Top Stories
Amazon Won’t Allow Police to Use it’s Facial Recognition Technology
Image sourced from Detroit Metro Times Amazon has announced that it will implement a one year ban on law enforcement from using its facial recognition platform, Rekognition. “We’re implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of Amazon’s facial recognition technology. We will continue to allow organizations like Thorn, the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Marinus Analytics to use Amazon Rekognition to help rescue human trafficking victims and reunite missing children with their families,” reads a statement from the tech giant. In the last decade, incredible milestones in the development of facial recognition technology have been achieved – often due to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. However, according to The Verge, “the technology — because i...
Google Releases Android 11 Beta – These Are The Best New Features
Sourced from Computer World Google has quietly released the first public Android 11 beta. A release such as this is usually accompanied by announcements and fanfare reserved for its Google I/O event, but with the event this year cancelled by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the beta update was simply put out there. That isn’t to say that the update isn’t important, or large. There is a bounty of new useful features including changes to notifications, bubble conversations, security improvements, and more. Refined notifications /* custom css */ .tdi_3_cce.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_cce.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } The most notable update is a change in the way Android now handles notifications. The OS is undergoing a large jump over how Apple handles its notification...
SA Startup Making Waves with New COVID-19 Tracing Tech
Sourced from Forbes. A South African startup has launched a cheap approach to contact tracing in efforts to help with coronavirus measures. Contact tracing is a method of tracking used in countries like the United Kingdom, Singapore and South Korea to aid in containing SARS-CoV-2 infections. The tracing is able to track exactly who was in contact with an infectious person and thus limit further contact. South Korea, one of the only countries on Earth that have been able to bring a massive COVID-19 outbreak rapidly under control used contact tracing heavily. Currently, the country has just over a thousand cases and is no longer forcing stay-at-home lockdowns and most businesses are open. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_77d.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_77d.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto...
Facebook is Applying Labels on “State-Controlled” News Publishers
A massive and exceedingly popular platform for the sharing and spreading of news content to the general public, Facebook has become the primary news source for millions of people around the globe. Now, in renewed efforts to gauge its own responsibility to halt the spreading of fake news and to inform their users, Facebook is identifying certain media outlets that could be government mouthpieces to their users. Sourced from Facebook The social media goliath announced these measures in part to protect the integrity of the 2020 US elections, and in another part to protect its reputation from further damage, especially after the 2018 Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal. “We are starting to apply labels to those state-controlled media outlets,” Facebook says on their blog. “We are providi...
Uber Cash Digital Wallet Launched in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sourced from The Guardian. Uber is launching its Uber Cash digital wallet feature in Sub-Saharan Africa through a partnership with Nigerian founded fintech Flutterwave. The arrangement will allow riders to top up Uber wallets using the dozens of remittance partners active on Flutterwave’s Pan-African network. Flutterwave operates as a business-to-business payments gateway network that allows clients to tap its APIs and customize payments applications. According to TechCrunch, Uber Cash will go live in the next two weeks for Uber’s ride-hailing operations in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Tanzania according to Alon Lits, GM of Uber for Sub-Saharan Africa. “Depending on the country, you’ve got different top-up methods available. For example, in Nigeria, you can ...
New “Wormable” Bug Discovered in Windows 10
Sourced from Travellers Windows 10 users have been urged once again to ensure that their systems are updated and properly protected with the latest security patches following the discovery of a dangerous new vulnerability. This comes via Tech Radar. This new warning emanates from US Homeland Security, whose cybersecurity advisory unit has discovered an exploit code for a wormable bug online. The Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is now urging all Windows 10 users to patch and update their systems immediately to ensure they stay safe from the vulnerability. The bug itself was discovered in a GitHub post. An exploit that targets a known security flaw in the server message block tool that allows Windows to communicate with other devices, including appli...
How to Use Microsoft Teams in 4 Quick Steps
Sourced from Tech Republic. Microsoft Teams has exploded in popularity since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent remote work exodus. Hundreds of thousands of people have brought their offices home with them, and with that, they’ve turned to Microsoft Teams. The platform has very quickly become the leader in remote teamwork in a very competitive market, having a huge bevvy of work-orientated features tailored to working from home successfully. Now, with more and more companies allowing to let their employees work from home for as long as employees wish, it’s as good a time as any to understand how to use Microsoft Teams. Without further ado, here are the four steps you can follow to become a Teams pro: /* custom css */ .tdi_3_79c.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_79c....
Facebook Launches Messenger Kids across Sub-Saharan Africa
Sourced from Shutterstock Facebook is rolling out Messenger Kids – a video chat and messaging app that helps children connect with friends and family in a fun, parent-controlled space. Available to download from the Apple App and Google Play Stores, Messenger Kids has been designed for children between the ages of 6 to 12 years. Ahead of its launch, Facebook consulted with child safety advocates and educators across Africa to ensure that it’s providing a service that balances parental control with features that help kids learn how to connect responsibly online. Messenger Kids is made for Kids but controlled by parents, the app is full of features for kids to connect with the people they love. Once their account is set up by a parent, kids can start a one-on-one or group video chat. The hom...
15 of the Best Photo Printers in 2020
The best photo printers come in every shape and size from budget photo printers that are easy to use, portable devices and even professional-level photo printers. Fortunately, this means that no matter what you are looking for, a printer for home or professional photo printing, you should be able to find the best photo printer for your needs. Here’s a quick look at the best photo printers for professional and home photo printing in 2020: 1. Canon Pixma Pro-100 /* custom css */ .tdi_3_de6.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_de6.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } The 8-colour system called ChromaLife 100+ provides excellent colour accuracy, covers a wide range of colours for the most vivid prints which are so great that you can hang them in a museum. The large-format all...
Tourism Suffers as COVID-19 Restrictions Throttle Safari Industry
Sourced from And Beyond. SafariBookings.com, an online marketplace for African safari tours, recently ran its fourth monthly survey among 308 safari tour operators. The survey’s aim was to acquire a detailed understanding of the impact in the safari industry from the downturn in travel associated with the coronavirus pandemic. The results were in line with the previous three surveys – an overwhelming number of tour operators are suffering from a decline in bookings of at least 75%. A terrible figure for an industry in which so many people rely on in East and Southern Africa. As one operator from Tanzania says, “We have not received any bookings from potential clients since the COVID-19 spread worldwide.” And it’s a similar story in neighbouring Kenya, “At the moment customers are not willi...
Lonestar Cell MTN Provides Free Facebook Flex Access in Liberia
Lonestar Cell MTN has announced that its customers can now enjoy Facebook for free with the launch of Facebook Flex. Facebook Flex gives Lonestar Cell MTN customers the ability to chat and stay connected with friends and family on Facebook with no interruptions. “By enabling data-free access to Facebook, we are helping to connect more Liberians to the digital world, driven by our core belief that everyone deserves the benefit of a modern, connected life,” says Yaw Ankoma Agyapong, CMO of Lonestar Cell MTN. “Social media platforms like Facebook have become vital communication tools for many people, and we want to ensure that our customers can access them more affordably. This is just one of the ways we are bridging the digital gap in Liberia and helping more Liberians connect to social inte...
Sharing A Defamatory WhatsApp or Facebook Post Could Get You Sued or Fired in SA – Legal Experts
The social media sphere has quickly become a new stage to be navigated carefully in these modern times. Often filled with deepening negativity and debacles that are dreadfully embarrassing for those involved – like the fallout over a Miss South Africa candidate and her history of crude tweets. Now, lawyers at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH) have warned South Africans that sharing defamatory posts can mean serious trouble. “It is important to understand that South African law considers repeating or sharing defamatory content as sufficient to constitute ‘publication’ and, thus, defamation in its own right, even if the repeater or sharer was not the author of the original defamatory post,” Timothy Smit, director, and Elizabeth Sonnekus, an associate in the firm’s dispute resolution practice...
