the most lucrative IoT space worth billions and growing fast in the rest of the African continent. M2M services are also referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT) – a concept of connecting devices – ranging from refrigerators, geysers and smart electricity meters to coffee makers – to the internet. The acquisition is notable for…

Mobile phone operator Vodacom announced on Thursday that the number of its subscribers declined 2.6% to 61.8 million, impacted by new customer registration process in its Africa operations. By Staff Writer The telco, which is majority owned by British mobile phone giant Vodafone, said the impact of customer registration processes on new customer activations has negatively affected net customer additions mainly in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The firm said total active customers in its international operation was down 11.5% to 26.7 million in the quarter to end June 30. But Vodacom added that the monthly customer growth trend…

People have been lingering outside Boon Sheridan’s house all through the night. The designer lives in an old church in Massachusetts that has been designated a “gym” in the new smartphone game Pokémon Go. Because the game requires players to visit places in the real world, Sheridan now has to put up with people regularly stopping outside his building to play. By Andres Guadamuz It has got to the point where he has started wondering if there is anything the law can do in situations like this. He wrote on Twitter: “Do I even have rights when it comes to a…

MTN has named Nhlanhla Qwabe as the new Chief HR Officer for the South African operation. His appointment is  effective from 1 August 2016 and replaces Themba Nyathi. By Staff Writer Qwabe joins MTN from Aspen Pharmacare, where he held the position of Group Human Resources Executive. Prior to Aspen, he served as Human Resources Director for Nike South Africa, and he also worked for MultiChoice where he served in various capacities in a senior management role. A graduate of the University of Zululand with a Bachelor of Administration and an Honours degree in Administration, Qwabe also holds a Masters degree in…

You must have been asleep over the past couple of weeks not to have heard about Pokémon GO. The Augmented Reality game from Nintendo and Niantec lets players roam towns and cities using their phones’ GPS maps looking for Pokémon creatures to catch. It’s essentially a gamified Google Maps that overlays digital characters on the real world.  Barron Ernst, Chief Product Officer, Showmax, a Naspers company, shares his thoughts on the latest Pokemon Go craze. Pokémon GO’s blurring of digital with reality has already made it one of the most successful app games ever: just one day after launch the…

SA Government and Huawei have signed an agreement that will see 1 000 young South Africans trained in information and communications technology (ICT) in China over the next five years. By News Agency “The cooperation on capacity building is aimed at sharing information, expertise, experience and technical assistance among the different structures operating in the field of telecommunications,” Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Siyabonga Cwele said. Addressing the signing ceremony on Tuesday in Johannesburg, Minister Cwele said the youth will be trained in areas including telecommunication network security and optimisation as well as telecommunication administration. Other areas of training comprise new technology for satellite…

Datatec, JSE and London-listed technology firm, reported on Wednesday that it had a sound trading start to the year with improved gross margins in a tough global macro environment marked by continuing volatility in many markets. By Staff Writer The owner of Logicalis and Westcon today issued a trading statement for the four months to end-June 2016 showing gross margins at 13.8%, up from 12.8% in the same period last year. “The improvement in our gross margins is encouraging in a period where revenues have been comparatively softer, as the much stronger US Dollar continued to impact emerging markets,” Jens…