Weekly Tech Roundup for December 21 2018

by Fisayo Adesomoju · Published December 21, 2018 · Updated January 11, 2019

Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic. – Arthur C. Clarke

Today’s technology is a booming market full of exciting and innovative products and new learning opportunities. With technology as a major consumer of our time and also an exciting experience in our world today, are you motivated to generate something new?
How do you come up with a great new idea? Check out these inspiring technology trend that might just inspire you to further develop your love for technology.

We also included some snippets from our daily knowledge development sessions, just to give you a little extra knowledge. After all, knowledge is never enough. Take your time and digest every one of them. The world is fast evolving and so should your mind.

The Best and Worst gadgets of 2018

There was countless gadgets released in 2018. It’s the end of the year so Brian and I rounded up the best of the best and the worst of the worst.
Some where great! Like the Oculus Go. Or the Google Home Hub. But some were junk like the revived Palm or Playstation Classic.

CES 2019 is a few weeks away where manufacturers will roll out most of their wares for the upcoming year. But most products will not be available for purchase for months. What follows is a list of the best and worst gadgets available going into 2019.

Amazon Air expands with 10 more cargo aircraft, bringing fleet to 50 planes

Days after FedEx CEO Frederick Smith dismissed the Amazon threat to its business during the company’s earnings call, Amazon announced an expansion of its two-year old Amazon Air operation which will now add ten 767-300 dedicated Amazon cargo aircraft to its fleet. The planes are being leased from existing partner, Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG), which Amazon had previously tapped back in 2016 for 20 Boeing 767 freighter aircraft.

Before today’s announcement, Amazon’s air fleet operations had 40 total aircraft in use, as it took delivery of the 40th Boeing 767 cargo plane in November. Now it will grow to 50.

The 40 aircraft today are flying in and out of gateway operations at over 20 airports, and play a significant role in how Amazon is able to make good on its promises of fast, two-day shipping for Prime members, Amazon says.

The 10 new planes from ATSG will join Amazon’s fleet over the course of the next two years.

How Africa’s mobile revolution is generating unprecedented impact

In 2017, Dr. Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Botswana, insisted her country and continent needed an “innovation revolution”.

She probably saw what many see, that smartphone technology is rapidly increasing progress and infrastructure for a continent that desperately needs it. The good news is that we may already be in the middle of it. The resulting development, specifically with smartphone technology and access, is bringing waves of opportunity for people in Africa.

Where is Nigeria’s science and technology museum?

About five years ago, I visited the Brazilian Barracoon in Badagry, Lagos Nigeria and I learnt about the life of Seriki Williams Abass, a Nigerian slave trader who himself was once a slave.Like the significance of the National War Museum, Umuahia in Abia State in telling the story of the Nigerian Civil War, the importance of museums cannot be ruled out in our society.

Museums are a good source of knowledge while also serving as an avenue to preserve and promote heritage. Nigeria, and Africa by extension, place a great value on its heritage and this is obvious in the number of museums on the continent.

However, there are only a handful of Science and Technology Museums on the continent. One is located in Pretoria, South Africa, there’s the Museum of Science and Technology (MST), Accra. There’s also one in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Can Lagos deliver on it promise of free-WiFi at bus terminals and public schools?

Earlier in the year, the Lagos State Government made known its plans to install free-WiFi at bus terminals as well as public schools within the state. The free-WiFi project is one of the initiatives towards the state’s smart city dream.

More often than not, there are issues around the longevity of public projects initiated by governments in Nigeria, irrespective of how large the launching ceremonies are.

A case in point is the free Wi-Fi service that was launched at the Ndubusi Kanu Park (NKP), Alausa Ikeja last year.
In an effort to confirm the current status of the free-WiFi service, I visited the entry-free park on two separate occasions, one of which was on a cool Sunday afternoon as there was a little downpour earlier in the day.

There’s a bold ‘Free WiFi Available Here’ sign at the entrance of the park but the WiFi doesn’t connect. At least not on both occasions that I visited.

AI Has Started Cleaning Up Facebook, but Can It Finish?

In the early hours of Aug. 25, 2017, a ragged insurgent group from Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority attacked military outposts in the country’s northwest, killing 12 people. Security forces quickly retaliated with a campaign of village burning and mass killings that lasted weeks. As Rohingya died by the thousands, Myanmar’s military leaders took to Facebook.

A post from the commander-in-chief pledged to solve “the Bengali problem,” using a pejorative for Rohingya in Myanmar. Another general wrote to praise the “brilliant effort to restore regional peace,” observing that “race cannot be swallowed by the ground but only by another race.” A UN fact-finding report on the violence later cited the commander-in-chief’s post as suggestive of genocide, and noted the history of Facebook posts whipping up hate against Rohingya in Myanmar. The mission’s chair told journalists that the site had played a “determining role” in the crisis.

WhatsApp Web

Ever wanted to run 2 WhatsApp Web on your browser at the same time without using Incognito mode ? Well try this URL https://dyn.web.whatsapp.com/ . It gives a second WhatsApp Web Interface with out overriding the regular web.whatsapp.com . Now you can have your Personal Whatsapp and Business Whatsapp on the same browser window.

FBI kicks some of the worst ‘DDoS for hire’ sites off the internet

The FBI has seized the domains of 15 high-profile distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) websites after a coordinated effort by law enforcement and several tech companies.

Several seizure warrants granted by a California federal judge went into effect Thursday, removing several of these “booter” or “stresser” sites off the internet “as part of coordinated law enforcement action taken against illegal DDoS-for-hire services.” The orders were granted under federal seizure laws, and the domains were replaced with a federal notice.

At Blind, a security lapse revealed private complaints from Silicon Valley employees

Thousands of people trusted Blind, an app-based “anonymous social network,” as a safe way to reveal malfeasance, wrongdoing and improper conduct at their companies.

But Blind left one of its database servers exposed without a password, making it possible (for anyone who knew where to look) to access each user’s account information and identify would-be whistleblowers.

The South Korea-founded company made its way into the U.S. in 2015, when it quickly became a highly popular anonymous social network for major tech companies, touting employees from Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Uber and more. Blind last month secured another $10 million in new funding after a $6 million raise in 2017. But it was only when the social network became the root of several high-profile scandals that Blind gained mainstream attention, including revealing allegations of sexual harassment at Uber — which later blocked the app on its corporate network.

About Weekly Tech Roundup by Bincom Dev Center

You probably already know that Bincom ICT‘s core is Best Use of Technology. This initiative is a compilation of some of the things the people at Bincom Dev Center found interesting during the week in review. Bincom Dev Center is the Training & Development Arm of Bincom ICT.

In this weekly publication, You will find various pieces ranging from ideas to trends, to random thoughts. They are here because we found them interesting. We also include some knowledge development pieces and where to get more information about the topic. We aim to publish an edition every Friday at 5:00pm (with exception of Holidays). We are working hard to keep ourselves updated and we think you should too!

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