Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Fizzing with boyish exuberance, Saudi programmer Zainalabdin Tawfiq could be mistaken for a college freshman, but the popularity of his “honesty” app has shone a spotlight on the conservative kingdom’s nascent tech scene. Tawfiq catapulted to fame when he took time out of his day …
Read More »The wackiest innovations at Berlin’s IFA 2017
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Europe’s biggest electronics show IFA is in full swing in Berlin, and alongside the familiar televisions and smartphones its aisles are bursting with gadgets on the stranger side. Here’s a look at some of the most eye-catching inventions: – DIY cyborg – Long the province of …
Read More »Top trends at IFA 2017
Berlin, Germany | AFP | With just a few months to go until the high-tech spending bonanza of the Christmas season, Berlin’s IFA trade fair is the place to spot the trends that will mark high streets this year. Here are a few of them: – Ultra-HD TVs – IFA’s aisles …
Read More »High-def TVs rule the roost at Berlin’s IFA
Berlin, Germany | AFP | No-one wants to watch Game of Thrones’ bloody fantasy battles on a tiny tablet screen, which is just one reason why cheaper, bigger, higher-definition televisions are the stars of this year’s IFA electronics fair in Berlin. Rather than just fantasise when they gather in front of …
Read More »In smartphone age, the hajj is for sharing
In smartphone age, the hajj is for sharing Mecca, Saudi Arabia | AFP | Arm outstretched, Abdul Rahman sweeps his mobile phone across the vista of Mecca, the Great Mosque dazzling in the sun, so his son in Tanzania can experience the pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest sites. He may be thousands …
Read More »‘Gifted’ high-tech takes spotlight at Berlin’s IFA fair
Berlin, Germany | AFP | The gadgets on display at Berlin’s mega consumer electronics fair this week may not look radically different, but they are smarter than ever before and designed to meet our every need — often before we’ve even thought of it ourselves. As smartphones and other electronic devices …
Read More »Japan’s ‘highway doctor’ does checkup on ageing roads
Tokyo, Japan | AFP | As Japan takes on the mammoth task of upgrading its capital’s outdated roads and infrastructure, a local “highway doctor” is betting that its 3-D technology can led a hand. Tokyo’s sprawling maze of ageing expressways, measuring 320 kilometres (or 200 miles) in length, have long been …
Read More »Watch out Messi, here come the footballers at RoboCup
Nagoya, Japan | AFP | With steely focus, player number 3 scored a stunning opening goal in the first few minutes of the high-stakes football match between a dominant Bordeaux and their plucky Chinese opponents. But as the crowds cheered, the pint-sized player, known as Arya, showed none of the customary …
Read More »TUMWEBAZE: Uganda must be ICT compliant
By Julius Businge Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Information and Communication Minister Frank Tumwebaze has said that government is committed to harnessing the opportunities of digital technology in offering service delivery to the people. He made the remarks at Sheraton Hotel on July 20 during the ICT stakeholders’ consultative …
Read More »Internet back in Somalia after weeks-long outage
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somalia rejoined the world wide web on Monday, more than three weeks after internet access was cut when a container ship damaged an undersea cable connecting the Horn of Africa nation to the world. “The technical issue, which has disrupted the internet connection, is resolved …
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