TechCentral

After FNB, Jordaan to focus on tech

Craig Wilson — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:57:34 +0000

Michael Jordaan is leaving First National Bank after 10 years as CEO to pursue his passion for technology and entrepreneurship. FNB parent FirstRand Group announced on Wednesday that Jordaan would step down at the end of the year, with the head of the bank’s business banking arm, Jacques Celliers, to take

Intel convinced of smartphone success

Duncan McLeod — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:26:08 +0000

Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, is at a crossroads. The company, with Microsoft, dominated the client-server era of computing. Its chips power most servers and PCs sold today. But the action in the computing industry is no longer in desktops and laptops, but rather in smartphones

Pule set to crack open TV rights

Craig Wilson — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:46:15 +0000

Could pay-TV operator MultiChoice, which owns DStv, be forced to allow rival broadcasters access to premium sports and entertainment content that it has bought rights to? If communications minister Dina Pule gets her way, this could happen.Pule told parliament on Tuesday

Michael Jordaan to step down at FNB

Duncan McLeod — Wed, 22 May 2013 08:20:18 +0000

First National Bank’s tech-savvy CEO, Michael Jordaan, is stepping down. He will leave the bank at the end of 2013, with Jacques Celliers set to take the reins from next year. According to FNB parent FirstRand Group, Jordaan, who has been CEO of FNB for the past 10 years, wants to “spend more time with his family”

Take the Altron cash: analysts

Craig Wilson — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:52:09 +0000

Altron’s offer to buy out minority shareholders in subsidiary Altech and delist the technology and telecommunications company from the JSE is fair, analysts says. Last Friday, Altron made the offer, its second in six years. Both Altech and Altron are listed entities. The move sent

Microsoft goes all-in with Xbox One

Ben Kelly — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:06:45 +0000

Microsoft on Tuesday night joined the next generation console battle with the announcement of its Xbox One that critics are billing as an all-in-one entertainment device rather than simply a gaming console. While Microsoft gave the world a fairly detailed look at the features and capabilities

Pule in about-turn on digital TV

Editor — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:00:02 +0000

Communications minister Dina Pule surprised parliament on Tuesday, announcing that she’s decided to review the policy on the set-top box control system for digital terrestrial television so that its inclusion would no longer be mandatory. The issue of set-top box control has delayed

Waytags offer location on the run

Craig Wilson — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:00:05 +0000

Imagine being able to direct people to your home, your office, your current location or anywhere else on the planet with a single word rather than a lengthy address or set of GPS coordinates. A three-year-old South African company called Waytag is doing just that. Perhaps the easiest

ANC turns to Mxit for votes

Editor — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:10:18 +0000

The ANC in the Western Cape is turning to mobile social media network Mxit in an effort to attract voters in the province, which is controlled by the Democratic Alliance. The party has launched an application on the social platform, called MyANCWC, to “mobilise voters, educate them, and get them to register and vote

SABC to repay R1bn loan

Editor — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:50:25 +0000

The SABC will repay its government-guaranteed loan of R1bn in full within the next few months, communications minister Dina Pule said on Tuesday. Introducing her budget vote debate in the national assembly, Pule said the public broadcaster was accelerating its payback plan. "The SABC plans to

SA connection in Yahoo, Tumblr deal

Duncan McLeod — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:47:24 +0000

Roelof Botha, the grandson of former South African foreign affairs minister Pik Botha, was closely involved in the funding of social networking site Tumblr, which Yahoo this week agreed to buy for US$1,1bn. Pretoria-born Botha, who served on Tumblr’s board of directors, was also a key role player in the $1,5bn, 2002 sale

Gov’t fund to buy Independent stake

Editor — Tue, 21 May 2013 06:15:27 +0000

The government employees' pension fund is to acquire a 25% stake, worth about R500m, in Independent News and Media SA, according to a report on Tuesday. According to Business Day, the fund already owns a 19,5% stake in Times Media Group, which publishes Business Day and other major titles in

Vodacom hunts for future growth

Craig Wilson — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:15:50 +0000

Vodacom expects demand for data to offset a decline in voice revenues in the next few years, but with the margins on data slimmer and the price of data being driven down by a competitive market, the operator is also hoping so-called “over-the-top” services - content, social networking and financial services are three examples

TalkCentral: Ep 84 – ‘Google, plus’

Duncan McLeod — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:42:19 +0000

It’s Google, Google and more Google - and a bit of BlackBerry - in the latest episode of TechCentral’s weekly podcast. Your hosts Duncan McLeod and Craig Wilson talk about the big news coming out of last week’s Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco. They also

Green light for Eskom wind farm

Editor — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:48:06 +0000

The National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) has granted Eskom a licence for its Sere wind farm in the Western Cape, the power parastatal said on Monday. "This is an exciting milestone in Eskom's move towards a cleaner energy mix," Eskom CEO Brian Dames said in a statement. "Sere is our first