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Ronan Steyn has a love for all things technology, with a particular focus on startups, gadgets and games. When not writing the good write, he can be found making films or purveying the latest gadget, game or film. At night he attempts an MA in Screenwriting at UCT. A firm believer that video is the future of the web, he hopes to be at the forefront of online multimedia in Africa.
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The WordPress themes' space has gotten quite crowed in the last few years. From ThemeForest to Elegant Themes, the competitors have boxed it out for dominance, or at least tried to establish their niche within the WordPress ecosystem. All the while one competitor has quietly gone about its business, and reaped the rewards. This is WooThemes.Everybody loves a good origin storyA proudly South African company, although many don't know it, WooThemes has quite a Romantic tale behind it. It was ...
Independent Newspapers has confirmed that its subsidiary IOL suffered a denial-of-service (DDos) attack yesterday, rendering the popular news website unavailable for hours.Behind the attack is a group that calls itself "Anonymous Africa," who claims that the Independent Newspapers group supports Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe for an opinion piece IOL published on Sunday.Minutes before the attack the Twitter account for Anonymous Africa with the handle @zim4thewin sent out these tweets:Please note everyone. Today #IOL will be attacked for ignoring ...
What would you think if all the data you produce online (and specifically on social networks) was just a click of a button away from the government's eyes, should they wish to see it?This is, and isn't, PRISM -- the electronic surveillance program run by the United States National Security Agency (NSA) -- that, according to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, monitors "live communications and stored information."It is because the US government, through PRISM, can request from the largest tech ...
The United States vs. Apple Inc et al is well and truly underway.The three-week trial pits the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the much-loved technology company over allegations that the price of ebooks was artificially raised back in 2010 when Apple entered the market with the iBookstore.The prosecution accuses Apple of conspiring with five publishing houses including HarperCollins Publishers Inc and Pearson Plc's Penguin Group, to move to an agency model designed to up Amazon's US$9.99 pricing for new releases ...
Hollywood studios Warner Bros. and NBC Universal have asked Google to remove Kim Dotcom's Mega from its search results. If Google complies, the cloud-storage site which uses an encryption method to ensure security (amongst other things), would have its homepage removed from all search results.However, Google receives upwards of a million takedown requests every week, which are often automated, never mind the fact that many requests are not checked for validity by the copyright holders.This results in what is ...
Google has made it public knowledge for some time that it wants to connect the world to the internet. The challenge of facilitating this in remote areas has seen the search giant come up with some seemingly unorthodox methods, such as its TV white space project in South Africa. Now it's extending the use of existing technologies to provide wireless networks across Africa and Asia with blimps.That's right -- blimps and, according to Wired, high-altitude balloons.The goal of these portable ...
Seed accelerator 88mph's Nairobi director Nikolai Barnwell spoke to Ventureburn about its upcoming three-month acceleration programme in the Kenyan capital: what they look for in a startup, mentors and the African investment space. Whether you're an entrepreneur considering entering the programme, or just interested in tech in Kenya and Africa, you won't want to miss this Q&A.What does 88mph value in a startup? Are you looking for innovation or sound business models?I don’t think they necessarily contradict each other. More ...
Prodigy Finance is a fascinating company. It takes elements of micro-lending, as well as some proprietary risk-assessment practices, and applies them to MBA students seeking out funding. The result is effectively a loan network comprising of top MBA students, and alumni (the investors) from around the world -- including high net-worth individuals from emerging markets -- who can invest in their region's future business leaders.Founded by South Africans Cameron Stevens (CEO), and Ryan Steele (COO), the company is a registered ...
Adobe Creative Suite is no longer a product. It's a service. What was once just an option, will become the only way to access the Adobe Creative Suite family of applications come 17 June. Creative Suite (CS) will officially be replaced by Adobe Creative Cloud (CC), a subscription-based service with all the bells and whistles that come with the cloud.Announced at Adobe's MAX conference, and received with mixed reactions across social media platforms, the move marks Adobe's official shift from ...
At first glance you might not think there is much in common between the film industry and tech startups. I'm here to tell you differently. Both industries have their own set of challenges, whether you're starting out, or refining your craft/company down the line. I'm not here to tell you that one is tougher than the other, but rather that startups can learn from the parallels between them.Each member must know their 'craft'In the film industry you have ...
Lauren Granger: Staff Reporter 
Michelle Atagana: Managing Ed. 
