Tech Bite: A WEEK OF TECHNO MADNESS

A week ago major stars of the tech industry; Apple Inc and Microsoft announced products which are expected to show some shine this holiday shopping season.

Apple launched its iPad Mini which weighs half of the original big iPad, Steve Jobs introduced years ago. The thinner, shorter and narrower iPad Mini is so comfortable that one can hold it in one hand.  The Mini is available in white-and-silver and black-on-black, both with metal backs. The mastery of Apple proves with this baby as the screen shape and resolution are kept the same as big brother, iPad 2.

 The iPad Mini

The iPad Mini can operate all 275 000 existing iPad apps, and not forgetting 500 000 more iPhone apps. The Mini does not possess Apple’s fabulous Retina display. The device will cost a bit too much than consumers expected, but nonetheless it’s a pretty gadget to purchase. Depending on space storage it’s estimated that consumers will pay R3000 or more for the 16G model and R6000 for four times the storage.

With the device asking for much money to acquire, competitors with similar tabs such as Amazon are afforded an opportunity to also eat the fruits of this holiday season. 

One of Apple’s unloved competitors Microsoft launched the Windows 8 Operating System, an upgrade of the Windows 7. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer utter that Windows 8 was off to a “stunning” start with four million upgrades downloaded since its release last Friday.

 Microsoft Windows 8

With the release of Windows 8, Microsoft aims to topple big players Apple and Google Android operating mobile devices in the vastly competitive market. Talk of dreaming big.

For Microsoft, “the once leader of the tech landscape”, to overpower Apple and Android powered mobile devices hands need to change at the helm. One question to be asked to Microsoft though, is do they have enough house power to keep up with Apple and Android running devices?

Ashley Mokwena

The remake of once dominant social network

Myspace, the social network that looked to be Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook challenger is back with some fine style. After being purchased by News Corporation in 2005 for $580 million the social network site got lost in the jungle and lost its core value.

Now with new owners and a refreshed face the social network looks pretty gorgeous. Stylistically Myspace borrows a lot from Pinterest, and the new profile pages arrange posts and photos in a similar kind of Pinboard way.

The eye-catchy social media network has put emphasis on music, not only is there a player integrated into each page, but the sign-up page for those individuals wanting to join features a spinning vinyl.

Will having new owners, a new look and pop-star Justin Timberlake as creative director bring back the flair? Or will Myspace be fighting relegation in the lower leagues of the social media space. Added to its new look the site will now be able to add 10,000 new tracks each day.

Let’s hope with all these changes Myspace can attract and lure back users.

Ashley Mokwena     

Its the James Bond fever babe!!!

sip some cocktail in this...

clothe your body in this Armani 2 piece tuxedo

crack those tiles with the correct shoe...Crockett & Jones

get the hottest beach babe to wear a bikini like Halle

get her this necklace to look the part at a night function

make sure the babe accompanies you in a black lace dress...no different colour is accepted

sweep your boss off his feet by signing office papers with a Parker Pen

got it flaunt it like Bond in a Aston Martin Vanquish

Beat Box: SAVVY MAESTRO OF SOUTH AFRICAN DANCE SCENE

Vinny da Vinci if not the best dance music deejay, his one of the best you can find in South Africa. Every year the dance music maestro dishes out a definitive round-up of all that’s deep and soul. Vinny’s latest offering ‘Deep House Sounds 9’ is nothing short of class and quality, and after listening to a couple of songs, Vinny whose real name is Vincent Motshegoa deserves to be knighted as inkosi jo mculo.

If you wondering why Vinny should be addressed as a king of dance music in South Africa, you need to ask yourself has there ever been a prolific and consistent dance music deejay of such calibre. Not that I’m undermining or insulting other heavy weight deejays in the republic.

‘Deep House Sounds 9’ is put together from songs from some of the world’s coolest dance music deejays and composers such as Atjazz, Charles Webster, Spiritcaser, Alton Miller and Dj Spinna.

Together with Tim White, and Glenn Van Loggerenberg also known as Dj Strategy with whom Vinny co-owns House Afrika Records, a recording label that has seen acts such as Rhythmic Elements and Liquideep release albums which have caused a mess on dance floors. With a two decades old career, Vinny has over the years become an important figure in South Africa’s funk sphere.

Vinny da Vinci jointly co-hosts a house music show on Metro FM with his good friend and compatriot Dj Christo and Zeal, a show that gifts house music lovers with hotte local and as well as international dance music sounds.

With this year’s offering out, be sure to catch Vinny spin the vinyl at some of South Africa’s and the world’s coolest venues doing what he knows best...making us dance.

Ashley Mokwena 

   

Twitter handle: @VinnyDaVinci

Facebook: Vinny Da Vinci

Website: www.houseafrika.com

Samsonite Fires Up Travel

Inspired by extreme sports and the spirit of adventure, Samsonite’s eye-catching new Firelite range stands out from the crowd.

Tough and striking with fashionable moulded, shell like ridges in charcoal, deep blue, chilli red and off-white, Firelite can handle the action. Strong enough to survive airport transfers, it is also light enough to avoid extra luggage fees thanks to Samsonite’s revolutionary Curv material. The cabin-size spinner 55cm weighs less than a large bottle of water (1,9kg) and the spinner 76cm weighs just 2,9kg, helping you avoid excess baggage fees with room to pack that wetsuit!

 Firelite’s silent lightweight wheels roll smoothly and are activated by a retractable lightweight pull handle, whilst a combination lock accepted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) allows for additional security when travelling to the USA. Integrated top and side handles blend seamlessly into the lines of cases while water resistant PU coated zippers add a touch of spunky practicality.

The functional interior sports a fully lined zipped divider pad in the top compartment with cross ribbons and a pocket on the bottom- perfect for separating those dirty running shoes from your slinky evening wear.

The Samsonite Firelite range complements active lifestyles and is available in 55cm, 67cm and 75cm spinner suitcases from leading luggage stores nationwide. To locate a stockist near you, visit www.samsonite.com or call (031) 266 0620.

Retail Selling Price:

·         Samsonite Firelite Spinner 55cm – R4 495.00

·         Samsonite Firelite Spinner 69cm – R5 595.00

·         Samsonite Firelite Spinner 75cm – R5995.00

Top 5 games of the month

1.      Resident Evil 6: The game promises dramatic, frightening experience blending action and survival horror. The main characters Leon and Chris come together to face off stiff competitors. The creators of Resident Evil 6 have added new characters that have their own perspectives and involvement in this relentless outbreak attack on a global scale. 

Console available: PS3 and XBox 360

2.       Dishonored: This first person stealth action adventure game is set in fictional industrial city of Dunwall. Legendary bodyguard, Convo Attano, who is the Empress Chief Security man, is framed for the Empress’ murder. Convo is now forced to become an assassin to seek revenge on those who are conspiring against him.

Console available: Microsoft Windows, PS3, and XBox 360

3.       Doom 3 BFG Edition: The re-mastered Doom 3 BFG Edition will include the original game, the already released add-on “Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil”, the 2004-era “Doom 3” with  better enhanced graphics, a checkpoint save system and copies of “Doom” and “Doom 2: Hell on Earth” including “No Rest for the Living”. The game is delivered across all platforms with silky smooth frame rate and highly responsive controls.

Console available: PS3, Xbox 360 and PC

4.       Medal of Honor Warfighter: Medal of Honor Warfighter offers an aggressive, gritty and authentic experience that puts gamers in the boots of todays most precise and discipline warrior. This is an up close and personal look at modern day battlefields and the fight against the ongoing global terror threat. The lead character “Preacher” a US Tier 1 operator has returned home from overseas only to find his family torn apart. With the aim of patching things with his family, an extremely deadly explosive penetrates civilian borders and now he has to assist his team-mates solve the mess.

 Console available: PC, Xbox 360, PS3

5.       Assassin’s Creed 3: Assassin’s Creed 3 is set before, during and after the American Revolution from 1753 to 1783 featuring a new protagonist, the half-English and half-native American, Connor Kenway, while current protagonist Desmond Miles still part of the storyline has to stop the 2012 apocalypse.

Console available: PS3, XBox 360, Wii U and Microsoft Windows  

Tech Bite: GREEN ROBOT PULLS OUT ANOTHER COOL NAMED OPERATING SYSTEM

Android is kind of a big and fascinating product a mobile device can posses. It’s actually like a weapon of mass destruction, if you have a device that does not run on Android after reading this piece you will want to get your hands on an Android running Operating System device.

Some of the world’s recognisable mobile manufacturer’s products operate on Google Android operating systems. Only in its fourth year of existence Android has released another cool named Operating System, Jelly Bean.

Androids 4.1 Operating System is the fastest and smoothest version of Android to date. Jelly Bean improves on the simplicity and beauty of its predecessor Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Jelly bean introduces a new Google search experience on Android.

Everything on Jelly Bean feels fast, fluid and smooth. The Operating System has improved on performance and is more consistent on rendering across the system through Vsync and triple buffering. What also impresses it’s the ability to gift a device with the possibility to respond to the devices CPU instantly when touching the screen, and turns it down when you don’t need it to improve battery life.

The Fab factor of Jelly Bean:

• ·         Blind users can use ‘Gesture mode’ to navigate the UI using touch and swipe gestures in combination with speech output;

• ·         Users can also be able to move pages, paragraphs, lines, words or characters. Talkback, a screen reader for Android now supports gestures to trigger actions to navigate apps and traverse a text;

• ·         There is support for Braille accessibility services;

• ·         Share photos and videos using Android Beam;

• ·         Instantly pair your phone or table with Bluetooth devices such as headsets or speakers that support the simple secure pairing standard by just tapping them together;

• ·         Browser has improved performance, CPU and memory efficiency;

• ·         Now there is better HTML5 video support;

• ·         Browser now also supports the updated HTML5 media capture specification on input.

Google worked smartly to enforce other upgrades and changes to features such as Calendar, Camera and Gallery, Data usage and Face unlock to name a few. Jelly Bean is also user-friendly and downloading from a device that uses the Operating System is too also enjoyable.

If you’re still using a device that runs on Ice Cream Sandwich, you better make sure you upgrade to Jelly Bean before you get left out.

Ashley Mokwena

Couture Corner: A LITTLE PIECE OF TREASURE FROM GUGU

Gugu Mlambo Msomi one of South Africa’s classy fashion designers hails from a long line of creative people. Being inspired by her dress-making grandmother and interior designer mother it was quite certain that Gugu would not branch out of what her family thrived on.

After acquiring knowledge and skills in fields such as window dressing and styling on South Africa’s most loved soapie, Generations, she took an adventure of starting her own fashion house, Gugulam.

With a mad schedule that messes with a fashion designers mind, Gugu took some time out to interact with us:

Who is Gugu?

“I’m a friend, a sister, a daughter, a wife and an overall creative spirit.”

What inspired you to become a fashion designer?

“What inspired me to be a designer is my family, the surroundings I grew up around, my grandmother who was super glamourous, and my mother’s creative talent as an interior designer and my family’s love for fashion.”

What’s unique about your designs?

“The fact that they come from inside my head, my designs are a reflection of all my experiences and are honest and reflect on how I see a woman.”

How would you best describe your designs?

“My designs are simple, timeless, classical, fun and effortless.”

Why is fashion important?

“Fashion is important, because no matter how little you may perceive it, you play a part in It.” How you dress tells people of how you view the world.”

What are the most important aspects to have in mind when purchasing any of your designs?

“Whoever purchases my designs must know that every item made was made with love from the bottom of my heart.”  “Another thing is Gugulam designs are also made to uplift and boost an individual’s self-esteem.”

Who was influential in your career as a fashion designer?

“My mother is the one person I look to the most; she is a fighter, very meticulous about anything that goes along with her name.”

Of all your designs which one is special?

“Ask any of my bespoke clients, and they will tell you that parting with my clothes is like losing a baby.” “I fall in love with every item I put together.”

Where would you like to see Gugulam in the next decade?

“I would like to see all my supporters journey with me as I turn Gugulam into a preferred brand the world over.”

Ashley Mokwena

Beat Box: SHINING STAR OF GHANAIAN MUSIC

Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie Obidi known to Africans as Sarkodie is doing what many African artists are doing, representing the continent well. The rapper has the sheer ability to string words together at a pace which has placed him in his own league.

Hard work has seen this young muso’s career take a twist and making noise across African, and as well as internationally. The energetic, intelligent and talented Sarkodie realized the merits of music and created a challenge to spread information at an exhilarating speed.

The rapper has had opportunities to work with the likes of Hammer, Quick Action, Kewah and Nana fynn who have created beats which have seen him take the African music landscape by surprise. In 2009 Sarkodie signed to Akon’s music label, Konvict music in a move that saw his career take gigantic leaps.

At this past weekend’s annually held Headies Awards Sarkodie bagged an award for Best African Act at the well attended ceremony which took place at the expo hall of Eko Hotel and Suits in Lagos, Nigeria on Saturday. 

Along with winning an award at the Headies, the two times Ghana Artist of the year also jointly won Best International Act (Africa) award, an accolade which he shared with Nigerian artist Wizkid at this year’s Black Entertainment Television awards.

Sarkodie deserves all the shine he is receiving and he should be credited for flying the African flag high.

Ashley Mokwena

Twitter: @sarkodie

Facebook: Sarkodie

Link to music: www.youtube.com