Thursday 22 November 2018

Three reasons you need to buy an expensive watch

It is safe to say that you are thinking that its hard to legitimize spending a lot of cash on another watch? Regardless of whether you've been setting something aside for a considerable length of time, or you're a rash individual with a major reward, burning through thousands on a timepiece is a genuine choice.

We're here to expel such blame, and told you spending genuine measures of money on a watch is absolutely justified, despite all the trouble.

Perhaps you're experiencing difficulty convincing a huge other to give you a chance to get that chalice watch? It's constantly dubious. The vast majority will state you are distraught, at that point instantly list every one of the things you could purchase rather; a PC, a fantasy occasion, a vehicle, possibly a house store...

Be that as it may, you shouldn't give their response a chance to put you off purchasing that fantasy timepiece.

On the off chance that you extremely should account for yourself (or maybe you require pushing over the line to make the huge buy), here are some convincing motivations to slap down your charge card without recoiling.

1. You have lusted over it

There's no damage in purchasing a costly watch (accepting you can really manage the cost of it, obviously) absolutely in light of the fact that you need it. You may have seen it in the diamond setter's window on your meal break walk and yearned for it from that point onward; one day challenged yourself to go and give it a shot, helpfully leaving the Mastercard at the workplace.

You see the watch promoted in each magazine, in a T3 article, and everywhere on your calculation bolstered Instagram feed. So you at last buckle and get it. Presently appreciate it – life's too short for purchaser's regret when cash is spent on something you have yearned for a considerable length of time, months, or even years. 

2. It is a thing of beauty

Individuals burn through a large number of pounds on bits of craftsmanship, which fill no need than to be excellent – so what's the matter with spending huge cash on a watch, which is both lovely and helpful?

Indeed, any shabby Casio can tell the time, yet an expensive Swiss number attracts your eye with its jumper's bezel, uncovered crown, gleaming dial, perplexing inconveniences, and supple calfskin tie. From the lists and chronograph, to the moonphase confusion, clearing hands and uncovered development, watches present loads of modest points of interest to watch and respect.

Taking a gander at a fine Swiss watch is about much more than simply checking the time.

3. It commemorates a special occasion

Regardless of whether it's your wedding, the introduction of a kid, or another imperative day, an uncommon watch can help check the event - you could even have the date and a message engraved on the back of the case.

That way at whatever point you look down at the time, you'll be helped to remember that exceptional day - and what's more, the watch will turn into a loved family treasure to go starting with one age then onto the next. When it has gone from parent to kid and in the end grandkid, the high at first expense will without a doubt turn into a far off and insignificant memory.

It's no big surprise Patek Philippe discusses not owning its ultra-costly watches, but rather only care for them for the people to come.





Dual SIM Support in iPhone Is Coming to Verizon this December

IPHONE
Apple's newly propelled iPhone XR and iPhone XS lines have equipment bolster for double SIM setups, yet the rollout of the element has been somewhat postponed (or on account of AT&T, moved back) because of issues with bearers that have not been completely dealt with yet. Verizon, in any case, is apparently anticipating supporting the component by one month from now.

In an inner Verizon reminder acquired by 9to5Mac, the organization advised representatives it plans to have double SIM enactments for eSIM and physical SIMs prepared to pass by early December:

At present, the iPhone does not bolster fast Verizon benefit when utilized in a Dual SIM arrangement, dropping down to the 2G CDMA organize instead of LTE. This was particularly risky in specific geologies where Verizon has changed to offering LTE-just inclusion.

Because of these confinements, Verizon said it would not be actuating administration on any eSIM nor authoritatively bolster Dual SIM enactments.

At the dispatch a month ago, Verizon said they trusted the product impediments would be settled rapidly with Apple's participation. This most recent reminder shows that it will adhere to its guarantee and convey eSIM and Dual SIM to iPhone XS and iPhone XR clients before the year's end.
Note that the telephones just help one eSIM and one physical SIM card space outside of China, implying that no less than one of the lines should go through the eSIM opening.

9to5Mac noticed that the anticipated early December date is probably going to allude to the arrival of iOS 12.1.1, when a product refresh to make the double SIM highlight play all the more pleasantly with U.S. portable systems might be taken off close by different highlights. In any case, the element could likewise stream out a little bit at a time by means of bearer particular updates; per the Verge, AT&T and T-Mobile are as yet dealing with bugs with an indistinct time period for a goals.

On the off chance that you consider utilizing two SIM cards for anything besides heading out to a remote nation to some degree new, study information indicates you're most likely not the only one. As VentureBeat noted, few U.S. clients utilize double SIM arrangements, however it is more typical in Asia and Europe, where numerous individuals utilize two SIM cards to flip among work and telephone lines and national or universal transporters. Absence of help for double SIMs was viewed as a hindrance to extending pieces of the pie in a few locales, and VentureBeat detailed not long ago that double SIM bolster had been under thought as a China-restrictive element.

Wednesday 21 November 2018

Ways to avoid the coming cloud integration trouble


The need on-premises frameworks converse with open cloud frameworks is getting to be basic. Be that as it may, so few undertakings are readied.



You are attempting to get a finish of-quarter report out and you're having some inconvenience. It appears that while deals are recorded on an open cloud framework, stock is recorded on an on-premises framework. You have to consolidate the two information stores for the report, and you have no chance to get of doing as such. How was this permitted to occur? 

The truth is that all inheritance frameworks and information can't relocate to people in general cloud, so those on-premises frameworks need to coordinate with the information on the general population cloud frameworks to work. While this was a known issue in 2011 when we began on the cloud venture, in 2018 numerous associations still have still not gotten around to fathoming it.

Ventures normally don't consider information, process, and administration mix until there is a strategic need. That being said, they regularly get around the issues by pulling together a no fuss arrangement, which commonly includes FTP, a record drop, or even Federal Express. 

The consequence of this is a great deal of combination between the cloud and on-premises frameworks stays fixed, be it information joining, process reconciliation, or administration coordination. This will end up being an emergency in 2019 for some ventures, since they can spend the whole year, or progressively, simply pulling together joining answer for their open cloud frameworks—which they currently rely upon for some mission-basic procedures. 

To maintain a strategic distance from that emergency, this is what you have to do. 

To begin with, index all information, administrations, and procedures, utilizing a type of vault to track them all.. You have to do this for all on-premises frameworks and all open cloud frameworks, and you have to do as such with the purpose of seeing the greater part of the properties so you can ensure the correct things are conversing with the correct things. 

Second, make sense of legitimately how things should be incorporated. This implies understanding at an abnormal state what information needs to stream where, and why. You will enjoy this and reprieve it down to a more crude dimension where you'll recognize the information components and server properties also. 

Third, pick the apparatuses and innovation you'll have to complete the coordination. Incidentally, endeavors over and over again go straightforwardly to this progression, however that will just guarantee that you pick the wrong apparatuses in light of the fact that you don't yet know much yet.

Obviously, there are more complexities to manage, for example, security, administration, and system, which should be made sense of too. Be that as it may, begin with the fundamentals I secured here, in light of the fact that you can't manage the complexities until you've managed the essentials.

Tuesday 20 November 2018

How to Download and Install: Xiaomi Redmi 5 MIUI Global Stable ROM Update Rollout Begins in India


Xiaomi Redmi 5 users can even download MIUI 10 update manually
Prior in the day, we revealed that the Redmi 6 Pro has begun accepting the MIUI 10 Global Stable ROM refresh, and now Xiaomi has reported that the refresh is taking off for Redmi 5 clients too. The refresh is taking off by means of OTA, yet clients can download it physically too, and Xiaomi has outfitted connections for Recovery ROM and Fastboot ROM refresh strategies. The new MIUI 10 refresh depends on Android 8.1 Oreo, and the Global Stable ROM refresh was as of late taken off for Redmi 5A clients too. 

Xiaomi has taken to its Mi India gatherings to declare that the MIUI 10 Global Stable ROM V10.1.2.0.NDAMIFI is taking off for Redmi 5 clients in India. The refresh is taking off over the air, and the changelog takes note of that the refresh brings along a full-screen motion based involvement, an all new UI, a characteristic sound framework, and furthermore brings patched up Clock, Notes, and other framework applications.



There's a possibility that the rollout is taking place in batches and it may not reach all users at once.
Keep checking the availability of MIUI 10 Global Stable update on your Redmi 5 regularly 
by going to Settings > About phone > System updates > Check for updates.
For all those who cannot wait, Xiaomi has also shared the download links. You can 
download the Recovery ROM link here and the Fastboot ROM link here. For more details
on how to install the MIUI 10 update for the Redmi 5 via Fastboot and Recovery ROMs,
you can refer to our previous guide. As always, before downloading MIUI 10
through any of the above links, ensure that your device is charged up to 80 percent to prevent 
accidental power off in between flashing process. Do also backup your smartphone, 
you can learn more about that here, as the  manual installation process wipes data. Also, ensure that you download the update under a good Wi-Fi  connection as well.


Samsung Galaxy S10 Colour Variants Revealed: 2 Drilled Holes on Display Rumoured

Samsung Galaxy S10 is rumoured to have four different colour options

While the official data is yet to make a big appearance, Samsung Galaxy S10 is currently said to make a big appearance in February one year from now with four particular shading alternatives. The following leader model of the South Korean monster is now reputed to have slope shading variations that could be identified with a portion of the four shading choices. Two of the Galaxy S10 variations is likewise said to make a big appearance with an in-show unique mark sensor. It is additionally announced that Samsung will utilize M9 show boards that will brandish diode siphoned strong state (DPSS) laser-bored openings for the selfie camera and infrared sensor. The cutting edge show boards, which will be the successor to the M8 shows included on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy Note 9 this year, are probably going to accompany the new Infinity Display structures. 

Among different advancements, Samsung is set to bring the Galaxy S10 in Black, Green, White, and Yellow shading choices, reports SamMobile, There could likewise be some inclination shading occupations on the announced shading alternatives to coordinate the continuous pattern. Further, it is said that Samsung will offer LED Flip and Protective spreads for the Galaxy S10. 

The SamMobile report likewise specifies that there will be the SM-G973x and SM-G975x with 5.8-inch and 6.44-inch show sizes and in-show unique mark sensor. Nonetheless, it is said that the there will be a 5.8-inch show alternative conveying model number SM-G970x sans the in-show unique finger impression sensor. It could be the most second rate choice in the three Galaxy S10 variations. Also, the data coordinates a report that developed back in July, determining the nearness of a ultrasonic in-show unique finger impression sensor on two of the Galaxy S10 models. 

Aside from uncovering the data about the Galaxy S10, SamMobile makes reference to that the Galaxy F foldable cell phone that is relied upon to make a big appearance in March one year from now will come in Silver and Black shading choices. There will especially be a gadget with model number SM-F900U that will have 512GB of locally available capacity. The European and Asian variations of the Galaxy F, then again, are said to accompany show number SM-F900F and SM-F900N, individually. 

Independently, an ETNews report recommends that Samsung has favored the M9 show boards with DPSS laser-bored gaps for the Galaxy S10. It is accounted for that the new presentation boards will accompany one as well as two gaps where one will be accessible for the forward looking, selfie camera, the other one will be accommodated the infrared sensor. This is not normal for the first Infinity O show structure that Samsung exhibited at its yearly engineer gathering not long ago that had a solitary opening for the selfie camera. Strikingly, the organization likewise as of late prodded the Galaxy A8s with a solitary showcase opening structure for the selfie camera. 

Samsung is said to utilize SFA, Phil Optics, and Wonik IPS' laser hardware to bore the gaps on the showcase boards. The organization is additionally ventured to run with an elective methodology after some time as it's not apparently completely happy with the consequences of the DPSS. 

TheElec reports that Samsung Display is inside calling the showcase gap innovation "Opening in Active Area". Utilizing a laser drawing or boring procedure, the showcase boards will accompany gaps for the related segments. A choice to shroud the gaps essentially through empowering dark boards on the showcase is probably going to be accessible. This could be like how some Android cell phones have offered the capacity to shroud their showcase scores. 

The M9 OLED show boards that will be the successor to the current M8 shows are said to use red, green, and blue host hues from Dow Chemical, Nippon, Samsung, and SFC, separately. Further, Duksan Neolux, Merck and Idemitsu Kosan are accounted for to give the red, green, and blue prime layers for the new boards. The ETNews report has additionally made reference to the three presentation sizes of the Galaxy S10 and uncovered that the generation of the showcase boards has just been begun. Moreover, it is said that the base model with 5.8-inch will accompany a level presentation, while the other 5.8-inch demonstrate and in addition the best end, 6.2-inch model will accompany bended boards.

How Was Technology 20 Years Ago?

What is Happening: Lets Take A Look At Technology 20 Years Ago.

Innovation 20 years back as of now had the web, obviously. In any case, just a couple of PCs were associated with it. So what do you think innovation is that time? 

How Was The Internet Then 

The web of 20 years prior was, will we say, "crude". It was known as the World Wide Web. There were just around 10,000 sites when contrasted with the present 45 billion site pages. Also, there were just two million PCs associated with the web amid that time. Today, there are very nearly four billion web clients. 

Applications On The Internet Then 
Obviously there were at that point applications on the web at that point. Amazon, Yahoo! Also, Mosaic Communications (later known as Netscape) were initially arranges. Netscape Navigator was the main business internet browser propelled at that point. Two years after came Microsoft Internet Explorer. At that point ten years after came the Mozilla Firefox.

How Computers Functioned

Internet was mostly used by scientists and clients then. But computers used floppy disks then. And it required telephones to literally dial a connection. The internet connection was made available through America on Line (AOL) and Compuserve. Sites had to give internet users instructions since no one knew what they were doing.

Other Information

Then US Vice President Al Gore used the phrase “information superhighway”. A year later the internet became popular in movies. Films like “Hackers” ( which starred Angelina Jolie) and Sandra Bullock’s “The Net” was released in the movies. Jolie was even quoted as saying that “talking to people all over the place…it’s amazing”.

More Innovations

The first banner was launched by Wired (so they claim). Graphics for AT&T and Zima, changed advertising forever. These graphics generated revenue for websites that did not charge users for access. It offered clients real numbers for how many saw their ad and clicked on it.
The first radio station to broadcast online was WXYC at the University of North Carolina. It paved the way for an audio streaming industry. This now includes Spotify, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. The first Online Shopping transaction was done for a pizza by Pizza Hut. While students from Swarthmore created the first online “secure market”. They called it NetMarket.
As the years go by innovations were made to improve and develop technology. That is why we enjoy the ease of doing hassle-free transactions and works.

Friday 16 November 2018

How Technology is helping to increase access to Financial Services in Nigeria

One of the most critical drivers of economic growth is financial inclusion.

This is because access to financial services have so far been proven as a means to empowering people in various ways such as enabling businesses reach a larger market, facilitating the monitoring of inflows and outflows such that risks are minimized and most importantly helping to minimize income inequality.
Though many are still financially excluded in Nigeria with about 42% of the population lacking access to formal financial services (Efina, 2016), technology has enabled the banking industry provide various means through which these excluded persons can access financial services thus serving as an effective tool to bridge the financial inclusion gap.
Following the introduction of the cashless policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2012, the banking sector has witnessed a quantum leap in the use of electronic channels of payment such as internet banking, automated teller machines (ATM), point of sale (PoS) devices and mobile applications, while financial technology (fintech) platforms have become the norm.
In addition, many banks have gone further to partner with fintech institutions and the telecommunications industry to facilitate the increased use of these services thus enhancing access to financial services without having to build more branches.
The impact of this is seen in the growth of retail and digital banking, the ecommerce industry and the facilitation of credit services. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the volume of transactions done through electronic payment channels in Nigeria is about 509.67million as at Q2 2018, while the value of these transactions is worth N32.9billion.
Furthermore, with the advent of artificial intelligence, banks can now make use of customer’s data to creatively develop affordable and easily accessible products and services tailored directly to meeting customers’ needs.
With more banks aggressively adopting financial technologies that are moving the bank branch to devices, there is no doubt that more individuals will become financially included in the near future.
A case in point is Zenith Bank’s upgrade of its mobile app to support account opening and Qwerty Banking (transactions while using any chatting app like Whatsapp or Telegram). The Bank is also a big investor in the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) with its *966# short codes. Additionally, its Scan to Pay solution is one of the few in Nigeria that supports MasterPass and mVisa payments.
Despite the strides, however, more needs to be done in the area of beefing up financial literacy campaigns such that individuals not only have access to these financial products and services but are able to convert them to improve their financial status.

Huawei Launches ICT Competition in Nigeria with 15 Universities

Huawei has launched an ICT competition in Nigeria in partnership with local universities with the aim of cultivating local ICT talents, promoting a greater understanding of and interest in ICT, and developing a healthy ecosystem for the sustainable growth of ICT sector.
This is the first time the leading global ICT solutions provider is bringing the global event to Nigeria.
Over 10,000 students from over 15 universities are expected to participate in the contest with various subjects including Cloud Computing, artificial intelligence, mobile networks and big data.
The competition which was launched at the “Nigeria ICT Talents Development Summit and Huawei ICT Competition Launching Ceremony “ in Abuja, had key stakeholders in the ICT industry including Hon. Minister Of Communication Dr. Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu, FNCS; Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, Zhao Linxiang; Vice President of Huawei Public Relations, Xue Man; General Manager of Huawei Abuja Office, Nigeria, Tank Li; Chairman of the Nigerian University Management Committee Prof. Abubakar Rasheed; and presidents of participating universities.
Speaking at the ICT Competition Launching Ceremony, Minister of Communication, Dr. Abdur-Raheem Adebayo Shittu said “This is an epoch-making event for several reasons, the most significant of which is that the present government in Nigeria is easily the first government since the country’s independence to come on stage by leveraging the benefits of the digital revolution in partnership with Huawei as a leading global supplier of ICT products and solutions.”
“The development of the ICT industry is important for the economic and social development of the country and the improvement of people’s lives. Improving ICT infrastructure and cultivating talents in the ICT industry are key measures for the country to achieve rapid development” He said.
Zhao Linxiang, Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Nigeria, noted that Nigeria’s ICT development momentum is rapid. According to him, “Huawei, as an excellent enterprise in China, has been participating actively in Nigeria’s national ICT planning and construction, supporting the vision of ‘Nigeria ICT Transformation’ to be realized soon.
Tank Li, General Manager of Huawei Abuja Office, Nigeria , said, “Building a pool of high quality ICT talent is a critical success factor for governments aiming to transition to knowledge-based economies. As one of the world’s leading innovators, knowledge transfer has always been a core pillar of the Huawei ethos”.
“We created this platform to demonstrate that the young talents in Nigeria have the potential to mature into world-class experts. By enhancing industry-academic cooperation, we hope to make contribute to achieving the country’s development goals.” Tank Li said.
At the event, 5 universities, University of Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello University, Lead City University, America University of Nigeria and Federal University Technology also launched the Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy (HAINA) program. HAINA is a nonprofit ICT career certification program which aims to increase employment opportunities for young people by exposing them to more ICT knowledge and skills required in the job market.
The Huawei ICT competition 2018 has been launched in more than 10 sub-Saharan Africa countries, including South Africa, Kenya and Zambia. So far, more than 20,000 students have registered for the contests.
Winners of the contest in Nigeria will have opportunity to participate in the regional finals in South Africa and global finals at Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen China.
Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains — telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services — we are committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.
Huawei’s end-to-end portfolio of products, solutions and services are both competitive and secure. Through open collaboration with ecosystem partners, we create lasting value for our customers, working to empower people, enrich home life, and inspire innovation in organizations of all shapes and sizes.
At Huawei, innovation focuses on customer needs. We invest heavily in basic research, concentrating on technological breakthroughs that drive the world forward. We have more than 180,000 employees, and we operate in more than 170 countries and regions. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.

Wednesday 14 November 2018

Fortnite's glider redeploy mechanic is being removed from default game modes

The ability to redeploy gliders will be restricted to larger team modes while Epic continues testing.


In the Fortnitemares v6.20 refresh, Epic empowered lightweight plane redeployment in all Fortnite diversion modes, which means players could haul out their lightweight plane whenever insofar as they were three units or higher. What was intended to be seven days in length test has reached out into two, with players both raging over and commending the enormous buff to portability.

In any case, today Epic expressed that it's moving back the lightweight flyer redeployment change in tomorrow's v6.30 refresh, limiting it to huge group diversion modes where it was first considered. This isn't really the last time we'll have the capacity to redeploy lightweight flyers in default performances, pairs, or squads, however. Epic expresses an absence of correspondence and speed for dialing down the gas, "We didn't satisfy desires for rapidly emphasizing on the technician and imparting designs."

Sufficiently reasonable. I'm a colossal fanatic of lightweight plane redeployment myself. We can talk balance throughout the day, yet it makes moving around that tremendous guide on a very basic level all the more engaging, and I think Epic is remembering that. In any case, I do perceive how such a quick and significant change upset existing playstyles too brutally. As fast as Epic has been repeating on Fortnite, it expected to react significantly speedier to exploitative or disappointing playstyles rising up out of the capacity to coast in or out of battles freely, and it didn't. I have confidence that lightweight plane redeployment can work once things or capacities are acquainted with make each jump a more hazardous suggestion, yet in any event, I can fly around Disco Domination all I like, longing for a superior world.

Thursday 1 November 2018

Jay-Z’s music streaming service, TIDAL has made its foray into the African market

Subscription-based music streaming service, TIDAL owned by American music rapper, Jay-Z has made its foray into the African market through a partnership with Africa’s leading telecommunications operator, MTN.

The music streaming service, which has launched in Uganda, provides MTN Uganda over 10 million subscribers a variety of options for a data-inclusive TIDAL membership as part of their mobile plan to gain access to exclusive high-quality streaming music, videos, concerts, livestreams and original content available on TIDAL.
According to Lior Tibon, COO of TIDAL,
“Africa is a continent that has long been an inspiration for music heard around the world and TIDAL is excited to highlight the vibrant musicians on our platform. TIDAL is also thrilled to bring a new wave of digital music to Uganda as part of this collaboration.”


The partnership, which is expected to be rolled out in other MTN operations across Africa, comes with an array of membership options where customers can tap into one, three, seven and 30-day memberships, all of which include data and a free 30-day trial for all first-time members.
MTN customers in Uganda will be able to subscribe to TIDAL using MTN Mobile Money and can sign up to any subscription package by dialling *165*66# via their mobile phones.
TIDAL is available in more than 52 countries, and boasts over 57 million songs and more than 233,000 high quality videos.

NimCure App — digital tool for monitoring patient treatments

The NimCure app is a digital patient care tool to promote adherence to treatment by TB patients.

Using the NimCure app, patients are paired with caregivers who support and manage treatment remotely. The app innovates around the current method of treatment, Direct Observe Therapy (DOT) by the use of vDOT (video Direct Observe Therapy).
With NimCure, patients are able to record short videos to log their daily dosage. Other features of the app include enabling patients to track treatment progress, receive key notifications and reminders as well as contact their caregivers. Caregivers, through the NimCure Care app, are able to monitor patient treatment including assessing video submissions, manage patient treatment progress and contact them directly.
The app was developed by Nigeria’s Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) in partnership with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR).

uMashesha, the cab-hailing app that doubles as a delivery service

uMashesha, a cab-hailing app based out of South Africa wants to be both a ride-hailing service during peak periods and a courier delivery service during off-peak hours.

Founded in 2017 by Christine Mesolo, the first female to own a ride hailing company in South Africa, with over 20 years of experience in the transport industry, the app claims to have completed over 1000 trips in and around Pretoria, East London, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Polokwane, and Durban.
With bootstrapped investments of more than R3 million (over $200,000) and a short-term loan of R2.5 million (about $175,000) from a business partner, Mesolo believes that her offering stands out from the “mushrooming” number of such start-ups in South Africa because the company “values and respects” its drivers and also points out that the start-up helps its drivers with paying traffic fines.
According to Mesolo, the start-up which currently employs 30 full-time operational staff, 44 interns, has 1,500 drivers who are charged a commission of 14.5% on their earnings.
“It does not make business sense that we take a big chunk from their takings, but they have to pay for all other services like data, petrol, car service and liability insurances,” says Christine Mesolo.
Its vehicles are fitted with car tracking systems, panic buttons and cameras, both inside and outside the cars. The company says adds that in case of an accident, its drivers and riders automatically qualify for emergency air medical evacuation, hospital cash back cover, medical expenses cover, trauma counselling, mobility cover as well as accident funeral cover all up to R7500 ($522) per month.
In addition to courier deliveries, the company plans to launch other services like grocery deliveries in the future as well as offer more locations across South Africa.
The app is available for download on the Google Play and Apple’s AppStore.

Wednesday 31 October 2018

The Internet of Things — Challenges, Opportunities and Business Value in Nigeria

T
he Internet of Things (IoT) has gone from being a buzzword to a concept we see in our everyday lives. Phones have a variety of sensors that gather large amount of data.

Houses, cars, machines are smarter than what they used to be. In many businesses today IoT is described as ‘’the next battlefield’’. It is shifting from being a technology to a key enabler of digital transformation.
What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?
IoT is a system involving connected devices that gather data, connect with the internet or local network, generate analytics and adopt behaviour based on the analytics in the network. An IoT system is made up of sensors, networks and analytics. IoT is able to and will bring numerous benefits to businesses in the coming years.
The importance of this concept is being accepted by individuals and businesses; there exists obstacles to IoT adoption which have kept adoption slow in Africa and very slow in Nigeria. With detailed planning and right partnerships, awareness and clear understanding of project outcomes, none of these challenges can’t be overcome.
Challenges in IoT adoption in Nigeria
1. Culture: Traditional thinking and methods remain the biggest challenge in IoT adoption in Nigeria. Resistance to change and new technology is the norm. According to Mckinsey’s survey of global executives, three digital-culture deficiencies are common: functional and departmental silos, a fear of taking risks, and difficulty forming and acting on a single view of the customer. Awareness, government policies can help change it. Thanks to the G7 and EU for the Emerging Africa Leaders program helping create awareness and spur transition to the next production revolution.
2. Legacy Machines: ‘’if it is not broken, don’t fix it’’ is the norm with the industrial sector. Equipment are maintained and used for many years. These equipment remain a major part of the industrial environment because replacing them would cost millions of Naira, an expense companies find hard to justify when existing machine works perfectly. Legacy machines sometimes prove difficult working with new technologies. However, a strong IoT partner will see to interoperability of these machines.
3. Connectivity: Wired connectivity is not strange to the industrial environment, so with IoT on wireless connectivity this may be a change in the network infrastructure design. The use of wireless networking may raise security concerns.
4. Financing: Financing is very important as IoT is relatively a financial heavy project. Presenting theoretical cases which are not yet implemented in the facility and convincing management for funding is challenging. It is imperative to consider not only the upfront investments but also the longer term cost requirements of managing, maintaining and expanding. We advocate clear outcomes for projects and the business unit deploying the IoT project be responsible for not less than 70% of the funds required.
5. Skills: Having the right human resource is the most important for any project to be successful. Questions like ‘’who will make it happen?’’ The skills for an IoT project according to IBM ranges from system architects with a detailed knowledge of the operating and business environments, systems integration specialists who are able to facilitate the implementation of hardware into the business environment, the back end engineers and the data analysts and scientist.
6. Vendors and Partnerships: Having the right vendor/partner is very important for any IoT deployment and for scale. This is because the right vendor provides the most suitable platform for an IoT project. Partnerships cut across the hardware, software and telecommunication companies through to engineering and industrial companies.
7. Security: IoT security concerns any device, system or part of the IoT process flow where data is stored, transmitted and analyzed. Equipment is hackable if the network can be accessed, this affects the production process.
Opportunities and benefits in IoT
The asset rich industries such as the oil and gas stand to benefit more from the opportunities Industrial Internet of Things presents us with. A number of critical assets can be remotely monitored and many manual processes automated. These businesses can leverage on a twin to predict how an asset will behave thus preventing downtime.
1. Automation: IoT presents a direct replacement of manual processes. Factory and production floor need not to be monitored via pen and paper. Machines equipped with sensors are able to gather data in real time and perform monitoring with higher accuracy and efficiency.
2. Predictive Maintenance: The reality in business environment is that machine fail. When they do, they don’t just impact the present work but also the future. Being able to monitor equipment to prevent them from failing saves the business time and money. Materials do not get spoiled and secondary damage avoided.
3. Higher Outputs: Predictive maintenance helps manufacturers produce goods with higher quality, being able to reduce the number of spoiled finished goods, the yield increases as a result of increase in production line efficiency.
4. Digital Twins: This is a benefit I find most interesting. Digital twins allow the modeling of a physical asset but without any risk to the physical asset. Being able to perform all types of test on virtual machine is a very strong benefit. It will save time, money for any project.
5. Asset Tracking: Being able to track the location and expected arrival of materials in the supply chain is a very useful application of IoT. This will help enterprises in their planning, gives them greater knowledge and control of supply chain, enables them pro act to potential problems that may occur in logistics.
Value of IoT
Analytics is becoming a mainstream in IoT projects. Before now, much focus was on the hardware and connectivity. This is fast changing. An Analytics solution is an Integral part of an IoT project.
Data harnessed from connected processes are analyzed, interpreted and used to drive operations and strategic decisions. Data driven decisions are key to make any meaningful business outcome.
An efficient analytics platform turns data into useful insights that reveal hidden information, opportunities and possible area for change and improvement.

Fortnite's next big in-game event announced, pray for cube death

Finally. Finally, Fortnite's cube might actually show us what's inside. Epic just announced that players should try to get in a match on November 4 at 1 pm ET to see the end of Fortnitemares and the beginning of whatever comes next. A few similar in-game events have marked the gradual transition between seasons, the most memorable of which was a live rocket launch that busted a hole in the space-time continuum. Yeah, Fortnite is getting difficult to describe. 
I'm speculating, though I'd be surprised if Kevin the Cube didn't explode and scatter itself all over the map this upcoming Sunday, when the event and the end of Fortnitemares are scheduled to take place. 
A recap of cube bullshit:
  • Cube is summoned by lightning
  • Cube moves all around map, printing runes
  • Cube melts into Loot Lake
  • Cube lifts house at center of lake, becomes floating island
  • Cube island visits all the runes, juicing 'em up
  • Cube island heads back to Loot Lake
  • Runes float to Cube Island
  • Cube Island sucks juice outta runes
  • Cube island explodes
  • ???
  • Zombies!
While I'm tired of cube stuff, I'm glad zombies weren't the cube's final trick. Players have had mixed reactions to the addition of cube monsters, and while I think any naysayers are cowards, the probable departure of the groaning purple jerks with the Fortnitemares event will be welcome, so long as Epic plants a flag and changes or adds something else surprising. A quick glance at Twitter or the subreddit reaffirms that Kevin's time is up. Most Fortnite players can all agree that while the cube began as captivating mystery, its multiple treks across the map in various forms have grown tired. The cube's getting tired too, it appears, with cracks appearing all over the surface since Fortnitemares began. Sunday will most likely see the end of the cube era and kick off the lead up to the seventh season. Time flies when a cube does stuff forever. 
You can bet I'll be there to see it all go down, either via a livestream or recap with a video after Kevin eats it, assuming Kevin eats it. Please eat it, Kevin. 

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