App Annie, the intelligence company and analyst firm, has released data on what apps people downloaded in December 2014. Interestingly, apps in two categories at seemingly opposite ends of the privacy spectrum -- security and selfie apps -- came out tops. Dubsmash, an app by Mobile Motion, topped iOS charts with strong downloads. Dubsmash allows users to select a well-known song or a quote from popular celebrities and then record themselves singing that song in their words. During the December ...

Microsoft pulled a fast one during its Windows 10 event by showing off a prototype of HoloLens, its own take on augmented reality glasses. The device certainly appears more compelling than Google Glass (although far less fashion-conscious), but does that mean it can avoid the same fate? Where Glass, currently sitting in as close to no-man's-land as you can get at Google, essentially aimed to be a kind of reality augmenting smartphone screen for your eyes, HoloLens looks to take ...

WorldRemit, an online money transfer service, and MTN, the giant telecoms operator, have entered into a global partnership that will enable WorldRemit customers to send payment instantly to MTN’s Mobile Money customers. The partnership will add MTN’s 22 million mobile money customers in 16 countries across the continent to the group which is targeting the multibillion-dollar African market. The partnership will benefit customers and save them money. According to Overseas Development Institute, a UK's leading independent think tank, the African mobile ...

Like one of those birds that are attracted to shiny jewellery, I love new gadgets and new technology. As someone with the expensive Early Adopter Disease, I embraced podcasting in its nascence. About 10 years ago, I launched a commercial podcast with experienced broadcaster Tony Lankester at the Mail & Guardian Online called “Between the Pages. It was a relative success for its time. We secured sponsorship from BMW and it ran for about a year. The then-editor of the ...

Windows 10 (yep, not Windows 9, remember) has been out in the wild for a good while now, on Windows Insider's test machines and laptops, but it hasn't yet come to mobile devices. As the tablet market shrinks in a surprising turn of events, the PC market has enjoyed something of a comeback in recent months with tablets taking a back seat. But what does this mean for mobile devices? Windows 10, as Satya Nadella noted months back, will work across ...

When it comes to ecommerce in South Africa, the fashion industry is certainly growing in popularity. The fact that only airline ticket sales generate more spend shows just how much people love shopping for clothes and apparel online with stores like Spree, Superbalist and Zando being the most popular. What these three stores all have in common is the fact that they sell quality brands to the market's affluent -- those with credit cards and disposable income. Better yet, they ...

Surprisingly, the debate surrounding satellite as a feasible and sustainable communication technology continues. Usually these debates discuss satellite as an alternative option to fibre cable networks and how fibre will replace satellite and then, almost inevitably, the conclusion is that satellite will someday, maybe soon, become obsolete. However, as a quick reference and perspective, just consider DStv services. Arguably DStv and other satellite TV distribution networks are some of the most successful mass deployment of satellite technology to the consumer ...

Vans are great. If you're a small business owner, they offer you the convenience of extra cargo space in a familiar format without exposing your precious goods to the elements. That said, not every business needs a hulking great Ford Transit. In fact, if you live in a congested city, a big van can be far more of a nuisance than it's worth. When parking's scarce and you need to make deliveries quickly, the last thing you want to have ...

The joys associated with streaming Arrested Development or House of Cards at the same time as the rest of the world, will soon be within your reach. Netflix, the internet video streaming service, reported earnings yesterday announcing strong growth in an increasingly competitive environment. In his letter to shareholders, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said it is "increasingly clear that virtually all entertainment video will be Internet video in the future". That is a statement Hastings will probably be quoted on for many years to come, ...

Facebook is cracking down on hoaxes with changes to its news feed that will ensure its users see less hoax and spam posts, while providing a warning of their potential falsity. Yes, hoaxes are a big problem on the internet and Facebook is making its users the hoax police. Jackie Chan was once killed by Facebook, not quite, but the hoax was posted on Facebook. It was shared widely and his die-hard fans believed it. It took him to announce that ...