Hacker posts on Mark Zuckerberg’s timeline a bug report!

-

Aug 15, 2013

1

A few years ago, Multiplex the company in charge of running Uganda’s street parking management and collections of street parking dues, launched an innovation where its customers would be able to pay for their street parking tickets by use of a machine, instead of the parking attendants in a faster and more convenient way. Later on the machines were installed in mostly upscale Kampala with the most in Nakasero, Dewinton road areas.

However, a few years later, all these machines do is get solar energy from their solar panels, get by passed, and very few people use them. In fact it seems so bad, that parking attendants are actually seated right besides them with some streets having about 2 street parking ticket vendors on the same street that has two machines. I took Dewinton road, as an example with more 2 machines in less than 100metres.

In some areas the machines appeared to be off, well before we start blaming, if people actually used them a lot Multiplex would realize the fault, however most of them work and I tried using them and was successful.

Why do few people don’t use them?

Some might have preferred old fashion and traditional ways of paying for tickets where they wait for the parking ticket attendant to place a ticket on the windscreen and they pay or drive off. In the same spirit, airtime vending machines have also had this same problem however they seem to be much more than parking machines. Another category is the worried kind who claims that confirmation of payments cannot be guaranteed since it’s a machine. However it 2013, soon everything is going electronic, and these might adapt by force.

Some people actually don’t want to pay their street parking tickets, and definitely don’t use the machines.

Some of the machines use a card system and quite a few people have Street parking cards, another culture Ugandans haven’t embraced so much but the few elite have realized the benefits of such cards such as saving and good financial management.

The parking machines are still few in number and are the not the commonest sights and sees of the streets of Kampala, hopefully when they increase in number people might actually use them, however I believe we need to show a great need to use them first.

What needs to be done?

Awareness campaigns should be done to make more people aware of how to use these machines!

To sum this up, these are wonderful pieces of technology we should embrace to make our lives simple. . We also have to actually use them because there are no queues, you don’t have to search for the ticket vendor on the next block, you can use them to pay for all your parking bills and for the tech lovers you get to do things the modern way.

+

Matatu-thon: Taking mobile gaming in Uganda to a whole new level

By

-

Aug 14, 2013

Well, the first thing one might ask is, what the hell is “Matatu-thon”? Okay, before you Google out the meaning and all of its ancestors, let me have the pleasure of telling you, this is a true story. Once upon a time, in a small landlocked country called Uganda, there was this famous card game locally called “Matatu” which was so addictive it became a business to some people, like gambling. Years passed by and there came some university lads headed by a rather ambitious and forward looking, focused lady by the name Terry Karungi, who decided to teach the whole world the famous Matatu game, so they came up with a digital version with the same name, Matatu, and the company behind it was called Kola Studios, Kola, locally meaning to work.

kola studios' Matatu app

Fast forward, the company is recognised as an outstanding one at the prestigious Pivot East and Kola Studios has become a household name in East Africa. So, for the first time in the history of mobile startups of East Africa (I think!), these clever chaps have bundled up themselves and come up with an exlcusive gaming event, like, a “Micro-conference” (if that word exists anyway) dubbed Matatu-thon. It shall be going down at one of the most respected technology innovation hubs in East Africa, the OutBox Hub. Time: 6pm (East African Standard Time) or +3HrsGMT

Well, enough said, let us meet there and be sure we shall keep you posted via Twitter and our very own live blog right here!! See you there!!

Airtel-Warid Merger: Making sense or not?

By

-

Aug 13, 2013

Imagine the day you wake up only to hear that Apple and Microsoft merged to form AppleSoft! Well, I can only imagine the look on the faces of some people, but, the news of the Airtel-Warid merger came in shocking phases, first, the public was told that Airtel had bought Warid, thus only meaning there would be no more Pakalast and Megabonus! After sometime, the news that finally came out was that it was a merger, phew! Thank Goodness, so the famous Pakalast is still available and also Kika still exists, okay, does this merger make sense, well, lets see.

For starters, you can now call more people ( the number is approximately 7.2 million) using either the famous Pakalast or Kika but this is somehow questionable in terms of efficiency since the merger is still technically being put into place. One may need to redial in some cases for the merger to make sense.

Airtel Money and Warid Pesa are now functioning like a real family, sending and receiving money across these two is just smooth and efficient. With the introduction of the lower sending rates, the merger becomes a beneficial factor to consider especially to the business community in Uganda.

Messaging is almost becoming free! The new SMS rates for Airtel are UGX1 for every SMS, but, it is for those who join the SMS frenzy by dialing *180#, then following instructions (Airtel subscribers). For those who can’t get enough of texting, this package suites.

If there is any telecommunication company in the world today that does not offer internet services, then, that is not a telecommunications company. When it comes to internet, the Airtel Warid merger provides hands down the cheapest and most affordable internet in Uganda today. At only UGX500, one gets 50MB of data and for Warid subscribers, for UGX1000, one gets 100MB of data. This is a real game changer and most people have adopted this move.

No one should ever lie to you, everything in this world has a rather not fancy side. The merger has also led to some people naturally hating both companies due to the simple fact it has made their lives harder, for example, the girlfriends who constantly ask for airtime from their various boyfriends. Well, catching up time, your boyfriends have just found the perfect solution. It is now easier to send airtime and also easier to call across the two networks.

To get to the depth of this we have to start with one spouse then go to the other,

Now lets start with airtel, some of us who used to enjoy the enormous size of data bundles at a low rate hated the merger because the size of data bundles greatly reduced starting from the 60mb at 500/- bundle reduced to 50mb then 900mb at 5000/- reduced to 600mb which was later reduced to 500mb at 4000/-, I must say I realised after paying for the bundle and my day wasn’t the best when I got a message confirming i got 300mb less. The 300mb bundle was cut to 250mb at 2000/-. Then the whole internet system got issues in terms of speed, Airtel used to be fast but now, its worse but it had gone to its worst during the initial merging process.

When we cross over to the other side of the marriage, Warid had lots of price increments on its free calls, and the value of SMS bundles reduced as customers now get fewer messages than they used to. Plus the number of minutes given on free call packages reduced. This sparked off social media criticism and some went ahead to create Facebook pages de-campaigning the merger.

To sum up the ugly side of the merger, Internet services got poor on airtel and free calls on sms got more expensive literally. However since they call their merger a marriage, every marriage has its ups and downs.

Well, whether this merger makes sense or not, it is now a known fact that Airtel and Warid have merged in an attempt to provide better services and also outcompete other telecommunication companies in the country.

[poll id=”2″]

iPhone 5S launch date could be 10th September!

By

-

Aug 11, 2013

According to ‘All things D’ an apple launch date is set for 10th of September. So all the rumours of the iPhone 5s will go to the grave as Apple unveil their next device. We just have to wait for september 10th to see whether the iPhone 5S will have the rumoured features like a dual LED flash, maybe a bigger screen, or maybe a bigger screen and for some a cheaper plastic model are things we cant guarantee.

However sources at ATD say that the launch of OS Mavericks wont be on 10th September, and their is no confirmation on the production or launch or an Apple Tv or iWatch as some fans had anticipated.

So lets keep our fingers crossed and wait for the unveiling of the iPhone 5S. Otherwise rumours on Apple products have always been numerous,

Is Windows 8.1 worth it?

By

-

Aug 10, 2013

Microsoft released Windows 8.1 as an update-turned-free Operating System that made sense. Atleast for the Marketing department at Microsoft, because, it meant less work for them to try convincing those stuck in the past to upgrade easily because it is a free download from the Microsoft Website. Microsoft is reportedly still working on it by releasing regular updates but there is a catch to it, a product key shall be needed at the very end of installing all the updates, that is when it becomes a stable version on Windows, so upgrading should come with caution as one needs to be having the product key for the current version of Windows being upgraded. Is is worth it? Well, let us see.

The Start button is back!

Windows 8 came out without the start button and many users were not happy because the start button was what made Windows windows,so, with 8.1 already out, the start button is back and that has made everything come back to normal, that is for Windows users. This makes everything great!

A more organised Metro style menu

Forget the messed up clutter on Windows 8, 8.1 settles the dust as it allows customisation of the tiles, that is the user can change the size,and also group applications according to one’s desire. The best part is accessing the rarely used apps, an arrow was introduced at the bottom and that means they are just a click away.

No Messenger application

Well, after all the hype and advertising on social media, Microsoft forgot, well, I do not even know if it is the right word to use, but, Microsoft failed to put the messenger application in Windows 8.1 and trust me this is a real turn off. Windows 8 users get their messages from social networks like Facebook instantly but if you are a social media junky, then the lack of Messenger in Windows 8.1 might make you stay with the Windows version you have, for now.

More is yet to come

Windows 8.1 is still in beta so for those of you who do not want to risk your precious PCs, just wait for the final release so that you have a new Windows experience with things like Food, Health,Reading list and more that is still being worked on.

Jobs The Movie: Honouring the man behind Apple’s success

By

-

Aug 10, 2013

1

Steve Paul Jobs, born in 1955, was the charismatic co-founder of Apple Computers, the company behind innovative products like the iPod, iPhone,iMac and iPad and services like iTunes. The story of Apple began in a garage at Steve’s foster parents home (Steve never got the chance to see his real parents because he was adopted) when Steve and his friend Steven Wozniak (famously referred to as Woz) made a computer aimed at hobbyists and called it Apple 1. They sold a few of these and decided to make Apple 2 and then the story began.

The movie is intended to honour Steve Jobs and also put the records straight about his life and adventures. From the time he was young and rebellious through his hard times at Apple especially when he was fired from his own company to the time he unveiled the iPod that forever changed the music industry. It also takes the audience deeper into Jobs’s pesonal life especially being adopted and never having the chance to see his real parents. Produced and directed by Joshua Michael Stern, Ashton Kutcher plays the role of Steve Jobs, it took him 3 months to learn how to walk like Steve Jobs! Josh Gads takes on the role of Steven Wozniak, Apple’s co-founder. The movie is brought to us by Open Road Films LLC

Everybody knows the iPod but it is unfortunate that few people know the man behind this innovation and fewer even know about his personal life, this movie is for you and everyone should get a copy come August 16^th, 2013 which is set as the release date for this movie.

Orange uganda Launches 4G LTE!

By

-

Aug 1, 2013

Orange is yet another telecom to announce a fourth generation internet commonly known as 4G LTE, This makes Orange the 3rd telecom to announce LTE internet speeds in Uganda after Smile and MTN. During the launch at the Orange headquarters on Clement hill, Orange’s CFO Godfrey Kisekka said the 4G, LTE-enabled devices will have access to the service.

This definately means faster internet for its subscribers. 4G LTE is faster than 3G, so any subscriber with an LTE enabled device will be able to access 4G speeds within 4G coverage areas. And users dont have to worry about backward compatibility because Orange LTE transitions from 4G to 3G to 2G as one changes from one coverage area to another, which other providers don’t have.

4G is initially in Kampala but is going to be rolled out to other areas, the bandwidth will be at 850Mhz which is higher than their competitors, and the LTE dongle will cost 299,000/- which comes with 4.8Gb of data valid for 4 months. and other gadgets from Orange with 4G will include the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 which are from all Orange shops. The dongle switches from 4G to 3G or 2G automatically according to the network coverage and Prices for data bundles on 4G and 3G are the same

What does this mean for Orange and the rest of Us?

We are going to definately have faster internet but time will tell how fast this internet will be and the backward compatibility will help a great deal because, we won’t have to have an LTE only dongle and have to change to a 3G dongle when we change location.

We also anticipate reduction in price for routers and dongles among all providers however the bundle price may not change that much.

Android 4.3 launched: Its Definately sweeter!

By

GURU8 Staff

-

Jul 25, 2013

Google has launched an update of Jelly bean 4.2, which comes on the new Nexus 7, and an update is available for the Nexus 4, 7 and 10. Updates for other devices are rolling out soon with some of the more elite android users already installing android 4.3 on the google play edition of the Samsung S4. Well the main issue is what’s new, what has been left out and is the experience better well lets find out about what google calls “an even sweeter version of Jelly Bean!”

A google demonstration of the homescreens of different users

The most significant feature is the ability to add profiles to your android tablet, where you can actually share your tablet with family or friends and every users has a clean personalized space to actually work in, starting with different homescreens, apps, widgets, background all with multi-tasking abilities so you don’t have to log out or login to switch between users on the lock screen and for those who prefer more control of their devices and their users you can actually restrict app and data usage for various users and this might help parents to control their children and employers to watch over their employees and make sure they stick to only work related tablet usage.

Android will now scan every app you download from google play for viruses and run every app in its own sandbox which gives it a secure space to operate and all this is in a bid to provide security and protection.

Some tablets that support wireless display will be able to project onto bigger screens like TVs that support miracast. You sure won’t miss the daydream feature where your android devices displays photo albums, news from google currents and more when your your phone or tablet is idle.
You can now act instantly to notifications without actually leaving the notification area. And a lot is borrowed from the previous jelly bean 4.2 where widgets everything else gives room when you create a widget on your home screen, Google Now has been improved. Google now is powered by knowledge graph which displays relevant information to users when they search. And the new Google maps is intergrated in Android 4.3.

Android 4.3 has been given an amazing photo sphere camera where you can take photo from all sides forming a photo sphere that you can share with you friends which brings us to Open GL ES 3.0.
Open GL ES 3.0 makes the android faster and effiecient while display graphics, textures and patterns in a clear way, this improves performance and is in the new nexus 7.

And before i forget, like Google did since it didnt mention that their are emoji in the new android keyboard which you have to find in the language and input menu.

Screenshot of Android 4.3

There you have it, the new update of Android, feel free to share your views on the new OS!

A look at Windows 8.1 Preview!

By

-

Jul 12, 2013