The arrival of Summer is the perfect opportunity for young South Africans to log onto the worldwide web and claim their digital identities within the dotZA (.ZA) and dotAfrica (.africa) namespaces. “Schools are out and the youth are now able to turn their bright young minds towards implementing what should be their number one digital resolution for 2020: securing their digital identities in cyberspace,” says ZACR CEO, Lucky Masilela. “Young people helped lay the foundation for South Africa’s democracy and they must now turn their attention to building the digital identities that will be so crucial to their future prospects,” adds Mr Masilela. ZACR is the administrator of South Africa’s .ZA (dotZA) presence on the worldwide web. Future revolutions will be digital which means the youth must prioritise their online digital identities. “To help build a promising future for South African youth, we need more young people registering dotZA and dotAfrica domain names and then constructing their unique individual digital personas around these expressions of Africa in cyberspace,” explains Mr Masilela. There are currently some 23 000 registered dotAfrica domains and over 1.25m registered .ZA domains. “The Fourth Industrial Revolution is being powered by information. It is being brought about by the seamless and rapid access to information that the worldwide web provides. Young Africans must fully participate in this new revolution for a new age by being active and visible online while taking advantage of the many opportunities for advancement that the web offers,” Mr Masilela says. Mr Masilela outlined five key behaviours to building a digital identity that will support young people’s eventual real-world success: Keep it Real Future employers, business partners, financial administrators, educational institutions and even foreign governments will likely be scrutinising your online identity to make potentially life-changing decisions. Be sure that all …
Local students to showcase their skills on a global platform
Samsung South Africa gives The IIE’s Vega students the opportunity to showcase their talent. Samsung collaborated with award-winning tertiary brand, Vega School on a Design Jam, which aims to give young South African designers the opportunity to showcase their design skills on a global stage. The Vega students were invited to co-create content across disciplines that would be used as Samsung Galaxy themes and be loaded onto the Galaxy Store. The aim of the competition was to produce unique and compelling artwork designed by young, agile African creatives. The collaboration was a natural fit for Samsung as the Loeries ranks The IIE’s Vega as Top Educational Institution for 2019 in the Middle East and Africa. “Samsung continuously supports South African artists and we believe that the country is rich in natural talent and look forward to promoting the work of these creative problem solvers and mavericks. Their skills echo our own pursuit of excellence – design that brings the world to life in innovative ways, “says Cambridge Mokanyane, Chief Marketing Officer at Samsung South Africa. Vega selected their second year graphic design, copywriting and digital design students to form collaborate teams across disciplines to apply disruptive design-thinking techniques. Over 400 students across Vega’s 4 campuses (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban) were involved in the Design Jam competition that took place on the 31st July 2019 and each team comprising of 3 to 4 students designed a full theme consisting of wallpapers, icons and Always On displays. The three group finalists have now been selected: Team Afronauts (Vega Johannesburg) comprising the following members: • Dean Sartor • Kyle Sartor • Mohapi Polo • Liam Cuffley Team Fantastic 5 (Vega Durban) comprising the following members: • Caitlin Robinson • Abigail Gilbert • Kirsten Small • Zanele Biyela • Chantal Jonker Team Bessick and Smit (Vega Cape Town) comprising the following …
How does a tiny local publisher reach readers in the Philippines or Africa? Technology.
How does a tiny local publisher reach readers in the Philippines or Africa? Technology. In past decades, only large publishing houses had the resources to get books to the masses. Today, anyone with Internet access can upload a novel to the connected world. Still, getting readers to notice and buy is another challenge altogether. The big publishers still have muscle behind their promos, but with 15 years’ experience — and about 130 book products under his belt — publisher Karl Beckstrand has carved out his own multicultural niche. Even big reviewers, like Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly and School Library Journal have voiced approval. And he’s garnered awards. His 2016 Western book, “To Swallow the Earth” won a 2016 International Book Award. The State of Vermont selected his earning book “The Bridge of the Golden Wood” as business/financial literacy curriculum for grade schoolers. “Polar Bear Bowler: A Story Without Words” was called ‘charming … full of … polish and physical comedy,’ by Publisher’s Weekly. “She Doesn't Want the Worms - Ella no quiere los gusanos” was named in the top 10 ‘Best Books’ of 2011 by ForeWord Reviews magazine and was featured in School Library Journal. This year alone, Beckstrand has released 17 new products. “Some are bilingual; many are hard cover editions of previous titles,” he said. “I’m especially pleased with the audiobook release of my western novel.” So how does he get noticed? “I’ve considered bribery,” joked Beckstrand, “but I have some standards.” Really, it’s persistence. After ensuring he had quality products, Beckstrand hounded the major book distributors used by New York publishers — and won signed contracts with large global wholesalers. Now Beckstrand’s bilingual picture books/e-books with pronunciation guide (consistent best sellers) can be found in India, Australia and Germany. His work is even found on Walmart’s and Target’s web sites. Beckstrand’s publishing company, PremioBooks.com, has also donated …
Put More Care into the Holiday Season
Samsung is prepared for cracked screens and damaged phones this festive season. As the holiday season approaches, we dream of those carefree days with family and friends. It’s that time when we take countless pictures of magic moments. Of course, the easiest way to wipe the selfie smile of your face is a cracked screen or damaged phone. Fortunately, the Quick Repair Centres in Samsung Stores can repair devices within an hour, at selected stores, depending on the severity of the damage. In the blink of an eye, you’re ready to return to those family group pictures and getaway selfies. “When life happens, our people will be there to assist. As a human-centred company, we are fully equipped to help customers get their device back as fast as possible and repaired in full working order,” says Cambridge Mokanyane, Chief Marketing Officer at Samsung South Africa. Whether it’s a repair that’s required or general assistance, there are over 100 authorised support centres across South Africa as well as a very capable Customer Call Centre that can help. The staff is all fully trained and use Genuine Samsung Parts in all of their repairs of Samsung devices, tablets or wearables. As always, Samsung is ready to help. Essentially, one number fixes it all – Samsung call centre: 0860 726 786. It’s the easy way to put more care into your holiday season. Terms and conditions apply. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. …
Samsung Reinvents the Refrigerator
The Samsung RS5000 is packed with innovative features South Africans will love. Refrigerators are undeniably one of the greatest inventions of all time. They have been with us for many years now and have evolved gradually from the first block box with basic shelves to the contemporary, greatly advanced versions, comprising a number of features. Clearly refrigeration has greatly transformed our lives giving us the power to safely store and maintain the quality of our food. The Samsung RS5000 series does this effortlessly. “As a human-centred company, Samsung is continually researching products that reflect the emerging design trend in kitchens today: clutter-free, simple, energy-efficient and clean cabinetry styles. Well-adapted to local conditions, technology like All-Around Cooling ensures that every item on every shelf and in every box remains evenly chilled. This is essential when it comes to keeping food stored fresher for longer. It’s the power of home innovation,” says Nithia Pillay, Director: Consumer Electronics at Samsung South Africa. At a glance, there are many features that make the Samsung RS5000 an indispensable addition to your kitchen. These include both a 3 door and 2 door model. The 3 Door model includes features such as: SpaceMaxTM The unique Samsung SpaceMax™ technology enables the walls to be much thinner, as it uses a minimal amount of high-efficiency insulation, and creates more storage space without increasing the external dimensions or compromising energy efficiency. FlexZoneTM The Samsung FlexZone™* is an independently controlled compartment. It stores different foods and drinks at the optimal temperature, so that they stay fresh and tasty for longer. Four pre-set settings are ideal for preserving meats, cooling beverages, keeping fruits and vegetables fresh, or just storing more food. Digital Inverter Technology Samsung’s Digital Inverter Compressor lasts longer while saving energy up to 50%. Unlike …
More than just another business tool, this South African software brand is supporting the local startup ecosystem
The Heavy Chef and Cape Town Startup Week 2019 (CTSUW) has announced the inclusion of Flexyforce, a new cloud-based supplier management tool to this year’s exhibitor line-up. More than your average software, Flexyforce is modernising the way businesses onboard, contract and manage payouts for all kinds of suppliers. Situated in the Startup Village, Flexyforce will have a live showcase of its features, such as faster supplier onboarding and real-time reporting - which ultimately means less paper-based admin, better burn management and more productivity for South African entrepreneurs. Annette Muller, CEO and Founder of Flexyforce, says that the decision to partner was easy: “We are committed to the South African entrepreneurial ecosystem and this event will play an important role in assisting startups to learn how to work together to succeed in a challenging business environment. We believe we can not only be an asset from a business automation perspective but also contribute to the larger South African startup community by promoting startup collaboration. CTSUW will enable us to share this philosophy further and increase awareness of our software aimed at digitising the compliance, legal and payout processes assisting enterprises to work with entrepreneurs, freelancers and small to medium suppliers more seamlessly.” As one of South Africa’s first digital onboarding, contracting and payout systems that caters to flexible suppliers like freelancers, contractors and shift workers, Muller is excited to showcase Flexyforce during CTSUW, and show startups just how easy it is to embrace modern workforce software. “Our team relies heavily on cloud-based startup tools such as Trello, Zoom, Xero, Calendly and Slack and we wouldn’t be nearly as productive without them; so many of our clients say the same thing about Flexyforce, by digitising the onboarding and contracting of all of their suppliers their teams have a lot more time to do actual work versus administrative …
Gold and Other Accolades for Propella Incubatees
Eastern Cape innovations ranging from a breakthrough in rubber technology to an energy-saving egg incubator and a device that helps reduce refrigeration costs were recognised at the second National Advanced Manufacturing Innovation awards. All the innovations are being developed through the Propella Business Incubator based in Port Elizabeth. The awards presented at the African Advanced Manufacturing and Composites Show hosted in Port Elizabeth went to Rubbernano (gold for industry advancement in advanced manufacturing); Rhino Lighting (silver for innovation in advanced manufacturing); Provolution (silver for most promising start-up or newcomer) and Tofaa (most promising start-up or newcomer finalists). “We are thrilled that Propella played a role in the success of these ventures,” says Propella business incubation manager Anita Palmer. “We applaud the winners for their tenacity, innovation and obvious passion for their technologies, and look forward to continuing our support of their growth and commercialisation,” she says. Rubbernano Products (RNP) has developed processes which reduce the amount of zinc oxide and zinc used in the production of rubber used for automotive tyres and other applications. Micronized particles of zinc enter the environment as the rubber wears, and a number of studies have shown that this contributes substantially to microplastics pollution and health problems due to inhalation. A 2017 study by researchers form the Open University of Netherlands found that particles released into the environment through tyre wear and tear contribute between 10 and 15 per cent of the total global amount of plastics ending up in our oceans. For tyre manufacturers the advantages of the RNP products include a reduction in the amount of time needed for curing, and lower power consumption as the rubber cures at a lower temperature. RNP founder Robert Bosch received a silver for scholarly impact at the inaugural Advanced Manufacturing …
NEW AI technology: Protecting People, Possessions And Property
The holiday season may mean booming business for retailers, but statistics show that criminal activities and burglaries increase over the festive season, especially in unoccupied offices and buildings. The most common concerns in perimeter protection are trespassing and vehicle break-ins. Businesses that are planning to shut down should take extra precautionary measures to ensure their premises are safe and secure at all times. Leading integrated business solutions provider Nashua’s latest Surveillance Monitoring Solution is using artificial intelligence to ensure customers are kept safe this festive season. Nashua CEO Mark Taylor says: “Our new Hikvision AcuSense technology provides the most accurate sensing in security hardware and is the first to use an AI algorithm to distinguish people and vehicles from other moving objects, including animals.” Compared to conventional sensor-based alarm systems, AcuSense utilises its deep learning algorithm to focus on human and vehicle events in two ways: the device will only trigger an alarm when the preset intrusion type (human or vehicle) takes place and videos related to alarm events are sorted into human and vehicle categories for easier footage searches. The cameras have the ability to watch events in real-time, obtaining key data around those events and providing solid and accurate evidence for law enforcement. Taylor explains: “When a camera identifies an alarmable event, the view from that camera pops up on the screen that's being monitored and the person can notify the appropriate individuals. This allows response teams to arrive on the scene while the event is in progress instead of watching the camera footage after the event.” The cameras are able to differentiate between types of vehicle – and allow trucks entry but not smaller vehicles, for example. They are able to recognize number plates and provide the make and colour of the vehicle. Identifying number plates allows the camera to send …
How to Beat the Heat This Summer
Five tips to stay cool in your home. Summer has very much made its arrival this season in South Africa. Ask just about anyone right now, and the word heatwave will come up. Just a few minutes under the blazing African sun can turn your body into a sauna. And that’s why there’s no better time to invest in a good air conditioner. Beyond the welcome, cooling effects, regulating your body temperature has a positive effect on your overall health. As Robert Larkan, Head of Digital Air Solutions at Samsung South Africa explains, “Temperature and humidity levels have a real impact on stress levels, sleeping habits and general wellbeing. It’s essential that you find a way to regulate your body temperature.” There are many unexpected sources of extra warmth in your home. Your appliances each contribute to a rise in temperature in little ways that add up. Here’s a few simple tricks to keep you cool and in control: Shut the computer down When you need a nap let your computer take a nap too. Set it to “sleep” mode if you are away from it for more than 10 minutes and it will give off less heat. When you’re finished for the day, shut the machine down completely. It may not seem like much but when you consider that many homes have more than one computer or laptop; the loss of that extra bit of heat makes a difference. Give your oven a summer vacation Skip the waves of warmth from the oven and use the stovetop and microwave instead. You can also keep the heat outside by braaing instead. When you do, grill extra veggies. Save them for the next day when you can mix them with a little feta cheese and olive oil for a great, cool snack. Chill out with a book Read a cool book. Literally. According to Walter. A. Brown, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Brown and Tufts Universities, reading about cold can take your mind off the thermometer and affect your body temperature. Bottle up your problems Keep a spray bottle in the refrigerator and when the going gets …
Voice Your Demands in 2020, Says Huge Networks
From voice commands to voice notes, new applications continue to be found for the human voice. “People enjoy speaking and this is reflected in the growing demand for technology like Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) which enables this most human of actions,” says Huge Networks Commercial Director, Rad Jankovic. The firm is an independent provider of voice and data ICT (Information and Communications Technology) services. A quick Google search for VoIP’s predicted fortunes in 2020 and beyond echoes Mr Jankovic’s upbeat sentiments. “Positive long-term growth”, “projected increase” and “increasing demand” are all examples of phrases returned in VoIP-related search results. In South Africa, Spring 2019 saw 5G make an appearance in parts of Johannesburg and Tshwane. “In the medium to long term, high-capacity fifth-generation wireless technology promises to deliver an added boost to voice delivered over the web,” says Mr Jankovic. Many South African firms first made the switch to IP-based voice and data communication systems that run over broadband Internet in the mid-1990s. Low cost IP hardware coupled with affordable per-minute calling helped boost VoIP’s popularity. Today, VoIP’s affordability is still a great reason to make the switch from old-school copper wireless technology, but it’s now just one of many reasons to go the IP route that is set to continue its strong growth in 2020. The lean SME in search of uncluttered simplicity and the corporate enterprise in search of additional value-added services can all benefit from a switch to VoIP-enabled softphones that make voice calling a breeze. The choice now should only be about the selection of an appropriate VoIP provider. In this regard, Mr Jankovic advises business users to demand the following from their chosen VoIP provider in 2020: - Call rates that are at least half as pricey as you’re used to paying. - The highest voice quality as measured by the firm’s own customers. - Per-second …