‘With technology, Nigeria can feed Africa’

Founder and Chairman of Econet Wireless, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa  has said that Nigeria can feed the rest of Africa if the country will muster the courage to replicate the uncommon revolution of  telecommunication in the agricultural sector.

Mr. Masiyiwa made the assertion Monday at the Centenary summit of the Rockefeller Foundation tagged ‘‘ Realizing the Potential of African Agriculture’’, held  in Abuja.

He said that Nigeria had experienced uncommon revolution in the telecom sector since 2001 and has become a reference point to the rest of the world.

He then canvassed for a repeat of that transformation in the nation’s agricultural sector, using technology’s enabling tools, which he said are capable of making Nigeria a major exporter of food to other countries of the world.

‘‘Since 2001, when Nigeria issued the first telecom license, there has been a revolution here in the telecom sector.  Why can’t Nigeria do the same in the agriculture sector to transform it? F or me, agriculture is now a business. So, Nigeria can do what it did to telecoms in the agric sector, to redirect the focus for economic growth.

‘‘Nigeria, big as it is, has to be the pilot of Africa and be the solution to Africa’s food needs. We believe that it is going to be done by the small scale farmers and youths with the enabling technology. It requires a paradigm shift from old people to young people, who will focus on agro business, processing and manufacturing,’’ he stated.

Earlier, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina said Nigeria was selected to host the celebration because of the long history she has with the foundation, since the 1960s.

With the introduction of Electronic Wallet  for fertilizer distribution in Nigeria, the minister said that the Federal Government had ended corruption in fertilizer distribution which lasted for over 40 years and reached over 1.5 million farmers in one year.

He said that plans were on to reach 10 million more farmers in 2013. The aim, according to him, is too make Nigeria self sufficient in food production by 2015.

‘’We shall use mobile phone to connect our centres of research and learning to farmers. We will acquire soil kits and distribute them to farmers. Under our strategy, we shall create a new career of extension system as a replacement to the old order.

Google Brings Voice Calling Back to Gmail, Now Under Hangouts

Gmail users who upgraded Google Talk to Hangouts back in May were up in arms after discovering that doing so removed the ability to make voice calls. Google addressed this issue on Tuesday after it finally introduced voice calls to Hangouts.

"For those of you who have taken the plunge and are using desktop Hangouts in Gmail, Google+ and the Chrome extension, we've heard loud and clear that you miss the ability to make calls from Gmail, so today, we're happy to announce it's back," Alex Wiesen, a senior software engineer, wrote in a blog post.

Citing new features such as adding multiple phone numbers and video participants to the same call, as well as playing sound effects with the Google Effect app, Wiesen said the newly dubbed "Hangouts calling" is "better than before." He added that calls to the U.S. and Canada are free from countries where Hangouts calling is available, while international rates are reasonably priced.

To make a call, users must click the phone icon in Gmail, and the "Call a phone" menu item in Google+ and the Chrome extension. Those who don't yet have Hangouts in Gmail — but want to try it — must click on their profile photo in the chat list, and select "Try the new Hangouts."

Making calls from Hangouts will roll out over the next few days.
Are you excited that voice calling is back in Gmail?

Google Glass Add its First Website Browser

Google finally added a website browser to Google Glass. The company announced a few new updates to its high-tech specs on Monday, making it easier to find new content and communicate hands-free.

"We've been exploring ways to let you quickly dive deeper and get exactly the information you need, right when you need it," the company wrote in a Google+ post "To test it out, search for something and then tap on the 'View website' screen to bring up the web page."

When a user is on a webpage, different commands on Google Glass' touchpad will mimic a mouse's movements on a laptop or a finger's movements on a touchscreen. For example, to scroll down a webpage, a user must slide his finger forward on the touchpad.

To zoom, slide two fingers forward or backward. Hold two fingers down on the touchpad and move your head around to pan; as you look around, tap to select the center of the screen.

The company wrote that it is also ramping up efforts to help users better communicate hands-free with others. Now, you can ask Glass to read text messages aloud or use voice commands to write and send responses.

Google added that the updates will automatically be pushed to Glass in the upcoming days.

Google updated Map for Android

Google has updated Maps for Android, adding several new features, including a new design for the app.

The new version — for both smartphones and tablets — got a cleaner interface that's similar to that of the app's iPhone version, which launched last December.

Other features include enhanced navigation with live traffic updates, incident reports and traffic rerouting. Finally, Explore offers a new way to browse and discover popular local points of interests.

The app is expected to roll out to Android 4.0.3+ devices over the next few weeks

Cable operators accuse NCC of rip-off!

LOCAL investors have accused the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, of colluding with foreign broadcast outfits to rip-off the Nigerian economy by not providing a level playing ground between local and foreign competitors.

The local investors under the Association of Cable Operators of Nigeria, ACON, accused  NCC of  selective enforcement of its regulations in a manner favouring dominance of foreign programmes, encouraging loss of national income and eroding local culture and values.

ACON during a public outcry anchored by Kunle Osisanya-Afolabi and hosted by Chief Joe Unuame, Chairman of Warri based Worldlink Communications Limited, said  “It’s a surprise that the Nigerian airwaves has progressively surrendered to foreign control for commercial reasons without provision for sustainable growth of the local industry especially at the level of Terrestrial Pay TV.

“In the envisaged merger of Nigerian Broadcasting  Corporation, NBC and NCC, we urge the authorities to value broadcasting as a veritable tool for championing the sovereignty of our country and platform for promoting our cultures. Therefore,  be mindful of its sensitivities in considering its conditions of acquisition and operation.

“Cable operators are taken aback by DSTV/Multichoice’s roll out of cable service in their GOTV platform despite being licenced for mobile TV service. We wonder if separate laws or operating policies are made for certain operators while the local industry is stifled. We detest this unfair treatment and call on the authorities to immediately stop the GOTV service as it is being presently deployed and commissioned in Nigeria.”

ACON senses that foreign operators are being sponsored by their various home governments in post-colonial move to take over the economy with the regulators turning blind eye to these remote moves and is therefore, demanding a level playing ground from the regulators as a way of curbing the foreign dominance and loss of national income in order to encourage the growth of local industry.

IT departments wont exist in five years.Generation gap between new technologists and old is widening and will lead to a restructuring of the today's IT shop, say experts at CITE conference

Consumerization of IT and self-service trends will lead to a restructuring of the today's IT shop, leaving behind a hybrid model consisting of tech consultants and integrators. "The business itself will be the IT department. [Technologists] will simply be the enabler," said Brandon Porco, chief technologist & solutions architect at Northrop Grumman"Porco was part of a four-person panel of technologists who answered audience questions during a town hall-style meeting at the CITE Conference and Expo this week.  Among concerns raised is whether IT is losing control as consumer technology becomes part and parcel of everyone's work in the enterprise, and the data center is left behind.Others said they are not sure how to address a growing generation gap between young and veteran workers, each of whom are comfortable with different technologies. "Interns coming in for the summer are asked if they're familiar with Google Apps. They say, 'Of course we are,'" said Nathan McBride, vice president of IT & chief cloud architect at AMAG Pharmaceuticals. "Then we have other employees coming in who worked for other companies who say, 'I need Outlook.' We have to say we don't use that anymore."  McBride said 75 Fortune 100 companies now use Google Apps along with most Ivy League schools, meaning that the next generation of workers won't be users of Microsoft Exchange or Office.In five years, McBride said, companies will have to ensure they're matching their enabling technology to the demographic of that time. Kathleen Schaub, vice president of research firm IDC's CMO Advisory Practice, said many corporate IT organizations now report to the head of the business unit it's assigned to.  "The premise is that wherever IT sits in an organization will dictate what they care about," she said. "If they're in finance, they'll care about cost cutting. If they're in operations, they'll care about process management. If [the company] decides it wants to focus on the customer, they'll put it in marketing." While the CIO position will likely remain in an enterprise, his or her role will morph into a technology forecaster and strategist, rather than a technology implementer, according to Porco.

John Mancini, CEO of the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), agreed with Porco, saying that in the consumer technology era, it's the business side that has all the tools, so it will be able to trump IT's desire to control who uses what and how.  While the business can dictate the service or technology it wants, McBride said IT can still decide the flavor of technology.

For example, when AMAG business users asked for Microsoft's Visio tool set for diagraming and creating flow charts, McBride's team found a less expensive, Web-based tool, LucidChart. "That was only $15 a seat," he said, adding that users were just as happy. "We're not trying to be ahead of the technology curve and we don't' want to be behind, but we're trying to maintain pace in order to know what they're going to ask for next before they ask for it," McBride said.Porco said he takes advantage of university partnerships and take cues from entrepreneurial centers throughout the U.S. such as Seattle and Denver to keep his finger on the pulse of tech innovation.

How wearable tech will fuel the Internet of things Google Glasses, other wearable tech will yield wealth of valuable real-time data, but companies must protect users' privacy

Wearable technologies like Google Glasses, the Nike+ FuelBand, and Autographer are still in their infancy, but they've managed to pique the interest of organizations and users alike. A new study from Rackspace titled "The Human Cloud: Wearable Technology from Novelty to Productivity" reports that 18 percent of the population in the United States and United Kingdom are using wearable technology, and the majority of those users (82 percent of Americans and 71 percent of Brits) say these devices are making their lives better.  Beyond providing users with real-time data about their health or an augmented view of the world, wearable technologies will form an integral part of the "Internet of things," the logical evolution of the cloud and big data.  The idea is to enable sensor-equipped "things" to communicate with one another in meaningful, actionable ways.  For that to happen, though, companies need to take care not to scare off would-be users by failing to address their privacy concerns. "The rich data created by wearable tech will drive the rise of the 'human cloud' of personal data," said Chris Brauer, co‐director of CAST at Goldsmiths, University of London.  "With this comes countless opportunities to tap into this data; whether it's connecting with third parties to provide more tailored and personalized services or working closer with health care institutions to get a better understanding of their patients."Brauer predicted that the public sector will also embrace wearable technology to manage and oversee public health and smart city programs. Companies and government agencies are certainly interested in the potential of wearable technology and its impact on the Internet of things -- but users also realize those benefits, according to the report. The study found that 47 percent of wearable technology users felt more intelligent; 61 percent felt more informed; 37 percent said wearables helped their career advancement; and 61 percent claimed that their personal efficiency improved. One of the most significant barriers to broad adoption of wearable technology is privacy concerns.  According to Rackspace's report, 51 percent of Americans and Brits have those concerns. Almost two-thirds said that Google Glass and other wearable devices should be regulated in some form, and another 20 percent opined that such devices should be outright banned. "Wearable technologies face the same challenges as any other new product that represents a change in consumer activities, albeit that in the digital age the challenges can seem more daunting, said Jack Higgins, a digital media lawyer at Sheridans in London.  "On the one hand, some wearable technologies do not represent any privacy or any other rights issues as they interact solely with the user.  On the other hand, when wearable technologies interact with other people and the environment around the user, then potential privacy or copyright issues can arise, although it's important to remember that these issues already exist, but the new technology typically makes it easier to happen." What remains to be seen is, will how much responsibility will manufacturers take in educating users about the privacy risks associated with wearables, and how much the government will have to step in with regulations to curb the misuse of the technology. Interestingly, 19 percent of Brits and 22 percent of Americans surveyed said that they would be willing to use a wearable devices that monitors location for central government activity, and one in three respondents said they would be willing to use a wearable health and fitness monitor that shares personal data with the NHS or health care provider.