piracy
Posted inConnectivity Miscellaneous

How artists can use new media to survive music piracy

It happens all the time; a comfortable status quo gets disrupted by new convenient ways to go about doing everyday things. For people benefiting from the status quo, this usually means having to somehow find a way to play the new game. But dealing with change when it threatens your livelihood is not always an easy task.
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ForgetMeNot Africa
Posted inMiscellaneous

ForgetMeNot Africa processing hundreds of thousands of eTXTs per day from Zimbabwe

According to ForgetMeNot Africa’s Chief Operating Officer, Jeremy George, the company is already processing hundreds of thousands of eTXTs a day from Zimbabwe just two weeks after launch on the Econet network. Approximately 35% of those are SMSs initiated from mobile phones to the Internet. Jeremy George revealed this to Techzim in an exclusive interview we had with him yesterday.
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Posted inConnectivity Miscellaneous

Dipleague, how a small mailing list evolved into one of Zimbabwe’s leading classifieds

Of the new electronic classifieds platforms to emerge in Zimbabwe’s during the past few years, Dipleague and classifieds.co.zw stand out and have achieved relative success to Zimbabwean internet users. It’s common knowledge in Zimbabwe that to get some meaningful response for a classifieds advert you cannot afford to ignore the 2 platforms. And unlike traditional newspaper classifieds posting adverts on these platforms is free.
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Solar Bulb
Posted inMiscellaneous

Econet to launch Econet Energy

We just received an invitation from Econet to attend the launch of a new venture called Econet Energy. The launch is today in Harare. The Econet Wireless Zimbabwe CEO, Douglas Mboweni, will make a presentation at the launch. Here’s an excerpt of the invite:
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Posted inMiscellaneous

Politics and technology: the goings on at Telecel

Normally we like to keep clear of non-technology issues. It allows to focus and write about the things we know best. People at Telecel (or just people with interests in Telecel) however keep spending generous amounts of time generating news on the other side of the line. And it clearly affects the technology side of things at Telecel.
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Zimbabwe ICT Achievers Awards 2010
Posted inMiscellaneous

The Winners of Zimbabwe’s ICT 2010 Achievers Awards

Some 3 weeks ago, we posted that nominations were underway for the inaugural Zimbabwe ICT Achievers Awards. The awards ceremony was held last night at a hotel in Harare. This year’s ICT achievers were announced and recognized for their shining contribution to the country’s ICT sector.
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Our Quiet Week
Posted inMiscellaneous

Our Quiet Week

Over the months since we started this blog, it has grown from a small blog followed by a few people that know us personally, to one followed by thousands of Zimbabweans worldwide and viewed thousands of times each day. Resultantly, when we don't post anything for several days, people notice and send us emails.
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The Remains Of The Homemade Helicopter
Posted inMiscellaneous

The Remains Of The Homemade Helicopter

We came upon (what remains of) this chopper while driving in the city today, and thought we would take a few shots for those of you that haven't seen it yet. The homemade helicopter sits conspicuously outside the Exhibition Park in Harare, probably its final resting place.
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Nhamo Ethelbert Mukonyora
Posted inMiscellaneous

Nhamo Mukonyora’s Untimely Passing Away

Born 01-09-1969, Mr. Nhamo Ethelbert Mukonyora died on 10-10-2010 in a car crash travelling from Gutu at the26km peg along Chivhu road. He was buried at Warren Hills Cemetery in Harare on Wednesday 13th October 2010. Nhamo is survived by his wife Victoria, and three children. He was the founder and Managing Director of Nectar Technologies.
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Be a Sys Admin of Note
Posted inMiscellaneous

Be a Sys Admin of Note

ICT geeks have attained messiah status in organizations and, resultantly, have grown to be key strategic players in organizations. Before you know it, you are the heart and pulse, the life and soul of the party.
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Posted inHow To Miscellaneous

How to Write a Business Plan for Your Zimbabwe Business

If you’re in business, you have to plan for success. You know the old saying, “to fail to plan is to plan to fail.” And of-course, if you’re actually serious about implementing your plan, you’re going to write it down. Any business plan not worth writing down is not worth acting on...
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Google
Posted inConnectivity Miscellaneous

Weekly Roundup – 27 March 2010

Telecel Zimbabwe Shareholding The Fingaz on Thursday revealed a new twist to the Telecel Zimbabwe shareholding question. Apparently Telecel International may have to cede more than just 11% shareholding to local entrepreneurs. Telecel International agreed to a POTRAZ requirement in 2007 to give up 20% of its 60% shareholding but it didn't. Depending on how the inclusive government deals with this, "The company could be forced to honour its initial deal it signed with Telecel Zimbabwe to offload 20 percent from its current 60 percent shareholding to indigenous players in the venture."
IT BEGINS WITH YOU: Positioning ICT Departments As A Valuable Strategic Asset.
Posted inMiscellaneous

IT BEGINS WITH YOU: Positioning ICT Departments As A Valuable Strategic Asset.

The issue of aligning ICTs and business processes and goals has been the subject of many discussions and debates. I felt the need to relate the issue to our own Zimbabwean situation as we are equally or in a worse position than those that are making the loudest debates. It is not clear to me whether ICT failures are government policy related, limited resources, ICT management failures or corporate failures. In Zimbabwe, some recent notable ICT failures are in the electricity billing system, voters roll, and health records system. Apparently some of these national projects were feasible but complete failure to deliver on time at reasonable cost on most of the recent national projects is a major concern.
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Nhava Netbook
Posted inConnectivity Miscellaneous

Year 2009 In Review

2009 came with a shift in ICT policy direction by the government. Customs duty on ICT equipment for example was suspended and currently ICT hardware suppliers only need to pay 15% VAT on imported equipment. Most positive change has generally been attributed to the energetic Minister of ICT, Nelson Chamisa.
Why Sanii Makhalima’s Got It All Wrong
Posted inMiscellaneous

Why Sanii Makhalima’s Got It All Wrong

Today, an interesting article posted on Zimbo Jam two days ago caught my eye. It carried news on how one of Zimbabwe’s most popular musicians, Sani Makhalima, has found a solution to close the door on the music piracy problem. The solution: He has set up a new company that is marketing a software product that makes it impossible to read an audio CD on a computer. What in the world is that? Seriously, in this day and age, why would anyone want to propose a music format that cannot be played on computers and portable media players? Is the big picture even in sight? What a disaster in the making!
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