Technology

Jul92020 by Lynn WandiaNo Comments

Google launches Telkom 4G internet balloon service across Kenya

Telkom Kenya and Google subsidiary Loon have launched their internet balloon service, providing internet to rural areas of Kenya. The project has been some two years in the making and effectively provides a series of floating cell phone towers with a 4G internet connection. “The Internet-enabled balloons will be able to offer connectivity to the many Kenyans who live in remote regions that are underserved or totally unserved, and as such remain disadvantaged,” said Mugo Kibati, Telkom Kenya’s CEO. Tests of the balloons in late June resulted in download speeds of almost 19 Mbps and uplink transfers of 4.74 Mbps, with the connection tested for email, web browsing, WhatsApp video calls and YouTube. Not just hot air The Loon balloons will start by covering a region of some 50,000

Jun252020 by Lynn WandiaNo Comments

Safari joins browsers that tell you who’s trying to track you

Internet, Mobile, Technology

It's part of a larger push-back on the intrusive practice that follows you across the internet. On Monday, Apple unveiled a new version of its Safari browser that'll tell you which ad trackers are running on the website you're visiting. It'll also give you a 30-day report of the known trackers it's identified while you were browsing. Additionally, it'll tell you which websites those trackers came from. The new features are a step toward transparency, giving you an idea of just how many trackers are following you around and taking notes on your behavior. The tech giant said that the new privacy feature in its underdog browser, Safari, will shine a spotlight on all of the ad trackers embedded on each article or website you visit. Safari’s new anti-tracking feature sits in the top part

Jun162020 by Lynn WandiaNo Comments

Facebook launches WhatsApp digital payments service

Internet, Mobile, Technology

WhatsApp Pay allows users to send money to one another for free. WhatsApp launched its digital payments service in Brazil while the messaging app capitalizes on its popularity in emerging markets. The move comes as the parent company Facebook forges ahead with plans to capitalize on emerging markets and bring e-commerce to its platforms, launching a WhatsApp-based digital payments service for the messaging app’s 120m Brazilian users. WhatsApp, the popular messaging app acquired by Facebook in 2014, on Monday unveiled a new payment service, WhatsApp Pay, which will allow users to send money to one another for free or make purchases from small businesses, without ever leaving the chat platform. After testing a beta version in India, WhatsApp has launched in-app payments in Brazil, the co

Jun152020 by Lynn WandiaNo Comments

Kenyan Lecturer On The Rise With App For COVID-19 Contact Tracing

Technology, Women

A Kenyan lecturer has come up with an app that can be used for COVID-19 contact tracing, which has become important in this unpredictable year. eKonnect App Masinde Muliro University took to their their Facebook page and said, "Dr. Tecla Sum of MMUST shows how to operate a mobile application (eKonnect) that she invented. The APP has the ability to carry out seamless Covid-19 contact tracing and other infectious diseases as well as locate and alert nearest health care facilities and ambulances." According to her, the eKonnect app’s primary goal is to “save the largest number of survivors from COVID-19 pandemic.” We have secured patent for the App On a phone interview, Dr. Sum confirmed a number of things about the app. She developed it as part of her post-doctoral program in

Jun102020 by Lynn WandiaNo Comments

Google Faces $5-Billion Lawsuit for Allegedly Tracking ‘Incognito Mode’ Internet Users

Business, Internet, Technology

Google is facing a new wave of legal issues. The latest is a $5-billion lawsuit in the US over claims that the search engine giant collected user information when they surfed the Internet in Google Chrome's 'private' Incognito Mode. The class-action lawsuit, filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleged that Google tracked and collected consumer browsing history even if users took steps to maintain their privacy, reports The New York Times. Google was sued on Tuesday in a proposed class action accusing the internet search company of illegally invading the privacy of millions of users by pervasively tracking their internet use through browsers set in “private” mode through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager,other applications and website plug-ins, inclu

Jun22020 by Lynn WandiaNo Comments

Oracle certifies Pesapal’s Reserveport for integration to its OPERA PMS

Business, Technology

Pesapal, a leading provider of hospitality payment solutions & Gold level member of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), has today announced its Oracle Validated Integration of Reserveport 2.6 with Oracle Hospitality OPERA 5.5 achievement. The Reserveport integration to Oracle Hospitality OPERA ensures that availability and pricing is distributed real time to major booking online travel agents, such as Booking.com, Expedia, and Hotels.com; each time these change in Oracle Hospitality OPERA. Reservations on a booking site are automatically updated by the Reserveport PMS - no need for calls or manual inventory management. The result is a seamless interaction between the property management system and online travel agents. "Achieving Oracle Validated Integration gives our customers confidence...

May262020 by Lynn WandiaNo Comments

Uber rival Bolt raises €100m to expand product offerings in Europe & Africa

Business, Mobile, Technology

Estonia’s Bolt, one of Uber’s biggest competitors in the European ride-hailing market, has raised €100m (£88m) in funding to prepare for a post-coronavirus world. This sees the total raised by Bolt top €300m, while its valuation has nearly doubled since May 2018, when it was valued at $1bn. The funding round comes at a challenging time for Bolt, with the coronavirus causing a slump in demand for ride-hailing services that is believed to have had a severe impact on its bottom line. However, today’s news suggests that its efforts to diversify are paying off. “Even though the crisis has temporarily changed how we move, the long-term trends that drive on-demand mobility such as declining personal car ownership and the shift towards greener transportation continue to grow,” said chief exec

May252020 by Alex ReeceNo Comments

Rwanda introduces anti-epidemic robots in fight against coronavirus

Technology

Rwanda has enlisted the help of five anti-epidemic robots to battle the virus, the East African country has 314 confirmed cases of the virus as of May 22. The robots were donated by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to the Kanyinya treatment center that treats Covid-19 patients in the capital city, Kigali. The robots -- named Akazuba, Ikirezi, Mwiza, Ngabo, and Urumuri -- were received by the country's Minister of Health and Minister of ICT and Innovation last week. Today, at Kanyinya Treatment Centre, @UNDP_Rwanda handed over five (5) Smart Anti-Epidemic Robots to the Government of Rwanda, represented by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of ICT and Innovation. pic.twitter.com/PVeTMYJHQu — Ministry of ICT and Innovation | Rwanda (@RwandaICT) May 19, 2020 They w

May212020 by editorNo Comments

Russia and Ghana partner to promote Nuclear Education

Technology

Three key Ghanaian universities and Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) will start working together to help upcoming engineers, physicists, doctors and researchers from Ghana to receive world-class Master’s and postgraduate education in nuclear subjects in Russia. The tuition fees for the full duration of education will be funded by the Russian Ministry of Higher Education and Science. The nuclear education programmes are supported by Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom. “About 300 students from more than 15 African countries are already studying nuclear specialties in Russia. We also contribute to the development of higher education in the field, strengthening cooperation between higher education institutions in Russia and Africa,” Director of Educational Projects and Human

Apr272020 by editorNo Comments

Visa and Pesapal announce partnership for connected digital payments in Africa

Business, Mobile, Technology

Pesapal will become a Visa Principal Member driving small business acquiring and issuing. Nairobi, April 27, 2020 – Visa (NYSE: V), the global leader in digital payments and Pesapal have today announced a strategic partnership to drive connected digital payments to consumers and businesses in Africa. Pesapal will now become a Visa Principal Member driving small business acquiring and issuing. Pesapal has created Africa's only payments ecosystem that offers Ecommerce, Point of Sale and Consumer applications on one platform. Pesapal recruits and supports businesses to be able to digitize payment collection securely while integrating to business internal systems such as POS, ERP, Accounting and Billing systems. By integrating businesses, Pesapal is then able to drive consumer paym