How video games shot their way to the top
Gaming is the biggest entertainment industry in the world, bigger than even Hollywood. It’s the biggest in SA, too. It seems if you want to make money in entertainment, you’d be better off learning to code than trying your luck on Idols. Though sales of CDs, cinema tickets and DVDs have declined
How the (other) social network is faring
Google has been eager to succeed at social media, both because it appeals to its ethos and because it’s losing valuable consumer eyeballs to Facebook. Google+ is without doubt the search giant’s most successful social venture so far, but are people actually using it after they sign
Michael Jordaan and his First National Brand
Banks are all scoundrels, right? So, how is it that one SA bank has managed to reinvent itself as not just a cool bank, but as a cool brand? And why have the other big banks fallen so far behind, at least in terms of customer perception? Surely it can’t just
Can Nokia rise phoenix-like from the Asha?
Finland’s Nokia wants us to believe it’s set to stage an Apple-sized comeback with its newly announced range of Asha feature phones and Lumia smartphones. That won’t be easy. But what it has done is take the first vital step: it’s started executing on a plan to win back
BlackBerry down, but far from out
It’s all too easy to forget how dependent we have become on mobile communications technology. Until it fails. When it does, the knives come out and consumers threaten mass defection to alternative platforms. Canada’s Research in Motion, the maker
In defence of Apple and the iPhone 4S
One look at the wild speculation that preceded Apple’s announcement on Tuesday of the iPhone 4S and the latest incarnation of its mobile operating system, iOS 5, is enough to tell you that everyone was expecting more. And with Apple’s share
Amazon’s Fire tablet: making Cupertino sweat
On Wednesday, US online retail giant Amazon will launch its first tablet computer, the Google Android-powered device that technology site TechCrunch reckons will be called the Kindle Fire. With dozens of tablets in the market already, the obvious question is
Invest in desktops, not set-tops
The Universal Service and Access Fund was established to bankroll projects that ensure universal access to communications technology for all SA citizens. Instead, a large part of it — if not all of it — is being earmarked for keeping the public watching television
Android on your iPhone
There’s less and less separating mobile handsets from one another when it comes to the hardware that powers them. So, what happens when users can decide for themselves what operating system software they want to run on their phones? Just looking at the latest
Patently insane
In contemporary commercial warfare, there’s only one guaranteed winner: the lawyers. The patents system exists ostensibly to encourage newcomers, protect their intellectual property and encourage innovation. But the reality is the big players are buying up every