Yahoo!, one of the largest Internet companies globally, is planning to launch a search and news portal in South Africa.
The company announced on Twitter that “Yahoo! South Africa brings you in-depth coverage of news from South Africa and around the world including finance, sport, entertainment and breaking news”.
On 27 October the company tweeted “1 month till launch. Stay tuned! #Yahoo!SouthAfrica.”
Technology blog Techcentral reported that a Yahoo! spokesperson confirmed that they will be launching a service in South Africa soon, ‘but declined to provide any further information’.
Google currently has a dominant position in the South African search market, and through their local presence has established a strong foothold in the local online advertising arena.
From the information available, and unlike Google, it looks as if Yahoo will not rely mainly on search for traffic, but rather on news. It will therefore take on news portals like News24,Howzit.MSN and IOL.
The URL za.yahoo.com currently redirects to the Yahoo! UK website, and it is assumed that this will become the home of the local Yahoo! website in future.
Yahoo!’s competitors, Microsoft and Google have established a presence in Africa. Yahoo is trying to catch up to to them by entering the South African internet market. The more competition, the greater choices people will have. When it comes to online businesses, web portals, there is only room to grow since the market is starting from a relatively low point compared to other regions around the world like IN Europe and the U.S.. Yahoo!’s addition will greatly enhance the internet landscape and create more opportunities for local growth and development.
Microsoft, one of the worlds most known and respected companies is planning on invest in 10 black-owned software development companies throughout South Africa.
Microsoft Corp.’s South African unit will invest R475 million in up to 10 black-owned software development companies as part of its agreement with the government to increase the country’s black majority.Managing Director of the unit, Mteto Nyati, said “We will support these companies over a period of seven years. Our consultants will work with them to put together a package and a business plan.“We will fund whatever is relevant for that particular company to meet its own stated objectives of growth,” he added. This is a big step for the technology giant as it has a global policy of not selling stakes in its units. Since the end of apartheid 17 years ago, the South African government has heavily encouraged companies to sell stakes to black investors to address racial imbalances in the country. As part of Microsoft’s broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) programme, the company was granted permission to put in place alternative empowerment plans. As a result, Microsoft agreed to invest the equivalent of 4 percent of its sales in black-owned enterprises over seven years. Bill Gates’ organisation, which introduced the Windows operating system to the world, will sign deals with four software developers later today – Chillisoft, a developer of software used in the healthcare and manufacturing industries; BUI, a computer-security company; Home Grown Business Integrations, which develops electricity management systems and Maxxor, a producer of mobile phone and web-based applications.
Positive development for the African software development community. Software development is an extremely important feature which helps a business to work finely with minimum energy. The various business processes in modern times require software development in the best of form. It is software development which allows you to automate your business and increase your efficiency and productivity with less labor. There are a wide range of other benefits which a business process can enjoy with software development in proper place.
Resource requirements for your business are significantly reduced with the help of software development which in turn reduces the cost of running your business. Software development also helps in running your business at the full throttle. It permits you to improve your performance, thereby maximizing your profits. It also works in differentiating your business from your competitors and providing it with greater value.
Although this is a move to counter Google’s expanding plans in Africa, the winners are clearly not just the South African software development community but software developers throughout Africa.
Ugandan local reports said that Alvarion and Foris Telecom Global launched 4G networks in Uganda and Mozambique. The result could be a renewed push to move the new mobile technology into Africa as a whole.
When contacted, both companies said they could not immediately speak to the media about the 4G contracts, but one official did confirm that the companies are planning to make a joint statement this week to reveal the full nature of the 4G networks in both countries.
According to one technology reporter in Kampala, the new network will enable broadband service to both businesses and personal homes. Also, the reporter said that according to their sources, both countries’ local governments are looking at using the new 4G network.
Alvarion president and CEO Eran Gorev noted that the company has over 70 commercial 4G deployments in Africa in a press statement, but did not elaborate.
This development will transform the region and increase economic development. Having access to information and internet access is crucial in today’s globally connected world.
The benefits of 4G have yet to completely blossom, for the implications of a 4G network may be larger than we currently understand. Remember what cell phones did for the telecommunications industry; globally, there are now more than five billion cell phone subscriptions, and more people are expected to own cell phones by 2011 – making land line phones practically obsolete.
If developed successfully, 4G wireless Internet service may set a similar pattern, forcing wired Internet providers to expand their value and services if they want to stay relevant. More importantly, with the Internet potentially available to everyone everywhere, barriers are removed, collaboration is improved, and the market may feature a wider assortment of novel applications and tools to make use of this ubiquitous connection.
4G represents an evolution in the way we use the Internet, and the future certainly looks bright.
South Africa is gearing up for the arrival of what’s expected to be the world’s first mainstream 3D mobile phone in June this year. LG Electronics officially unveiled the LG Optimus 3D smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “South African consumers can expect to be 3D mobile from June this year and we think they’ll be pleased with what this smartphone is able to offer in terms of a full 3D experience,” said Dr. Michelle Potgieter, Marketing Director of LG Electronics South Africa. According to LG, the Optimus 3D showcases LG’s unique “tri-dual” configuration – dual-core, dual-channel and dual-memory. The phone manufacturer said the Optimus 3D offers the world’s first full 3D experience and introduces the world’s first dual-core, dual-channel and dual-memory architecture. LG said the tri-dual configuration allows for simultaneous and fast transfer of data between the dual-core and dual-memory. “Users can browse web pages, multitask between programmes, play games at a higher frame rate and enjoy movies more smoothly and for longer than ever before,” LG said. Another major feature is the 5 megapixel dual lens camera, which allows for recording, viewing and sharing of 3D content with friends directly onto video sharing site YouTube.LG has promised a selectable interface between 2D and 3D and users can also view their 3D content on their phone’s 4.3 inch screen without the use of glasses.“With the new LG Optimus 3D anyone anywhere in the globe can film 3D videos, upload them to YouTube and share them with all their friends. We’re excited to see the artistic videos our community captures and shares with this new stylish and innovative mobile technology,” added Potgieter.
3D is now being integrated in numerous electronics from tv’s, smart phones and hand-held game systems. Having and showing off such technology in Africa is logical since the middle class is growing rapidly and the consumer base is expanding with unlimited potential.
Here is video description about the phone.
South Africans can finally buy and download paid-for applications from the Android Market.
South African Android users have reason to celebrate today with paid applications becoming available locally in Google’s official Market for Android devices.
It was revealed in March 2011 that the paid Android Market was expected in the second quarter of 2011 and it was announced at Google IO yesterday that 99 additional countries would be receiving buyer support, of which South Africa would be one.
Before the evening was out South Africa’s Android community had discovered that the ability to buy applications from the Android Market had already been enabled for users on local networks.
Google’s announcement comes hot on the heels of Microsoft unveiling their intent to support a handful of countries for app creation and app commerce.
Google is rapidly expanding its presence throughout all of Africa compared to its competitors. The company is clearly making all the right moves.
The second iteration of Apple’s popular tablet computer, iPad 2, went on sale in South Africa at prices that compare favourably not only with local importers and import services, but also internationally.
South Africa is among the next 12 countries Apple said would receive the device, with the others including Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Turkey, UAE and China.
The iPad 2 differs from the original iPad in 3 major ways:
It is 33% thinner and up to 15% lighter.
It sports two cameras – a forward-facing VGA camera and a rear-mounted camera capable of capturing 720p HD video.
It has a dual-core processor and a more power graphical processor.
Social network site Twitter has launched its ‘Local Trends’ feature in Johannesburg the first and so far only South African city listed. The Local Trends application was created by Twitter in January 2010 as a more specific version of its ‘Trending Topics’ which works out the most popular topics of discussion that are being tweeted worldwide. The Local Trends feature, allows you to see what is being tweeted about nearby given your location.
In January of 2010, Twitter launched “Local Trends,” an application of their algorithm for “Trending Topic” which figures out what topics tweeters are discussing the most in particular locales, or as Twitter put it at the time, “(allowing) you to learn more about the nuances in our world and discover even more relevant topics that might matter to you.”
Yesterday, Twitter brought local trends to another 70 locations including South Africa.
Just as Twitter’s Trending Topics allows users to quickly view what is most popular the world over, with Local Trends, you get to see what is most immediately popular, versus that which has been popular for a long time. This explains why, with 2% of all tweets mentioning Justin Bieber, he does not appear on Trending Topics. In the first hours of South Africa’s Local Trends, they were largely dominated by the University Rugby Cup final between the University of Cape Town and the University of Pretoria along with the unfolding political situation in neighbouring Swaziland.
Twitter has previously explained that “locations are not manually selected, but rather displayed dynamically based on tweet volume.” and therefore at the moment, only Johannesburg, the largest of South Africa’s three main metropolitan centers, is listed. The reason for this may be that, as Twitter has said in the past, if a particular city or country does not have a Local Trends list, it is because they are not receiving enough Tweets from that area to create a list.
Up till now, data on Twitter’s penetration into Africa has varied from scant to questionable. However as Twitter said in their last addition to Local Trends in November 2010, additions featured some of their “fastest growing markets,” it perhaps wouldn’t be amiss to surmise that South Africa may be described in that way.
This is a positive development as Twitter tries to be a global brand-service and can only be seen as a good thing that Twitter is coming to Africa as this is a growing viable market. For Twitter to truly be a global-village, this is an imperative and Local Trends is definitely a step in the right direction.
Here is video explanation of what Twitter is and how to use it.
With Bin Laden gone, what becomes of the militant groups in Africa he has inspired? Al-Qaeda-linked groups have claimed responsibility for deadly attacks in Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Algeria, and Nigeria. African leaders have welcomed the killing of Osama bin Laden. But several of them are questioning the nature of the killing and warning of retaliatory attacks.
According to Facebook analysis site socialbakers, the number of new African users who log in to the social network site grew 27 percent over the last three months with 5.4 million new people signing up and rose by over 50 percent in the last six months with a total of 8.3 million profile creations. Population breakdown
1.Egypt – 5 651 080 users (+553 140 new profiles) 2. South Africa – 3 761 160 users (+337 680 new profiles) 3. Morocco – 3 013 100 users (+283 320 new profiles) 4. Nigeria – 2 985 680 users (+208 240 new profiles) 5. Tunisia – 2 201 780 users (+179 860 new profiles) 6. Algeria – 1 644 540 users (+149 640 new profiles) 7. Kenya – 1 055 100 users (+55 400 new profiles) 8. Ghana – 854 380 users (+15 220 new profiles) 9. Senegal – 441 540 users (+23 820 new profiles) 10. Democratic Republic of Congo – 412 340 users (+199 540 new profiles)
Significant Countries
While Egypt attempted to block the internet during the recent political uprising, its social media population still managed to log on to Facebook and express their views via several status updates and page creations.
Even though a large majority of the population remain unemployed, the South African people continue to log on to Facebook. Perhaps this increase in users will boost the continent’s largest economy as the business potential of Facebook is massive.
Perhaps the most startling statistic however is the Democractic Republic of Congo’s phenomenal Facebook growth which increased by 93.77 percent. Although internet access isn’t widely available across Africa, the rise of mobile phone use has enabled the continent to embrace social networking.
The Arab League endorsed on Saturday the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya and recognized the fledgling rebel movement seeking to topple Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi as the country’s legitimate government, increasing pressure on Western powers to intervene in what increasingly resembles a civil war.
The move represents an extraordinary step by the leading Arab organization, historically reluctant to sanction a member, and provided fresh evidence of the reformist spirit recasting long-stagnating Arab politics. It was also a risky step for a number of Arab leaders facing domestic dissent of their own.
Oman Foreign Minister Youssef bin Alawi bin Abdullah
Arab states must intervene in Libya through the Arab League and in line with international law and the Libyan crisis poses a threat to the stability of Arab states. What is needed now is Arab intervention using mechanisms of the Arab League and at the same time in accordance with international law.
The United States on Saturday backed the Arab League’s call for the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, and Washington said it was preparing for “all contingencies.”
“We welcome this important step by the Arab League, which strengthens the international pressure on Gaddafi and support for the Libyan people,” the White House said in a statement.
Many countries around the world have called for establishing a no-fly zone (NFZ) to protect the Libyan rebels and civilians. Also many Arab countries, especially members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have called for an NFZ over Libya, and so did the National Transition Council formed by the Libyan rebels to run the country’s affairs until a new government replaces Gadhafi’s. However, the United States and European countries have sent mixed signals on the NFZ, which drew criticism from many circles in Middle East and West.
Some Arab defense experts believe it is time for the Arab States to stand up and take responsibilities in their own hands and come to the aid of the Libyans. Retired Major General Khaled Al-Bu Ainnain, former commander of the United Arab Emirates Air Force and Air Defense, believes that some GCC states and Egypt can mount a joint operation and successfully enforce an NFZ over Libya. “The UAE Air Force can deploy couple of squadrons – one F-16 Block 60 and another Mirage 2000-9 – the Saudi Air Force can deploy a couple of F-15S squadrons and Egypt a couple of F-16 squadrons out of Mersi Matrouh Air Base in western Egypt,” Al-Bu Ainnain said. “This would provide 120 fighters and attack aircrafts that would be backed with airborne early warning planes like Egyptian E-2C Hawkeye or Saudi AWACS, some unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for reconnaissance, and air-refueling tankers from Saudi Arabia and couple of Egyptian or UAE helicopter squadrons comp osed of Apache Longbow gunships, Blackhawks and Chinook helicopters, for search and rescue missions.” Crews and troops needed for the operation could be quickly airlifted to western Egypt, and even Algeria, within hours using a large fleet of UAE and Egyptian C-130 and Qatari C-17 transporters.
Observers believe the area of operations for any force executing an NFZ over Libya now would be confined to the area between the capital Tripoli and the City of Cert and down south to Sebha in the center. The rest of the country is under rebel control. The Libyan Air Force is comprised of aging Cold War-era Soviet supplied fighters like Su-22, MiG-21 and MiG-23 and one remaining operational Mirage F-1 and some 30 MiMi-24 Helicopter gunships. According to reports out of Libya, only few Su-22 and MiG-23 aircrafts were seen involved in the air raids in addition to MiMi-24 gunships. As for Air Defense, Gadhafi’s forces are believed to be in possession of a few batteries of Soviet-era SAM-2, SAM-3 and SAM-6 surface to air missiles. “All of the Libyan Air Defense SAM’s and radars can be taken out swiftly by the arsenal of smart weapons and cruise missiles in possession today by GCC and Egyptian Air Forces,” Al-Bu Ainnain said. “Runways can be destroyed with bunker-busters to ground all the jets, and the gunships can be easily destroyed on the ground.” He pointed out that GCC and Egyptian Air Forces have considerably enhanced their joint-operations capabilities as a result of almost annual exercises they have done together along with the U.S. and some EU countries. “Issues related to command and control and interoperability would be resolved quickly which would ensure a smooth running of NFZ operations.”
Many analysts believe Libyan rebels and the Arab street would be more welcoming of a joint Arab force enforcing NFZ than a Western one. Even Arab street reaction to an operation led by Arab countries would reflect favorably on the concerned governments, and reduce mounting frustration amongst Arabs of seeing their governments weak and indecisive in resolving Arab problems. GCC officials have indicated in their recent statements that a request by the Arab League would be enough to give legitimacy to a NFZ in Libya. Arab troops would be able to operate more easily and effective on the ground in Libya than Westerners due to issues related to language, culture and geography. Most analysts agree an Arab joint force would have more success than a Western one in Libya, provided the joint force gets the needed political commitment regionally and internationally.
It seems that the idea of a no-fly-zone being put in practice is no longer if but when, given the changing circumstances of the past few days and weeks.
This is a big step for the technology giant as it has a global policy of not selling stakes in its units. Since the end of apartheid 17 years ago, the South African government has heavily encouraged companies to sell stakes to black investors to address racial imbalances in the country. As part of Microsoft’s broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) programme, the company was granted permission to put in place alternative empowerment plans. As a result, Microsoft agreed to invest the equivalent of 4 percent of its sales in black-owned enterprises over seven years. Bill Gates’ organisation, which introduced the Windows operating system to the world, will sign deals with four software developers later today – Chillisoft, a developer of software used in the healthcare and manufacturing industries; BUI, a computer-security company; Home Grown Business Integrations, which develops electricity management systems and Maxxor, a producer of mobile phone and web-based applications.
Alvarion’s 4G network is 
South Africans can finally buy and download paid-for applications from the Android Market.
The Arab League 
