At the 2013
African Banker Awards ceremony that held in Marrakech, Morocco, Nigeria’s
Guaranty Trust Bank has been named the African Bank of the year. The Banker
Awards ceremony which was organized by African Banker Magazine, IC Events and
BusinessinAfrica Events held on Wednesday, May 29th.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Samsung Galaxy S4 ‘Mini’ officially unveiled
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 5:47 PM
After wide
acceptance of the Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Electronics Co has announced a
“powerful yet compact version of Samsung’s bestselling smartphone”. According
to Samsung, the 4.3-inch screen smartphone “delivers the superior performance,
intuitive ease of use and sleek design of the Galaxy S4 in a highly portable,
chic and compact design.”
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Dangote starts construction of a $500m cement plant in Tanzania
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 11:27 AM
Dangote
cement has started the construction of a $500 million cement plant which will
be able to produce three million metric tons of cement per year when finished.
The cement plant is to be located in Mtwara, Tanzania. The commencement of this
plant Dangote said is part of the group’s strategy to increase its cement
production capacity.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Google to use blimp network to connect billions in Africa and Asia
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 2:14 PM
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google is planning to develop a series of aerial wireless networks using remote controlled balloons called blimps. This is in a bid to connect emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia; both the major cities and the rural areas close to the major cities.
The
atmospheric “base stations” will be able to transmit signals to an area of
hundreds of square of miles, which could in turn increase internet speeds in
cities of the targeted area. It is estimated that up to a billion or more
people could be connected to the internet if this venture is successful.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Umeox X5 set to be the world’s thinnest smartphone
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 5:30 PM
It is
expected to surpass Huawei’s Ascend P6 which is rumoured to be 6.2mm thick (not
yet in the market, expected to be launched by June) by 0.6mm at 5.6mm. This was
reported by GizChina in an exclusive post displaying images of the smartphone.
FG to begin construction of 700MW Hydro Plant in Zungeru today
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 4:40 PM
President
Goodluck Jonathan is expected to turn the sod today for work to start fully on
the construction of 700 megawatts (MW) Hydroelectric Power Plant in Zungeru,
Niger State.
The plant is
to be built by Chinese consortium, CNEEC-Sinohydro consortium and work on it is
expected to be completed by the year 2018. The project has been estimated to
will cost 163 billion naira ($1.04bn) at completion after review by French firm
Coyne et Bellier in 2008.
Posted in Machines
Monday, May 27, 2013
Internet messaging overtakes SMS for the first time; telcos to loose $30bn
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 7:25 PM
A new report from tech group Informa has confirmed that messages sent through mobile internet apps like Whatsapp, BBM, Apple iMessage,etc. outnumbered the traditional SMS for the first time last year.
Sky’s twitter account hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) but not Android apps
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 6:30 PM
The Syrian Electronic Army has moved to
another major media outlet as it infiltrated British Sky Broadcasting Group’s twitter
account.
The group had previously taken
responsibility for hacking social media accounts for CBS, NPR, the BBC, the
Financial Times, and several other major news and media outlets. They have been considered researchers at HP as
one of the most skilled hacking teams in the world.
Posted in internet
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Quotes for the week: Steve Jobs (1955-2011)
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 5:30 PM
In case you claim you don’t know Steve Jobs, I expect you to
have heard of Apple (not the fruit) before.
Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak co created Apple Inc in 1976
when Steve Jobs was only 21! Obviously, that’s asking us what we’re waiting
for.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Rocket-powered bike sets new bike land speed record
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 4:52 PM
French cyclist Francois Gissy has reached a speed of 163mph
(262km/h) on a mountain bike to set a new record of top speed on a mountain
bike.
The previous record of 150mph (251km/h) was broken on a
track near Munchhouse in Eastern France. The previous record was set in 2002.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Electric lighting and display from electronic devices prevents proper sleep
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 1:00 PM
It is an undisputable fact of nature that everybody needs a
good night sleep to recharge our body system for the next day. In fact, the
intensity of sleep you had will affect your body and mind’s performance the
next day.
It has been revealed that our body has two cycles; the wake
and the sleep cycle. The electric lightings disrupt the cycle by giving us a
second wind when our body clocks should be winding down according to
researchers.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Make a difference this Children’s Day with Jumia.com
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 11:00 PM
As the world gets ready to mark yet another Children’s Day, your number 1 online retailer, Jumia.com
has introduced a charity give-back initiative using its social media
platform. “In celebrating this year’s children’s day, we at Jumia in
addition to other onsite initiatives will be giving back to the less
privileged children in the society using our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Poll reveals teenagers are migrating from Facebook to Twitter
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 2:00 PM
It is estimated that one out of four online teenagers (25%)
uses Twitter compared to 16% of online teenagers in 2011. The percentage of
online adults that use twitter is 16%.
Posted in internet
Samsung Galaxy S4 sells about 250 units per minute according to Samsung
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 12:10 PM
The latest in the Samsung Galaxy S series, Samsung Galaxy S4
has sold over 10 million units globally in less than a month after its launch
claims Samsung.
The Samsung Galaxy S4 was launched April 27 and it has
reached a milestone that took the Samsung Galaxy SIII 50 days to achieve. In comparison
to other previous Galaxy S phones, the Galaxy SII took five month to reach the
10 million mark while the Samsung Galaxy S took seven month to achieve the
feat.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Microsoft unveils new generation ‘Xbox One’: more than gaming; movies, live TV, Internet Explorer …
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 6:00 PM
Microsoft has unveiled its new generation Xbox One at an
event yesterday at the company’s headquarter in Redmond, Washington. This is
the first release of Xbox game console in 8 years after the launch of Xbox 360
8 years ago.
It took four years to develop Xbox One and it will be sold
worldwide later this year according to games unit chief Don Mattrick when he
was addressing reporters at an event at the software company’s campus near
Seattle, although he didn’t give details about timing or pricing.
Man kills longest Burmese python in Florida
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 6:20 AM
Jason Leon is not a hunter nor an explorer, he is just a
gentle man who was driving late at night recently in Southeast Miami-Dade
County with his friend in his car.
He saw about three feet of a snake protruding from the bush.
He applied the brakes, got out of his car, grabbed the visible part of the
snake, and dragged it out onto the road.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Microsoft to release new generation Xbox on Tuesday
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 11:55 PM
It is believed that Microsoft is going to announce the
launch of next generation Xbox on Tuesday. There have been rumours flying
around about the name the new Xbox is going to take.
There have been speculations in some quarters that the new
Xbox will be called Durango; some believe it will be named Xbox Infinity while
others think it’ll be Xbox 720.
Posted in Gadgets
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Quotes for the Week: Henry Ford (1863-1947)
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 8:25 PM
Henry Ford was an American industrialist and the man behind
Ford Motors Company.
Although Henry Ford was not the man responsible for the
invention of the automobile, he developed the first set of affordable automobiles.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
See the first ever touchscreen phone
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 2:52 PM
The evolution of mobile phones right from its invention in
1973 has been nothing short of a miracle. We have moved a long way to get to
where we are in the technology of phone making.
In recent years, phones with keyboard input being speedily
replaced with phones that use touchscreen as input.
Posted in Specials
Friday, May 17, 2013
Google Glass modified to run on Linux Ubuntu instead of Android
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 10:35 PM
At Google’s I/O 2013 conference, Google Glass was modified by
Google’s software engineers to run the Linux distro Ubuntu.
Google through two of its engineers - Hyunyoung Song and P. Y. Laligand – showed
users at a session termed “Voiding Your Warranty: Hacking Glass”, how to root
Glass and install Ubuntu on the system.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Google gives Microsoft ultimatum over Youtube app
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 6:55 PM
The letter reads: “We recently became aware of a
Microsoft-authored Youtube application for Windows Phone 8 available at http://www.windowsphone.com/enus/store/app/youtube/dcbb1ac6a89adf11a49000237de2db9e.
It appears that the application: (1) allows users to download videos from
Youtube; (2) prevent the display of advertisements in video playbacks; and
PHCN Electricity meters to cost between N25,000 and N50,000 says NERC boss
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 6:45 PM
For some of you may like to acquire electricity meters for your houses and shops, it has been revealed that the single phase meters will cost about N25,000 while three phase meters will go for about N50,000.
The positive though, is that consumers who buy the meters
will get refunds in form of monthly reduction in charges to the tune of the
meter cost according to NERC chairman Dr. Sam Amadi.
At a stakeholders’ workshop on metering code 2 in Abuja
yesterday, Dr. Sam Amadi disclosed that the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP)
has given approval to NERC to engage the vendors after conduction of a
procurement exercise.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
ChatPerf creates ‘smelliphone’ add-on that allow you to send ‘scent’ messages (+ video)
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 1:00 PM
Japanese firm ChatPerf has shown off the first prototype of
what is being dubbed the “smelliphone”.
According to the company, smelliphone can be used to create
atmospheric scents while playing games or watching films for example.
The smelliphone is an add-on device which can be attached to
smartphones and used to send smells to friends. This was demonstrated by a
video on DigInfoTV.
Posted in Gadgets
MasterCard to award customers with trip to Wembley Stadium, London
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 12:40 PM
As part of its support for the Cashless Nigeria Initiative,
MasterCard, official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, is running a promo
that will increase the thrill of the UEFA Champions League in Nigeria.
The promo which started in Nigeria in 2011 provides
MasterCard cardholders an opportunity to win four tickets to watch the 2013
UEFA Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Borrusia Dortmund, live
at the Wembley Stadium.
Posted in technology
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Nokia to introduce very cheap phone; Nokia Asha 501 for $99 with 48 days standby battery life
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 11:35 AM
Nokia has announced the launch of a new phone in its Asha
series, the Asha 501. The phone is expected to go for $99 (15,600 naira) and
has a standby battery life of 48 days. The phone which is equipped with a
1200mAh battery enables it to have 17 hours of talk time and 56 hours of music
playback.
It is expected to come in red, blue, black, yellow, white
and green colours. It is equipped with a 3-inch multi-touch screen, Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth connectivity, and a 3.2 Mega Pixel camera.
It won’t support 3G or 4G data speeds, but it will come with
a Nokia Xpress Browser which is able to compress internet data by up to 90%.
Posted in Gadgets
Monday, May 13, 2013
Samsung to introduce 5G network by 2020, with download speeds in excess of 1Gbps
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 9:45 AM
Samsung Electronics Co. has said on Monday May 12 that it
had successfully tested super-fast fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology
that would eventually allow users to download an entire movie in one second.
The new technology will be available for commercial use by the year 2020 and would offer transmitting speeds “up to several hundred times faster” than existing 4G networks according to a statement.
Samsung claimed the test using the 28 Gigahertz (GHz)
waveband of more than one gigabyte per second over a distance of two
kilometres.
The new technology will be available for commercial use by the year 2020 and would offer transmitting speeds “up to several hundred times faster” than existing 4G networks according to a statement.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Quotes for the week: Bill Gates
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 10:00 AM
This week, we are giving you seven of Bill Gates’ quotes.
In case you don’t know Bill Gates, he was the world’s richest
man for 13 consecutive years from 1995 to the 2007 and is currently the second
richest man in the world.
Bill Gates is the owner of Microsoft Corporation – owner of
the widely popular Windows Operating System – with headquarters in the U. S.
Bill Gates was a dropout from Harvard University. Despite this,
he rose to build an empire which is benefiting many people today.
Here we go:
“I failed in some
subjects in exam, but my friend passed in all. Now
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Anyim Pius Anyim claims “Millennium City” Project will provide more than 50,000 jobs
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 2:40 PM
The secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim
Pius Anyim, on Friday at the 15th convocation lecture of Enugu State University
of Science and Technology (ESUT) said the Centenary City Project would provide
more than 50,000 construction jobs and 5,000 permanent jobs for Nigerians.
The former Senate President was represented at the occasion
by his Senior Special Assistant on Research and Documentation, Ferdinand Agwu.
In a lecture titled “Celebrating Nigeria at 100, Successes
and prospects of a United Country”, he said the city would host 100,000 people
at the end of its five-year development.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Dangote gets $4.25bn (670bn naira) loan to build the biggest refinery in Nigeria
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 11:30 AM
Nigerian billionaire Alhaji Aliko Dangote while speaking at
the ongoing World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa, revealed that
Dangote Group of Companies has secured loans of up to $4.25bn (670bn naira)
from a consortium of banks to build an oil refinery.
This is in a bid to help Nigeria reduce her overdependence on oil imports.
This is in a bid to help Nigeria reduce her overdependence on oil imports.
Refining “is an excellent business to get into”, he said on
Wednesday in an interview in Cape Town.
“We have already secured $4.25bn from
two offshore banks and the rest are
Posted in people, technology
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Discovery: your runny nose could be leaking brain fluid instead of mucus
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 11:00 AM
For anybody who has ever witnessed catarrh, the experience
to say the least was not a palatable one.
But what if your catarrh has been troubling you for too long
and what you thought was a serious catarrh is not even a catarrh but something
worse?
This rare condition occurred to Joe Nagy who had thought his
runny nose was caused by allergies, or hay fever. Only after 18 months did the
Arizona resident discover that it was a bigger problem.
“Broop! This clear liquid dribbled out of my nose like tears
out of your eyes,” he told My Fox Phoenix. “I go, ‘what is this?’”
Posted in science
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
No more internet access in Syria
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 1:50 PM
There has been a blackout of internet activities in Syria
since Tuesday evening (Syrian time) according to US tech firms monitoring Web
traffic and the State Department.
State Department tweeted “Syria is currently experiencing an
internet blackout as of this afternoon”.
A web monitoring firm Umbrella Security Labs also reported a
“significant drop in traffic from Syria” starting around 6:45pm GMT.
“OpenDNS resolvers saw a significant drop in traffic from
Syria.” Tuesday shutdown effectively “disconnects Syria from internet communication
with the rest of the world,” the company said.
“On closer inspection, it seems Syria has largely
disappeared from the internet,” said Umbrella’s Dan Hubbard.
Posted in Machines, politics, technology
Tecno to build phone factory in Nigeria and … erm, doesn’t want you to call it a ‘China phone’ again
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 11:55 AM
At the launch of its latest smartphone TECNO P3, the fast
growing mobile phone company has decried the ‘China phone’ (otherwise known as
chinko phone) tag which continues to haunt its products, despite its efforts to
meet the rising and varying needs of the nation’s phone users.
China phone (or chinko phone) is a tag used to describe
substandard mobile phone products which are sold at a lower price compared to
the established mobile phone brands.
The Vice President of Tecno group, Arif Chowdhury, said this
yesterday at the launch of the product in Lagos.
“We know the African market and what the people want. We produce
what is in demand and not just sell what we have. We will be launching
smartphones with high screen resolution while improving our after sales
service. With feedback that we have received from our various customers, you
will see a more improved Tecno in Nigeria soon.” He said, adding that very soon,
consumers would accept Tecno mobile as a unique mobile phone brand instead of
the ‘China phone’ perspective.
Posted in Gadgets, technology
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The insanely intelligent genius called Albert Einstein
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 12:10 PM
In case you have not heard of him before; a case I would
consider to be rare, there was a man who once lived between the late 19th
century and mid-20th century.
He developed the theory of special relativity, general relativity;
he discovered the law of photoelectric effect, and the mass-energy equivalence
formula E=mc2 which is dubbed “the world’s most famous equation”
He was so prominent that he is generally considered as the
most influential physicist of the 20th century.
This same man won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for
his explanation of the photoelectric effect.
Monday, May 6, 2013
FG to spend $3.7 billion (581 billion naira) on Power Improvement
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 11:00 AM
At a meeting with Nigerian Canadian association, Vice
President Namadi Sambo revealed that the Federal Government has approved the
sum of $3.7 billion (about 581 billion naira) to improve power transmission in a bid to
increase the total grid generation to 20,000MW.
A statement by the spokesman to the Vice President, Alhaji Umar Sani, noted that the President Jonathan administration was committed to the provision of the necessary infrastructure and that efforts are being exerted in the areas of power supply, transportation, aviation, ICT, agriculture, provision of affordable healthcare services, addressing the educational advancement issues and the provision of good governance.
A statement by the spokesman to the Vice President, Alhaji Umar Sani, noted that the President Jonathan administration was committed to the provision of the necessary infrastructure and that efforts are being exerted in the areas of power supply, transportation, aviation, ICT, agriculture, provision of affordable healthcare services, addressing the educational advancement issues and the provision of good governance.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Quotes for the week: Albert Einstein
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 4:00 PM
This week we are bringing you five of the genius’ array of quotes:
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Saturday, May 4, 2013
First ever solar airplane takes off in the U. S.
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 5:30 PM
Solar Impulse, the first ever solar-powered aircraft, took
off yesterday 3rd of May at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California.
The plane took off at 6am in the morning and is set to be on a tour across the U. S. till it gets to the New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport – its final destination – in July.
Some of the airports it is expected to visit include Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Lambert St. Louis International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport.
Each flight leg is expected to take about 19 to 25 hours, with 10-days stop in each city.
The plane took off at 6am in the morning and is set to be on a tour across the U. S. till it gets to the New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport – its final destination – in July.
Some of the airports it is expected to visit include Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Lambert St. Louis International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport.
Each flight leg is expected to take about 19 to 25 hours, with 10-days stop in each city.
Its first flight is to Phoenix, Arizona where it is
scheduled to land at around 1am today, May 4.
Posted in facts, Machines, technology
Friday, May 3, 2013
Watch video of the Boeing 747 that crashed in Afghanistan
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 4:41 PM
A cargo plane going from Afghanistan and bound for Dubai crashed few moments after take-off from the Bagram air base near Afghan capital, Kabul.
7 people were reportedly killed from the plane crash. 6 of them were from Michigan while the seventh was from Kentucky.
One of the pilots, Brad Hasler just married his long-term girlfriend two weeks ago. They already have a child and were expecting their second child.
7 people were reportedly killed from the plane crash. 6 of them were from Michigan while the seventh was from Kentucky.
One of the pilots, Brad Hasler just married his long-term girlfriend two weeks ago. They already have a child and were expecting their second child.
Posted in Machines, technology
The current most expensive car in the world
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 1:15 PM
In the history of car making, there have been many
categories of cars based on people’s chosen configurations.
It could be about size for some people while some go for
design. This post goes for cost.
We want to bring you the most expensive car in the world.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Mobile phone data could help to plan a bus route and reduce traffic
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 6:30 PM
In a competition titled Data for Development (D4D) run by
Orange cellphone network, IBM researchers have claimed they can use cellphone
records to plan better bus route.
IBM in about 500,000 of the records, the data includes the nearest tower (mast) to the person making a call, along with any changes of nearest tower during the call.
IBM used the data to figure out the routes took while making
calls in Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s largest city.
IBM then cross-referenced the journey data with the existing
bus network and traced the likely effects of making 65 changes to the network.
Posted in Gadgets, technology
The first website back online to commemorate 20th anniversary of World Wide Web
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 5:30 PM
A British physicist Tim Berners-Lee launched a
world-changing invention twenty years ago when the first ever website became
available on the internet on the 30th of April, 1993.
Tim Berners-Lee had invented the World Wide Web as an
employee of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (NERC) in 1989. However
the first website came on the internet in 1993.
NERC has resurrected the extinct first web page to the
internet on the 30th of April, 2013 to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of
the launch of the World Wide Web.
The first website was in text only HTML (HyperText Markup
Language) format and was about teaching people how to use the new invention.
The CERN Director-General Rolf Heuer in a statement on CERN’s
website said;
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The first ever built skyscraper in the world
Posted by Olumide Samuel on 5:50 PM
Today, it would be a massive waste of time to start counting the number of skyscrapers in the world. But no matter the amount of skyscrapers in the world, it all began somewhere.
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GT Bank wins 2013 African Bank of the year award