More than 17 years after SA’s first democratic elections, politicians are still indecisive over how to extend connectivity into rural areas and bridge the so-called “digital divide”. Government continues to concoct ideologically confused plans. Instead, it should just get
The technology industry has never been as volatile as it is now. For two giants of the sector, Microsoft and Nokia, it’s do-or-die time. They’re either going to beat back the new behemoths of mobile computing, Apple and Google, or fail trying. Microsoft has a habit of coming from
Vodacom provoked an online backlash from consumers this week when it said it would throttle bandwidth for heavy users of the popular BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS). It says it’s protecting its users, but are the limitations it’s imposing too harsh? When Vodacom announced
The rules airlines impose on the use of electronic gadgetry on their aircraft are incoherent and in many cases downright silly. It is time the industry applied consistent guidelines on the use of cellphones, e-readers and tablets on their flights. I’ve been travelling extensively around
Steve Jobs announced last week that he was stepping down as CEO of Apple, the company he co-founded in April 1976. But what was his greatest achievement, if it wasn’t the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone or even the iPad? It was the powerful ecosystem he built around those products
The department of communications is working on a number of long overdue projects that could have a profound impact on the technology sector. If it delivers on its new approach, SA has a good chance of building a more competitive
SA’s most important telecommunications operator has been abused for years. Telkom has been fraught with political infighting and plagued by shocking management decisions. Now, finally, indications are new CEO Nombulelo Moholi is
Google’s Android Market, Apple’s App Store, Nokia’s Ovi Store and BlackBerry’s App World together offer hundreds of thousands of free and pay-for apps. But finding the diamonds in the rough is often hard. These are some of my free favourites that run on both Android
Rustenburg was the scene last weekend of a summit involving technology industry CEOs and communications minister Roy Padayachie. The industry agreed to expand Internet access to all and find ways of creating 1m new jobs in nine years. At face value
Televisions have been getting bigger, thinner, lighter and cheaper, offering consumers a high-definition and increasingly cinematic experience at home. But they have remained largely passive devices for consuming content. That may be about to
