IOL
TECHNOLOGY
SA’S FREE MONTHLY TECH AND INNOVATIONS MAG
Vodacom Durban July goes DIGITAL
CONTENTS Facebook launches ‘My Digital World’ to address literacy needs
German tracing app downloaded 6.5 million times
WhatsApp updates: coming soon to Android and iOS users
Amazon tech to enforce social distancing in warehouses
How to clean out your phone’s dusty charging port
M4Jam distributes food to individuals who lost income during lockdown
rAge Expo goes virtual as convention gets cancelled
Samsung launches app to measure BP with wearable device
Twitter faces tough challenges to moderate voice tweets
Vodacom Durban July goes digital in 2020
WhatsApp brings digital payment to users in Brazil
How this girl on TikTok plans in trading a bobby pin for a house
Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor - An honest review
TECH Editor
Faheem Khota faheem.khota@inl.co.za
TECH Designer Dominique Owen
HELPING AFRICA’S YOUTH GO DIGITAL Facebook provides exciting new skills
YASMINE JACOBS
FACEBOOK has announced the launch of My Digital World, a programme designed to equip youth across Sub-Saharan Africa with digital skills to navigate the world of all things digital. My Digital World is a consolidation of all Facebook digital literacy programmes, including Safe Online with Facebook, Ilizwe Lam, and eZibo and will be offered virtually this year to adapt to the Covid-19 pandemic. Facebook joined forces with CoCreation Hub and Junior Achievement Nigeria for the Safe Online programme, a 12-week after-school workshop to introduce pupils to the basics of online safety and digital literacy. Facebook is this year preparing to train close to 20 000 people across Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia on the responsible use of digital platforms. “Never has it been more important to invest in and train communities and the next generation of leaders to better understand and utilise the power of digital tools to take full advantage of what the internet has to offer,” said Phil Oduor, Facebook’s policy programmes manager for economic impact and digital literacy. The training is free and open to youths aged 13 years and older. It will also focus on teachers, parents and guardians. The sessions began on Monday. The training includes 90-minute instructor-led webinars, virtual discussions, digital-marketing campaigns highlighting best practices, tips, quizzes and polls on digital literacy topics, as well as modules on online safety, privacy, news and media literacy, and digital citizenship.
Virus app helps TRACK INFECTIONS Downloaded 6.5 million times in 24 hours DOUGLAS BUSVINE
GERMANY’S smartphone app to help trace coronavirus infections has been downloaded 6.5 million times within 24 hours of its launch, the chief executive of software company SAP said recently. Christian Klein said the strong public reception was testimony to the collaboration between teams from SAP and Deutsche Telekom that readied the Corona-Warn-App in just six weeks. “It’s a big success, it scales, it’s user friendly and it helps society,” Klein said.
Germany joins European countries like Italy, Poland and Latvia in launching apps that use Bluetooth wireless to measure contacts between people and issue a warning should one of them later test positive for Covid-19. Although the technology is untested, governments have rushed to deploy it in the absence of a cure for Covid-19, seeking instead to achieve a kind of digital “herd immunity”. Widespread take-up is needed, however, to increase the chance that both people in a risk
event, spending 15 minutes within 2m of each other, use the app. In field tests, the app recorded 80% of such encounters. Most apps being rolled out in Europe are based on technology from Apple and Alphabet’s Google that logs contacts securely on a device and encrypts Bluetooth exchanges. Such privacy by design appears to have won public trust in Germany, a country of 84 million. France’s app, which stores data centrally and is not supported by Apple, has been activated by just 2% of the population.
WHATSAPP will add new features as stable updates to the Android and iOS platforms in the coming days. In addition to updates, there are also bug fixes where iOS users said they could not share content from other apps. This is how to fix it: Open WhatsApp Settings -> Help -> Contact Us. Add a small description of the issue. Press continue and send the email. WhatsApp has the following features in store: Contacts Shortcut The iOS feature will allow users to access their WhatsApp contacts when they share a link from another app. The contact shortcut has an icon, synced with WhatsApp. A change in the profile picture will automatically get updated in the Share Sheet. Available in WhatsApp beta for iOS version 2.20.70.18 and 2.20.70.19 on iOS 13. Redesigned menu In iOS 13, when a message is long pressed, users will see a long menu with options like Star, Reply, Info and Delete. However, in the app version on iOS 12, the app joins the Delete and Info option in the More section of the menu. WhatsApp is working on bringing an iOS 13-like menu to
the app which is operating on iOS 12. Search image on the web Users can search for an image on the web when the image has been forwarded more than four times. New chat bubble colour Chat bubbles will change to a lighter shade of green when viewed in dark mode. Search by Date The iOS-based feature will provide users with a date filter in the search bar. Redesigned Storage Usage The feature is coming to the Android app where users will be able to view only forwarded files inside the app. WhatsApp will show large files in a separate updated section. There is a Sort button allowing users to sort through files based on Newest, Oldest and by Size. Clear except for Starred This feature helps to delete all messages in a chat or the app except messages that are starred by the user. Share Chat This feature will enable users to watch videos by ShareChat within the app just like YouTube videos within the platform.
WHAT UPdates! YASMINE JACOBS
New WhatsApp features for Android and iOS users available soon
Amazon’s DISTANCE ASSISTANT to enforce social distancing in its warehouses JEFFREY DASTIN AND MUNSIF VENGATTIL
Amazon.com has launched an artificial intelligence-based tracking system to enforce social distancing at its offices and warehouses to help reduce any risk of its workers contracting the coronavirus. Monitors set up in the company’s warehouses will highlight workers keeping a safe distance in green circles, while workers who are closer will be highlighted in red circles, Amazon said. The system, called Distance Assistant, uses camera footage in Amazon’s buildings to identify high-traffic areas. Amazon is testing a wearable device that lights up and sets off an audio alert when workers are too close to each other. The company has been hiring people for roles like social distancing ambassadors and guardians, according to internal job postings. Responsibilities of such hires range from frequent audits at warehouses to verifying that the headcount does not exceed seating limits. Several firms say AI camerabased software will be crucial to staying open, as it will allow them to show not only workers and customers, but also insurers and regulators that they are monitoring and enforcing safe practices. However, privacy activists have raised concerns about increasingly detailed tracking of people and have urged businesses to limit the use of AI to the pandemic.
KEEP YOUR DISTANCE
Dust may be behind phone’s charging woes
As SIMPLE as a CLEAN SACHA VAN NIEKERK
PHONE not charging? Before sending it to a professional and spending money unnecessarily, try cleaning your charging port. Debris collects at the bottom of your bag, lint in your pockets and dust from everywhere, and the ports can become clogged with dirt that prevents them from operating. But jamming a needle or pin inside will probably force the dirt further into the device because the port contains delicate pieces of metal that your cable needs to lock with
to make a secure connection. Instead, try these fixes:
to pull out what’s lodged inside.
1. Compressed air Delivering precise blasts of air with their plastic extension tubes, the cans rid the more sensitive parts of electronics of unwanted moisture. It’s a gas, so you’ll prevent scratching your device.
3. Phone cleaning kit Made in a variety of sizes, some might be suited for your earphones and others for charging ports. Some of the tools look like earbuds while others have soft bristles at the end of their slender wands. Slot them inside your device and move them around gently.
2. Putty Electronics cleaning putty will get into hard-to-reach places. The Play-Dohlike substance moulds to fit into cracks and crevices, using its stickiness
4. Toothpick Looking for a quick and immediate fix, use a toothpick. Place a thin cotton wool pad over the sharp tip and secure with tape. Use gentle pressure.
Technology el transforms mod of food parcel distribution FLOYD MATLALA
BUSINESSES and people embrace the use of technology to adapt to new modes of life as Covid-19 continues to drive the acceleration of technological adoption. Gig technology company M4Jam uses the power of technology to transform the model of food parcel distribution. With its mobile app capability, M4Jam distributes food parcels to those who have lost their income during the Covid-19 lockdown period on behalf of Cell C and other donors. Georgie Midgley, M4Jam chief executive, said they were in the fortunate position of having executed market research projects gathering data on the informal telecommunications market via spaza shops for Cell C. “With this information, we could harness a database of spaza shops across the country to distribute the hampers to the most convenient locations for recipients,” she said. “As soon as we communicated the message over the M4Jam platform, it quickly spread into local communities, and those who needed assistance simply had to sign up to receive vouchers for the hampers. “Our thinking behind supporting local spazas is to ensure these small businesses remain open and the funds raised go directly to the food parcels, instead of ancillary costs. “By using digital authentication, we put in place a system for spazas to receive requests and package hampers and to then notify recipients when the hampers are ready for pick-up at their nearest spaza store,” says Midgley.
M4JAM BRINGS FOOD TO THE TABLE
RAGE EXPO GOES VIRTUAL MASABATA MKWANANZI
Enjoy geek culture convention from your home SOUTH Africa’s biggest annual video gaming, technology, and geek culture expo has been cancelled for 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The rAge Expo has been bringing people together for almost two decades and this will be the first time that fans will have to sit at home and enjoy the show indoors. Plans are being made to bring the event online. “We’re a resilient bunch. We’re working on an online version of rAge in the spirit of the technology and inventiveness that drives the expo. rAge has always been much bigger than the building that contains it. So, bringing South Africa’s fabled gaming and pop culture icon to the online world makes sense,” said Michael James, founder and project manager of rAge. James also said that with many physical places being closed off, the
company had opened up new spaces in the digital world. “rAge by design always moves with the times, and we hope to create an experience filled with exciting and unique tailor-made content. This isn’t a simple task and we’re doing what we can to ensure it feels and looks as good as possible, and without too many bugs, glitches, or lag.” James said that the company had always been about growing the local gaming industry and making rAge a place of imagination, excitement and fun. “But, for now, they are just going to be doing things differently,” he said. Dates and details will be announced once all the important bits have been ironed out. The pandemic saw Comic-Con Africa also being cancelled and moved online.
YOO SEUNGKI
Be smart and watch your BLOOD PRESSURE Tech giant launches app to measure BP
SAMSUNG Electronics, South Korea’s tech giant, says it has launched an application to measure blood pressure with its wearable device. The Samsung Health Monitor app was launched after clearance by South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The users of Samsung’s wearable device, Galaxy Watch Active 2, can access the app, Samsung said. To monitor blood pressure, users are required first to calibrate blood pressure with a traditional cuff. They will need to calibrate their device at least every four weeks to ensure accuracy. Then users can measure blood pressure through pulse wave analysis with wrist sensors of the wearable device. The app analyses the relationship between the calibration value and the blood pressure change to determine blood pressure. It requires a Galaxy smartphone, which runs Android 7.0 or above, and Galaxy Watch Active 2 or Galaxy Watch devices to be paired. The measurement results can be synced to the app on the Samsung Galaxy phone. Electrocardiogram tracking will soon be supported on the Samsung Health Monitor app. TaeJong Jay Yang, corporate senior vicepresident and head of health at Samsung, said: “We look forward to expanding the app to all future Galaxy Watch products.” | Xinhua
Twitter faces challenges to curb abusive messages
VOICE TWEETS RAISE STAKES
AS TWITTER rolled out a limited test to record audio tweets and attach those to the original tweet, concerns are raised on how the company will moderate such tweets, as tackling hateful, abusive or racist audio messages require more efforts than using AI to curb disinformation on normal tweets. Audio can only be added to original tweets and the users can’t include those in replies or retweets with a comment. This makes it a bit easier to find a person who posts a bad audio tweet, and the moderators swing into action to block or flag his tweet or account. But unlike Facebook, which has over 15 000 content moderators policing its main app as well as Instagram, Twitter has a small team of human moderators. In case of an audio tweet, one has to listen to it to reach a conclusion if the voice tweet contains inflammatory or abusive content that needs to be flagged. Or AI models get on to the
job to go through audio tweets, but then how are they supposed to scan voice tweets in various languages? Even Facebook moderators make blunders. Tasked with reviewing about 3 million posts a day, Facebook moderators make about 300 000 mistakes in 24 hours in deciding what should stay online and what should be taken down, according to a new report from New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. The number of blunders was derived on the basis of a statement made by Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg in a white paper in November 2018. He admitted that moderators “make the wrong call in more than one out of every 10 cases”. A report in Vice says that a time when online platforms are struggling to remove fake content, audio tweets may be “a new mechanism to harass people”. | IANS
VODACOM DURBAN JULY GOES DIGITAL Raceday fashion pictures, videos to be judged by an expert panel FLOYD MATLALA
The digital arena has once again embraced the events space as South Africa’s greatest horse racing event the Vodacom Durban July (VDJ) is set to take place digitally on July 25. Although fashionistas will not get to fill the grandstands and sit in VIP marquees at this year’s event due to most facets of the entertainment industry on hold, they can still experience the day of fashion extravaganza from the comfort of their own homes. VDJ’s communications and media relations officer Dave Macleod has said the social and fashion elements will be played out on the Durban July’s website and social media channels and the full programme of horse races will take place on the track and polytrack and will be televised on DStv and Tellytrack. “We have secured a very experienced panel of top fashion designers to contribute
to the live streaming show and VDJ fans will be asked to submit photos and videos of the outfit they would have worn to the big raceday and these will be scrutinised and commented on by our expert panel”. Fashionistas will still get to show off their amazing VDJ fashion creations while being at home and also making an appearance on the live stream show. “We envisage people hosting their own Vodacom Durban July functions within their homes on Saturday, July 25. They will be asked to send us images and videos of their functions as comments and posts to the Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Fans will be able to comment on each of the images as they are shown on the live stream show, making it a truly interactive experience” said Macleod. | IOL TECH
ROLLING OUT A PAYMENT SYSTEM Growing, supporting the digital economy with small businesses
JESSICA RESNICK-AULT
FACEBOOK’s WhatsApp messaging service rolled out a system across Brazil on Monday that will allow users to send money to individuals or local businesses within a chat, attaching payment as they would a photo or video. WhatsApp tested the payment system in India at the beginning of 2018. The Brazil launch will be the first nationwide rollout and will introduce the ability to directly pay a business. The company has over 120 million individual users in Brazil, its second-largest market behind India. “WhatsApp is heavily used there, both by people and small businesses,” Matt Idema, chief operating officer of WhatsApp, said of Brazil. “We think we can help grow digital payments, help grow the digital economy with small businesses, and help support financial inclusion,” he told Reuters. Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in April that the company was expanding tools for businesses in WhatsApp. The payment system will use Facebook Pay and it will be free to individual users, while charging businesses a fee for receiving payments. Initially, the system will accept payments from debit and credit cards to process the payments. Idema said the company was planning to bring the system to several other countries, but he did not specify which countries.
P I L C R E P A P RED a start is just Trading up to bigge r and better things, with the aim of hopefully acquiring a house A GIRL on TikTok is attempting to trade a single bobby pin for a house. With nothing particularly unique or interesting about this bobby pin, you might be asking yourself how this will be possible? Going by the username @trademeproject, the TikToker adopted the concept from Kyle MacDonald, a Canadian Blogger. MacDonald started the website, One Red Paperclip, to track his journey towards achieving the same goal – of making something out of virtually nothing. If you visit his website today, there is a post that reads: “On July 12, 2005, I
SACHA VAN NIEKERK
posted a picture of a red paperclip on my blog and in the barter section of craigslist, and asked if anyone wanted to make a trade for something bigger or better.” With that, the whole thing began to snowball as a few days later, he traded the paperclip for a pen shaped like a fish, which he then swopped for a doorknob. Each he time traded up, collecting something bigger or better. “Once all the dust settled, I’d made 14 trades and wound up with a house located at 503 Main Street,
in Kipling, Saskatchewan,” he said. So far, she’s managed to barter her way up to a MacBook Pro 2011 valued at $400 (about R6 992), which she quickly swopped for a Canon camera set with a retail value of $550 (R9 614) . If you’re interested in tracking her journey, keep an eye on her social media accounts @tradewith me on TikTok and Instagram. She’s attracted a lot of attention online, amassing millions of views, likes and followers. After her first video, hundreds of other copycat accounts with the same idea have cropped up, hoping to achieve similar success to MacDonald.
GREYMOOR disappoints Story wise, the plot is paper thin, with no memorable characters DR SHAILIN HENRY
The Elder scrolls franchise has been a solid RPG for some time now. These games have always been about exploration and lore, with a deep enough story to become lost in its world for hours on end, but since going online in 2014, it has had mixed reviews across the board. When initially playing Elder scrolls online in 2015, I was bittersweet towards it. It was really something I wanted to love. I hoped with the new Greymoor expansion, things would change. Unfortunately, it has not. Graphically it has aged, with other MMO’s stepping up and creating better character models. Although the visuals and landscapes are impressive, it doesn’t make up for the poorly rendered
character models and physics within the game. Sound is well done, fully orchestrated as well as crisp clean sounds of the environment, and enemies. Game-play seems to funnel one towards a class that uses abilities instead of solid me-lee fighting. I tried to make a warrior type build, but this failed dismally as the clunky control scheme, and erratic hit detection spoiled the experience. Within my first hour of playing, I encountered three to four bugs. One where I searched for an objective for thirty minutes. Just to realise, that when reloading the game, the character model I was meant to speak to didn’t load in. Another major grouse I have with
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the game is that there is no mode in which you are isolated; where you can still be on your, own and lock out the rest of the players. Story wise, the plot is paper thin, with no memorable characters within the universe. ESO: Greymoor is ultimately for returning fans of the universe. For those of you that want to take the jump into this vast fantasy world that has been present since 2015, you are better off placing your hard-earned money elsewhere. Rating: 6/10 * Dr Henry is ranked in the Top 1% on the activision leaderboards. Check out his latest streams here: www.youtube.com/ playlist?list=PLAri42bsIpsxvmB5zi_ S4u8U0qtPdaCLQ