December, 2019 - itbusinessdirect

WhatsApp plans on blocking older phone users in 2020

December 10, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

The popular chat app has warned users with older phones that they will need to upgrade their handset to continue using the service and now we know the cut-off date and the models affected. The deadline for ageing Windows smartphone will be followed by blocks for i Phones running anything older than iOS 7 and Android devices with versions 2.3.7 installed. This iPhone and Android block will come into force from February 1, 2020. If you love WhatsApp and have any of the phones mentioned or have not updated your…

Canva introduces Business friendly tools for 2020

December 9, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Aussie-founded design tool Canva has launched a range of new features, including design kiosks, among its business friendly additions for its 20 million users worldwide. At its annual staff event dubbed the Canva Season Opener, Canva on Friday (6 December) unveiled several new products and tools through which it hopes to capture an even greater share of the design market for advertising and social media. Designed with the education sector in mind, but with obvious benefits for business as well, Canva will launch collaborative access to designs in 2020. Originating…

Coding centers launched in Africa

December 9, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

The African Development Bank has launched a digital tool to help African youth learn coding.The goal is to scale up the program to 130 centers of excellence across the African continent over a 10-year period. The African Development Bank and technology firm Microsoft launched the ‘Coding for Employment’ digital training platform, an online tool to provide digital skills to African youth, wherever they are across the continent. The platform, launched at the 2019 African Economic Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, aims to promote a continuous learning culture among young…

Brex Building its Brand using Podcasts and Billboards

December 9, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Corporate card and financial product startup Brex is best known as an enabling platform for businesses, with a focus on startups. The three-year-old company, which is reportedly valued at $2.6 billion, initially spread the word about its offerings through word-of-mouth referrals. But that’s quickly changing. As it grows its customer base, Brex is taking a mass market approach to marketing reminiscent of direct-to-consumer startups like SoFi, TransferWise and N26. Since April, it’s been running a biweekly a podcast called Brex in the Black. It’s opened a lounge co-working space for customers in the Bay Area, and last year, it reportedly spent $300,000 on a…

Green Energy: Is it too late to tame Climate Change?

December 5, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Wind and solar energy have become significant participants in primary energy mix, with the new electric battery storage technology poised to remove the continuity of solar and wind energy to provide uninterrupted day and night, all weather grid supplies. Battery storage combinations of up to 100mw capacities have been achieved. Last month a game-changing solar energy concentration technology was unveiled by Heliogen, a startup company backed by Bill Gates capital. It will concentrate solar energy to a temperature as high as 1,000 degrees Celsius by aligning large mirrors on a…

Kenyans to rely on new Data Protection Law

December 5, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

The Data Protection Act that came into effect last month is expected to provide a framework for data protection in the country, and help boost privacy of the citizens. Before the Act was passed, Kenya did not have a specific data protection law that regulated the sector, exposing private data of citizens to misuse. The law conceived in 2015 is meant to provide a regulatory provision in the collection, retrieval, processing, storing, use and disclosure of personal data. Under Article 31(c), the Act outlines the right of every person not…

Kenyan Parents Urged to Monitor Children’s online consumption

December 3, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Now that the children have closed school for the holidays, it is no doubt that some if not most of them will be on their phones chatting and sharing pictures on the different social media platforms and browsing on the internet for what’s new and trendy. Some children as young as 10 years old own phones. This is totally different from how things were in the past. Nowadays children prefer staying indoors and using their phones or playing video games than playing outside. ICT regulator Communications Authority of Kenya (CA)…

Ethena Startup creates a Sexual Harassment Software

December 3, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Ethena, a software startup, is making it easier to customize sexual harassment training for employees. The company is aiming to make the delicate topic of sexual harassment training more engaging and less uncomfortable for both employees and executives. It believes that something as important as sexual harassment training certainly should not be a cookie-cutter experience. Instead, the software, which is currently set to be released in January of the new year, promises to offer a unique educational experience for each employee and one that just might make them look forward…

Technology’s Involvement in the Pet Care Industry

December 3, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

The pet industry is a growing industry around the world but mostly in USA. Pet owners keep increasing day by day hence making the industry grow. Silicon Valley seems to have itself a new “pet” project. But it’s not just any kind of project. It is for an industry that is projected to be worth $281 billion by 2023. The pet-related business has been gaining grounds, with sales exceeding $225 billion in North America alone in 2018. Whether the economy is tough or not, owners have to take care of their…

AI VS Human News Reporters. Alarming or not?

December 3, 2019 Dianne Jacobs

Last year, China’s state-run news agency Xinhua announced the latest addition to its team of news reporters. Qiu Hao, dressed in a pinstripe suit and red tie, made his first broadcast in November. However, unlike his colleagues, the news reporter is not real. “I am the Chinese AI anchor who just joined Xinhua news agency today,” he said, “my appearance and voice are based on Xinhua news reporter Qiu Hao. But I never need to rest. I offer more than non-stop service 24 hours…