With all the hype surrounding the recent announcement of the much anticipated Apple iPad, there have been ample discussions as to the significance of this new device. With statements such as “it’s just a big iPod Touch” and “it will fail because it lacks [a camera, multitasking, support for Flash, a standard USB port],” it is evident that there are mixed emotions amongst industry experts regarding the anticipated arrival of this new product.

Andy Hunt, co-founder of The Pragmatic Programmers, holds the opinion that ultimately the iPad will redefine how we interact with computing devices. In an interview with Michael Swaine for PragPub, Hunt is quoted saying: “Over the course of time, this style of tablet device may well become the primary computing interface for most people.” Read the rest of this entry »

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To summarize – GeekRetreat Stanford completely exceeded my expectations and the organizers ( Heather Ford, Justin Spratt and Eve Dmochowska) deserve special recognition for their vision and approach which achieved such a superb result from such a motley crew of delegates. To expand, read the the rest of this post… Read the rest of this entry »

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The number of Web users in South Africa is growing at a steady pace and, quite significantly, the number of users who have been online for five years or longer is growing too, making a solid case for businesses in this country to begin seriously considering an eCommerce strategy to remain current in a changing market.

So says Pete Flynn, MD of White Wall Web, who says that the growth in the number of users who understand and trust the Internet equates to a target market that is happy to transact online. Read the rest of this entry »

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A week has passed since the South African Google Maps launch, time enough to settle the thoughts and put some fingers to keys. I’d have to admit that the launch was less than stellar, but perhaps I’m getting used to high-flying events like NetProphet, Silicon Cape and Internetix – and quite probably this wasn’t trying to be one of those. Maybe deliberately, the venue almost required one to have used mapping to find it, and many of those I spoke to had already sampled the new engine just to be told how to have used it. Finally, as a long-time user of GPS, and a veteran of Google’s mapping engine many years back in Europe, the directions being produced on this new co.za domain and displayed with fanfare, didn’t really rock my paradigm of what mapping should be. The Engineer-Heart in me finds this tragic given the amount of effort I know would have gone into bringing a new country online. Sign of the times…

That said, the underlying technology is doing an excellent job. Nay. A Very Excellent Job. Read the rest of this entry »

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We have really been looking forward to announcing the launch of our new online résumé/CV product called Twitsumé and it has been tough to not say too much. But at last the launch date has arrived and we can tell you all about it. First things first – it’s found at twitsume.com

In a nutshell, Twitsumé.com allows anyone with a Twitter account to connect and create an online résumé/CV (or “Twitsumé”) for all registered Twitsumé.com users to see. They can also see who of their friends and followers have Twitsumés and invite those who do not. Their are public/private settings enabling users to decide which aspects of their Twitsumé can be seen by all registered users and which are hidden. Read the rest of this entry »

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