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IBM Opens Doors of First African Research Lab – Continent’s Grand Challenges in its Sights

By Guest PostNovember 8, 2013Technologyafrica for africa, african innovation, african research lab, airtel, cognitive systems, ibm opens doors, ibm research, kamal bhattacharya, kenyan ict authority, kuza biashara, nairobi, nik nesbitt, osamuyimen uyi stewart, president of kenya, robert morris, safaricom, twende twende, uhuru kenyatta

Develops solutions in Africa for Africa and the World

Yorktown Heights, N.Y. and Nairobi, Kenya – 08 Nov 2013: IBM and His Excellency, the President of Kenya, Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, officially opened the first commercial technology research facility in Africa at an inauguration ceremony in Nairobi today.

IBM’s 12^th global research lab – supported by the Kenyan ICT Authority – and located at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Nairobi, will conduct applied and far-reaching exploratory research into the grand challenges of the African continent by delivering commercially-viable innovations that impact people’s lives. (more…)

Microsoft unveils game-changer for South Africa’s small businesses

By Guest PostNovember 5, 2013Technologyafrica, bcg, biz4afrika hub, boston consulting group, business leader, chief operating officer, crime line, kevin turner, Microsoft, mteto nyati, small business, sme, South Africa, Technology

Boston Consulting Group research highlights potential for technology to help drive significant revenue and job growth by SMEs.

JOHANNESBURG — Nov. 5, 2013 — Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner on Tuesday unveiled an online hub that will give South African small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) access to a range of free products and services from Microsoft and other partners.

The hub, at https://southafrica.biz4afrika.com, is specifically designed to aggregate all the best resources — both IT and non-IT — available to local SMEs. The baseline services offered are free and highly relevant for South African SMEs looking to bring their business online and improve their general competitiveness. The launch offer will provide SMEs with the opportunity to get their businesses online for free for the first year. This includes a free .co.za domain, a free website, as well as free email and collaboration tools.* (more…)

Newspaper web ads not to blame for print advertising decline

By Guest PostNovember 1, 2013Technologyad spending, adspender database, advertising technology, browsing history, kantar media, lost revenue, newspaper web ads, online ads, print advertising decline, s sriram, shrihari sridhar, university of michigan, user

ANN ARBOR — An open question as the newspaper industry struggles with declining revenues and profits is whether online ads cannibalize print advertising.

New research from S. Sriram, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, finds that’s not the case. Analyzing five years of data from a top newspaper showed less than 8 percent of the print advertising decline was due to a shift to online ads on the paper’s website. (more…)

New cybersecurity report from Microsoft details risks of running unsupported software

By Guest PostOctober 29, 2013Technologycybersecurity report, Microsoft, microsoft trustworthy computing, security benefits, security innovation, security intelligence report, service pack 2, statcounter, tim rains, windows xp, windows xp sp3

Findings highlight importance of using modern software to help protect against cybercriminals.

REDMOND, Wash. — On Tuesday, Microsoft Corp. released its Security Intelligence Report volume 15, which analyzes threat intelligence from more than 1 billion systems worldwide to provide in-depth perspectives on exploits, vulnerabilities and malware to help customers manage risk. Among other intelligence, the report examines the security risk that consumers and businesses face when using unsupported operating systems and software and looks at the implications of using Windows XP once support, including security updates, ends April 8, 2014. In addition, new telemetry compares the security of modern operating systems such as Windows 8 with older operating systems such as Windows XP that, according to StatCounter, make up approximately 21 percent of operating systems used today.

The report found these top three worldwide threats for those running Windows XP: (more…)

The 2014 Solar Decathlon Europe: Brown/RISD/Erfurt team designs Techstyle Haus

By Guest PostOctober 27, 2013Technologysolar decathlon, solar house, solar powered village, techstyle haus

Students at Brown, RISD, and the University of Erfurt are tackling a great challenge: Build a house that uses 90 percent less energy than a typical house, make it liveable, flexible, durable, and lightweight enough to be shipped from Providence to France — and design it better than 19 other top teams from around the world. That’s the Solar Decathlon. The Brown-RISD-Erfurt team calls its entry the “Techstyle Haus.” (more…)

Have you assessed your machine safety lately?

By Guest PostOctober 26, 2013Technologyautomated machine, automation solutions, machine safety, reliance on machines

If the answer is no, then we have things to talk about. Read on!

Every day we rely on the help of machines to complete our daily tasks. Machines have become like the ‘bridesmaids’ of humans. We have constructed them and engineered them over thousands of years to be our sidekicks, our helpers, our seconds. So much so that we can forget that they are there sometimes. (more…)

IBM Study Reveals Businesses Using Cloud Computing for Competitive Advantage Can Generate Double Revenue and Profit Compared to their Peers

By Guest PostOctober 24, 2013Technologycloud adoption, cloud computing, cloud initiatives, cloud platform, cloud technology startups, dave garrison, gurukul kangri university, ibm, london metropolitan university, mike grandinetti, missouri state university, profit growth, Technology

Cloud Ranks Higher on Agenda of Business than IT
IBM Collaborates with 100 Universities globally to Develop Cloud Skills for the Jobs of the Future

Armonk, N.Y. – 24 Oct 2013: IBM today announced that organizations gaining competitive advantage through high cloud adoption are reporting almost double the revenue growth and nearly 2.5 times higher gross profit growth than peer companies that are more cautious about cloud computing, from a recent survey conducted with more than 800 business decision makers and users worldwide. [1]

IBM’s survey also revealed that the cloud’s strategic importance to decision-makers, such as CEOs, CMOs, finance, HR and procurement executives, is poised to double from 34 percent to 72 percent – vaulting over their IT counterparts at 58 percent. (more…)

Yoga accessible for the blind with new Microsoft Kinect-based program

By Guest PostOctober 22, 2013Technologycynthia bennett, exercise, eyes free yoga, julie kientz, kyle rector, microsoft kinect, position, software program, start doing yoga, typical yoga class, university of washington

In a typical yoga class, students watch an instructor to learn how to properly hold a position. But for people who are blind or can’t see well, it can be frustrating to participate in these types of exercises.

Now, a team of University of Washington computer scientists has created a software program that watches a user’s movements and gives spoken feedback on what to change to accurately complete a yoga pose. (more…)

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