Author: Gugu Lourie
The boards of Cell C and 3C Telecommunications have approved the recapitalisation of the country’s third largest mobile phone operator, Cell C and making Blue Label Telecoms a strategic equity partner
Hollywood has broken two very different records this holiday season. Star Wars: The Force Awakens has become the first movie to reach US $1 billion in gross sales in just 12 days. Star Wars opens in China in January and so it will likely push its sales to even more astronomical levels.
The fantasy drama Game of Thrones once again topped the list of the most pirated and illegally downloaded TV show of the year for the 4th year in a row.
The Catholic Church in South Africa called on government on Tuesday to suspend its nuclear procurement plans and hold a referendum on the issue as a matter of urgency.
The scene described in Nancy Jo Sales’s huge Tinder report published in Vanity Fair magazine featured groups of twenty-something friends and colleagues in a Manhattan bar relaxing after work. But rather than socialising with each other they were engrossed in the more private world of their mobile phones, seeking something completely personal: a sexual partner (albeit not necessarily just for sex).
Over 70% of South Africans may be selling their unwanted Christmas gifts for a quick buck in January, according to a poll by Gumtree South Africa. By Staff Writer “It would appear that most South Africans feel that it’s best to let an item go rather than gathering dust,” says Claire Cobbledick, head of Gumtree Marketing. But Cobbledick confirms that an unwanted gift is not necessarily an undesirable item. A quick search on Gumtree reveals more than 900 items listed as unwanted gifts which includes, an unopened bottle of Dior perfume, a brand new 50” plasma TV still in its…
South African online classified websites were this week overflowing with post-Christmas offers to sell various goods. It was however unclear if they were unwanted gifts or attempts to make up for festive season overspending.
Michael J. I. Brown, Monash University; Alice Gorman, Flinders University; Bryan Gaensler, University of Toronto; Duncan Galloway, Monash University; Geraint Lewis, University of Sydney; Helen Maynard-Casely, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation; Matthew Browne, CQUniversity Australia, and Rob Brooks, UNSW Australia Tales of strange alien worlds, fantastic future technologies and bowls of sentient petunias have long captivated audiences worldwide. But science fiction is more than just fantasy in space; it can educate, inspire and expand our imaginations to conceive of the universe as it might be. We invited scientists to highlight their favourite science fiction novel or film and tell…
The Department of Energy (DoE) officially confirmed on Saturday that Cabinet has authorised the department to issue a request for proposal (RFP) for South Africa’s nuclear procurement programme. By Matthew le Cordeur, NewsAgency This is the first official government statement regarding the decision that was made during the infamous Cabinet meeting on December 9, which occurred just before Nhlanhla Nene was fired as Finance minister. The closest media got to a confirmation was during a question and answer session with Nene’s successor (and predecessor) Pravin Gordhan, who said government would proceed with a formal procurement process only if it was affordable.…
The mystery surrounding the recently published government Gazette on nuclear energy, which contains a 2013 stamp signed by former Energy minister Ben Martins, has been solved. By Matthew le Cordeur, NewsAgency Thabane Zulu, director general of the Department of Energy (DoE), said in an exclusive statement on Saturday that Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Petterson had decided to release the old Gazette because the determination on nuclear energy signed in 2013 had remained unchanged. He apologised on behalf of the department for not making it clear when the Gazette was published on 21 December 2015. “The department accepts that this should have been…
Nigerian authorities will wait for the outcome of a court challenge filed by Africa’s largest mobile phone operator MTN before deciding on whether to enforce a R59 billion ($3.9 billion) fine imposed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), according to a report. Reuters news agency reported that the Nigerian Communications ministry spokesman contradicted a source in the NCC, who earlier said “appropriate action” would be taken against MTN if it failed to pay the fine by a December 31 deadline for failing to disconnect users with unregistered SIM cards. “The federal government, NCC (regulator) or any government agent will not do…
In a first for a national sporting federation in South Africa, Cricket South Africa (CSA) and Uber have signed an agreement that will see fans being able to make use of the Uber service to and from Proteas home matches for the upcoming international season.
Three new Chinese smartphone manufacturers are actively targeting South Africans with the proposal that you can have a decent device without breaking the bank.
The Nigerian government said it would neither be cowed nor threatened by MTN’s court action over the R59 billion ($3.9 billion) fine imposed on the South Africa-based mobile phone operator by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), according to a report. The Vanguard newspaper reported that the Nigerian Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, made the statement in reaction to the legal suit instituted by South African firm in the Federal High Court in Lagos, Nigeria. “It is the right of MTN to approach the court but there was an infraction, which MTN admitted to have committed before it pleaded for leniency that led to the…
Four years in the making, the European Union’s new data protection rules have finally been agreed by the European Council and await the approval of the European Parliament. But a last-minute addition has sparked a debate about responsibility and consent, by proposing to raise to 16 the “age of consent” under which it is illegal for organisations to handle the individual’s data. This would force younger teenagers to gain parental permission to access social networking sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp or Instagram. By Rebecca Wong, Nottingham Trent University While raising this digital age of consent from 13 as it is…
Walking across campus to my office each morning this semester, I’ve found it hard to ignore the growing number of students using hoverboards to get around. These two-wheel self-balancing boards (they don’t really hover, Back-to-the-Future-style) are one of the hottest gadgets this holiday season. By Andrew Maynard, Arizona State University I’m probably just being a curmudgeon, but my first reaction as I saw students hoverboarding between classes was “Why?!” As sedentary lifestyles continue to be a major underlying factor in chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, I wondered whether these trendy two-wheelers are simply another way to avoid…
African countries are being actively targeted by cyber criminals, a security company has found. According to data from Check Point, eight countries in Africa are among the top 20 targeted globally out of 140 countries examined in October and November. By Duncan Alfreds, NewsAgency “We’re seeing an ongoing trend of cyber criminals exploiting weaker security controls in less developed African nations to target their more advanced counterparts,” said Doros Hadjizenonos, country manager of Check Point South Africa. Tanzania was the most targeted African country with Namibia second, Cameroon (3rd), Mauritius (6th) and Tunisia (7th) in the top 10. South Africa slipped from…
This holiday season, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is estimating that over one million small “Unmanned Aerial Systems” (sUAS’s) – drones, to the rest of us – will be sold to consumers. But as hordes of novice pilots take to the air, just how safe are these small bundles of metal, plastic, video cameras and whirling blades? By Andrew Maynard A few weeks ago, a British toddler lost an eye as an out-of-control drone sliced into his face. It may have been a freak occurrence, but it hammered home the message that sUASs – at least in some hands – can…
The world has gone mad for robots with articles talking almost every day about the coming of the robot revolution. But is all the hype, excitement and sometimes fear justified? Is the robot revolution really coming? By Jonathan Roberts The answer is probably that in some areas of our lives we will see more robots soon. But realistically, we are not going to see dozens of robots out and about in our streets or wandering around our offices in the very near future. One of the main reasons is simply that robots do not yet have the ability to really see…
Mobile payments are gaining acceptance and will impact on traditional businesses, says a research organisation. By Duncan Alfreds, NewsAgency According to Gartner, half of consumers in developed economies such as North America, Western Europe and Japan will use smartphones or wearable technologies to make payments by 2018. “Product managers must understand who their customers are for these new devices and services, and how the products are being used. Knowing your customer is imperative in order to capture a fair share of spending opportunities in this dynamic marketplace,” said Amanda Sabia, principal research analyst at Gartner. Technology giants Apple and Samsung are…
Consumers beware: Major TV manufacturer is warning its customers about a fake Ultra-High Definition (UHD) TV being sold around the country. Samsung warns buyers of an UHD TV to be certain they are purchasing a genuine 4K set in order to guarantee the most thrilling and immersive entertainment experience. The firm cautioned consumers against some of the so-called branded televisions on the market that are not true UHD. Spotting the difference between real and pseudo 4K / UHD TVs Take a close-up photo of a white portion of your TV screen Zoom in the photo as far as it will go: If…
It’s been shown that the use of social media comes with pros and cons: increased social connection and enhanced commitment in relationships, but also increased depression and decline in well-being. By Tara Marshall One common situation that can lead to negative feelings is the problem of coping with the end of a relationship in the age of Facebook – when the ex’s profile is there to be seen and pored over, potentially causing untold psychological anguish. Even Facebook has recognised we can’t help ourselves, and introduced a tool that will prevent a user coming across any mention of the ex-partner. My…
* Dr Kelvin Kemm With cabinet having allegedly approved the nuclear procurement programme this month, the next step will be to give the green light to the environmental impact assessment of the Thyspunt site near Jeffreys Bay. Dr Kelvin Kemm, who serves on the ministerial Advisory Council on Energy, says this process has been completed and the next step is government approval, which could come quite soon. Kemm gave this update in his opinion piece below, which touches on the local economic benefits for Port Elizabeth, why South Africa needs nuclear energy and the safety issues around the programme. -…
A British holidaymaker racked up a staggering R112, 428.51 (£5,000) mobile phone bill after he switched on his phone to retrieve Cape Town hotel details from an email, according to the UK-based Independent newspaper report. James Stevenson arrived in Cape Town on holiday and switched on his phone to retrieve hotel details from an email. “By the time he had found the email, Vodafone had sent a text telling him he had run up a bill of £495. Confused, he called the company and found out his total bill for data roaming in the airport was more than £5,000 –…
Cryptography is the science of keeping secrets, with encryption algorithms and methods such as public key encryption the gold standard. Despite widespread usage and heavy scrutiny, these ciphers remain unbroken. But while encryption can keep messages secret, it cannot protect the identities of the sender and receiver. By Martin Berger Details such as the IP addresses of computers communicating on the internet and other metadata can reveal more than just the identities of those communicating. Companies use metadata to infer sexual orientation, approximate age, gender and interests for targeted advertising, while intelligence and law enforcement agencies collect and analyse it for…