Mega Route

In a bid to make the DStv installation process seamless for customers, MultiChoice Nigeria, pay TV provider, has launched an app installers. The DStv Installer App is a management tool for assigning, monitoring, reviewing, troubleshooting, and managing customer installations to ensure quality installation and better accountability. The benefits of the DStv installer app also include an improved business process which reduces the manual operation of assigning an installer, tracking the installation and managing the installer. This in turn ensures reduced operational costs for the dealer, whilst also giving them the power to review and ensure all installations are done properly, and simultaneously guaranteeing a better customer experience. The installer app joins other innovative means and platforms through which customers are aided with the DStv installation process. These include the DStv website www.dstv.com, and the DStv easy self-service platformwww.eazy.dstv.com which gives you

 Travelers find exploring new regions fun filled but most are unaware of magnificent destinations to explore and probably reside there-in. While making travel plans for the new year, you could as well add the following to your list. Marrakesh, Morocco. The Moroccan city has attracted an artistic crowd since the 1960s, when everyone from Yves Saint Laurent to Mick Jagger fell for its vibrant sensory landscape. Now the city’s cultural scene is being reinvigorated, thanks to two landmark happenings in the world of art and design. Photo credits: iStockphoto/Getty Images Uzbekistan. Although the former Soviet republic might seem remote, Uzbekistan once sat at the very center of the world. In the first millennium, no traveler could pass from Asia to Europe without stopping in the Silk Road strongholds of Bukhara and Samarkand, and as a result these cities evolved into rich cultural centers. For intrepid travelers, today’s Uzbekistan is a promised land: a Muslim-majority nation

Photo credits: KAREN BLEIER Police forces filed 21% more requests for data from Facebook in the first half of 2017 than they did in the last six months of 2016. The figure was revealed in Facebook's annual transparency report, which logs requests for data and content removal. In the US, 57% of the requests were restricted, meaning people could not be told that police were curious about their social-media habits. Privacy campaigners said they wanted more detail on the data handed over. The transparency report reveals the times law enforcement, governments and regulators asked the site for data on account holders or to restrict access to images and video. It also logs the times when access to Facebook is restricted and, for the first time, reports requests from rights holders over pirated, trademarked or counterfeit content. In a blog, Chris Sonderby , Facebook's deputy general counsel, said it had handled 78,890 requests for information on account holders in the opening si

Photo credits: PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has begun investigations into the case of a burgled taxing aircraft in Lagos. A gang of thieves allegedly burgled an aircraft on the runway of Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos on Tuesday, carting away belongings of its crew. The private jet with registration number 9H-VFA, owned by Vista jet and operated by EAN Aviation was taxing at about 9:30pm on Tuesday, December 12, 2017, when the incident happened. While FAAN yesterday said investigation had begun, aviation security experts are worried about the implication for industry safety, saying it further exposes “the poor security architecture” at the airports. Sources at the airport confirmed to reporters that the plane, on arriving from Istanbul, Turkey, was burgled on motion. They ripped open the plane from the rear and made away with valuables. Another source said the pilot of the aircraft, Emma Heering, discover

Photo credits: Getty Images The Federal Communications Commission voted three to two to change the way "net neutrality" is governed. Internet service providers (ISPs) will now be allowed to speed up or slow down different companies' data, and charge consumers according to the services they access. But they must disclose such practices. Ahead of the vote, protesters rallied outside the FCC's building to oppose the change. Many argue the reversal of rules introduced under President Barack Obama will make the internet less open and accessible. The decision is already facing legal challenges, with New York's attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, announcing he will lead a lawsuit challenging the FCC's decision. Mr Schneiderman accused the watchdog of failing to investigate possible abuse of the public commenting process. He said as many as two million identities, some of dead New Yorkers, were used to post comments to the FCC website. During the hearing, FCC c

Photo credits: Cloud Imperium The makers of the crowdfunded space game Star Citizen are being sued for copyright infringement and breach of contract by development studio Crytek. Crytek claims Roberts Space Industries (RSI) and Cloud Imperium Games "have caused substantial harm" to them. Crytek said it would seek damages and an injunction that stopped further use of its CryEngine game engine software. Star Citizen's creators said the suit was "meritless" and added that it would defend itself "vigorously". Development of Star Citizen began in 2012 and since then it has raised more than $170m (£126m) in crowdsourced funds from fans keen to play the ambitious space trading and combat game. Star Citizen is the creation of gaming veteran Chris Roberts, who was behind the development of the iconic Wing Commander series of space games.

Photo credits: Getty Images Starbucks has acknowledged  that visitors to one of its branches were unwittingly recruited into a crypto-currency mining operation. The wi-fi service provided by one of the coffee chain's Buenos Aires outlets surreptitiously hijacked connected computers to use their processing power to create digital cash. Starbucks said that it had taken "swift action" to address the problem. But one expert said it highlighted the risks of using public wi-fi. It is not clear how long the malware involved was active or how many customers were affected. Hi @Starbucks @StarbucksAr did you know that your in-store wifi provider in Buenos Aires forces a 10 second delay when you first connect to the wifi so it can mine bitcoin using a customer's laptop? Feels a little off-brand.. cc @GMFlickinger pic.twitter.com/VkVVdSfUtT — Noah Dinkin (@imnoah) December 2, 2017 The issue was identified only when the chief executive of a New York-base

Photo credits: Instagram Hashtag Update Instagram Unveiled a new update to the app that allows you to follow hashtags.  This means that effective yesterday, any image with a hashtag that you follow will reflect on your Instagram feed. Also if you engage posts with the same hashtag by liking or commenting on them Instagram will suggest similar content to you in the future. Hashtags have always been a major player in the social media game and with this update, it's easier to track content with similar topics and trends.

Bharti Airtel is currently battling Globacom, Dangote (Alheri Engineering) and seven others for 9mobile – formerly the local unit of Etisalat – as bankers push to complete a sale by December 31. According to Guardian , Abraaj Capital, Africa Capital Alliance, Carlyle Group, Centricus Capital and Africell,Helios Towers, Smile Telecoms Holdings and Teleology Holdings are the companies seriously bidding to takeover 9Mobile by year-end. The bidding process is being handled by Barclays Africa. 9mobile is being sold after regulators saved the company from collapse when both an investment fund and Etisalat exited the country in June following the default of a $1.2 billion loan. Market Analysts believed that the battle for the soul of 9Mobile rest strictly between Globacom and Airtel because of their financial war chest and experiences in the Nigerian market. Should either be successful in the bid, the additional connections may see them overtake MTN as market leader. Airtel is currently t

Photo credits: USA Today Apple announced yesterday that they have acquired Shazam. Shazam is a software that allows its users to identify music, movies and TV shows by playing audio clips. According to Apple “We are thrilled that Shazam and its talented team will be joining Apple. Since the launch of the App Store, Shazam has consistently ranked as one of the most popular apps for iOS. Today, it’s used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, across multiple platforms. Apple Music and Shazam are a natural fit, sharing a passion for music discovery and delivering great music experiences to our users. We have exciting plans in store, and we look forward to combining with Shazam upon approval of today’s agreement.” Although Apple did not disclose the cost, sources say it was within the range of $400 million. Source: The Guardian

Zoto, a mobile payment app used by over 1 million Nigerians, has unveiled a new app design, with introductory sale of N1 lasting a limited period. According to Co-founder, Oshone Ikazoboh, speaking at a press conference in Lagos, said the newly redesigned app would improve payment experience. “Users can make payments within five seconds without going through the tedious process of bank OTP, and each payment is secure and complies with CBN policies,” Ikazoboh said, adding that Zoto’s machine learning process also predicts user’s favourite recharge and the most frequent payment they are likely to make. Ikazoboh explained that close to 80 per cent of web traffic in the country came from mobile, and that Zoto’s mobile-focused approach would help to provide payment services to the masses. Source: The Guardian

World leader in payments Visa, today has announced a range of advanced sensory elements, to support the Visa brand when customers make transactions through connected, payment-enabled devices. These new sound, animations and mobile vibrations, will accompany real-time notifications when customers complete a transaction whether online or at a merchant location. Through the sensory branding, Visa is bringing movement and energy to the payment industry in Nigeria with a mix of sound, animation and vibrations, which will ensure customers experience a feeling of speed, trust, security and convenience when a transaction is completed. This innovative new technology will be officially launched at Visa’s global campaign ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics Games in PyeongChang South Korea. Merchants, POS hardware vendors, technology companies and issuers in Nigeria will be able to incorporate these branding elements to their digitally connected devices and payment platforms. The sensory brandin

Phot credits: AFP Nokia  has confirmed it will integrate its Customer Experience Management (CEM) software at MTN Nigeria. Naveed Kashif, Nokia’s Account Leader for MTN Group, said, “MTN recognises the growing importance of customer experience management as it seeks to differentiate itself and provide the best possible services to subscribers.” In its quarterly update for the period ended 30 September 2017, MTN recorded a drop in the number of subscribers in markets including South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and Cameroon, as well as an overall decrease of 0.7%. The telco also announced organic revenue increases in key markets in Africa. MTN Nigeria reported an 11,2% increase in total revenue supported by data revenue growth of 72,1%, but conceded that digital revenue growth has been negatively impacted by the ongoing optimisation of VAS services. According to Nokia’s statement, MTN Nigeria is the first service provider in the region to deploy Nokia Cognitive Analytics for Customer I

Google said it would block its video streaming application YouTube from two Amazon.com Inc devices. Google also criticized the online retailer for not selling Google hardware, Media reports on Wednesday. Amazon and Google, which is owned by Alphabet Inc, square off in many areas, from cloud computing and online search, to selling voice-controlled gadgets like the Google Home and Amazon Echo Show. The stakes are high: many in the technology industry expect that interacting with computers by voice will become widespread, and it is unclear if Amazon, Google or another company will dominate the space. According to a study by research firm eMarketer from earlier this year, Amazon’s suite of voice-controlled devices has outsold Google’s so far. In a statement, Google said, ”Amazon doesn’t carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home. Amazon had explained the move by saying it wanted to avoid confusing customers who might expect its Prime Video service to be available on devices

Inlaks, an information technology and infrastructure solutions provider, has offered automatic employment to 13 persons that graduated from its IT academy in Lagos. The beneficiaries were trained in the management of automated teller machines. The company, which provides IT solutions to financial institutions, telecom, oil and gas companies, among others, said the beneficiaries, who were drawn from different parts of the country. According to the Director, Infrastructure Business Unit, Inlaks, Tope Dare, said the company decided to train people who were unemployed to fill the vacancy it needed instead of going through the usual recruitment process of employment. According to him, the company received about 220 applications when it made its plans public. He added that after an online test was conducted for them, 15 of them emerged successful. He stated that the 15 persons were invited to Inlaks Academy in Lagos for the training, which lasted six months. At the end of the exercise, D

Airlines for America reported Wednesday,this holiday season, 51 million passengers will make their way to the airport to fly to their hopefully festive destinations on U.S. airlines. Travelers should expect busier airports and longer waits. From December 15 to January 4, U.S. airlines have added an average of 91,000 more seats for about 80,000 more passengers expected each day compared to last year (when 49.3 million passengers took to the sky). Airlines for America credits the increase to “an improving economy and sub-inflation airfares.” That competition is uneven across the U.S. (and across the world): Airfare to Europe and Hawaii can be found for super cheap. Traveling to and from smaller airports with limited carriers can be more expensive. Some tips  for the holiday * Download your airline's app or flight-tracking app for swift updates. * Remember it's holiday don't get/share frustration with your fellow traveller. * Get extra battery pack and prepare to wait.

According to Britain’s Daily Telegraph Tuesday,Youtube's chief executive said Google is to deploy a staff of 10,000 to hunt down extremist content on its YouTube platform following recent criticism, the video-sharing site’s. Susan Wojcicki admitted in the broadsheet that “bad actors” had used the website to “mislead, manipulate, harass or even harm.” British Prime Minister Theresa May has put pressure on internet giants to root out online radical material following a spate of terror attacks, while YouTube last week pulled 150,000 videos of children after lewd comments about them were posted by viewers. Last week’s move to take down suspect content came after a British newspaper reported that ads for big-name brands were displayed alongside videos of children or teens which, while innocent on their own, drew viewer comments that seemed paedophilic in nature.

KPMG, leading advisory services provider has offered internship to the top ten participants of the recently concluded Data Science Nigeria (DSN) Bootcamp hackathon. Some of the qualified participants will also be provided full employment opportunities, subject to other recruitment considerations. The top 10 participants include Blessing Oladeji, Abidoye Victor Temitope, Adebayo Aderibigbe, Azeez Olamide Busari, Farouk Oluwatosin, Zainab Ishaq Musa, Adetutu Samson, Emmanuel Ojuba, Yomi Adelowotan and Oguejiofor Chibueze. The beneficiaries are the participants adjudged to be the top 10 performers in the “Data Science Nigeria Customer Segmentation Hackathon” which was supported and graded by KPMG Nigeria. The bootcamp hosted about 150 participants, who qualified for the bootcamp following pre-qualification exams on Microsoft/Edx Data Science MOOC series and DataCamp followed by a public Kaggle competition. Source: The Guardian

Technology is fast becoming a major influencer of the already thriving used-car market in Nigeria, hence disrupting the entire value chain of auto business in the country. Nigeria spends an estimated N1.2 trillion on importation of vehicles as recent statistics has shown. PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC), Nigeria’s professional service firm in a recent report release mentioned that more than 70 per cent of these imported vehicles are used ones, also known as Tokunbo. This trend has created a thriving used-car market, spurred more by Nigeria’s new automotive policy – a development that saw car import tariff hiked by 35 per cent. Over the past five years, technology has proven handy in playing a vital role in the success of the used-car market. Specifically, technology has reared its head in creating online marketplaces, curating inventories of used-cars and connecting buyers with sellers. According to Lukmon Oloidi, who is a used-car dealer in Lagos., technology has made it easy for deal

A picture of Santa goes viral as Christmas comes early. On Dec. 9, the big man will head to Hawaii for a visit to the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort . He won’t be arriving by sleigh, but rather in a much more Hawaii-friendly fashion in his own personal canoe. Guests are invited to cheer Santa on as he makes his way to shore at the resort. According to Outrigger , Santa and his helpers will ride the waves right onto Waikiki Beach where they will be warmly greeted by a keiki hula group.

Photo credits: Christmas in the Park This year, San Jose, California’s Christmas in the Park festivities in Plaza de César Chávez , located in downtown, includes a very special attempt at breaking a Guiness World Record for most Christmas trees assembled in one place. The city has lit up the park with 600 trees in their attempt. At the moment, the record is held by the Hallmark Channel, who illuminated 559 trees in New York City in 2015. San Jose is yet to be given the new title by Guinness, so they can only call their Christmas in the Park trees an “attempt.” According to Curbed , this year marks the the 38th Christmas in the Park celebration. This article originally appeared on  Travelandleisure by Andrea Romano

Med-View Airline has rolled out low fares on the Lagos-London route as part of the Yuletide offer to passengers.The promo, which takes immediate effect and ends December 31, 2017 for out bound and January 15, 2018 in-bound passengers, goes as low as N249,000 round trip for economy ticket. According to the airline Executive Director, Business Development and Commercial, Isiaq Na-Allah, said the promo is designed to appreciate customers’ robust patronage throughout the year.   Source :The Guardian

As part of efforts to gear up customers for a fun filled holiday season celebration, Smile, the leading 4GLTE telecommunications service provider has announced a mouth watering offer of 10GB plus SMiFi with 1GB FREE data and 100% bonus on recharge for 3 months. This offer is available to new and existing customers across all segments. It promises to give everyone the opportunity to enjoy SuperFast reliable mobile broadband and SuperClear voice calls. The bundle offer appeals to all range of customers and social economic class. At N12, 900 price point, customers get 10GB plus SMiFi with 1GB free data and 100% bonus on recharge for 3 months. Customers are required to recharge with a minimum 1GB to enjoy the bonuses. According to the Chief Marketing Officer of Smile Nigeria, Mr. Abdul Hafeez. “Our mission is to provide our customers greater value in line with the company’s drive to empower our customers to gain that competitive advantage in their business and also for leisure.” Sour

Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) , the country’s financial sector insurance regulator, has again warned Nigerians against the risk of trading with digital currencies not issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The CBN, also said that it has not endorsed the trading in virtual currencies, including bitcoin, ripples, litecoin, adding that “any bank or institution that transacts in such businesses does so at its own risk.” All these are coming as Bitcoin hit a fresh all-time high last week above the $10,000 mark after a wild week for the cryptocurrency. NDIC mandates that the corporation does not include providing insurance cover to risks associated with trading with digital currencies not issued by the CBN. Mohammed Umar, director Research, Policy and International Relations, NDIC, “The financial regulatory authorities are not playing catch up on the digital currency race in Nigeria. There is no country in the world that allows its citizens to use digital currencies

Minister of Science and Technology, says his ministry will step up efforts to ensure that Nigeria takes advantage of emerging technology to strengthen its economy. According to Mr AbdulGaniyu Aminu, Deputy Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST), quoted Onu as saying this in his office during the recent visit of members of the African Information and Communication Technology Alliance. He said the ministry would achieve the objective by effectively deploying Information Communication Technology (ICT) to create a business environment that would enable enterprises to thrive. Nigeria would domesticate forensic auditing, artificial intelligence, robotics and data protection to help create the needed environment for businesses to grow. He charged the alliance to take advantage of the abundant resources available in the country to create billionaires and to make the nation proud. According to him, no country in the world has ever attained greatness by dependin