This week is technology has been a rather busy, yet controversial one at that. Not only has Neotel’s CFO resigned, but both Vodacom as well as Neotel have placed their upcoming merger on hold.
This week, IT News Africa additionally published some rather intriguing opinion pieces, which cover: E-agriculture: How ICT is taking farming into the future as well as the Top 7 tips to protect yourself from cybercrime.
Additionally, the latest image gallery from the 25 November Innovation Dinner – which was sponsored by Business Connexion and Telkom – can be viewed here.
The team at IT News Africa hopes you have a fantastic weekend. The top tech stories for the week can be found below:
News
Smile launches Voice-over-LTE service in East Africa
Smile Telecoms has revealed the launch of, according to the company, the first voice over LTE (VoLTE) service in East Africa. Read More.
Vodacom & Neotel merger placed on hold
Vodacom has begun talks with South African operator Neotel regarding revising the structure of the proposed R7-billion takeover. Read More.
Microsoft outlines Office 2016 apps and features
According to Microsoft, the release of Office 2016 is one of the major ways in which the company is realising its ambitious goal of reinventing productivity and business processes in this mobile-first, cloud-first era. Read More.
Merck to launch HIV monitoring system for Africa
Merck, during the course of November 2015, hosted a discussion with researchers to discuss the intention to launch its Muse Auto CD4/CD4% System, a portable instrument for monitoring the progression of the HIV/AIDS virus, throughout Africa. Read More.
WeChat introduces digital wallet service in South Africa
At an exclusive event, which was held in Johannesburg South Africa, WeChat revealed that it has extended its features with the introduction of a digital wallet service. Read More.
Neotel CFO Resigns
According to a statement issued by Neotel, its Chief Financial Officer – Steven Whiley – has resigned from his position. Read More.
Visa and MyGate ink partnership to expand Visa Checkout
Visa has partnered with online payments platform MyGate to process Visa Checkout in South Africa. Read More.
Twenty SMMEs graduate from MTN SA ABDP
This year twenty students are graduating from the MTN SA Foundation sponsored Accelerated Development Programme (ABDP). After an intense year of a curriculum packed with both theory and practical business knowledge at the Dream Development Centre the graduates. Read More.
Top Opinions
E-agriculture: How ICT is taking farming into the future
Ahmed Ibrahim Wakea Allah is a farmer in Sudan. By taking part in an e-agriculture project, he quadrupled his wheat yield in just one year and went from making a loss of 8000 Sudanese pounds in the 2013/14 season to a profit of 80 000 Sudanese pounds in 2014/15. Read More.
Big data analytics can help drive improved energy efficiency
The world we live in has become increasingly digital and connected, and we now have the ability to collect data from many new sources. Read More.
Top 7 tips to protect yourself from cybercrime
Security software, processes and systems are not enough to beat cybercriminals. They’re clever, they’re focused and they have time. South Africa is one of only 28 countries to have a cyber-security policy in place, but it is widely criticised. Read More.
Featured Editorial
Thinking of Building an App?
We chat with Craig Terblanche, Regional Director of OutSystems SA, to find out exactly what developers and business owners need to know before dipping their toes into the choppy waters of the app development world. Read More.
The trends that will shape Angola’s technology landscape
Like the rest of the global economy, technological innovation needs to be at the heart of Angola’s, or any other African nations’, future economic success. Read More.
Gadgets and Gaming
Star Wars Battlefront Review
Now just to give players a heads up, Star Wars Battlefront does not contain a single-player story mode. This means that players will need an online connection to get the most out of this title. Apart from lacking a single-player campaign mode, Star Wars Battlefront offers up one of the most authentic Star Wars experiences available on PC and console. From the menus and screen savers… to the musical score and gameplay, Star Wars Battlefront offers players a truly memorable experience. Read More.
Fallout 4 Review
Developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks, Fallout 4 is the latest title in the Fallout series to launch on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Fallout 4 is essentially the 5th major installment in the series, and was official launched on November 10, 2015. Read More.
Rise of the Tomb Raider Review
In 2013 we were introduced to the Tomb Raider series, once again, when the team at Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix released a reboot of the series – which was simply titled “Tomb Raider.” The reboot was essentially the reconstructed origins of the culturally influential lead character Lara Croft. Fast forward to 2015, and we now continue Lara Croft’s journey of becoming the Tomb Raider in the latest title to grace the series “Rise of the Tomb Raider.” Read More.
Halo 5 Guardians Review
Developer 343 Industries and publisher Microsoft have finally released the latest title in the Halo series… Halo 5: Guardians, which comes in as an exclusive on the Xbox One console – and will officially release on the 27th of October, 2015. Read More.
Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate Review
The Assassin’s Creed series had some how lost its way with Assassin’s Creed: Unity’s weak story, unrefined stealth mechanics, and its version of the over crowded streets of Paris. However, developer Ubisoft is now looking to turn things around with its latest title – Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. Read More.
Darryl Linington
