Weekly news roundup - Africa September 7

Created By: Esther on 7-Sep-2007 12:00 AM

Universities without walls; the cornerstone of future learning
All students will have their own information technology (IT) bases in their own homes or very near their homes, providing individualised learning programmes managed  by an elite group of teachers at satellite education centres.

East Africa Region Gets Standards Internet Portal
Lack of communication and harmonisation of standards amongst the five East Africa countries has been sighted as one of the major hindrances to trade development in the region. This brought about mistrust and at certain occasion hindered market access and rejection of some commodities to enter certain countries in the region.

Government rejects used UK computers
A BRITISH charity that recycles computers discarded by top UK companies says it could make SA’s 5-million secondary school pupils computer literate for just R50m.
Digital Links International opened a branch in Johannesburg this week to intensify its efforts to supply computers to SA’s schools and colleges. Its short-term target is to reach at least 1-million pupils.

Internet Displaces Radio As Fourth Biggest Ad Medium
Internet Ad revenues are set to pass radio's for the first time, according to eMarketer, a firm that tracks and analyzes spending trends across various media. EMarketer is pegging Internet ad spending at $21.7 billion, compared to $20.4 billion for radio.

Facebook opens profiles to public
Popular social networking site Facebook has added a public-facing search function in a move which is likely to anger privacy advocates.
The function will initially allow anyone who is not registered with the site to search for a specific person.


Mobiles to become digital wallets
The UK's big five mobile phone firms have switched on a payment system that turns handsets into digital wallets.
Called PayForIt, the scheme is designed for those buying goods and services with a value of up to £10.

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