AFRICAN AMERICAN (T)

Cape Town – Social media is part of the modern fabric of interaction, with some reports suggesting that 66% of users spend time checking social media accounts while at work.

Industry tracker Mediakix suggests that popular platforms YouTube and Facebook consume one hour 15 minutes per day.

But when you leave your company, who owns your Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or even Gmail account? Legal experts in SA say the
law is not clear.

“This is a grey area, and it would really depend on a thorough investigation of the history, purpose and origin of the social media account in question,” Pamela Stein, head of Employment Law at Webber Wentzel told Fin24.

“In order to demonstrate ownership, the employer would have to show that the social media account was clearly created for the purposes of promoting the growth of the business, and that this growth was achieved by social media activity generated during company time.”

Personal information

She added that factors over the ownership of a social media account would depend on whether the account had been created as part of the employment contract, or for the purpose of growing the organisation’s profile.

Unlike a company cellphone, computer or car, a social media account does not only exist on a mobile device, and the law assigns protections of personal information, as described in the Protection of Personal Information Act, which forbids unwanted sharing and exploitation of personal information.

“You have rights over your identity. However, if there was a clause in the contract of employment saying any personal account created during their employment is the property of the employer – perhaps the employer would have rights to it,” specialist technology attorney Russel Luck told Fin24, though he was careful to agree that the matter is not a settled one under South African law.

“If these accounts were set up so the employee could engage with the public as an extension of his work services, then perhaps the employer would have rights over it. Even more so if the email address used to verify the social media account is a work email, not personal one,” he added.

This reflects a US case in which Phonedog sued former employee Noah Kravitz over marketing on his Twitter account. The company alleged that 17 000 Twitter followers Kravitz had amassed was a customer list and demanded damages of $340 000.

A News24 survey revealed that 53% of social media users accessed the platforms while at while at work, and 3% said they would like to, but were not allowed.

Personal logins demand

Stein said that in SA, an employer seeking to claim a social media account would have to show just cause.

“Firstly, the employer would have to establish a basis for such a claim, and then sue the employee in the appropriate court depending on the cause of action.

“The employer could seek an order prohibiting the employee from any further use of the social media account and requiring the employee to take all reasonable steps to return the social media account to them.

“In addition, all social media sites allow users to report breaches et cetera and once such an order is obtained the social media platform could be notified and requested to assist.”

However, Luck argued that for a local company to demand personal logins to social media accounts would be a contravention of South African law.

“On the other side of the coin, SA law does follow international trends that you don’t need to give your employer your login details to your personal Facebook account – ie it’s unlawful to force an employee to do this.

“Where employers are making employment, promotion, dismissal or labour decisions based on access (or lack of access) to the personal Facebook account of an employee it would amount to unfair discrimination.”

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Harvey Weinstein (EPA/Paul Buck)

Wilmington – Embattled movie producer Harvey Weinstein was sued by New York state for creating a hostile work environment at the Weinstein that allegedly featured “pervasive sexual harassment,” intimidation and discrimination.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s lawsuit comes as Weinstein, 65, is seeking to sell his troubled studio to Maria Contreras-Sweet, a former Obama administration official, in a $500m (about R5.9bn) bid backed by billionaire Ron Burkle. The suit may create a major obstacle for the deal.

Schneiderman said in a statement that the company’s sale might leave victims “without adequate redress, including a lack of a sufficient victims compensation fund.” While the suit isn’t aimed at blocking the sale to Contreras-Sweet’s group, the attorney general said he wants to make certain that victims aren’t harmed by the transaction.

“Any sale of the Weinstein must ensure that victims will be compensated, employees will be protected going forward, and that neither perpetrators nor enablers will be unjustly enriched,” Schneiderman said.

Weinstein, who faces a wave of sexual-assault claims stretching back to the 1970s, was ousted from his studio in October 2017 after the New York Times and the New Yorker Magazine published accounts in which women accused him of sexual harassment and rape. He has denied any non-consensual sexual activity.

Harassment claims

A string of actresses have come forward to accuse the producer of sexually harassing or raping them in exchange for career help.

Actress Dominique Huett claimed Weinstein masturbated in front of her and performed oral sex on her in 2010. She sued his studio for $5m. Actress Uma Thurman, who starred in some of Weinstein’s hit movies, such as “Pulp Fiction” and the “Kill Bill” trilogy, also has accused the producer of attempting to sexually assault her in London in 1994.

“We believe that a fair investigation by Mr. Schneiderman will demonstrate that many of the allegations against Harvey Weinstein are without merit,” his lawyer, Ben Brafman, said in a statement. “While Mr. Weinstein’s behaviour was not without fault, there certainly was no criminality, and at the end of the inquiry it will be clear that Harvey Weinstein promoted more women to key executive positions than any other industry leader.”

Weinstein will “vigorously defend himself” if Schneiderman seeks to “scapegoat” him, Brafman added.

The studio said in a statement that its board is disappointed with the lawsuit as many of the allegations were inaccurate. There is no truth to any suggestion that the studio impeded its suitor’s access to the state’s attorney general and the company looks forward to bring the situation to an appropriate resolution, according to the statement.

Weinstein Co is said to near sale to group led by ex-SBA chief

In the suit filed on Sunday, Schneiderman seeks steep financial penalties from Weinstein, his brother and company co-founder Robert Weinstein, and the New York-based firm itself; victim restitution; and a court order that would invalidate non-disclosure agreements signed by women who had contact with the producer. 

The attorney general is also demanding “judicial or other supervision” that will ensure the studio complies with terms of a settlement, and he wants to block any transaction that would strip his office from having legal authority over the company, according to the complaint filed in New York Supreme Court.

Contreras-Sweet, the former head of the Small Business Administration under Obama, offered to buy Weinstein’s studio and replace current directors with a majority of women. Contreras-Sweet’s investment group, which includes Burkle, would assume most of the liabilities of Weinstein Co and create a fund to compensate victims of sexual harassment.

Representatives for Contreras-Sweet and Burkle didn’t immediately return calls and emails for comment.

Blind eye

The attorney general said the Weinstein Co has repeatedly turned a blind eye to the producer’s sexual misconduct.

Instead of moving to sanction Weinstein, directors failed to investigate a series of sexual-harassment claims levied against him, and instead used strict non-disclosure agreements to gag victims, according to court filings. The lawsuit says that each brother has about 21% of the voting shares and that Robert remains on the board.

The suit details numerous instances where Harvey Weinstein, identified in the complaint by his initials, allegedly assaulted, harassed or intimidated female employees. It claims that groups of women at the firm were compelled to “facilitate HW’s sexual conquests.”

“HW’s assistants were exposed to and required to facilitate HW’s sex life as a condition of employment,” Schneiderman said. None of the many complaints filed with the company’s human resources department “resulted in meaningful investigation or relief for victims, or consequences for HW.”

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CaseWare Expands with Drive into Six critical African markets

CaseWare Africa, a division of AdaptIT, has announced several initiatives to strengthen its capacity to serve clients in six key African markets. In Zambia and Zimbabwe, CaseWare has successfully constructed a channel partner model.  It has also announced that its Zimbabwean distributor, July 28, has won the award for Best Growth and Best Client Service in Africa.

 “As economic recovery begins to look possible for Zimbabwe, we are delighted to have a local distributor of July 28’s calibre. CaseWare can play its part in rebuilding the Zimbabwean economy by providing the technology platform that will enable world-class drafting and auditing, with all the benefits that implies,” says Theuns Holtshousen, Business Leader, CaseWare Africa.

Mr Holtshousen says CaseWare’s African expansion is the fruit of the company’s longstanding growth strategy, and a reflection of the benefits of the merger with AdaptIT.

 “Our accelerating growth into African markets is driven by two factors. One is our commitment to customising CaseWare’s industry-leading global templates for individual African markets; the other is our ability to leverage AdaptIT’s existing infrastructure to fast-track the establishment of local CaseWare offices,” he says. “This strategy is paying off, and we are building traction in many of Africa’s most important markets.”

Mr Holtshousen says that the recent update of CaseWare templates to take into account the new Kenya Companies Act is a good example of how CaseWare Africa is investing in the creation of intellectual capital directed at specific African countries.

The other four key initiatives just announced are:

· Nigeria. The establishment of an office in Lagos, headed up by Mr Love Emmanuel, supported by a local consulting and training team. “There is a big drive towards compliance with global financial standards as Nigeria gears up to compete, and we believe that CaseWare has a key role to play in this area,” says Mr Holtshousen. “We also believe that CaseWare can help develop a vibrant, entrepreneurial financial services sector because it allows smaller audit firms to compete with even the biggest global operators.”

· Kenya. CaseWare has opened an office in Nairobi, headed up by Mr Rexon Wachira and backed by a local consulting and training capability.

· Mauritius. In cooperation with the local AdaptIT office, CaseWare has opened its own office, headed up by Ms Divya Bhurtan. “Mauritius is intent on establishing itself as a financial hub for the African continent; a strong CaseWare presence will assist the country to achieve its economic goals by providing leading drafting and audit technology to service international clients,” Mr Holtshousen notes.

· Botswana. Again using the local AdaptIT office as a springboard, CaseWare has created a local presence in Botswana where clients will be supported by an in-country consulting and training team.

 “CaseWare sees huge opportunity in Africa, and we are putting significant resources behind creating intellectual capital for African markets based on the global templates—and powered by the muscle of AdaptIT, our holding company,” he concludes.

IoT gains traction but needs careful planning, says Forrester

By Michele Pelino, Forrester principal analyst serving infrastructure & operations professionals

More and more companies are deploying Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to bridge the physical and digital worlds and create new growth opportunities. However, as recent breaches have shown, leaders must stay up to date with this constantly changing environment. Forrester’s latest study, Predictions 2018: IoT Moves from Experimentation to Business Scale lays out the C-level priorities for the year ahead.

According to the study, IoT will move beyond proof of concept and into mainstream adoption in 2018. Forrester predicts that 10% of marketers at B2C brands will scale initiatives beyond pilots to build more intimate customer relationships and experiences.

To achieve optimum impact, CMOs should rely more on the insights of complex data sets from devices. Smartphones will also play a key role in enabling these new connected customer experiences and marketers should extend their mobile-moment strategies to include new interfaces with smart home speakers or smartwatches.”

Despite the growing concern around the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Forrester says that a 2018 European data economy directive will promote the exchange of data and insights. Early innovators will set the tone in the market and increased competition between EU and US companies will drive adoption.

In addition, voice-based services, which have until now, been dominated by smaller companies, we will see an increased adoption from larger enterprises. Pelino writes that a combination of consumer adoption; advances in artificial intelligence, such as natural language understanding (NLU); AI chips in hardware; faster processors and wireless networks; and cheaper components is making high-quality voice control of devices a reality.

Taking the action to the edge

A key trend will be IoT infrastructure shifting towards the edge. The study notes that edge IoT devices are able to act locally, based on data they generate, as well as take advantage of the cloud for secure, scalable configuration, deployment, and management.

The importance of IoT platforms will also continue to grow this year as clients look for: low adoption costs; quick deployment for prototyping; global reach; and easy integration with low maintenance – all of which are making cloud-based options attractive.

Forrester predicts that as data volumes grow, developers will push processing and analysis of data to the edge of the network and onto gateways and devices in order to cut data ingestion costs and reduce network latency.  

Security and privacy still critical

Forrester says most firms still haven’t shown the required commitment to mitigating IoT-specific threats.

The firm believes many IoT devices and ecosystems are still vulnerable to attacks that could take systems offline, and cause “minor to significant disruptions (and potential loss of life) and/or data exfiltration”. The report goes further to say that in 2018, we’ll see more IoT-related attacks, both on devices and on the cloud backplane, as hackers look to breach systems and extract sensitive data.

Forrester warns organisations to have security professionals critically assess their systems, including default passwords, weak encryption implementations, and inadequate patching/remediation capabilities. The report also urges a thorough assessment of GDPR and other data protection compliance.

Blockchain will also begin impacting the performance of IoT technology as it gains traction. In fact, Forrester expects that the percentage of IoT cases using blockchain technologies will rise to over 5% among all IoT initiatives this year.

Pelino says that, while blockchain isn’t yet ready for large-scale deployments requiring reliability, stability, and seamless integration with existing technology infrastructure, companies should begin experimentation with the technology now in order to evaluate vendors against their firm’s IoT business scenarios.

Female students who require financial support to start or further their studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at tertiary institutions now have the opportunity to motivate to be beneficiaries of a crowdfunding initiative. This follows a decision by Standard Bank, the overall winner of the MTN Business App of the Year Awards, to donate their R200 000 prize money to the Feenix Trust, a crowdfunding initiative for students that assists them to fund their studies.

Standard Bank took the top honour at the recent MTN Business App of the Year Awards with Shyft, their foreign exchange (forex) app created to broaden access to forex and transform customer experience.

Says Mandisa Ntloko, General Manager for Enterprise Marketing at MTN Business South Africa: “We are pleased that Standard Bank has used their prize money to support Women in STEM. MTN has embarked on a drive to increase the number of women in technical fields. This included the introduction of a Women in STEM category in the MTN Business App of the Year Awards. In addition, MTN supports other initiatives in this area, such as the annual MTN Women in ICT – Partnership for Change Awards.

 “The support of Women in STEM is an example of MTN’s and Standard Bank’s partnership in this space, and we look forward to like-minded collaborations with other entities in the future. This will enable us to ensure that we continue to brighten the lives of those most in need of support.”

Fikile Kgobe, Executive and Head: Foreign Exchange PBB Standard Bank, concurs and recalls that the team responsible for developing the Shyft app wanted to make a positive and lasting contribution to funding students facing financial challenges at higher learning institutions.

“In response to the #FeesMustFall movement, it was decided that the prize money should be used to assist gifted female students in STEM who lack the financial means to start or further their studies. We are exceptionally pleased to be given the opportunity to be part of a solution. We hope that the contribution we have made will turn the dreams of some deserving female students into reality,” says Kgobe.

Talking about the award-winning app itself, Arno von Helden, Executive Head: Forex Solutions, Standard Bank, concedes that the decision to develop the forex app was borne out of the need to democratise access to forex and to remove elitist perceptions around foreign exchange.

“Forex has historically been perceived as elitist, but the concept of forex is much broader than that,” von Helden explains. “Forex encompasses a range of different transactions that people undertake on a daily basis. It is something that cuts across a number of lifestyle needs and a range of income demographics. This includes a person sending money across the border to his or her family, someone who enjoys or needs to shop online, a parent making tuition payments for his or her child overseas, or a backpacker wishing to purchase currency for his or her travel destination.”

 “Our aim was to facilitate access to forex by creating a platform that enables everyone, from investors to the man on the street, to seamlessly participate in the forex market. It is not simply limited to the purchase of currency, but something that has permeated every facet of life. This is particularly so in the era of globalisation and digitisation, where consumers can transact in real-time with each other regardless of physical borders,” adds Von Helden.

He says the Shyft app has given many people the confidence to participate in the forex market. This is because customers can do so from the palm of their hands. Using Shyft, customers can handle all their forex requirements from their smartphones, without the need to visit a branch. It allows customers to buy up to R1 million in foreign exchange; make payments; manage remittances; create virtual cards for shopping online; order a physical card and top it up with forex; purchase and store forex; transfer funds overseas; and order multi-currency physical travel cards.

The currencies that can be purchased include US Dollars, Pounds, Euros and Australian Dollars, with the aim to add more currencies in future.

 “Shyft is really about removing the barriers of entry to the world of foreign exchange, and offering customers the convenience of handling all their transactions anywhere, anytime,” says von Helden.

Mandisa Ntloko from MTN Business concurs. She points out that as a company that has a footprint in 22 markets in Africa and the Middle East, MTN can relate to the importance of democratising forex.

“In as much as we have successfully facilitated access to telecommunication services for millions of customers across the markets that we operate in, we are pleased to work with synergistic entities like Standard Bank. They too are pushing the boundaries and using the power of connectivity to provide services to millions of people. Through the MTN Business App of the Year Awards, we are championing the development of home grown solutions and fostering the growth of the app development industry in South Africa. We are proud of the role we are playing in giving impetus to the local app development sector, and remain confident that through the platforms we have created, we will continue in our delivery of a bold, new digital world for our customers,” concludes Ntloko.

Eligible female students in the STEM space who are looking to fund their tertiary studies, are encouraged to go to www.feenix.org/register to create a profile and motivate for a portion of Standard Bank’s MTN Business App of the Year prize money, in addition to more funds that have been allocated to the crowdfunding initiative.

For more information about the MTN Business App of the Year Awards, and the winners in each of the 12 categories, go to www.appoftheyear.co.za or @MTNBusinessZA on Twitter and follow #MTNAppAwards.

SatADSL leverages the cloud to enable new business models for MNOs in Africa

SatADSL, a provider of professional VSAT services via satellite, has announced an innovative new service for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) which will enable them to deliver satellite-based connectivity without investment in physical infrastructure.

Utilizing SatADSL’s multi-band, technology-agnostic Cloud-based Service Delivery Platform (C-SDP), the solution allows MNOs to easily outsource their satellite services by providing, via the cloud, a complete OSS/BSS, carrier-grade, fully redundant platform. Initially, the offering will target MNOs in Africa, where terrestrial infrastructure remains limited due to vast rural areas.

“Satellite is a crucial tool for MNOs looking to serve new markets and launch additional revenue-generating services, such as business-to-business applications,” said Michel Dothey, CCO and Co-Founder of SatADSL. “While high investment costs, the risk of vendor lock-in and the uncertainty of the satellite market put many MNOs off investing in their own satellite infrastructure in the past, this new innovative solution mitigates these drawbacks, using the cloud to provide a fast, flexible and future-proof solution.”

Operating on Ka- Ku- or C-band, the C-SDP includes an innovative Network Management System, which allows IP traffic to be shaped and routed from and to different hubs, and an in-built Customer Management Tool, enabling MNOs to manage and monitor their own customers. A Hotspot Management System lets remote hotspot networks be configured, managed and monitored through the cloud and a Billing System enables online payments and automatic billing.

MNOs using the C-SDP will also have access to a large choice of pre-defined services, enabling them to easily meet all market demands, even as they continue to evolve.

Mounir Qalam, Senior Sales at SatADSL, added: “Satellite has traditionally been seen as a threat to MNOs but today it is clear that these services are complementary and vital in achieving cost-effective, ubiquitous connectivity. Our cloud solution is a world first, and at such competitive prices we’ve set ourselves apart from what other satellite providers on the market can offer.”

Qalam joined the SatASDL team last year, bringing nearly 30 years of international telecommunication experience to the company. As well as a degree in industrial engineering, Qalam holds an MBA and has accumulated significant experience across Europe, Asia and Africa in all areas of operations. He was previously responsible for launching 4G, cloud services and B2B activities at Tigo Chad.

SatADSL will showcase the advantages its innovative C-SDP solution can bring to MNOs at Mobile World Congress, which takes place at the Fira Gran Via, in Barcelona, from Monday, February 26 to Thursday, March 1.

Spectranet launches “EVO” MiFi to celebrate Valentine’s Day

With a resolve to foster love and affection this Valentine’s Day and connect with the young-at-hearts, leading broadband and internet services provider, Spectranet 4GLTE is launching a limited edition EVO MiFi, with unheard of bundled Data benefits for carefree communication.

Artistically designed for younger people, EVO MiFi comes bundled with two different data plans at #20,000 with 40GB Data and at #25,000 with Unlimited Data respectively.  In addition, customers will enjoy 50% data bonus in their next 6 renewals within 210 days of activation. With limited edition, Spectranet encourages all Nigerians especially women, to walk into any of the Spectranet exclusive shops or Dealers and purchase one for their loved ones. The offer is till the stocks lasts.

According to Chief Executive Officer, Ajay Awasthi, the launch of EVO MiFi is aimed at fostering love and bonding among the young-at –heart this Valentine season.  With this innovative offer, we would like to encourage the Nigerians to express their love freely with affordable, high quality, high speed 4G data connectivity.

He added “ EVO MiFi is specifically designed as a perfect gift for women. As a mark of tribute to the entrepreneurship of Nigerian women. Spectranet plans to launch two ‘women only’ stores in Lagos before Valentine’s day.  By extending the high speed broadband connectivity to the Nigerian women , EVO MiFi  will help achieve the  30% broadband penetration target set by the Nigerian Communications Commission. The target can be only attained when more people, especially women, are connected to broadband and internet services”

EVO MiFi is the latest addition to Spectranet MiFi family which comprises; Freedom and Pebble. The portability of the device makes it suitable for indoor and outdoor purposes.

Customers can purchase the EVO MiFi at any of Spectranet shops, sales outlets in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ibadan.

Spectranet Limited was the first Internet Service Provider (ISP) to launch 4G LTE internet service in Nigeria. The brand is known for providing an affordable, faster and more reliable internet broadband to Nigerian homes and offices. Its internet service is currently available across Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and Port Harcourt. The state of the art network ensures high speed internet connectivity for the customers.

Spectranet 4G LTE is a recipient of multiple awards for Best Internet Service and 4G LTE Provider in Nigeria in 2016 and 2017

Opera News reaches 1m downloads in just four weeks

Opera News, the stand alone news app developed by Opera, has just broken the 1 million milestone in less than four weeks. The app, which provides users with easy access to their favourite news and entertainment content, has also been ranked number 1 on Google Play store in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania.

“Opera News is already on track to become the number one news and video app in Africa.  Over the coming year, the way people consume news and videos will change completely. We are proud to lead this transformation with Opera News,” said Jørgen Arnesen, Global Head of Marketing and Distribution at Opera.

Back in December 2017, the Norwegian software developer Opera, known for its popular browsers for PCs and mobile devices used by hundreds of millions of users worldwide announced its “Africa First” strategy, which aims to implement new internet solutions on the African continent before anywhere else in the world.

 “We are thrilled to see more than a million downloads of the app and that we rank above other apps like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger”. said Arnesen. “This milestone confirms our commitment to Africa on delivering high end tech products before than anywhere else in the world.”

Released on January 9 2018, Opera News is a news app with a powerful recommendation engine powered by artificial intelligence designed to keep people up-to-speed on all the things they love to read and watch. It delivers a variety of trending news and entertaining videos and gets smarter with each use, using machine learning to tailor content for the individual. In addition to delivering great content, Opera News also saves up to 80 percent of the users’ mobile data use thanks its unique data-saving capabilities.

Opera News is currently the most downloaded app in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania and among the top 10 across the African continent. It has been receiving an overwhelmingly positive feedback. According to information from Google Play Store, the app has received over 2K ratings out of which 80 percent of them gave it five stars.

 “We are thrilled to see the positive reactions towards Opera News. It seems the users like our fresh approach to news that comes with it”, said Arnesen. “They can be sure that we will continue to provide them with more of their favourite videos, music, Premier League results and articles that satisfy all their cravings and discover new content.”

Opera News can be downloaded from the Google Play Store.

The Samsung logo on one of the South Korean company’s offices in Gangnam, central Seoul. (iStock)

Johannesburg – South Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung has announced new software which will enable its cheaper smartphones to use dual cameras. 

Samsung’s new software solution for Isocell Dual image sensors will support refocusing and low-light shooting (LLS) in hardware-constrained mid to entry-level smartphones.

The company called the new software “a total dual camera solution” which will also support refocusing for bokeh effects – which allow for smartphone images to feature a higher depth of field, with the subject in focus and the background blurred. 

Samsung says that Isocell Dual sensors use a library of proprietary software algorithms to enable the features in lower price mobile devices.

Ben K Hur, vice president of system large-scale integration (LSI) marketing at Samsung Electronics said that dual cameras are delivering new and exciting photo-taking experiences on mobile devices. 

“Samsung’s total solution for Isocell Dual will make our customers’ product development process easier, allowing them to bring the most optimised dual camera features to a wider range of consumers,” Hur said. 

Dual camera smartphones have two image sensors that capture different light information, enabling new features like refocusing and LLS. 

With these benefits, dual cameras are a growing trend in premium mobile devices. 

However, integrating dual cameras can be a difficult process for original equipment manufacturers (OEM), as it requires time-consuming optimisation between the OEMs and different vendors developing the sensors and algorithm software. 

Samsung’s total dual camera solution will simplify that process and enable mid to entry-level mobile devices to take advantage of certain camera features mainly available in premium devices equipped with an extra image signal processor.

This enables even cheaper mobile devices to utilise dual camera features and Samsung coupling its refocusing algorithm with a 13 megapixel and 5 megapixel set of image sensors, and its LLS algorithm with a set of two 8 megapixel sensors, will simplify implementation by OEMs.

The announcement of the new software comes just weeks ahead of Samsung’s launch of its next “S” series device – the S9 – expected to take place in Barcelona on February 25. 

This will be the first time Samsung introduces a dual camera to its “S” smartphone series, with a dual camera previous featured in the Note series. 

The Samsung S8 and S8+ smartphone releases were dogged by delays after the Note7 became the most controversial phone of all time, with numerous explosions reported from around the world. 

Samsung followed up the Note7 smartphone with the Note 8 with dual cameras, launched late last year. 

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are expected to take on other flagship smartphones from top manufacturers to be released this year, as well as the Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone X, launched recently.

Careers24

Johannesburg – One of South Africa’s leading online recruitment sites, Careers24, reached the milestone of 3 million registered candidates on Monday. 

“This is a massive milestone for us and an honour to be trusted by so many people who are on their job search journey. I believe a big part of our success is the platform’s user-friendly interface and its ability to match candidates with the right job,” said Marc Privett, head of product and customer insights at Careers24.  

It is not only new job seekers who are relying on the online career portal to find job opportunities. 

According to Privett, an analysis of user statistics for 2017 has shown that the number of employed candidates seeking better opportunities grew faster than the number of unemployed candidates actively looking for work. 

“There is huge opportunity for companies to not only find suitable candidates among such a big group of registered job seekers, but also to put their business on the radar of top talent by showcasing the benefits of what they offer and their corporate culture,” Privett said, 

“Successful people who are satisfied with their current positions are using the site to keep up with what is happening and available in the marketplace.” 

Last year more than two thirds of all new candidates who registered on Careers24 did so on a mobile device. 

Privett said this trend is expected to continue in 2018, with mobile traffic already making up a significant portion of all traffic as smartphone penetration continues to rise, offering access to a broader range of candidates.

Careers24 is consistently among the top online job portals in South Africa, according to Effective Measure’s monthly Unique Browser figures. 

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