Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Matrixview invests in South Africa
Hello good morning and welcome to Cybersurf – your weekly dose of what is happening in cyberspace. I am Steven Lang – this week talking about an interesting new investment in South African information technology.
A multi-national company based in Singapore – Matrixview – intends to set up research centres in this country with the aim of adapting Indian technology to suit the requirements of South Africans.
The company uses Adaptive Binary Optimization – a patented technology that goes by the acronym of ABO to provide architectural solutions to enterprises. It uses its own compression technology to store and manage data.
So why do they intend to set up operations in South Africa:
Ravindran Govindan, Managing Director of Matrixview, is on the line from Singapore:
IN: We intend to set up . . . .
OUT: . . . . infrastructure products.
The products would include security applications, network enhancements as well as products relating to health care.
Matixview intends to employ local development skills and researchers in order to build products specifically for this region, because the company sees South Africa as an information technology leader in Southern Africa.
IN: The core technology, the basic . . .
OUT: . . . or Austrialia.
The company is working with the State Information Technology Agency or SITA to set up Centres of Excellence to develop local applications and as a focal point for skills transfer.
The project is very ambitious – but where will it start?
IN: The first project is most . . . .
OUT: . . . . hitherto not possible.
That was Ravindran Govindan on the line from Singapore telling us all about his company’s plans to use new technology to develop local applications in South African.
And with that we come to the end of this week’s edition of Cybersurf. Please join me again next week, same time same place.
A multi-national company based in Singapore – Matrixview – intends to set up research centres in this country with the aim of adapting Indian technology to suit the requirements of South Africans.
The company uses Adaptive Binary Optimization – a patented technology that goes by the acronym of ABO to provide architectural solutions to enterprises. It uses its own compression technology to store and manage data.
So why do they intend to set up operations in South Africa:
Ravindran Govindan, Managing Director of Matrixview, is on the line from Singapore:
IN: We intend to set up . . . .
OUT: . . . . infrastructure products.
The products would include security applications, network enhancements as well as products relating to health care.
Matixview intends to employ local development skills and researchers in order to build products specifically for this region, because the company sees South Africa as an information technology leader in Southern Africa.
IN: The core technology, the basic . . .
OUT: . . . or Austrialia.
The company is working with the State Information Technology Agency or SITA to set up Centres of Excellence to develop local applications and as a focal point for skills transfer.
The project is very ambitious – but where will it start?
IN: The first project is most . . . .
OUT: . . . . hitherto not possible.
That was Ravindran Govindan on the line from Singapore telling us all about his company’s plans to use new technology to develop local applications in South African.
And with that we come to the end of this week’s edition of Cybersurf. Please join me again next week, same time same place.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Google calendar
Hello good morning and welcome to Cybersurf. A Wednesday morning look at what is happening on the Internet. I am your host Steven Lang – this week testing Google’s Beta version of its spanking new calendar.
Once Google launched about two years ago - Gmail– the search company’s online free e-mail service, it was only a matter of time before it had to launch an online calendar. In fact, in my opinion this offering is way overdue. Most people are happy to use the Outlook e-mail client but online web mail has its advantages so when Google launched Gmail to compete head-on with Hotmail and Yahoo mail it threw the whole sector into disarray – but Yahoo always had its calendar service that would allow you to maintain and share a diary online.
The new Google Calendar is not only available to people who own a Gmail account, but it seems easier if you do – you can use one sign-on for both services and you can go from one application to the other seamlessly. If you are in Gmail – there is a linked text title in the top left hand corner of the window – click on it and you’re in your very own calendar.
I have fiddled with the Yahoo calendar quite often, but never used it as my main diary because the user interface is too slow. I put that down to the lack of bandwidth in this country, and reverted to the Outlook client.
The Google calendar is however, noticeably quicker than the Yahoo version, and the layout makes it so much easier to read.
You can create “events” or appointments in Microsoft-speak by simply clicking on the relevant time slot and then you type in the necessary information about that event. But it also has a feature that allows you to write in normal English something like – meeting with the boss next Tuesday. It then makes a note of the appointment at the top of the day you have indicated. It is very intuitive.
My favourite feature so far – I am still testing the thing – is the ease with which you can make multiple calendars. So you can have, for example, one calendar that you share with your family - and anyone in your family can read that calendar and make changes in it – if you give them the necessary permission. Then you can have a completely separate calendar which you share with your PA and your Boss. You choose who has what type of privileges on each one of your calendars.
This is really cool.
A feature that I have not come to grips with yet – is the ability to import calendars from other applications. I have followed instructions religiously and tried to import a calendar from Outlook – but so far no luck.
Google calendar offers various views – per day, per week or per month. It has pop up reminders for events and apparently it will make an event directly from an e-mail message.
Still have to check out a few features on Google Calendar and this is still only the Beta version. So let us say that the preliminary verdict is very positive – my only question is: what took you guys so long?
If you would like to share your thoughts on the Google calendar click along to the Cybersurf blog at www.cybersurf.blogspot.com – I’d love to hear your views on the calendar.
So that’s me for today – till next Wednesday, remember to keep on surfing.
Once Google launched about two years ago - Gmail– the search company’s online free e-mail service, it was only a matter of time before it had to launch an online calendar. In fact, in my opinion this offering is way overdue. Most people are happy to use the Outlook e-mail client but online web mail has its advantages so when Google launched Gmail to compete head-on with Hotmail and Yahoo mail it threw the whole sector into disarray – but Yahoo always had its calendar service that would allow you to maintain and share a diary online.
The new Google Calendar is not only available to people who own a Gmail account, but it seems easier if you do – you can use one sign-on for both services and you can go from one application to the other seamlessly. If you are in Gmail – there is a linked text title in the top left hand corner of the window – click on it and you’re in your very own calendar.
I have fiddled with the Yahoo calendar quite often, but never used it as my main diary because the user interface is too slow. I put that down to the lack of bandwidth in this country, and reverted to the Outlook client.
The Google calendar is however, noticeably quicker than the Yahoo version, and the layout makes it so much easier to read.
You can create “events” or appointments in Microsoft-speak by simply clicking on the relevant time slot and then you type in the necessary information about that event. But it also has a feature that allows you to write in normal English something like – meeting with the boss next Tuesday. It then makes a note of the appointment at the top of the day you have indicated. It is very intuitive.
My favourite feature so far – I am still testing the thing – is the ease with which you can make multiple calendars. So you can have, for example, one calendar that you share with your family - and anyone in your family can read that calendar and make changes in it – if you give them the necessary permission. Then you can have a completely separate calendar which you share with your PA and your Boss. You choose who has what type of privileges on each one of your calendars.
This is really cool.
A feature that I have not come to grips with yet – is the ability to import calendars from other applications. I have followed instructions religiously and tried to import a calendar from Outlook – but so far no luck.
Google calendar offers various views – per day, per week or per month. It has pop up reminders for events and apparently it will make an event directly from an e-mail message.
Still have to check out a few features on Google Calendar and this is still only the Beta version. So let us say that the preliminary verdict is very positive – my only question is: what took you guys so long?
If you would like to share your thoughts on the Google calendar click along to the Cybersurf blog at www.cybersurf.blogspot.com – I’d love to hear your views on the calendar.
So that’s me for today – till next Wednesday, remember to keep on surfing.
