It's going to be a good festive season for Jelly Beanz after they were handed a cheque for R500,000 by Bernhard Maier, a member of Porsche's executive board. It's the
second sizeable donation by Porsche in as many years.
On the agriculture front,
farmers and unions have been urged to negotiate in good faith. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has urged representatives of Agri-SA and unions to negotiate in good faith for the minimum wage demand for farmworkers. That's all very well, but in the meantime perhaps she can also urge farmworkers to remain peaceful and also not damage crops and equipment.
Come fly with me... if you can afford it!
IATA says airlines will carry 3,6bn passengers by 2016 - a rise of at least 28% in the coming years to hit 3.6 billion in 2016, with China accounting for nearly one-in-four new travellers. Keeping ticket prices reasonable would go some way towards ensuring that that prediction comes true.
Don't come fly with me...
Budgets and mechanical setbacks are hurting SANDF, which is buckling under the strain of crippling budget and mechanical setbacks. We have submarines up on blocks and Gripen fighters flying only a tiny portion of the time they should be flying. So we have all these shiny new weapons platforms... but we can't afford to run them. Brilliant!
Equally brilliant, but in a good way, is our tame motoring editor, Henrie Geyser, who waxes lyrical on the new Honda CR-V, which he reckons has
added market traction. And a lot of attractions... in action, and even when not in action.
Rod Baker: Content Director
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Although there has been a dramatic surge in the amount of international bandwidth that is available in South Africa these days - courtesy of the SAT-2, SAT-3/SAFE, SEACOM and EASSy submarine fibre optic cables - backhaul and last-mile connectivity is still a scarce commodity. 
South Africa's Aspire Solutions, which specialises in spatial business applications, has successfully completed a major project for ANWB, the Dutch affiliate of the global Automobile Association. 
Cellphone use on the Gautrain will be available to passengers by the middle of 2014 after an agreement was signed with all cellphone service providers to allow cellphone services at stations and on trains Beeld reported on Tuesday (4 December). 
Apple opened its online iTunes store in South Africa on Tuesday (4 December), giving local music fans access to a library of local and international songs and albums. 
While each of their companies had varying degrees of success, the chief executives of three of the major casino groups in southern Africa - Tsogo Sun, Sun International and Peermont - agree that the future looks promising for the sectpr although there are still hurdles some to overcome. 
On the back of the recently signed distributorship agreement with CommProve, Jasco has partnered with mobile network operator Cell C to deliver real-time network monitoring, diagnostics and optimisation. This will enable Cell C to become more proactive in response to network issues and deliver improved service to its customers. 
Local company Future Mobile Technology (FMT) has developed an Android application, Netsurfer Scholar that will give users online access to material they need for school. 
SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Google said Thursday (5 December) its online social network had grown to 135m active users. It has added a free photo-sharing app for its members to compete against Facebook's Instagram. 
FRANKFURT, GERMANY: Nokia Siemens Networks, a joint venture between Finnish and German engineering giants Nokia and Siemens, said on Wednesday (5 December) it is shutting down one of its German units with the potential loss of 1,000 jobs. 
LONDON, UK: December 5, 2012 - More than 90% of the world's 40 largest telecom network operator groups are active in the enterprise healthcare market, according to research from Informa Telecoms & Media. And a ranking of all operators - based on their commitment to the healthcare market worldwide - puts BT in top spot, closely followed by Verizon and France Telecom. 
WASHINGTON, US: Google's Android operating system will power more than two-thirds of smartphones sold worldwide in 2012, and will remain the dominant platform for at least the next four years, a survey showed on Tuesday (4 December). 
LONDON, UK: Informa Telecoms & Media has issued its latest quarterly small-cell market status report, which includes the results of a survey showing that 98% of mobile operator respondents believe small cells are essential for the future of their networks. Interest continues to grow in public-access small-cell deployments as well as integrated Wi-Fi and LTE. 
HELSINKI, FINLAND: Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia, which faces cash-flow problems, said on Tuesday (4 December) it had agreed to sell and lease back its head office building outside Helsinki for US$222m 
