At Home

Michelle Potgieter, Samsung SA

Samsung SA is calling on all aspiring designers to enter its InspireDesigntalent search competition. Michelle Potgieter, director of corporate marketing and communications at Samsung SA, says: “We are proud to be driving the Inspire Design initiative locally to find extraordinary people and showcase our next generation of upcoming artists.” The initiative is aimed at unearthing SA’s top talent and will be rewarding them with media exposure. – ITWeb

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) invited the planet to take part in a celebration of this year’s Earth Day with the agency’s GlobalSelfie campaign. Participants were required to post their photos to social media platforms and type #GlobalSelfie as a hashtag to bring the photo to NASA’s attention, while NASA monitored photos posted on the various social platforms in an attempt to assemble the snapshots into a composite image of Earth.  – ITWeb

NAG Magazine has partnered with Entelect Software to host a R100 000 coding challenge in which participants have to write an artificially intelligent program that has the ability to play against an opponent. “This competition is for anyone who has a keen interest in software development and is willing to sink their teeth into this creative challenge,” says Entelect Software CEO Charles Pritchard. – ITWeb

SA’s two main mobile players are set to take Internet speeds to the next level with fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments this year. MTN says it is now rolling out “aggressive deployment” of FTTH to high-density urban areas, like upmarket gated communities, boomed-off suburbs and high-rise buildings. MTN claims the commercial delivery of FTTH capable of 100Mbps is a fi rst in Africa. – ITWeb

SA’s contribution to the Net Mundial conference on Internet governance focused on lowering communication costs in a bid to bridge the digital divide, according to Gabriel Ramokotjo, chairperson of the Gauteng chapter of the Internet Society. The conference, held in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo focused on cyber security, privacy and freedom of expression online. – ITWeb

One of SA’s largest Internet service providers, MWeb, has released a report that looks at how the Internet has changed over the last 15 years. Entitled “The Internet of Everything”, follows the launch of the company’s national WiFi initiative in partnership with global WiFi hotspot service Fon, in January. MWeb says WiFi and Web connections in public spaces are enabling a more connected world. – ITWeb

Sage Pastel Payroll & HR has added new features to My Payroll Online. In a statement, the company says the move aims to make it easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses to manage their payrolls using the software. These include support for multiple usernames on a single My Payroll Online account as well as customer service and support via Live Chat on the Web. – ITWeb

Girls Invent Tomorrow, in partnership with Intel, HP and The Media Corner, recently hosted a coding workshop to mark the celebration of International Girls’ in ICT Day. The day is part of a global initiative that aims to create a global environment to empower and encourage girls and young women to consider careers in the growing field of information and communication technologies. – ITWeb

SA is the second most targeted country globally when it comes to phishing attacks, says Drew van Vuuren, CEO of information security and privacy practice, 4Di Privaca. It’s not a matter of if you or your company are going to be a target, but when, says Van Vuuren, adding that if you are not worried about phishing attacks, you should be. – ITWeb

Into Africa

Internet penetration in Zambia is still low, says mobile network MTN. This is according to a statement made by the company after it announced the second phase of its ‘MTN Appathon’ mobile application development competition. MTN Zambia chief sales and distribution officer Amon Jere said there is a “wrong perception that data services are a preserve of the elite.” – ITWeb Africa

Nigeria has helped Africa become the fastest growing payment traffic region in the world for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT). SWIFT has recorded 42% growth in payments traffic in Nigeria while the country’s securities traffic has risen 29.5% for the 12 months to March 2014. “Rising SWIFT traffic volumes are an indicator of economic growth,” head of Africa South at SWIFT, Hugo Smit, said. – ITWeb Africa

Voice and social media solutions firm, Kirusa, has partnered with digital sports content group PERFORM to provide sports updates to mobile subscribers in major African countries. The news update service dubbed “Sports Connect” allows subscribers to listen to sports content on their mobile phones, or from the web. Kirusa will send daily voice and text soccer news updates relating to English, French and Spanish soccer clubs. – ITWeb Africa

Zimbabwe is outpacing the rest of Africa in mobile phone growth as adoption of handsets in the country has risen from 26% of households in 2008 to 80% in 2013, says research firm Gallup. This means that Zimbabwe’s mobile phone adoption growth has averaged 9% per year, a feat that has only been equalled by West African nation Burkina Faso according to the research. – ITWeb Africa

Customers of mobile network Tigo Tanzania are getting free access to the Facebook ‘Messenger’ application on their handsets. This is according to a statement from Tigo parent company, Stockholm-based Millicom. The deal in Tanzania means that Facebook users on the Tigo network can use the ‘Messenger’ app on their handsets without incurring any data charges. – ITWeb Africa

Digital terrestrial television (DTT) service GOtv, which is owned by South Africa’s MultiChoice, has started rolling out mini-decoder devices dubbed ‘GOcards’ in East and West Africa. The GOcard is electrically powered by a television set and requires no cabling. And GOcard bundles have officially gone on sale in Ghana after GOtv launched mini-decoder devices for its Kenyan market earlier last month. – ITWeb Africa

The fight against cybercrime in Kenya is being taken up at government level following the country’s introduction of a policy and legal framework dubbed the ‘cyber security strategy’. The strategy acknowledges that with the increase in technology adoption in Kenya, the threats are becoming more frequent and dangerous. “The National Cyber Security Master Plan addresses emerging cyber risks and the challenges that the ICT may face in the future.” – ITWeb Africa

The ‘world’s largest taxi booking app’, Easy Taxi, is planned to be pre-installed on all new Samsung Galaxy S5 devices in Nigeria. The Easy Taxi app allows users to request rides from nearby licensed drivers. The app; in turn, allows users to track their drivers. Samsung made this announcement at the launch of the phone in Lagos. – ITWeb Africa

The Nairobi county government is in the process of acquiring FM frequencies from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), amid plans to launch a county radio station. Speaking about the county radio station, Nairobi county finance executive Gregory Mwakanongo said: “The radio station will serve as a platform to communicate our policies and development agenda.” – ITWeb Africa

Abroad

<a href=

Dr Dre" src="http://www.iweek.co.za/images/stories/2010/May14/Dr_Dre.jpg" />Apple is close to paying a record $3.2 billion for Beats Electronics, two people with knowledge of the matter said, an expensive foray into music streaming and headphone gear that would mark a departure for the usually cash-conservative iPhone maker. Founded by rapper Dr. Dre and legendary legendary music producer Jimmy Iovine, Beats Electronics is best known for its “Beats by Dr Dre” line of trendy headphones. – Reuters

Nintendo plans to introduce a new gaming system for emerging markets such as China as early as next year, as the company hunts for fresh opportunities after the flop of its Wii U console. The company is developing hardware and games for consumers with lower incomes and less gaming experience than those in developed markets, CEO Satoru wata said. – Reuters

Apple’s head of North America sales, Zane Rowe, will leave the company and will be replaced by Doug Beck, who oversees sales in Japan and Korea. “Doug Beck has done a great job helping to grow Apple’s business in Japan and Korea. His role is expanding to include North America sales as well,” Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said. – Reuters

Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest handset maker, has replaced the head of its mobile design team amid criticism of the latest Galaxy S smartphone. Chang Dong-hoon offered to resign and will be replaced by Lee Min-hyouk, VP for mobile design, a Samsung spokeswoman said. Chang will continue to lead Samsung’s design centre which overseas its overall design strategy. – Reuters