Technology News
Glass that bends, not breaks
In future, when you drop a glass on the floor it will bend and become slightly deformed – but it won’t break. Professor François Barthelat and his team at McGill’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have successfully taken inspiration from the mechanics of natural...
Yahoo users compromised in new security breach
User names and passwords of some Yahoo users have been stolen and their identities could be compromised. Although Yahoo has about 273-million mail accounts, it is not known how many of them are affected by the latest security breach. Jay Rossiter, senior...
Data shows causes of traffic congestion
The East Rand South of Johannesburg saw a 4% decrease in its peak time congestion levels from 22% to 18% according to the TomTom Traffic Congestion Reports for the second quarters of 2012 and 2013. This drop in percentile coincidently fell around the same time that...
MTN debuts inexpensive Android smartphone
MTN SA has launched its own affordable, simple and high-performance Android smartphone aimed at students and businesses. The MTN Steppa smartphone features a large 3,5-inch touch screen display, FM radio, a high quality 2MP (Megapixel) camera with video recording,...
Tablets the winners in Xmas sales
Worldwide tablet shipments grew to 76,9-million units in the fourth calendar quarter of 2013 (4Q13) according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. The total represents 62,4% growth over the previous...
Firms look to appoint chief data officers
Organisations are creating, accessing and using more sources and types of information than ever before. This trend, combined with the increasing need to understand how data is being used within a company, is driving the need for chief data officers (CDOs). Gartner...
Orange Top-Up goes across borders
Orange has announced the launch of Orange Top-Up, an online solution that enables people to remotely top-up mobile credit for customers of over 350 operators in the world. To send mobile credit to a contact, users simply have to enter the mobile number to be credited,...
South Africans had a meagre festive season
It seems as though South Africans had to sit and watch the world go by over the December festive season, as consumers spent a meagre 1,4% more on average per transaction at the tills year-on-year. This is according to the latest figures released by BankservAfrica, the...
How political news plays out online
Online monitoring and insights company BrandsEye has been following the DA/Agang story as it unfolds on social media, cataloguing public sentiment on the political move. Most social activity was confined to the realms of Facebook and Twitter with both platforms...
Google raises revenues as it exits mobile
Google has announced financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ended 31 December 2013. “We ended 2013 with another great quarter of momentum and growth. Google's standalone revenue was up 22% year on year, at $15,7-billion,” says Larry Page, CEO of Google....
Interactive Intelligence releases results
Interactive Intelligence, a global provider of software and services designed to improve the customer experience, has announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 December, 2013. “2013 was an excellent year for Interactive intelligence,”...
Keeping home WiFi networks secure
There is more than one type of burglary that can affect a home. The one we are most used to usually involves kicking in the door; the less familiar one involves compromising a computer. And if the intruder in this scenario has compromised a wireless network, users...
Non-repudiation: the new security buzzword
Most fraud is committed by a company’s employees - the old cliché “It must have been an inside job” is right on the mark. Non-repudiation is the buzzword for security systems that discourage such practices and, if a fraud is committed, that enable companies to...
Glass that bends, not breaks
In future, when you drop a glass on the floor it will bend and become slightly deformed – but it won’t break. Professor François Barthelat and his team at McGill’s Department of Mechanical Engineering have successfully taken inspiration from the mechanics of natural...
Yahoo users compromised in new security breach
User names and passwords of some Yahoo users have been stolen and their identities could be compromised. Although Yahoo has about 273-million mail accounts, it is not known how many of them are affected by the latest security breach. Jay Rossiter, senior...
Data shows causes of traffic congestion
The East Rand South of Johannesburg saw a 4% decrease in its peak time congestion levels from 22% to 18% according to the TomTom Traffic Congestion Reports for the second quarters of 2012 and 2013. This drop in percentile coincidently fell around the same time that...
MTN debuts inexpensive Android smartphone
MTN SA has launched its own affordable, simple and high-performance Android smartphone aimed at students and businesses. The MTN Steppa smartphone features a large 3,5-inch touch screen display, FM radio, a high quality 2MP (Megapixel) camera with video recording,...
Tablets the winners in Xmas sales
Worldwide tablet shipments grew to 76,9-million units in the fourth calendar quarter of 2013 (4Q13) according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. The total represents 62,4% growth over the previous...
Firms look to appoint chief data officers
Organisations are creating, accessing and using more sources and types of information than ever before. This trend, combined with the increasing need to understand how data is being used within a company, is driving the need for chief data officers (CDOs). Gartner...
Orange Top-Up goes across borders
Orange has announced the launch of Orange Top-Up, an online solution that enables people to remotely top-up mobile credit for customers of over 350 operators in the world. To send mobile credit to a contact, users simply have to enter the mobile number to be credited,...