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Showing posts from August, 2017

The spirit of Festivity

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Today, i was surfing the internet and i discovered this picture which was fascinating sent to me by a friend. So i decided to share it here.

Apple and Google show off rival AR tech

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Photo credits: NEXT GAMES Photo credits: GOOGLE   Google has switched in its effort to popularize augmented reality (AR) on Android by moving away from a requirement for devices to be fitted with special depth sensors. Instead, it is building software for developers to help them mix graphics with real-world views using common camera and motion-tracking hardware. The rethink brings it in line with rival Apple's mixed-reality strategy. By coincidence, Apple has just unveiled several in-development AR apps for iOS. They include:     > The Walking Dead: Our World - a zombie-themed video game in which players battle with the undead in real-world locations.    >  Ikea Place - an app that allows the furniture store's products to be seen over views of rooms in the owner's home.     > Giphy World Babysitter - software that superimposes a thumbs-up or "not OK" sign over food it is shown in order to let carers know if it is suitable for infants.     >

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Scenic view of a town Photo by Jérémie Crémer on Unsplash

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MTNF re-opens digital library at UniLag

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An MTN Foundation delegation led by the Chairman, Board of Directors, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, commissioned and presented the facility to the school’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Rahman Bello, at an event witnessed by members of the University Senate, and the MTN Nigeria management team. Built in 2005, the fully furnished and air-conditioned digital library is equipped with 128 networked computers, running on Microsoft 365, which was donated by Microsoft Philanthropies. The library is equipped with an alternative source of electricity for a seamless digital library experiences. It also has three laser jet printers, a server, and VSAT-based Internet connectivity. Other universities that have benefited for the UniversitiesConnect initiative include Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State; University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, and University of Benin, Edo State. Speaking at the event, Adelusi-Adeluyi, expressed delight on the fact that the project has been re-commissioned, an

Houston floods: Night curfew bid to stop robbery and looting

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  The US city of Houston is under a night-time curfew as it battles the impact of Hurricane Harvey. The storm has dumped record rainfall, leaving large parts of the Texas city underwater, homes destroyed and over 20 people reported dead. Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said the curfew was needed to head off looting in America's fourth most populous city. President Donald Trump visited Texas on Tuesday to survey the damage brought by Harvey, calling the storm "epic". Meanwhile, Harvey - now downgraded to a tropical storm - has made landfall again in the south-west of the state of Louisiana after hovering offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Low-lying New Orleans, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, is readying to receive up to 10in (25cm) of rain in 36 hours, with flash flooding a major risk. Looting and robberies The curfew in Houston will run from 00:00-05:00 local time (05:00-10:00 GMT) for an indefinite period. Relief volunteers, first responders, and those

Nintendo to shut down Miiverse social network

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  Nintendo has announced that its Miiverse social network will be closed down on 8 November. The platform lets players post messages and drawings on game-related message boards, and share tips and hints. Miiverse posts also appear within some popular Wii U and 3DS games, but the posts will disappear in November. Miiverse was launched in 2012 alongside the Wii U games console and could be accessed on the 3DS, but did not appear on the new Nintendo Switch. The social network was notable for the detailed hand-drawn images that were shared by artistic gamers, which would appear within popular titles. It also gained a reputation for irreverent and often inappropriate message board posts. "It was a chaotic but moderately successful experiment in creating a social network," said Tom Phillips from games site Eurogamer. "The highlight was some of the incredible art - it was certainly the best of what Miiverse had to offer - but it was always a headache for Nintendo to police.

Digital piggy bank helps swiss kids save

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AFP PHOTO / CREDIT SUISSE   Switzerland, one of the world’s wealthiest countries, financial planning starts young. The country’s number two bank Credit Suisse on Tuesday unveiled a piggy bank with built-in apps allowing children under 12 to set savings goals, check their balance and make payments. “The financial education of children is a concern to people in Switzerland,” Credit Suisse said in a statement, citing a recent study showing that 90 percent of parents in the wealthy Alpine nation want their children to learn how to handle money. The study, conducted by the amPuls market research firm on behalf of Credit Suisse, also found that most children in Switzerland not only receive pocket money but “are frugal with it”. According to the research, Swiss parents have asked questions about how to teach children about money when it increasingly exists in digital form instead of coins and notes that can be stored in an old-fashioned piggy bank. Named Viva Kids, the piggy bank “provid

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Monkey Meditation Photo by Matthew Kane on Unsplash

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Rugged phones gets higher demand due to rising repair cost

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    The increasing cost of repairing a damaged smart phone may trigger demand for durable phones across the globe because the market for resilient smart phones, which can take rough handling and sturdy screens, is bucking the stagnant trend in the wider market. Indeed, new data from CCS Insight, a research company, predicted the market for tough handsets will boom 25 per cent this year to 22.2 million units, as more people opt for durable phones that can withstand a harsh environment. CCS expects the niche to continue to expand rapidly, with volumes of 54.5 million by 2021. This is in contrast to a growth of less than four per cent for the global smartphone market, which has slowed as more consumers opted to hold on to their phones for longer. In Nigeria, though, smartphone penetration as at 2016 was put at 30 per cent. The Guardian gathered that the cost of repairing damaged phones, especially those with screen problems, costs as much as between N80, 000 and N150, 000, especially

Digital gender gap persists as youths go online

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  The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) claimed that the proportion of men using the Internet is higher than the proportion of women using the Internet in two-thirds of countries worldwide. ITU posited that there is a strong link between gender parity in the enrolment ratio in tertiary education and gender parity in Internet use. It revealed that the only region where a higher percentage of women than men are using the Internet is the Americas, where countries also score highly on gender parity in tertiary education.   According to the United Nations body, the proportion of women using the Internet increased by 12 per cent to usage by men globally. While the gender gap has narrowed in most regions since 2013, it has widened in Africa. In Africa, ITU claimed that the proportion of women using the Internet is 25 per cent lower than the men’s. To bridge the online gender gap, ITU has appealed to countries and organisations to encourage more girls and young women to conside

Starcom Media rebrands for sustainability

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    Starcom , a media-buying agency, has rebranded to Media Seal. This was announced last week as part of efforts for larger strategic goals aimed at repositioning the business for sustainable market leadership. Pioneer staff of the agency, Mr. Dan Oshodin, described the early years of the 17 year-old agency, as ‘very rough,’ adding that the will to succeed on the part of the staff saw the agency through. While congratulating the agency for its repositioning efforts, marketing communications expert and Chief Executive Officer of Entad Marketing, Mrs. Iquo Ukoh, noted that the agency had, since opening in 2000, established itself as a strong brand due to its professionalism and readiness to go the extra mile with clients. “It is an agency you can give a brief to and go to sleep. The staff, highly professional and can put themselves in the shoes of their clients,” she stated. Group Managing Director, Rosabel, Mr. Ayo Oluwatosin stated, “Over the past 17 years, Starcom Media has

Storm Harvey: Coast Guard urges people not to tweet for help

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Photo credits: US Coast Guard / Twitter  The US Coast Guard is asking people not to seek help via social media if they need assistance during Storm Harvey. It is urging them to "keep trying" the emergency phone numbers instead, although some have pointed out that mobile phone batteries are running low. One expert said it could be because social media posts can be hard to verify. Many people are tweeting their addresses and asking to be rescued. However it is possible that not all the requests will be spotted - and they may not all be genuine. "The web is messy and unpredictable," said Euan Semple, who advises on the impact of social media on businesses and society. "You have to be able to judge signal from noise." Mr Semple added that persuading people to follow the Coast Guard's advice would be challenging. "If you're in an extreme situation, and you can't get access through formal channels, and there is the pr

Nigerian Oshi Agabi unveils the computer that can smell

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TEDGLOBAL Photo credits: GETTY IMAGES  Nigerian Oshi Agabi has unveiled a computer based not on silicon but on mice neurons at the TEDGlobal conference in Tanzania. The system has been trained to recognize the smell of explosives and could be used to replace traditional airport security, he said. Eventually the modem-sized device - dubbed Koniku Kore - could provide the brain for future robots. Experts said that making such systems mass-market was challenging. All of the big tech firms, from Google to Microsoft, are rushing to create artificial intelligence modelled on the human brain. While computers are better than humans at complex mathematical equations, there are many cognitive functions where the brain is much better: training a computer to recognise smells would require colossal amounts of computational power and energy, for example. Mr Agabi is attempting to reverse-engineer biology, which already accomplishes this function with a fraction of the power it would take a

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Golden forest pathway Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

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Google's oversight disrupts corporate Japan's web traffic

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      Google has admitted that wide-spread connectivity issues in Japan were the result of a mistake by the tech giant. Web traffic intended for Japanese internet service providers was being sent to Google instead. Online banking, railway payment systems as well as gaming sites were among those affected. A spokesman said a "network configuration error" only lasted for eight minutes on Friday but it took hours for some services to resume. Nintendo was among the companies who reported poor connectivity, according to the Japan Times, as well as the East Japan Railway Company. The country's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has launched an investigation into the error which resulted in Google temporarily hijacking traffic to a major telecoms provider, NTT Communications Corp, which claims to have over 50 million customers in Japan. Because Google cannot provide transit to third party networks, explains industry expert BGPMon, the traffic was lost.

In Pictures: Heavy down pour in Houston causes havoc

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The fourth largest city in the US struggles with chest-deep flood. Heavy rain in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey has caused chest-high flooding in some parts of the city of Houston. Some roads have turned to rivers along which the only way to rescue evacuees was by boat. Photo credits: EPA Photo credits: GETTY IMAGES Photo credits: REUTERS Photo credits: REUTERS Photo credits: REUTERS Photo credits: REUTERS Photo credits: GETTY IMAGES Photo credits: REUTERS Photo credits: GETTY IMAGES Photo credits: GETTY IMAGES Photo credits: GETTY IMAGES      

Storm Harvey: Houston battles biggest storm in history

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Photo credits: AFP Photo credits: REUTERS Photo credits: REUTERS   Main roads in Houston have been turned into rivers   The US city of Houston is in the grip of the biggest storm in the history of the state of Texas, officials say. More than 30in of rain (75cm) has fallen on parts of the city this weekend, turning main roads into rivers and making it impossible to move around other than by boat. The city is expected to be deluged by a year's rainfall within this week. With rescue services overstretched as the rain continues, many people are having to fend for themselves. Hundreds of roads have been closed across the city, hospitals have been evacuated and thousands of people are without electricity. Many schools are closed - as are the city's two main airports, with runways completely flooded. Up to 2,000 people have been rescued in and around Houston, as Tropical Storm Harvey continues to batter Texas with heavy rains. Helicopters are being used to pluck people

Chinese man arrested over US cyber attacks

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  Photo credits: REUTERS  A Chinese man has been arrested in the US for allegedly selling malware used to hack into American companies. US authorities claim in court papers that Yu Pingan bought and sold malicious software including the rarely used Sakula program. That malware has been implicated in the 2014 hack attack on the US federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Information on a huge number of US workers employed in sensitive or secret work was stolen in that data breach. Software bugs Mr Yu was arrested earlier this week soon after he disembarked from a flight that landed at Los Angeles international airport. He has been charged with breaching computer networks owned by several US firms. Legal papers filed to support the arrest do not explicitly mention the OPM as one of the targets of the suspected attacks. Instead, they claim Mr Yu was a key member of a gang that carried out hack attacks on US firms between 2011 and 2014. The hackers are alleged to h

‘Arik regains customers’ confidence with 4,000 passenger traffic

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Capt. Roy Ilegbodu  Chief Executive Officer of Air Air, Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, speaks on revival operations and survival prospects of the airline six months after its takeover by Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). WOLE OYEBADE was there. How has operations been for you since you took over the management of Arik Air and what have you been able to achieve? We are barely six months old here and I think what we have done have been quite obvious. Original mandate was to stabilise the operations of Arik Air and today, we are proud to say that we have achieved that mandate of keeping operations stable. Airline business is complex worldwide and that complexity means that it requires a lot of attention to keep it efficient and safe. We faced all the challenges that any other airline will face in the world but we have been able to surmount all these challenges. Today, we boast of on-time performance, which I think is a great feat. I believe that locally, we are number one in te

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Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

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Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash         Yosemite valley, United States

Hurricane Harvey: 'catastrophic' flooding hits Texas

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A Texas Army National Guard helicopter stands by in a parking lot in Rockport, Tex., ready to evacuate residents injured by the storm on Saturday. Credit Tamir Kalifa for The New York Time Rockport was in the hurricane’s direct path when it came ashore and many building suffered extensive damage. Credit Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times Tony Buchanan and Myava Buchanan watching heavy rain and winds from Hurricane Harvey on Friday night from a hotel in Corpus Christi, Tex. They had been evacuated from Aransas Pass, Tex. Credit Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times   Hurricane Harvey, powered by the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters, made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane at about 9:45 p.m. Friday, earlier than expected. It came ashore just northeast of Corpus Christi, Tex., packing 130 m.p.h. winds. • A single storm-relat

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Wallpaper, Summer wallpaper Photo by Chris Brignola on Unsplash

Ministry to deploy relevant technologies in the fight against financial crimes

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  Photo by Javier Quesada on Unsplash  The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology will fabricate and deploy relevant technologies to assist in the fight against financial crime in the country. Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of Science and Technology, disclosed this when the Association of Forensic and Investigative Auditors in Nigeria paid him a working visit in his office. Dr. Onu said the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) an agency under the supervision of the ministry had the capacity to provide the necessary forensic sciences and technologies to assist the association in its war against financial crimes and crime investigations. He stated that the area of interest of the association was in tandem with the mandate of the ministry, adding that the ministry will be more than willing to fabricate the right tools to ease their tasks. According to Dr. Onu, the fight against fraud and financial graft had become imperative if Nigeria was to utilize its resource

Amazon Primes whole foods for more visitors

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     Jeff Bezos is about to one-up your grocery store loyalty program.Today, millions of consumers get lower prices and other perks in exchange for favoring one store chain over another. Starting Monday, Amazon.com Inc. will lavish its most loyal customers with similar benefits and more when they shop at Whole Foods Market Inc., the high-end grocery chain it’s buying for $13.7 billion. People who already pay $99 for Amazon Prime’s free shipping, streaming music and video will have another reason to renew each year: cheaper organic avocados, eggs and chicken. Tying Prime membership to grocery buying habits plays squarely into Amazon’s strategy of selling all things to all people. While likely boosting Prime’s membership rolls, it could also induce a broader range of customers to stop more often at Whole Foods — a company that has a reputation for being too pricey for many shoppers. “Part of what Amazon is trying to do is translate that higher frequency traffic to Whole Foods,” said

Globacom stations shut down by guards in Ondo state

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   Thirty-three stations of Globalcom telecommunications in Ondo State have been shut down by their staff, causing untold hardship on thousand of subscribers who use the service. This has been going on for the past two weeks in four local government areas of the North Senatorial District, as a protest over unpaid salaries by the security guards employed to secure the stations remains unresolved. The affected areas include, Akoko North-East, Akoko North-West, Akoko South-East and Akoko South-West Local Government areas. The Guardian learnt that the telecommunication company owes the 66 guards, who were contracted under the employ of Concorde Security Limited, a total of 11 months salary arrears. A number of the guards, who spoke with our correspondent yesterday in Akure, decried the actions of their employers, describing it as the highest level of exploitation. They protested that the company was making huge profit but refused to pay them the meager amount they are entitled to as sa