At Home

BOS Ice Tea has partnered with Cow Africa, a digital marketing, brand activation and PR company, to introduce a Twitteractivated vending machine. According to Cow Africa, the machine is a world first. The machine dispenses a free can of BOS Ice Tea when tweets are posted with a unique hashtag. To activate the machine, users must tag @Bos and include the hashtag ‘#BosTweet4T’. – ITWeb

Platypus Digital, Groupon Grassroots, and the Heart Charitable Trust have partnered in a fundraising drive to make learning material accessible to pupils and educators. Platypus Digital has developed Ogle kiosks for learners and educators to access and download learning content at no cost. The company says content will include video, episodes of televised lessons, audio, e-books, digital textbooks, podcasts, presentations, worksheets and exam papers. – ITWeb

The CIO Forum, in partnership with the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will host the Inaugural Annual Software Week and associated activities, from 13 to 19 October. According to the CIO Forum, the event aims to promote the broader South African region as an attractive destination for software innovation and investment. The event includes a five-day exhibition, a three-day conference and a Software Industry Awards evening. – ITWeb

Discovery Health has rolled out HealthID, the first electronic health record application of its kind in SA. With HealthID, doctors are able to access their patients’ data and details of their previous doctors and hospital visits. Doctors can also view previously prescribed medicines, blood test results and patients’ health measures such as body mass index and blood pressure. – ITWeb

Incredible Connection has unveiled a trade-in and recycling initiative at all its stores. Using Swapkit software, second-hand mobile phones, iPads, iPods and selected Samsung tablets will be evaluated and customers will receive a voucher to use towards their next purchase. Swapkit not only evaluates the worth of the item being traded in, it also checks whether it is stolen or counterfeit using global verification site Check-MEND. – ITWeb

MWeb recorded 50 000 unique online gamers in May, an increase of 35% since June 2011. The ISP says hardcore gamers on Microsoft’s Xbox Live, Sony’s PlayStation and online PC gaming platforms are increasingly choosing its gaming platform. Nathier Kasu, GM of MWeb Digital, says MWeb gives gaming traffic the highest priority and assurance levels on its network. – ITWeb

Exclus1ves.co.za, the online store for Exclusive Books, has introduced “Stickers”, a rewards system for its customers. The company says users can earn smiley stickers from their activities on the site, such as rating and sharing books, which can then earn them discounts against online purchases. Ben Williams, GM for digital retail at Exclusive Books, likens smileys to virtual currency. – ITWeb

Primedia-owned cinema chain Ster-Kinekor said it had partnered with international digital cinema company Arts Alliance Media (AAM) to replace film with digital technology across its 54 South African sites. The deal will see digital gradually taking the place of film and projector systems over the next 12 months. – ITWeb

Google has expanded its live traffic coverage to SA, with the service now available for the Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria areas. The traffic overlay on Google Maps shows current traffic conditions (with a colour-coded system that rates roads on a scale from fast to slow), and also provides estimated travel times based on traffic conditions. – ITWeb

Into Africa

Bharti Airtel, Indian mobile operator, plans to invest $25 million to develop its 3G network and m-commerce platform in Malawi. Manoj Kohli, the firm’s MD, says the objective is to provide customers with innovative mobile services that will help boost the economic and social development of Malawi. The firm is also set to upgrade its Airtel’s High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 3G network. – ITWeb Africa

Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe raises its concerns over the rate at which Internet Access Providers are digging up earth to lay networks. Hilda Mutseyekwa, a Potraz executive, says the country does not need to have many trenches of fibre going in the same direction. The country’s 12 IAPs are advised to share existing infrastructure rather than digging to many trenches. – ITWeb Africa

The Uganda government has been criticised for not investing in the country’s tech industry. The ICT sector has been one of the country’s least funded, causing mounting criticism of Uganda’s government spending in 2010/ 11. The country’s budgetary allocation for ICT has been cut for the current financial year. ICT stakeholders are now questioning the government’s commitment to support the sector that is believed to be one of Uganda’s key economic drivers. – ITWeb Africa

Mcel, Mozambique network operator, reveals plans to spend $12 million to install new antennas around the country, as part of a wider project to improve its network capacity. The move will benefit 4.6 million customers, who in the past complained of poor services embodied by poor connection and dropped calls. – ITWeb Africa

MTN appoints new CEO to head up MTN Uganda. Mazen Mroue takes over from Themba Khumalo as the chief executive of the Uganda business. Mroue’s portfolio extends from being MTN Liberia’s CEO and the CIO at MTN Ghana. Mroue has more than sixteen years’ work experience in telecoms and information technology management. – ITWeb Africa

Abroad

ACER dismisses Microsoft’s chances of becoming a rival to Apple by building its own devices. The world’s fourth largest PC maker urges its software partner to focus on its new operating system instead. Microsoft revealed it would design and sell its own “Surface” tablets to showcase Windows 8 and take on Apple and Google in devices that are capturing the computing market. – Reuters

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Microsoft Surface" />Research In Motion is considering splitting its business in two, separating its struggling handset manufacturing division from its messaging network. The blackberry maker hired JP Morgan and RBC Capital to look at its strategic options, separate or sell. RIM says it continues to believe the best way to drive shareholder value is to execute its turnaround plan. – Reuters

Nokia closes its Salo manufacturing plant in Finland. Apple and Samsung and other phones running Google software have bested the world’s once-dominant mobile phone provider in a smartphone war. It is also losing share in the market for more basic phones. The company workers have become familiar with bad news, but are still not inured to it. – Reuters