tech news
How to Forge an Inclusive Economic Recovery in Africa
Sourced from Redbubble and iStock. The spread of COVID-19 in many African countries has been more contained than some had expected in 2020. Experts have predicted that the economic fallout of the pandemic for Africans, however, will be different and direr than for the rest of the world. The reason is that Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for more than half of the world’s populations living at or below the poverty line. A recent World Bank scenario estimates that COVID-19 could push up to 40 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa into extreme poverty, seriously eroding the progress that African countries have made to reduce deprivation during the past two decades. Africa’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis depends on how effectively governments will be able to balance urgent actions to st...
Demystifying Device Management With Scalefusion: A Solution That Understands IT
Image sourced from Pixabay Considering the larger-than-life influx of mobile technology in human lives, it is no surprise that that mobile technology has found its rightful place in the enterprise environment, across diverse industries. And why not, the mobile devices bring the computational power of bulky machines into compact, handheld contraptions that are not only easy to carry around but are far more user-friendly than their predecessors or desktop counterparts. The desktops are also rapidly being replaced by more sophisticated and ‘mobile’ laptops and rightly so. Even for companies and organizations that are sticking to the conventional ‘desktop-keyboard-CPU’ setups, the employees are using personal mobile devices daily, within the office premises and for more work tasks than one- it...
Is the Clubhouse App Safe to Use?
Image sourced from Daily Express Clubhouse has become a wildly popular app across the world. The invitation-only audio-chat platform appears to be a reflection of the growing interest in sound-based products with the recent rebound of the podcast. Kaspersky researchers believe that the app can create a false sense of security, privacy, and closeness, in part because of how its registration works (it’s invitation-only at the moment). This creates several risks for the users, which are important to be aware of when using any public space on the Internet. One of the risks is privacy risks. This is often connected with the fact that people feel they are surrounded by like-minded individuals and friends, which allows them to behave more authentically than they would in front of strangers....
Become an Avast & AVG Partner with Silver Software Distribution to Receive Industry-Leading Sponsored Security for Your Business to the Value of R5,000.00 Forever
Whether you are a local registered ITC Value-Add Reseller, MSP, ISP, OEM manufacturer or Retailer. The Silver Software Distribution Partner Program gives you access to cutting edge technology, training, certification programs, and dedicated support – all aimed at enabling you to profitably supply the Avast and AVG security portfolio. Offering easy-to-manage solutions that will allow you to stay competitive, expand your offerings, and grow your business. Become a Partner with Silver Software Distribution and after your first sale, receive a fully sponsored NFR (Not-For-Resale) license of the latest cloud-based corporate security for your in-house security and review. Your choice of Avast Business Antivirus Pro Plus 10 users (1 year) or AVG Internet Security Business Edition 15 users (1 year...
9 Ways to Save Electricity in South Africa
Image sourced from Brand South Africa In South Africa, load shedding is expected to continue as power demand exceeds supply and more downtime is needed for overdue maintenance of the system. It is estimated that load shedding could have cost South Africa as much as R338 billion over the past 10 years, according to a report from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). This includes loss of production, where most businesses use electricity for machinery, technology and light to complete the day’s work. To help keep the lights on, here are nine thoughts on how to save electricity: Turn off unnecessary lights and switch to energy-saving LED light bulbs. Additionally, use natural light wherever possible. Take shorter showers – save water as well as electricity. Turn the hot w...
Twitter to Label the Verified Accounts of Governments and Officials
Image sourced from Mission Statement Academy Twitter is planning to label the verified accounts of governments and government officials. The social media network believes this will help users when interacting with these leaders and associated institutions by adding context to what people see on Twitter. According to an official blog post, Twitter says it will add labels to the following accounts: Verified accounts of key government officials, including foreign ministers, institutional entities, ambassadors, official spokespeople, and key diplomatic leaders. At this time, our focus is on senior officials and entities who are the official voice of the state abroad; Personal accounts of heads of state, from phase 1 and phase 2 countries. In a tweet, the platform reveals exactly what thes...
Women in Tech Virtual Forum to Launch
Two technology giants have joined forces to introduce an all-women virtual forum that will bring women in the South African tech space together to learn from each other, share their challenges and empower a new breed of leaders in the industry. The Women in Tech virtual sessions are a collaboration between legal technology firm, LexisNexis South Africa, and Dell Technologies, the leader in digital transformation and technology solutions. Hosted monthly, the sessions will see some of South Africa’s foremost women in technology sharing their thoughts and experiences around being a woman in the workplace and a leadership success story. The importance of embedding gender parity into the future has only heightened with the rapid labour market changes and digital acceleration o...
TikTok Oracle Deal is reportedly ‘Shelved Indefinitely’
Sourced from Cosmico Last year, Tik Tok’s parent company ByteDance and Oracle reached a “technical partnership” for the social media platform’s US operations. The deal was expected to address the national security concerns surrounding TikTok, raised by the Trump Administration. But now, it would seem that these efforts have been ‘shelved indefinitely’ while US President Joe Biden “undertakes a broad review of his predecessor’s efforts to address potential security risks from Chinese tech companies”. Spokesperson for the National Security Council, Emily Horne told the Wall Street Journal that “we plan to develop a comprehensive approach to securing US data that addresses the full range of threats we face. This includes the risk posed by Chinese apps and other software that operate in t...
Why Facial Verification Is Key to Ending Facial Biometric Software Bias
As the global need for inclusive biometric security in facial identification increases, developers need not overlook the burden of a non-biased solution. Teki Akuetteh Falconer, from the African Digital Rights’ Hub, says racial profiling is a major concern in terms of facial identification software. This presents a challenge for Africa because if an individual’s identity cannot be reliably processed by both the public and private sectors, their ability to function in a digital society is hampered. The World Bank and the United Nations anticipate that by 2030 all Africans will have some form of digital identity which will prove critical when it comes to accessing essential services such as housing, schooling, healthcare and banking, to name a few. Gur Geva, Founder and CEO of iiDE...
Riven: 10 Ways to Win the Game
Like any MOBA, League of Legends (hereinafter referred to as LoL) consists of casual and professional players. Casual players play for their pleasure and rarely choose ranked matches. Professional players hone their skills in ranked matches, for which they receive special rewards. Besides, they have the opportunity to get noticed and become a part of a team for eSports competitions. To do this, one needs strategic skills and an understanding of the mechanics of all available champions. As of February 2021, LoL has 154 characters. Each of them will have their unique play style and peculiarities of studying combat tactics. At the same time, most of the characters in the game mechanics may resemble more familiar LoL champions. This can be an opportunity to grasp strategy faster. Also, champio...
Why Africa’s Youth Needs Access to Agricultural Knowledge and Tools
In recent years, Africa’s younger generation has begun to associate farming with bare sustenance and discard it as a viable career path. Despite farming being a fundamental part of society, training and education on sustainable agriculture in school curriculums is neglected and underfunded at government level. To unpack this further, IT News Africa’s Jenna Delport spoke to James Konde, Head of Farmer Training and App Development at the Haller Foundation in Mombasa, Kenya. Here’s what transpired: The Haller Foundation is a UK registered charity and Kenyan NGO that was set up to educate rural farmers. How is the foundation tackling the youth’s lack of interest in agriculture? /* custom css */ .tdi_3_dd6.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_dd6.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }...
Sad! Donald Trump’s Twitter Ban Is Permanent, CFO Confirms
It only took four years of violating the Terms of Service, but in January Twitter finally worked up the courage to ban then-President Donald Trump. Still, the one-time Tweeter-in-Chief has vowed to run for president in 2024, perhaps under the banner of a new Patriot Party. This has led many to speculate that Twitter would relax the ban if Trump returned to power, since they already showed cowardice an unwillingness to challenge him while he spoke for half the country. Well, bad news for all the “God bless you, sir!” reply-guys, because Twitter CFO Ned Segal has confirmed that the Orange Menace is gone for good. “The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the platform,” Segal told CNBC’s Squawk Box, “whether you’re a commentator, you’re a CFO, or y...
