15 Jan 2013

Science & Technology

 



Welcome back

Well, Mangaung has come and gone - as has the end of the world, the festive season and New Year, and we've survived them all and now we're back on stream with our newsletters.

Taking centre stage has been the violent protests by farmworkers in the Western Cape. These protests need to be brought to an end; they're damaging Brand SA and have the potential to seriously curb exports (and hence foreign earnings) as customers overseas turn to more reliable suppliers.

On the education front, the Matric pass rate increased to 73.9% but critics are asking whether a requirement of 30% to pass is enough to equip school-leavers with an adequate standard of education. Many employers reckon not - they're prepared to train new staff in the roles the new recruits will have to take up in the company - but those recruits need to be literate and enumerate to a level that will enable them to acquire and apply their new knowledge properly.

If you're in business, you're in IT... perhaps not directly, but every time you use a computer, you're operating within the IT world. So what are the 23 business attitudes to IT security you should be looking at? Kaspersky Lab research has some answers for you.

Finally, for all you petrol heads out there, our scorchingly good-looking motoring editor Henrie Geyser takes you for a drive in the Mercedes SL 500 and shows off his tough, rugged side with the Land Cruiser 70 double cab.

Rod Baker: Content Director

Submit your company news to sciencetechnews@bizcommunity.com. Exclusive contributions may be sent to contributors-sciencetech@bizcommunity.com.

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Science & Technology

Top 10 New Year's resolutions for employers
[Johan Botes] Here are some resolutions for 2013 for you that you, as an employer, may well find useful. Get them right now - and avoid any unpleasant surprises during the year. Read more >>


Science

Motsoaledi sets up cancer advisory committee
[Zoë Mahopo] Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has established an advisory committee to back up the department's fight against cancer. Read more >>

Presidential award 'might be premature'
In some ways, Dr Patience Mthunzi, who last year was awarded the Presidential Order of Mapungubwe, wishes she had not received it. Read more >>

High cost of tertiary education in SA
Cash-strapped parents are turning to financial institutions to get study loans so that their children can go to university as the costs for tertiary education continue to rise sharply Read more >>

Saving the world a drop at a time
[Bhekumuzi Mdakane] Imagine taking a bath anywhere at any time without using the traditional method of water. A young South African entrepreneur has developed a product that will allow people who have limited access to water to maintain their standards of hygiene. Read more >>

Nzimande welcomes improved pass rate
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande on Thursday (3 January) welcomed the improved matric pass rate, saying he was particularly pleased with the maths result. Read more >>

Focus on maths, science, accounting urges principal
More attention needed to be given to maths, science and accounting, the principal of a school in Benoni, Ekurhuleni, said on Thursday (3 January) shortly after pupils received their matric results. Read more >>


Technology

Naspers 'head and shoulders above its rivals'
[Nick Hedley] JSE-listed Naspers is now less of a media company and more a diversified technology investor - becoming one of few global conglomerates to achieve this feat. Read more >>

sustainableIT takes Silver in international tech contest
sustainableIT has been named the runner-up in the International Tech Trailblazers awards (techtrailblazers.com), which were designed specifically for tech start-ups and not only recognize innovation but also proactively helps companies to grow their businesses with exclusive coaching, mentoring and development services worth several hundred thousand rands. Read more >>

Video games to get 'clouded' in 2013
LAS VEGAS, USA: Videogames are moving further into the Internet cloud with new devices and services unveiled at the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Read more >>

Mobile devices outpace older computers
LAS VEGAS, USA: The global technology industry has become a tale of two sectors, with mobile devices surging at the expense of older electronics that are struggling, a forecast shows. Read more >>

LG selling new generation TVs
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA: South Korea's LG Electronics started selling new generation television sets on Wednesday (2 January) that use organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) that the company hopes will give it an edge of its giant rival Samsung. Read more >>


International
Reddit's Aaron Swartz found dead
WASHINGTON, USA: Aaron Swartz, an Internet genius who helped deliver new Web content to users by co-developing Reddit and RSS before later becoming a digital activist, has committed suicide. He was 26. Read more >>

Kaspersky Lab outlines key security trends in 2012; predicts core threats for 2013
MOSCOW, RUSSIA: Kaspersky Lab's experts have outlined key security trends of 2012 and presented their views on the core threats of 2013. The most notable predictions for the next year include the continued rise of targeted attacks, cyber-espionage, and nation-state cyber-attacks, the evolving role of hacktivism, the development of controversial "legal" surveillance tools, and the increase in cybercriminal attacks targeting cloud-based services. Read more >>

More International...


Partners
Researchers identify water rich meteorite linked to Mars crust
NASA-funded researchers analysing a small meteorite that may be the first discovered from the Martian surface or crust have found it contains 10 times more water than other Martian meteorites from unknown origins. Read more >>


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