“In his state of the nation address last month, President Jacob Zuma promised to increase broadband access, reduce tariffs and ensure a high standard of internet service, in line with international norms. MWEB’s latest move is supportive of the government’s objectives to increase internet take-up as part of its efforts to encourage greater economic growth and social upliftment. By lifting the usage cap and increasing competition, MWEB will greatly assist the industry change that is needed in this country.

ICT industry analyst, Arthur Goldstuck, agrees with this sentiment, saying cheap, unlimited broadband by MWEB marks a key shift in South African Internet history. “It has been proven that accessible technology builds the economy. This is the kind of catalyst we’ve all waited for; we hope it’s the gambit all other providers will have to match. If it delivers what it promises, the consumer and business user and ultimately the country will be the beneficiaries.”

Vast benefits
Citing the examples of France and South Korea and pointing to various global ICT programmes aimed at overcoming the 2009 economic slump, Jansen says the direct and indirect benefits including the multiplier effect of cheap, abundant bandwidth are nothing short of remarkable.

“Broadband lifted South Korea out of the devastation of the Asian market collapse in 1997,” he says. “In 1995, 1% of their population dialed up to the Internet. In 2009, more than 95% of households had broadband. The change is deep and irreversible – everybody has high-definition video on demand. Online gaming conventions are as big as soccer matches or rock concerts. South Koreans spend twice as much per capita online as US citizens.”

South Africa’s turn
Jansen says MWEB hopes its actions are a precursor to a meaningful industry response. Since South African telecoms policy was liberalised to permit ISPs to offer services on their own networks, MWEB, a first-tier ISP with its own international bandwidth provisioned through SAT3 and Seacom, is now able to compete with telcos by providing Internet access on its own network.

“In spite of the current stranglehold that Telkom currently has on the internet market in South Africa, we felt that action of this significance was necessary to get South Africa to join the rest of the world and enjoy the social and economic benefits that broadband internet has to offer,” said Jansen. “This offer will enable South Africans to access and download content on scale never seen before. We have a real chance to lift ourselves from broadband mediocrity in South Africa, or we risk falling into broadband oblivion,” he added.

MWEB has invested significantly in its network to produce a top quality, reliable network that has been engineered to world-class standards and which will accommodate the volume of traffic expected.  MWEB recently achieved Tier-1 ISP status with the migration of its customers to its own IPC network, thereby limiting its reliance on other Tier-1 providers for its bandwidth needs.  With its new IPC link, MWEB will have more control over its ADSL network.  Jansen said he is confident that the additional control will mean better performance and higher service levels.
“We will also be utilising bandwidth on both the SAT3 and SEACOM international cable systems in order to have full redundancy on our international bandwidth,” he said. “We signed up with SEACOM in March for a long-term agreement and we are purchasing significant bandwidth as SEACOM provides MWEB with a very attractive solution for international network capacity, at the best price currently available to the South African market.”

He added however, that for any ADSL service to be successful a close working relationship with Telkom is needed as they still control the last mile. MWEB will continue to work with Telkom to ensure MWEB subscribers receive the best possible network experience in the country.

Packages
MWEB is introducing six data-only ADSL packages for consumers and businesses. The consumer data-only products will cost R219, R299 and R539 per month for line speeds of 384Kbps, 512 Kbps and 4Mbps respectively. The MWEB Business data-only offerings will cost R499 per month for a 384Kbps line, R699 per month for a 512Kbps line, and R1 999 per month on a 4Mbps line. These services are available on any line rental package available from Telkom, even Telkom’s “Closer” subscription bundles.

In addition, MWEB will offer three consumer all-inclusive packages (ADSL line rental included) for R349, R599 and R899 per month for line speeds of 384Kbps, 512 Kbps and 4Mbps respectively. The all-inclusive offerings for businesses will cost R629 for the 384kbps option, R999 for the 512Kbps option and R2 259 for the 4Mbps package.

All business products are unshaped, and as in the rest of the world, no bandwidth caps will apply to any of these services.

Business-grade
The MWEB Business products are specifically designed to suit the needs of small and medium sized businesses, usually seen as 5 or more connected devices. Andre Joubert, GM of MWEB Business, explains that the MWEB Business packages are fully managed. “If something goes wrong, MWEB’s support engineers will remotely log on to fix a router or send an engineer on-site at no additional charge, and also liaise with Telkom, for their portion of the fault.”

Joubert says the Business packages have other advantages too.
-    They are unshaped.
-    The service is designed to cater for the throughput of business applications not usually associated with consumer products
-    MWEB includes use of a business-grade router worth R3 999 in the 12-month contract.
-    The product comes with fixed IP addresses, offering the ability to host servers and deploy a VPN connection.
-    MWEB runs a dedicated call centre that offers business-specific technical skills.
-    The service is fully MWEB VoIP compatible.
-    The product comes with reports and proactive fault communication.

In addition, says Joubert, while MWEB Business packages are at a premium compared to consumer products, they’re still up to R1 800 less per month than comparative business products on offer. The throughput will be better than is currently available in the market.

”Now businesses can run more effectively without having to worry about their internet costs. This is set to drive growth in the SME sector in particular.”

Consolidation
MWEB will use the occasion to consolidate its numerous ADSL offerings into a simpler portfolio. On the consumer side, a number of capped packages prevail, but these will enjoy additional cost-savings. For example:
1GB R89 no frills now costs R69
2GB Data Cap Only will be migrated to 3GB at R145
1GB All-inclusive 384Kbps will be migrated to 2GB at R199

For more information of the packages on offer, visit www.mweb.co.za

This is the result of an intensive market survey which began in November 2009 and involved thousands of online and telephone interviews with .za domain name holders (registrants), business people and non-profit entities. It was concluded in late February this year.

ZADNA intended to use the survey to better understand the dot ZA market and in particular to ascertain what improvements were needed to make dot ZA more attractive and so better serve the interests of South African organisations.

According to Vika Mpisane, the GM of ZADNA, “the research results are very important as they provide answers to most of the questions we and our stakeholders had about improving the .za space. These answers clarify what interventions ZADNA or its stakeholders need to make to improve ZADNA.”

What was very noticeable from the results is that 83% of South African businesses choose to use co.za for their online presence. This effectively means only around 15% of local businesses confirmed having dot Com website names. When asked if they considered having both co.za and dot Com names was necessary, 58% of businesses interviewed answered “yes”.

“This must be put into a correct perspective: the perceived need for registering your product and brand names across multiple domains results from the ever-increasing instances of trademark abuse online. To counter the potential for such abuse, a growing number of local and international businesses now register in as many domains as possible.”

The survey also shows that dot Com still ranks better than the rest of other dot ZA domains, such as org.za and gov.za. This is understandable because the rest of dot ZA domains are more focused on a smaller communities and sectors.

Providing an example, Mpisane said: “The growth of gov.za will always be limited as government and its organisations cannot be expected to grow as radically as business organisations, plus some government entities, such as parastatals and municipalities, register their website names in co.za and dot Com, instead of gov.za.”

What the survey results also show is that most South Africans are patriotic and loyal to South Africa when they choose their online presence. Fifty percent of the interviewees chose this as the main factor influencing their choice, while affordability of dot ZA domain names came second.

Pitting co.za against dot Com, 83% of the interviewees chose co.za ahead of dot Com as giving them superiority locally. Co.za also outscored dot Com by a great margin when it comes to affordability of registration – 93% chose co.za here – and 75% percent felt that co.za gives their business most online credibility. Probably as expected, dot Com outscored co.za when it comes to global appeal.

Most Internet service providers (ISPs) and registrants felt that the process of registering dot ZA domain names should be made easier by automation.

“The need for more automation can never be over-emphasised, and ZADNA will answer this through the licensing of dot ZA domain registries (i.e. operators of domain name databases) and registrars (i.e. ISPs registering domain names), and the introduction of a central registry that can standardise such automation across most .za domains.”

The survey also tested South Africans’ awareness of the new generic (i.e. non-country specific) domain names that ICANN, the entity managing the global Internet domain name and IP numbering systems, is planning to introduce in due course. Most South Africans are not aware of such plans, but ISPs showed substantial awareness (at 44%), as expected because they are the entities that sell domain name registration services.

Interviewees were asked about introduction of new 2nd level domains such as city or region-specific domains. When tested on this, respondents felt that city-specific domains were not as attractive as they could because of the potential for changing city and region names in South Africa. There was also very little enthusiasm shown for registering names directly under dot ZA (i.e. yourname.za instead of yourname.org.za) and for introducing biz.za to compete with co.za.

“The feeling is that allowing registrations of names directly under dot ZA will lead to a potential for abuse of trademarks and brands. It will lead to an unnecessary cost as a result of putting measures in place to try and protect known brands, something which sometimes may be quite a challenge to do”, says Mpisane.

What the results showed was that mobi.za, fam.za (for families) and shop.za (for retailers) were seen as potentially the most attractive additional options. Music.za also showed support by some.

In the light of attempts by some Western Internet companies to apply to ICANN to open up new top level domains using local city names, such as dot Joburg, dot Durban and dot Zulu, the respondents overwhelmingly felt that South Africa did not need to have multiple identities online.

“ZADNA is aware of frantic attempts by non-South African Internet companies to abuse local city, heritage and tribal names as new top level domains. This survey shows that not only are such attempts unfounded, but they go right against the feeling of South Africans. South Africans are happy with dot ZA as their online identity. Any attempts by non-South Africans to give us multiple online identities, without support of the South African population, are baseless and driven by greed and ambition for profit”, says Mpisane.

“Memorex is about creating products that encourage families to have fun together–what we like to call WeTime,” said Jess Walton, global brand manager. “As video game consoles such as Nintendo Wii become an increasingly popular at-home entertainment activity for families, it was a natural fit for us to create gaming accessories that help enhance the experience.”

Playing video games together is a favorite family activity, according to the WeTime Parent Survey recently conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Memorex. Nearly half of parents selected “playing a video game we can all enjoy” as one of their favorite at-home family WeTime activities. It’s an especially popular WeTime choice for families with “tween” children (ages 8-12), as 51 percent of those parents cited it as a favorite activity and also named the video game console as the number three consumer electronic product their children use most often (third only to the television and laptop).

Regardless of your family’s gaming style, the new line of Memorex accessories offers thoughtful features and bright colors to help inspire fun moments and memories. Further, all products have undergone extensive product testing and meet multiple third-party quality standards to protect against failure.

The Racing Wheel for Wii is the only one in the industry to feature rubberised grips for better traction along with a spring-loaded trigger for a true gaming advantage. Additionally, a hidden compartment provides MotionPlus compatibility while still allowing easy access to all controls. The Expanded Range Wireless Sensor Barfor Wii has an innovative curved design that allows for a more expansive playing area with fewer dropped signals, making it perfect for group games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero. An eight-foot charging cable is included and connects to the Wii console, allowing play to continue while charging.

Others products include:
· MotionPlus Remote and Nunchuk Sleevefor Wii – Extra-thick padding, horisontal grooves and molded posts protect equipment and enhance grip.
· Dual Controller Charging Kit for Wii – Get a true charge indication while leaving the controller sleeves in place with this dual controller charging kit. Also offers a long-lasting Ni-MH rechargeable battery and dual compatibility with MotionPlus.
· Starter Kit for Wii – Includes a wireless sensor bar, two Ni-MH rechargeable batteries, gold-plated component cable and dual control charger.
· Protective Cover for Wii Fit – The wraparound design provides one of the firmest fits in the industry for increased balance while molded posts and a smooth surface offer better grip and comfort.
· Fitness Mat for Wii Fit- A must-have for Wii Fit exercisers, this fitness mat offers a thick 3-millimeter cushion and non-slip surface for increased comfort and grip.
· Rechargeable Battery Pack for Wii Fit – Features a long-lasting Ni-MH rechargeable battery and extra-long six-foot cable for added versatility.
· Fitness Starter Kitfor Wii Fit – Includes balance board cover, fitness mat and rechargeable battery.
· Protective Case for DSi – Protects your portable DSi console while still providing easy access to all ports and controls, including both digital cameras. An integrated storage compartment holds up to three games and a stylus to make on-the-go gaming easy.
· Car Charging Kit for DS Lite, DSi and DSi XL – This unique 3 -in-1 design works with all DS consoles, including the soon-to-be released DSi XL.

In addition, screen protectors, stylus replacement kits and starter kits featuring high-quality Memorex CB 25 Earbuds for the Nintendo DSi will also be available. All Memorex gaming accessories will be available in mid-2010. For additional information, visit www.memorex.com.

For those who haven’t checked it out you can find it here -  http://mzan.si/ - it is great to use a South African product and service.

My question though is what these URL shortening websites / services get out of offering the service? Any ideas?

I followed it on Twitter, I had CNN and Sky websites going and yet as the minutes and hours ticked by I started looking for other ways to get news on what was coming – that included subscribing to a Twitter feed for a buoy situated off the Honolulu coast which was feeding back data about the size of the swells being generated.

Super geeky… and a real anti-climax but again technology gives a lot of options to people. Amazing stuff.

Alas the consultants have been given NO, ZIP, ZERO, NADA information on when the iPad is arriving here and how much it is likely to cost so that blew that idea out of the water.

A little disappointing considering the big splash that was made in the international media…

We did however get to play with the 8GB iPod Touch and was pleasantly surprised – it has some really neat functionality and is well integrated. Anyone used one of the before? Thoughts? 

Definately gonna put it on the shopping list.

You can buy the iPod Touch online for R2679 from Digital Planet.

I hate nothing more than being away from my home office and finding I’ve left a critical spreadsheet or document half way around
the country. 

Sure, I can get it emailed but that just wastes time and if the file’s too big odds are it gets rejected.

I’ve been a ‘road warrior’ for 5 years now and though I’m not highly technical I’ve tried a number of remote access solutions to overcome ‘on the move
file sharing’.  I’ve tested Google Docs, but this requires that Google hosts all your files, so it’s not really a great solution as most of my images and docs are stored locally.  Both GoToMeeting and Citrix work, but they’re pricey and cumbersome to use.

WebPoint VPN has an odd name but it’s hands down the easiest Remote Access app I’ve ever used.  I signed up for the free trial,
installed the software on my home pc and within 20 minutes I was able to access my home network.

It works perfectly with Vista & Windows 7, which is very cool!  It’s also got a great feature that it enables you to access any other connected pc in your network. 

You can run applications, like Citrix, but it’s faster and definitely easier to connect.

You can even remote connect via the web.  One caveat – it doesn’t play well with Mac. 

Try it free before you buy

Paper 2 Digital Storage Solutions (P2D), a specialist electronic record and document management solutions provider, is adamant that legislation should change to force companies to capture and store their information electronically to prevent similar incidents. The company says technology is available to enable companies to digitise paper-based documents into tamperproof electronic documents that can be easily retrieved in seconds.

The company’s CEO Dawid Jacobs says technology provides version control and a full electronic audit trial of every scanned document. “This will prevent incidences like the SAA saga. Traditionally, companies stored their physical documents in archives and encountered major problems trying to manage and retrieve specific documents. This method proved to be costly and with many legal implications, especially with lost or damaged documents being a common phenomenon.”

“More importantly, companies could face large fines when documents are not stored and managed correctly. Technology enables companies to digitise all their documentary evidence, but it remains a complex task with all the legislation and regulatory requirements,” he explains.

The growth towards electronic storage and record management has become the fastest growing industry worldwide with South Africa following as one of the fastest emerging markets. Record management is critical to every businesses success or failure, from SME’s to the larger corporations. To remain competitive, companies must realise the value of secure and rapid access to authentic documents by utilising a high-quality electronic record management service.

Although paper-based document management is still the norm, most companies now realise the risks associated with maintaining and managing their information. This information is crucial to decision making and needs to be easily accessible. They are fast realising the importance of capturing and storing their information electronically.

“Our Electronic Record Management System enables our clients to store and access all their records instantaneously through live operational electronic data. We are a full-service, end-to-end solution provider ranging from scanning and indexing of archives to electronically storing and managing of secure documents and records on highly secure database servers,” says Jacobs.

Paper 2 Digital Storage Solutions has implemented all the required policies and standard operational procedures according to SANS 15801, ISO 15489 and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECT Act), it provides an audit trial of every scanned document.

“Combining our state-of-the-art technology with highly skilled support, we can offer the full array of services needed for you to be a paperless business – electronically scanning, indexing, filing, storing, maintaining, and retrieving all your documents – all at a very low monthly cost. Our models accommodate our client’s business needs, not the other way around.”

He says the electronic file cabinet is the way of the future. “Imagine how cost-effective and efficient it would be if you were able to retrieve your files quickly and economically. Locate and distribute your documents without leaving your desk. With Paper2 Digital Storage Solutions, it’s a reality.”

“We have conquered the difficulties associated with going digital. With Paper 2 Digital Storage Solutions there’s no need to change your standard business practices. No implementation nightmares and no intensive training procedures. We are able to implement and train your staff in a cost effective and efficient manner that ensures that P2Dss accommodates to your working style,” he concludes.

For more information visit www.p2dss.co.za or phone Paper 2 Digital Storage Solutions on 074 629 5899.

In the US the number of Farmville farmers outnumbers the number of real farmers by a ratio of nearly 60:1…

… that says something about society. It does not matter if the world goes hungry - so long as we get to play Farmville right…?

Apparently Farmville is the most popular application in the history of Facebook. It has 62 million registered users and 22 million logging on at least once a day. That makes it bigger than Twitter.

Source: http://www.omg-facts.com/view/Facts/597

Frightening stuff. Farmville drives me absolutely nuts when it keeps populating my Facebook feeds – eventually had to trim down some of my friends who were Farmville addicts.

Yesterday evening I downloaded Mxit Evo (Beta) for my new laptop and all in all I have been happy with it.

First impressions are that it is a big step-up from the original MxitPC which I had running on my other computer. A bit more functionality and a bit “prettier”. Definately an application I would keep as I’m a sucker for communications technology such as Mxit, Skype and the various other IM applications.

One thing that is concerning me though is whether it is not a bit resource hungry? I accidentally left it logged in last night and this morning I started using it and it was helluva slow.

Went into the task manager and it was chowing up plenty of the system resources.

Anybody else used it? Thoughts?