The Nation Newspaper

Category: Infotech

  • 2017: Another chance to get it right

    2017: Another chance to get it right

    It was 31st of December and the time to celebrate the end of a challenging year, and maybe set a new goal for the next 365 days. Tito sat, drunk in a Surulere bar with his jolly friends, their tables filled with different kinds of alcoholic beverages. Each, narrating the challenges the year had brought and how they survived it. The conversation drifted to making plans for the incoming year. Part of the plans for Tito was to drop-down his alcoholic consumption which had consistently drained his pocket. And bla bla bla.
    New resolutions have been made, with plans to embrace new attitudes. The key challenge is following the resolutions to the end. About 60% of New Year resolutions are abandoned after 1-2 months, and another 20% after 3 months. Only a meagre percentage follow through to the end of the year. The key problem is our refusal or rather ignorance to create a solid roadmap on how to actualize the resolutions. Tito and friends never did that and there are possibilities that their resolutions might fail. They might just hit the bar again the following weekend.
    However, Funke, my friend had an intriguing resolution; she wants a healthier lifestyle for herself and her family. Wow! As simple as it sounds; it requires a high level of hard work. That means sound body and sound mental health which would eventually trigger long life and prosperity.
    ‘Interesting! So what’s your strategy?’ I asked
    ‘My key strategy is pecadomo’.
    ‘Peca what?’
    ‘Pecadomo’ meaning Peak Can Do More!
    pecadomia7Funke is a busy mum between 25-45; health-conscious, upwardly-mobile. She knows that ‘the family’s health is the mother’s scorecard’, and will do everything to keep her family healthy and happy. Funke lectured me that young and trendy mums all over the country are embracing the use of Peak Milk beyond the traditional bread and tea, and Peak Milk is now used to prepare traditional foods like eba, semo, amala, pounded yam, et al.
    ‘So why Peak and not other milk brands?’ I quizzed
    ‘Peak is an iconic brand of great quality and pedigree, nurturing generations since 1954 and produced under strict hygiene, the company adhering strictly by international policies’
    ‘Really?!’ I was impressed.

    ‘Yes’. Funke preached on. ‘And Pecadomo is a great strategy of meeting the nutritional needs of every family member as critical nutrients are situated at key gastronomic touchpoints. Its the right thing to do in this age when we hardly have time for decent meals’. She nailed it.
    It’s a new year and another chance to get it right. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery.
    For me, I have decided to innovate. Trying new things, learning, living, pushing myself, changing myself, changing our world; however to do that, there is need for stronger body and sharper mind; and Peak Milk is equipped to enhance my mental and physical performances; giving me sound mind and sound body.
    A wholesome health for innovation!
    ‘A toast to a healthier 2017’. I raised my glass of Peak smoothie to Funke.
    ‘Its always in you’ she replied, smiling, and clicking my cup.
  • 2017 PowerAfrica conference calls for papers

    2017 PowerAfrica conference calls for papers

    IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) offers this premier international forum on advances in the development and deployment of technologies and business models that are realising Africa’s energy future. PES provides the world’s largest forum for sharing the latest in technological developments in the electric power industry, among other things. This year’s conference will emphasise the emerging opportunities to leverage ICT to build solutions for both on-grid and off-grid systems across the continent that are economical, environmentally, and socially sustainable. The role of current and future regulations, investment frameworks and policies will also be addressed.

    Why Attend?

    The IEEE PES organisation brings together more than 14,000 people all over the world for their annual T&D shows and 3,000 people for General Meetings in North America. By attending the PowerAfrica Conference, you will be able to:

    • Share technical experiences with experts in industry & research
    • Publish a paper in the world-acclaimed IEEE Xplore
    • Participate in a forum with the African academia, businesses and regulators to discuss best practices to support the electrification of Africa
    • Network with leading practitioners in ICT and Electrification
    • Connect with students, industry leaders, investors and regulators
    • Stay up-to-date with latest advances in ICT and energy industries

    PowerAfrica 2017 Accra, Ghana will be a platform for participants from academia, telecommunication companies, technology companies, electric utilities and the entire energy industry to discuss experiences, best practices and associated technical developments that can be applied towards the electrification of Africa, enabling socio-economic development. Power delivery regulations, investments, and policies will also be addressed. The technical program is designed to highlight innovations and challenges facing the power and energy industry in Africa. The Conference will provide attendees with practical, solution-oriented topics, including case studies and lessons learned, via a diversified technical program consisting of tutorials/workshops, keynote/plenary speeches, poster and oral presentations. 

    The conference theme covers African applications or relevant international experience in the following four key topic areas:

    Tapping Emerging Generation & Storage:

    • Solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydro, and waste
    • Energy Storage: technologies and systems
    • Technical and business design of hybrid systems
    • Grid integration and grid code for renewables

    Designing Micro-Grids and Revamping Utility Systems:

    • Reliability, Communications, and Security
    • Integrating, Controlling, and Monitoring multiple microgrids
    • Technical and business design of wire systems
    • Considerations for off-grid and grid connected systems
    • Integrating, controlling & monitoring multiple microgrids

    Building Sustainable Systems for Customers and Sectors:

    • Effects of electrification: Environmental, economic, and social
    • Local Growth: skills, jobs, investors, and lenders
    • Financial Examples: options for financial instruments, investor/lender arrangements
    • Tariff design, regulation, and the role of global institutions

    Leveraging ICT for Power Delivery and Electrification:

    • Smart monitoring, metering, and control
    • Maintenance and payment for on and off-grid systems
    • Data analytics: customer analysis, equipment maintenance, and finance
    • Cybersecurity, privacy, and data protection

    Conference Paper Submission Requirements:

    Full papers (6 pages) must be submitted to the online submission and review site. A link to the submission site will be available from the 2017 IEEE PES PowerAfrica Conference home page. If accepted after peer review and revision, papers will be archived in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library and presented in the Conference.

  • What Nigerians searched for in 2016 on Google

    What Nigerians searched for in 2016 on Google

    Searches on Google, leading Internet search engine  in 2016 was intense and far-reaching.

    Google’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Anglophone West Africa, Mr Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, stated this  on Wednesday  noted that the searches are from elections to exciting, shocking and hopeful issues.

    He said in a statement that this year’s compilation of top trending searches brought together stories and questions through the eyes of Nigerians on the web.

    “Sieving out the top searches from the flurry of inquiries on sensational and diverse moments, are top trending celebrity stories, major events on ‘what is’ and ‘how to’ searches, travel questions and exciting perspectives of the world.

    “The direction of this year’s search reveals that Nigerians are eager to learn about current events not just within the country, but in other parts of the world.

    “The searches for the year also moved outside search for songs, actors, movies and sports news.

    “For instance, going by the top trending searches, it was unveiled that Nigerians went online to search for “What is Budget Padding”, due to an allegation that came from the Nigerian Senate against the presidency.

    “Also are search questions like “what is in Nigeria’s newspaper today?” and “what is bureaucracy”, indicated that Nigerians were concerned about the state of the country,” he said.

    The Google manager said that some other top searches on Google for the year were personalities like ‘Stephen Keshi’ and ‘Bukky Ajayi’ who died in the year.

    He said that Donald Trump, America’s president-elect, his opponent ‘Hillary Clinton’ and Legendary American boxer ‘Muhammad Ali’ also trended.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that empowerment and self-improvement, which included seeking directions and finding new ways to do things was some of the top searches for the year.

    He said that Nigerians were also eager to empower themselves and learn ways to do new things.

    He said that some of the questions on the ‘How to’ list was “how to sing better” and “how to take care of pigs”.

    He listed the full 2016 search list as, for the ‘What is’ list are – “what is Nigeria news papers today’’, “what is the latest news of Manchester United’’, “the meaning of love’’, “what is Public Relations’’.

    Others on thewhat is list are “what is telecommunication’’, “what is mmm’’, “what is bureaucracy’’, “budget padding’’, “insulin’’, and “what is motivation’’.

    He said that on the ”How to” list are “how to DJ a party’’, “stop auto renewal on GLO’’, “know original iphone5s’’, “style twist braids’’, “munch on Samsung Galaxy 6 Egde’’, “take care of pigs’’.

    Others on the how list are “to check jamb result 2016’’, `edit a pdf file’’, “sing better’’ and “how to draw a perfect eye brow’’.

    Kola-Ogunlade said that as regards people searched are; Donald Trump, Stephen Keshi, Muhammad Ali, Pogba, Hillary Clinton, Simone Biles, Jose Mourinho, Prince, Shkodran Mustafi and Bukky Ajayi

    He listed the events searched as- Olympic Games Rio 2016, U.S. Elections, Brexit, ASUU Strike, Olajumoke Orisaguna, Miss Anambra, Fidel Castro, Edo Elections, Holi Festival and Black Friday.

    The Google manager said that on the songs list are – Kiss Daniel Mama, Tekno Pana, Phyno Fada Fada, Kiss Daniel Jombo, Olamide, Who You Epp, Lil Kesh Ishe, Falz Soft Work.

    Also on the songs list are Adekunle gold ready, Drake – One Dance Ft. Wizkid & Kyla and Psquare bank alert.

    He said that for actors are; Bukky Ajayi, Henrietta Kosoko, Arakangudu, Dede One dDay, Falz, Alan Rickman, Ani Iyoho, Juliet Ibrahim, Olumide Bakare, Halima Abubakar.

    He listed the Movies / TV Series as; Suicide Squad, Captain America Civil War, Game of Thrones Season 6, Empire Season 3, Deadpool, Batman vs Superman, Warcraft, Gods of Egypt, London has fallen and X Men Apocalypse.

    He said that for Sport People are; Stephen Keshi, Muhammad Ali, Pogba, Simone Biles, Jose Mourinho, Mustafi, Lucas Perez, Granit Xhaka, Kante, Mahrez.

    He listed the mobile phones searched this year as; iphone 7, Infinix Note 3, Samsung galaxy S7, Tecno Camon C9, Infinix hot 4, Tecno Boom J8, Infinix Hot 2, Infinix Zero 3, Tecno W4 and Tecno W3.

    List of recipes included; Nigerian spaghetti recipe, Nigeria chicken curry recipe, spaghetti bolognese recipe, ofada stew recipe, Nigerian cupcakes recipe, Nigerian grilled chicken recipe.

    Others in the recipe category are cake recipe with custard powder, easy sausage stir fry recipe, spring rolls recipe and velvet cake recipe.

    The Google Trends launched in May, 2006, allows one to see how popular search terms and its demography have been over a period.

     

    Here’s The Full List: Year in Search 2016

    What is…

    what is nigeria news papers today?

    what is the latest news of manchester united

    what is the meaning of love

    what is public relations

    what is telecommunication

    what is mmm

    what is bureaucracy

    what is budget padding

    what is insulin

    what is motivation

    How to…

    how to dj a party

    how to stop auto renewal on glo

    how to know original iphone5s

    how to style twist braids

    how to munch on samsung galaxy s6egde

    how to take care of pigs

    how to check jamb result 2016

    how to edit a pdf file

    how to sing better

    how to draw a perfect eye brow

    People

    donald trump

    stephen keshi

    muhammad ali

    pogba

    hillary clinton

    simone biles

    jose mourinho

    Prince

    Shkodran Mustafi

    bukky Ajayi

    Events

    Olympic games rio 2016

    US Elections

    Brexit

    ASUU Strike

    Olajumoke Orisaguna

    Miss Anambra

    Fidel Castro

    Edo Elections

    Holi Festival

    Black Friday

    Songs

    Kiss Daniel Mama

    Tekno Pana

    phyno fada fada

    kiss daniel jombo

    olamide who you epp

    lil kesh ishe

    falz soft work

    adekunle gold ready

    Drake – One Dance Ft Wizkid & Kyla

    p square bank alert

    Actors

    bukky ajayi

    henrietta kosoko

    arakangudu

    dede one day

    falz

    alan rickman

    ani iyoho

    Juliet Ibrahim

    Olumide Bakare

    Halima Abubakar

    Movies / TV Series

    Suicide squad

    captain america civil war

    game of thrones season 6

    empire season 3

    deadpool

    batman vs superman

    warcraft

    gods of egypt

    london has fallen

    x men apocalypse

    Sport People

    stephen keshi

    muhammad ali

    pogba

    simone biles

    jose mourinho

    mustafi

    lucas perez

    granit xhaka

    kante

    mahrez

    Mobile phones

    iphone 7

    infinix note 3

    samsung galaxy s7

    tecno camon c9

    infinix hot 4

    tecno boom j8

    infinix hot 2

    infinix zero 3

    tecno w4

    tecno w3

    Recipes

    nigerian spaghetti recipe

    nigeria chicken curry recipe

    spaghetti bolognese recipe

    ofada stew recipe

    nigerian cupcakes recipe

    nigerian grilled chicken recipe

    cake recipe with custard powder

    easy sausage stir fry recipe

    spring rolls recipe

    velvet cake recipe

    Near Me…

    nail salon near me

    movies near me

    hotels near me

    places to eat near me

    western union near me

    moneygram near me

    things to do near me

    job opportunities near me

    fidelity bank near me

    hair salons near me

    Directions to…

    directions to lekki peninsula resort lagos

    directions to banana island lagos

    directions to home

    directions to ikeja city mall

    directions to national postgraduate medical college

    directions to ruby gardens lekki

    directions to yaba lagos

    bus directions to acl travels

    directions to yaba market lagos

    directions to a nike store in nigeria

     

  • Web4Africa launches services at Rack Centre’s data centre

    Pan African web hosting company, Web4Africa, has launched its web hosting services in Rack Centre, the Nigeria carrier neutral premium data centre colocation company in a move it said will enable to serve its customers in the West African sub-region more efficiently.

    Accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and also the Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NiRA), and founded in 2002, Web4Africa offers web hosting, virtual private server (VPS) hosting, domain names and related services to clients worldwide.

    With presence in Rack Centre, Web4Africa, was the first hosting company to offer web services physically from Nigeria from a Tier III data centre with comprehensive global connectivity.

    Speaking on the development, the Managing Director of Web4Africa, Mr Oluniyi Ajao said: “Rack Centre has provided a cost-effective carrier-neutral environment with 100 per cent uptime since launch and the hosting of the internet point of Nigeria at Rack Centre which allows several internet service providers and network operators to exchange traffic making it a perfect location for our West African network point-of-presence.”

    The Managing Director of Rack Centre, Mr Ayotunde Coker, lauded the move to Rack Centre by Web4Africa. He said: “Web4Africa is a key player in delivering local Cloud services hosted here in Nigeria, delivered in Nigeria.  This is a key component of Rack Centre Cloud on Ground marketplace for cloud based services.  Rack Centre provides Web4Africa the most connected data centre in West Africa, and the ideal geophysical location to provide its services, not only within Nigeria, but across all of West Africa”

    Rack Centre is 100 per cent owned by Jagal, a Nigerian conglomerate holding that operates leading energy businesses and manages a diverse portfolio of investments. Rack Centre, is a state-of-the-art, Tier III Design Certified datacentre offering carrier-neutral colocation services.  It is the most connected in West Africa, offering 16 major carriers in the country and direct connection to all undersea cables serving the South Atlantic Coast of Africa.  Its Cloud on Ground services offers a locally hosted cloud marketplace. Colocating within Rack Centre allows companies to avoid fixed infrastructure investments and to leave the growing complexity of managing power and environmental issues to specialists.

     

  • 10 things your Smartphone could do

    10 things your Smartphone could do

    Most people don’t know the usefulness of their Smartphone, some people just think is only meant to call, receive calls, browse etc.

    Some people build their entire lives around their smartphones. Others use them just to make calls. But no matter where you fall on the spectrum of tech users, there are new apps as well as hidden features built into the phones that can make your life easier and more enjoyable.

    Smartphone Extra functions

    1. Monitor your heart. Many people check their heart rates often for signs of a medical problem or to help determine fitness levels. The app ­Instant Heart Rate has more than 5 million ­users. You place your fingertip over your phone camera lens for 10 seconds. Using the camera sensor and flash, the app detects a colour change in your finger from blood flow each time your heart beats and then calculates your pulse rate. Instant Heart Rate keeps a ­record of your tests so that you can share them with medical professionals and/or monitor the effects of your physical workouts.

    2. Measure height and distance. These apps are useful if you need to check the dimensions of a room or the distance across your yard or determine whether a piece of furniture will fit through your door.

    3. Translate foreign languages. Point your phone’s video camera at any printed material such as a road sign. The app replaces the words in the live picture on your screen with its English translation. It covers major languages including French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The Android and Windows versions even work without an Internet connection.

    This is a free feature in the Google Translate app for Android and iPhone. Windows Phone users can download a similar visual translator that is part of the free Bing Translator app.

    4. Mail a postcard. Now your phone gives you a way to easily create your own custom paper postcard and have it mailed. The Postcard on the Run app allows you to take a snapshot and ­personalize it with a message and your signature. You send it via text message to the company, which prints and mails your card for you to anywhere in the world.

    The app is free for the three major phone operating systems. Postcards cost $2.49 to $2.89 each, including postage, depending on the destination.

    5.  Digitize documents. ­CamScanner ­allows you to take a picture of any document, receipt or photo and instantly convert it to a high-quality PDF or JPG file format. The ability to “scan” on the go without a cumbersome office scanner can be very useful. Features allow you to enhance scanned images, adjusting for low lighting and for documents with light print or handwriting. Free for all three major phone operating systems.

    6. Allow you to create a high-security password. Instead of using a simple four-digit code to unlock your phone, you can create a more complex password with a mix of letters, numbers and special characters.

    iPhone: In the Settings menu, tap Touch ID and Passcode (or just Passcode on older phones), then Turn Passcode On. Turn off the switch that reads “Simple Passcode.”

    Android: In Settings, tap Screen Security, then Screen Lock. Select Password, then type in the password you want.

    Windows: In Settings, tap Lock Screen, then Password. Type your password.

    7. Take a screenshot. There may be times when you want your phone to capture a picture of what appears on your screen and save it—for example, detailed ­information on a web page that has constantly changing content.

    iPhone: Press and hold the Home button, along with the Sleep/Wake button. The screenshot will appear in your Camera Roll section. If you have an operating system earlier than iOS 6, consult Apple.com for directions.

    Android: Hold down the Power and Volume buttons at the same time. The image is saved to the Screenshots folder in your Gallery app. Note: This works only for Android OS 4 or later. If you have an earlier version, you’ll need to download the free app, AirDroid.

    Windows: On Windows Phone 8.1, press the Power and Volume Up buttons at the same time. The screenshot is stored in the Screenshots album in ­Photos Hub. For Windows Phone 8, press and hold the Start button and Power button at the same time. The shot also is stored in your Screenshots album. Earlier Windows Phone versions do not have screenshot capability.

    8. Enable you to see text more easily. If you’re having a difficult time reading from your phone’s small screen, you can change the size of the text.

    iPhone: In the Settings menu, tap General, then Accessibility, then Larger Text and/or Bold Text.

    Android: In Settings, tap Display, then Font Size.

    Windows: In Settings, type Ease of Access. Under Text Size, move the slider to change the size of the text. This works only in Windows Phone 8 or later. Earlier versions do not allow you to change the text size.

    9. Let you customise vibration mode patterns. With iPhones and Android phones, you can set your phone to vibrate in a different pattern depending on who is calling you—so you can tell, say, that your spouse is trying to reach you, even if your phone is not set to ring.

    iPhone: Go to Contacts. Tap on a contact name. Tap Edit, then Vibration to choose or create a pattern.

    Android: Go to Contacts, and tap on a contact name. Under Vibration Pattern, tap Default and choose a preset pattern.

    10. Turn off music automatically. Many people like to fall asleep listening to ­music. You can set your phone to turn off the music automatically after a certain period of time in order to avoid draining the battery.

    iPhone: Go to the Clock feature, and tap Timer. Set the desired length of time you want the music to play. Tap the phrase When Timer Ends. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select Stop Playing.

    Android: Open the music player, tap Menu, then Settings. Tap the phrase Music Auto-off, and set it to however long you want the music to play.

    Windows: There is no built-in feature to turn off music automatically. Instead, you can download and install the free app Stop Music. It works with Windows Phone 7.5 and later.

  • Twitter to lay off 9% of staff

    Twitter to lay off 9% of staff

    • As sale process appears to have come to nothing

    The layoffs are expected to impact about 350 employees across sales, partnerships and marketing efforts, according to the company. The goal is to push Twitter toward profitability as an independent company.

    This is contained in the company’s third-quarter letter to shareholders on Thursday, saying: “The restructuring allows us to continue to fully fund our highest priorities while eliminating investment in non-core areas and driving greater efficiency.”

    According to the CNN, Disney, Google and Salesforce were all said to be interested in bidding for the social network, but ultimately backed off. Only Salesforce admitted as much publicly.

    “It wasn’t the right fit for us,” Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, said earlier this month.

    On a conference call with analysts after the earnings release, Twitter CEO and co-founder, Jack Dorsey said his only comment on the acquisition rumours is “our board is committed to maximising long-term shareholder value.”

    “We’re taking the necessary steps to ensure Twitter is well positioned for long-term growth,” Dorsey added.

    In the absence of a takeover in the near term and any significant signs of growth, Twitter must push for a turnaround as an independent company. Its first big step is to improve its bottom line through cuts.

    Dorsey took over as Twitter’s permanent CEO a year ago and presided over an earlier round of layoffs that reduced staff by 8%.

    He has since focused on growing Twitter through live video streaming and making it easier for users to discover relevant tweets in their news feeds, with limited results.

    Twitter’s monthly active user count, easily the company’s most scrutinised number, beat estimates by rising to 317 million in the September quarter from 313 million the previous quarter. But growth remains anaemic compared to newer competitors like Instagram and Snapchat.

    The stagnant user growth is all the more stunning when you consider that Twitter’s relevance has arguably never been greater. It is the platform of choice for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and is, therefore, a key tool for following the U.S. election.

    Twitter says it reached a “record” number of daily active users during each of the three presidential debates, but that apparently did not translate into many new monthly active users.

    Twitter’s ability to attract millions of new users has been stymied by what many views as a complicated interface and the all too frequent threat of harassment on the platform. Now Twitter is promising fixes to address abuse, which it says have been in the works for months.

    “Next month, we will be sharing meaningful updates to our safety policy, our product and enforcement strategy,” Twitter said in its shareholder letter.

    Twitter did manage to beat Wall Street’s estimates with quarterly sales of $616 million, but growth there is slowing to a halt. Sales increased just 8% from the same quarter a year earlier. By comparison, its sales in the third quarter of 2015 were up 58% from the year before that.

    Twitter posted a net loss for the quarter of $103 million. It also expects to incur as much as $30 million in costs from the layoffs, due to severance payouts and stock-based compensation.

    The stock was up nearly 5% in pre-market trading Thursday.

  • SA drone operator issues warning as it flies across Africa

    SA drone operator issues warning as it flies across Africa

    A Cape Town company, UAV Industries, has announced that it is the first drone operator in Africa to be licensed to train pilots and operate drones, receiving their Remote Operating Certificate from the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).

    According to a leading online platform on military reports, Defence Web, globally the drone business is proving to be one of the most volatile new growth industries in recent years, South Africa being a relatively late bloomer. With only a handful of training providers in the country and thousands of uncertified illegal pilots, the industry is in urgent need of upskilling and compliance.

    Being  a leading training provider, the announcement means they are now the only company on the continent to provide insured and legal flights using their pilots for various industries in South Africa – film, agriculture, utilities, insurance and property, among others. They will immediately bring economies of scale and accessibility to the sector with trained pilots in major provinces, having trained over 120 pilots this year.

    As the local industry booms, dangers exist and collisions will rapidly become an inevitable part of operating – the greatest fear is South African companies may not realise they are employing non-certified drone pilots which put companies, property and potentially lives, at significant risk. The announcement came in timely.

    “It is about operational control in airspace”, explained Braam Botha, UAV Industries chief operating officer. This is shared by all sorts of aircraft but when you’re in an urban area you might be flying over people or over a road or buildings and there are risks attached, he added.

    “Unless you have gone through training, have been approved by the SACAA, and have a Remote Operator’s Certificate, plus other requirements, you are not allowed to fly within 50m of a public road, person or property you do not have permission from – including parks and beaches. It’s a legal necessity and as far as we’ve experienced, it’s the only way you can be insured, because there are numerous eventualities such as flying into a property, a vehicle, or a person.”

    Botha added that “for hobbyists, that’s not to say you can’t fly”. The SA Model Aircraft Association (SAMAA) has a number of SAMAA approved fields for members and provides insurance for model flyers, but you can’t make an income on the back of a SAMAA membership.

    To make a living, or work within a corporate environment, the legal process requires two licences – an Air Service Licence from the Department of Transport and the Remote Operating Certificate (ROC) from SACAA. On top of that, your drone needs to be registered and approved by SACAA and the individual needs a drone pilots’ licence. You’ll need insurance for third party risk – a drone crashing into a car as an example – but for the most part, you can’t get this unless you’re a legal operator.

    “I often compare it to a courier company not being insured or insuring its drivers, Businesses should know this and need to ask the questions of the pilot – are you insured, and are you and your drone legal?” he concluded.

  • Medic West Africa: Philips showcase new connected innovations

    Medic West Africa: Philips showcase new connected innovations

    At this year’s biggest healthcare trade show in West Africa, Philips, a Dutch technology company headquartered in Amsterdam, will reveal a portfolio of data-driven radiology technologies and connected solutions across the health continuum, from healthy living to disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment.Visitors to the Philips booth and Master Classes at

    Visitors to the Philips booth and Master Classes at Medic West Africa 2016, will witness how Philips is leveraging its deep clinical expertise, data management, consumer insights as well as partnerships to help shape the future of healthcare in West Africa. The aim is to provide more predictive and more personalized care to enable people to take charge of their own health, as well as first time right diagnoses and more effective treatments.

    According to the company in a statement, Radiology plays an important role in helping to detect and characterize disease at its earliest possible stages; assists in treatment planning and assessment; and helps in the management of overall patient care.Designed to help shorten the time between diagnosis and treatment, Philips’ full range of radiology solutions in cardiology, oncology, and women’s health are driving cost-effective, more consistent and higher quality care across the entire hospital enterprise.

    Designed to help shorten the time between diagnosis and treatment, Philips’ full range of radiology solutions in cardiology, oncology, and women’s health are driving cost-effective, more consistent and higher quality care across the entire hospital enterprise.

    “With advancements in data-driven digital health technology, radiology has the power to significantly impact the way care is delivered, as it plays a critical role in the majority of healthcare decisions,” said Ime Umo, CEO, Philips West Africa.“By integrating advanced diagnostic imaging technologies with specialized informatics, Philips is helping its customers to enhance the diagnostic process, facilitate seamless collaboration and improve workflow efficiencies – all for the enhancement of patient care.”

    “By integrating advanced diagnostic imaging technologies with specialized informatics, Philips is helping its customers to enhance the diagnostic process, facilitate seamless collaboration and improve workflow efficiencies – all for the enhancement of patient care.”

    To demonstrate their vision and commitment to connected innovations across the health continuum, Philips is introducing new technologies to the West African healthcare market at the show. These new technologies includes but not limited to the followings:

    Intellispace Portal

    The Philips IntelliSpace Portal is a web-enabled image and information management system with a single integrated workspace that produces a holistic view of the patient’s care continuum; it is one of the most comprehensive solutions for problem detection, diagnostics, and therapy follow-up, offering a full suite of tools to increase accuracy of quantitative measurements and reproducibility, decision support tools to boost diagnostics confidence.

    CX50 Ultrasound

    cx50-utrasoundCX50 CompactXtreme portable ultrasound system – Combines the image quality expected of a traditional, premium, full-size system with the convenience of portability. Features PureWave crystal technology, one of the biggest breakthroughs in piezoelectric transducer technology in 40 years which has been clinically proven to improve image quality across the patient population, especially on technically difficult patients. 

     

    Premium fluoroscopy and digital radiography

    premium-fluoroscopy-and-digital-radiographyCombiDiagnost R90 is a premium remote-controlled fluoroscopy system in combination with high-end digital radiography, designed to improve room utilization in a cost-effective manner.

    CombiDiagnost R90 provides excellent dose management features like grid-controlled fluoroscopy, new dynamic UNIQUE image processing which offers consistent, outstanding image quality for radiography and fluoroscopy applications, supporting high room utilization and patient throughput. 

    Critical Care Ventilation

    The V680 critical care ventilator provides high-performance ventilation in invasive and noninvasive modes at a fraction of the cost of two separate systems. This advanced two-in-one platform includes a full complement of invasive and noninvasive modes, lung mechanics maneuvers, and comprehensive dynamic patient monitoring.

    The V680 ventilator includes a number of advanced technologies designed to simplify use, support uninterrupted invasive or noninvasive ventilation, and help reduce the incidence of unwanted pressure spikes. Unlike other systems that stop ventilating during expiratory limb occlusion or flow sensor failure, the V680 switches to Emergency Ventilation Mode, and sounds a high-priority alarm. In this mode, the same oxygen and ventilation settings are maintained through the inspiratory limb, buying critical seconds or minutes for the patient until help arrives.

    critical-care-ventilationPhilips continues to focus on driving groundbreaking connected innovations across the health continuum. Digital technologies are the enabler of such transformations in healthcare systems and Philips is determined to drive that transformation.

    Medic West Africa & Philips

    Medic West Africa 2016 is the biggest healthcare trade show of its kind in West Africa and takes place from 12 to 14 October 2016 in Lagos, Nigeria.  As part of its holistic approach to healthier living, Philips is providing all visitors an opportunity to take a “health break” at the Philips Juice Bar (stall M20) and sample a smoothie treat or fresh fruit juices.

    Philips Master classes

    Philips will also be holding a series of master classes during the show, providing education on the latest healthcare advancements with a focus on innovations in radiology, imaging and cardiology.

    • Dr Ahmed Sultan, Ultrasound Application Specialist, Philips North East Africa, will lead the session on Advanced Echo Application for Improved Outcomes on Wednesday, 12 October from 11.30 hrs to 12.45 hrs (Seminar Room Hall 2)
    • Mabolo Paulin, Clinical Applications Specialist (MRI, CT, ISP), Philips South Africa, will conduct a training session on Interactive Imaging with IntelliSpace Portal: Focusing on Cardiac Health on Thursday, 13 October from 12.30 hrs to 13.45 hrs (Seminar Room Hall 2).

  • Why your organization needs Cyber security

     

     

    It is often said that security of data is better integrated into your system that just being a routine carried out by a personnel; this point is usually ingrained with this analogy “endpoint security is like butter and bread, its better baked in and not just brushed on”.

    Computers in the real sense are designed to have little or no security. By default, most computer users’ have multiple services turned on, no firewall installed, and with haphazard or little patching, leaving organization’s data susceptible to phishing; all these forces combined makes computers (more importantly data contained in the system) vulnerable to hacking, as hackers can remotely scan and hack into literally millions of computers without the need for interaction by the end user.

    To combat this, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) have worked tirelessly to build security into computers by deploying firewalls enabled by default, reducing services, using advanced memory protection, standardized the patching processes and other features, as a result of their approach to computer safety computers have become more secure, however, data contained in computers and servers are largely still vulnerable to attacks by hackers and phishers.

    The next generation of system users and technologist has come to embrace the idea of computing and securing data in the cloud, however, it is imperative to ask this question, how does your company use the cloud? Almost certainly it allows your employees to work more efficiently by enabling them to access email and vital documents wherever they are in the world. The salient question is, are you taking advantage of the benefits of the cloud to protect your email servers, support data privacy and integrity, and protect your intellectual property from cyber theft and phishing? If yes, what technology did you adopt? Is the technology adopted optimized to serve your needs? (Included in this are security needs you are not even aware of).

    Over half a decade the cyber security industry has taken a massive step forward by going cloud. As cloud based solutions have the capacity to process enormous quantity of data quickly and with high automation, giving end-user greater and better visibility and a firm grip and control over their worldwide assets. Cloud-based security also enables a various set of endpoints to be managed simultaneously, regardless of physical location, and it does this in split seconds.

     

    Worthy examples of cloud based services that have become the focal points of operations for businesses world-over are the likes of Amazon, Google, LinkedIn and Salesforce, cloud-based cyber security is similar to this in both innovation and efficiency.

     

    Cloud based security has become the present and future of securing email and protecting against malicious Web traffic; for managing user account, identification and accesses; for continuously monitoring threat activities and patching vulnerabilities across a geographically dispersed and mobile workforce (hence, your data is secured no matter the geographical location of your employee); for aggregating and analyzing huge volumes of security-related data; and, ultimately, for detecting, containing and mitigating incidents amongst other things, malware that threatens the data and information of businesses and organizations.

    Another advantage of going cloud is the astounding amount of storage, data feed intakes, data and algorithm crunching and relational analyses that can be performed and readily shared using cloud infrastructure. Cloud security helps companies/organizations to focus more on machine acquisition, correlation, learning and sharing at network speed.

    The evolution of cloud-based security and the influx of cyber-security solutions have left end-users in dilemma of the best security to adopt for their business and organizations; this led to research by Cyber-security experts comparing cloud-based end-point security solutions using several benchmarks.

  • African firms adopt IBM cloud to fuel innovation

    African firms adopt IBM cloud to fuel innovation

    International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has announced its signature event in Lagos, that eight companies across Africa, spanning some of the fastest growing industries in the region, from telecommunications to retail, have chosen IBM to provide Information and Technology (IT) solutions delivered as a service via IBM Cloud.

    According to the company during “IBM Business Nigeria 2016”, this will help the firms drive productivity, innovation, differentiation and competitiveness in their respective industries.

    Located in various urban centers across the west, north, central and southern African regional economic zones, all businesses seek to use IBM public and hybrid cloud solutions to accelerate business development and innovation and create global growth strategies.

    The American multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, observed that companies including Navigation and Geocoding Technologies Ltd. (Naveo), Whogohost, Korrect Software, Serve Consulting, and IntTeck Global Systems, are all looking to the hybrid cloud for greater flexibility, scalability and central management. This will enable them to move workloads to where they make the most sense for their business.

    “These companies are not alone and their move to the hybrid cloud is indicative of a global trend. According to IDC, hybrid cloud is the new norm for businesses, and it predicts that more than 80 percent of enterprise IT organizations will commit to hybrid cloud architectures by 2017.

    “A 2016 global study of hybrid cloud, Growing up Hybrid: Accelerating Digital Transformation from the IBM Center for Applied Insights, found that 500 hybrid cloud implementers from 13 countries and 23 industries are using hybrid cloud to jumpstart “next-generation” initiatives.

    “The IBM Cloud allows a company to improve business agility and capacity to quickly meet shifting customer demands,” says Tejas Mehta, General Manager, IBM Central and West Africa.” He added, “The Africa region is propelling innovation by adopting IBM Cloud. The IBM Cloud will give them the technical muscle to consistently align their operational objectives and assets with prevailing market conditions, laying a foundation for commercial sustenance and future growth.”

    IntTeck Global Systems: a local developer and vendor for Global Insurance Business Solution, a core insurance application from Lagos, Nigeria, is an example of the many African companies currently adopting IBM technologies.

    For IntTeck, IBM  is needed to consistently deliver innovative software products and enhance the efficiency of its service delivery value chain. Since adopting IBM’s Cloud infrastructure, the company has experienced increased customer satisfaction levels, easier configuration and deployment of virtual machines, reduced operational costs and improved regulatory compliance within its industry.

    Recall that in January 2016, IBM was ranked #1 in Hybrid and positioned as a leader in Hybrid Cloud Management Solutions (Synergy Group Research and Forrester, respectively).