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This week’s tech news

Friday, August 16th, 2013

It’s practically impossible to keep track of all the technological advances taking place worldwide. We’ve compiled a list of the most interesting tech news so you don’t have to spend hours on the internet trying to keep up.

Where to live for the best broadband?
Broadband speeds in South Africa’s cities fall well below the international average – and Durban is one of the worst. More …

Twitter suspends Tutu Foundation account
The official Twitter account of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation has been suspended for “aggressive following” behaviour, the foundation said on Thursday. More …

Free Wi-Fi for Pretoria
The City of Tshwane will soon offer free Wi-Fi connectivity in selected areas around Pretoria. The first phase of the project, which will provide free connectivity to five locations by the end of November, will cover the Tshwane University of Technology’s Soshanguve campus, the University of Pretoria’s Hatfield campus, Tshwane North CollegeMore …

‘Mark your calendars’ – Windows 8.1 arrives 18 October
Windows 8.1 is coming 18 October and is being rolled out in stores, on new devices or as a free update for existing Windows 8 owners. More …

Neotel LTE coming soon
Telecommunications firm Neotel has reportedly sent out invites for its LTE launch.The invite lists 21 August as the launch date, according to MyBroadbandMore …

More connected, less happy
People who use Facebook may feel more connected, but less happy. A study of young adults released on Wednesday concluded that the more people used Facebook, the worse they subsequently felt. More …

Linux Ubuntu or Windows?

Monday, June 10th, 2013

In this article we will look at a few of the common differences between Ubuntu and windows 8. Firstly with any software package before making decisions most people will look at what it would cost me as user to purchase it. With windows 8 you are looking at a retail price of R800 upwards, but of course as a student of Stellenbosch University, it can be purchased for a mere R180-00 from the Student IT Centre. However with Ubuntu, it’s completely free!

Now let’s have a look at how they differ at first glance, Ubuntu brings their Unity look to the platform whereas Windows 8 brings there new metro look to theirs.

Ubuntu is also a fairly light weight operating system compared to Windows 8 which takes up 16 to 20 GB of hard drive space compared to Ubuntu’s 4.5GB.  Below is a table of a list of relevant comparisons.

Feature/App

Linux

Windows

Cost to end-user

Free

R800 and upwards

Office application choices

Libre & Open Office, Google docs, Office Web Apps, Soft maker Office

Libre & Open Office, Google docs, Office 365 + Web Apps, Microsoft Office suite, Soft maker Office

Space required for installation

OS size 4.5GB

OS size is 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

 

Risk of software security threats

Almost non existent

Various malicious software, High risk

Email clients

Thunderbird, Evolution, KMail, Opera Mail, Pegasus Mail, Claws Mail

Thunderbird, Evolution, Opera Mail, Pegasus Mail, Claws Mail, Windows Live Mail, Office Outlook

Web Browsers

Google Chrome, Firefox/Waterfox, Opera, Epiphany, Konqueror

Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox/Waterfox, Opera

Music/Video Players

Rhythmbox, VLC, Songbird, Musique, Clementine, Boxee, Miro

Windows Media Player, VLC, Winamp, Media Monkey, iTunes, Clementine, Zune Player, Foobar2000, RealPlayer, MPC, Gom Player

Instant Messaging

Pidgin, Empathy, Skype, Digsby

Pidgin, Skype, Google Talk, MXit, Digsby, Yahoo Messenger

Image Editors

GIMP, GimpShop, Inkscape, Picasa

GIMP, GimpShop, Inkscape, Picasa, Adobe Photoshop, Paint.net, Adobe Illustrator

Cloud Storage

Ubuntu One, Dropbox, Skydrive ( through SME)

Amazon Cloud drive, Google drive, Skydrive, Ubuntu One, Dropbox

Games services

Steam, Ubuntu Software market, tons of online stores including GOG, many games through WINE

Steam, Origin, uPlay, online stores including GOG, Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft Store (Windows 8)

 

With regards to applications, the list is really endless as there are applications available for free or as paid options of software on Windows, so there are fully-featured versions of apps that do the same thing on Linux. Some of them are free, others are paid for.

The beauty of both operating systems is that you’re not that limited for choice – just a glance at the table shows that there’s more choice for Windows users than ever before. And if you’re more comfortable with the way Windows works, you can still save money in other areas – using Libre Office, Thunderbird and GIMP in place of their paid-for counterparts like Office, Outlook and Photoshop.

Ubuntu and Windows 8 desktops

In terms of user interfaces, both are easy to get used to. I’m not too fond of the way Ubuntu handles maximised applications but that’s okay because you can install any interface you’d prefer. Windows works more or less the same, but there are options, apps and skins to make it look and work the way you want it to.

As far as driver support goes, though, you may struggle here and there with particular objects. Many peripherals and devices are natively supported in the Linux kernel but some require proprietary software to work properly, as in the case of graphics drivers from NVidia, AMD and Intel. All three do support Linux to some degree, although it’s nothing like the support users enjoy on Windows.

So to conclude its entirely up to you with which operating system you go with. This comparison guide should assist you in making that decision in deciding which one suits your requirements from what you looking for in an operating system.

(ARTICLE BY RIYAAD PARKER, IT STUDENT CENTRE)

Safecom – the facts and the future

Friday, April 26th, 2013

The mere mention of the word Safecom has been causing a combination of panic and frustration over the last few months – and this just among IT staff. Just like you, our patient users on campus, we’ve been worn out by all the problems. However, the good news is, after months of pulling our hair out, we’re closer to a solution and the light at the end of the tunnel is, indeed, not an oncoming train.

The first time we started seeing problems with Safecom was in September 2012. At this time the load on the printers weren’t as high as it was a fairly quiet time academically. By the end of the academic year the effect on end users, in particular students, was prevalent.

The system we initially implemented was clearly not sufficient for a changing and growing environment. Both the production environment and the product’s attributes changed since the implementation (new upgrades were also released) and consequently the system design wasn’t optimal.

Keeping this in mind, there was decided to call in an international Safecom expert and also a local HP expert to advise us on the current set up and situation. With the assistance of said experts and the IT team significant decisions were made and plans put into place to resolve the situation as soon as possible.

Most of the suggested plan has been executed, but due to the fact that all printers on campus have to be upgraded with new firmware, this is a time consuming exercise. However, a visible improvement has been noted when compared to the previous quarter.

We are aware of certain issues that must still be resolved. IT is continuously coordinating and resolving the existing challenges as fast as possible. These include the creation of more internal system capacity, a more efficient printer driver able to generate smaller printing files, more stable printer firmware, implementing more stable Safecom software on each printer and the optimal functioning of this whole configuration.

We appreciate staff and student’s patience and invite you to report problems at your CUA manager or IT Sevice Centre.

 

 

DRM – a Central African country?

Friday, April 26th, 2013

The abbreviation sounds like a reference to a Central African country and although DRM has to do with management, it’s about managing something less tangible and with less defined borders.

With the increasing amount of digital content flooding our world, whether it’s music, e-books or video it has become necessary for companies to protect their property by setting certain measures in place. But what is DRM?

We’ve  found the following definition and description on one of our favorite websites –

“Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a type of access control technique used by copyright holders, publishers, and hardware manufacturers to limit the use, manipulation, and distribution of digital content after the initial sale of that content.

Examples of DRM include the encryption of digital video (on DVD and Blu-ray discs) to prevent the purchaser from ripping the content off the disc, locking ebooks to the account with which they were purchased (thus you can read your Amazon-supplied ebook on your Kindle, transfer it to your Kindle app on your iPad, or read in on Amazon.com, but you cannot give that book to a friend or transfer it to your Barnes and Noble Nook), and the restriction of downloaded gaming content to the console or computer with which it was downloaded (you cannot simply copy your Xbox Live Arcade games from your console to the consoles of all your friends).

While publishing and content companies maintain that DRM is necessary to protect their intellectual property and fight piracy, many annoyed consumers note that content locked down by DRM is still widely distributed by pirates yet paying customers are stuck with the frustration of dealing with DRM systems including locked hardware, content they cannot transfer between other devices, and other such inconveniences.”

Today is also World Intellectual Property Day with various activities presented by Stellenbosch University. More info. 

 

 

(SOURCE: www.howtogeek.com)

Herding cats & other management functions

Friday, April 12th, 2013

Dave Platt once said “Managing senior programmers is like herding cats.” The IT Division comprises some 105 staff members ranging from support technicians, through system administrators, engineers, software developers to business analysts.  So who are the brave herders who manage this unmanagable group and also the rest of the IT staff?

bestuur-organogram-bw

 

Read the detailed job descriptions here. 

 

 

 

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