And so a week that started so well — with hype, hope and a fair sprinkling of glamour — ended rather limply, with Bafana showing all the attacking promise of a newborn gazelle charging a pride of lions. I mean, really, what was Santana thinking? You have millions glued to their seats, thousands crammed into […]
2009
Posted inGeneral
Hardware meets webware
I’m excited to be able to share some info relating to a project we’re working on that makes it possible for vida e caffe patrons to access HipZone hotspots free of charge. This is all possible through an advertising platform that combines hardware with webware and that’s only the beginning of a whole new world. […]
Posted inGeneral
Review: Android is finally in SA
Last Monday I finally received the HTC Magic (also called the G2) — a phone I have long been looking forward to, not so much for the hardware, but for the operating system. This is Google’s second official iteration of Android, its open source mobile operating system. It comes included with a mini-USB charger, USB […]
Posted inGeneral
Nokia challenge update …
Nokia’s Sports Tracker service won the 2009 Best Something Award for IT Genius. So my feelings of frustration have mutated into a deep sense of shame and stupidity. If millions of other people around the world can co-ordinate their phone, get the HR monitor to work and upload their training diaries, why can’t I? But […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Zuma must be supported in his accord for dictators
The biggest stumbling block in post-colonial Africa’s progress towards democracy has been the steadfast refusal of its dictators to relinquish power. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that should they be forced to relinquish power they are, more likely than not, going to be facing charges of genocide, crimes against humanity or […]
Posted inGeneral
British and Irish Lions: How the walking wounded become prey
We have witnessed five very interesting games, in which the British & Irish Lions have played and beaten: 1. The Royal XV — 25-37 2. The Lions — 10-74 3. The Cheetahs — 24-26 4. The Sharks — 3-39 5. Western Province — 23-26 Next up on the Lions menu are the Southern Kings on […]
Posted inGeneral
Manuel: I could close my eyes now …
Imagine sitting in a room in 1991 with a group of South African’s trying to map out what the nation would look like in 2002. At the time we were in the middle of negotiations, the country was racked in violence and uncertainty, we were yet to have our first democratic elections and predicting the […]
Posted inBusiness
Vitality and Voyager-like rewards for the poor
The Broccoli Project, an innovative scheme created by Marc Anthony Zimmerman, offers rewards to the poor in exchange for socially beneficial behaviour. Zimmerman, a successful social entrepreneur was inspired by CK Prahalad’s book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. He explains that while the rich are offered numerous incentives through reward schemes, there […]
Posted inBusiness
How to unravel a Ponzi scheme: Follow the money
There seems to be a deliberate pattern emerging in the approach being taken by the Frankel Investment Scheme suspects to the unfolding story of what appears to be South Africa’s largest Ponzi scheme. It appears to be to a deny everything strategy that puts the onus on investors (or victims) to prove their claims and […]
Posted inLifestyle
When the world is your ashtray
This morning, on the way to a meeting with a client, I found myself behind a CitiGolf (Volkswagen drivers … I tell you) the colour of a swimming pool after it has been left an entire summer without the addition of HTH. I didn’t pay too much attention to it; just another car in the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Hogan can argue privatisation is policy
Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan recently suggested underperforming parastatals might be sold off. The reaction was shock and dismay from the ANC and alliance partners. But the option of divestiture, the correct technical term, has long been part of ANC government policy. This policy is contained in the policy framework document, “An Accelerated Agenda towards […]
Posted inGeneral
The geopolitics behind the DA win in Cape Town
The DA, somewhat against expectation, won a clear majority in the recent election in the Western Cape. It is now the sole province beyond the direct control of the ANC. Why? While the exact reasons for this win are probably complex, it may be interesting to examine a slightly different perspective. In this view we […]