May, 2018 - itbusinessdirect

Pitch: Pinterest to give advertisers promoted video tool that takes up the width of the entire screen

May 31, 2018

Pinterest is continuing its push into video as a potential avenue for advertisers by today saying that it will offer advertisers a promoted video tool that takes up the width of the entire screen. While Pinterest normally offers users a grid that they can flip through — compressing a lot of content into a small space — taking up the full width of the screen with a promoted video would offer advertisers considerable real estate if they’re looking to get the attention of users. The company also said it’s hired…

South Africa’s Second biggest database leak exposes almost 1 million personal records

May 24, 2018

Barely a year after South Africa’s largest data leak was revealed in 2017, the country has suffered yet another data leak as 934,000 personal records of South Africans have been leaked publicly online. The data includes, among others, national identity numbers (ID numbers), e-mail addresses, full names, as well as plain text passwords to what appears to be a traffic fines related online system. Working together with Troy Hunt, an Australian Security consultant and founder of haveibeenpwned, along with an anonymous source that has been communicating with iAfrikan and Hunt, we’ve managed to establish that the…

China’s largest car-hailing service Didi redesigns ar-pooling platform after passenger death

May 22, 2018

China’s largest car-hailing service Didi, has redesigned its platform after being criticized for the ‘socialization’ feature that saw drivers inappropriately commenting on the looks of female passengers reports ZDNet. The service has been halted since May 12 after a 21-year-old flight attendant reportedly died at the hands of a 26-year-old driver in China’s Henan province on May 6. The flight attendant had booked a ride through Didi and was allegedly killed by the driver who was also found dead in a river by police, according to Chinese news reports. Didi…

UN CSTD: Next generation tech-preneurship will be led by Teenpreneurs, Bekele

May 22, 2018May 31, 2018 Editor

Start-ups need to stridently move from talking the blue-print to tangibles in the tech space and that next generation tech-preneurship will be led by #Teenpreneurs, who have it in their DNA . The 21st Commission on Science and Technology for Development UNCSTD was held at the United Nations HQ, Palais des Nations, Geneva, from Monday, 14 May to Friday, 18 May 2018. Among the distinguished speakers sat in a high level panel included Sophia Bekele Founder & CEO of DotConnectAfrica who discussed the impact of rapid technological change on the…

Microsoft reportedly working on $400 Surface tablets to compete with the iPad

May 17, 2018 Dianne Jacobs

Microsoft is working on a new line of budget Surface tablets to better compete with Apple’s low-cost iPad options, according to a report from Bloomberg. According to the report, the new Surface tablets won’t just be smaller, cheaper Surface Pros. Rather, Microsoft is said to be completely redesigning the devices, with 10-inch screens instead of the 12-inch size currently found on the Surface Pro, rounded corners that more resemble an iPad than the more rectangular Surface design, and USB-C for charging. Most importantly, priced at $400, they will be more…

YouTube adds a new section for displaying additional credits for songs

May 17, 2018 Dianne Jacobs

YouTube will now provide additional information for songs with a section called “music in this video,” found within the “show more” area that can be expanded underneath videos. The new “music in this video” section will be available on over half a billion videos, and it will provide a more in-depth look at the credits associated with a song. For example in for Camila Cabello’s “Havana,” the “music in this video” section shows all the contributing artists (in this case, Young Thug), the songwriters involved, the labels and publishers who…