The Cryptocurrency platform, Cardano, has announced that it is partnering with the Government of Ethiopia to implement a national, blockchain-based student and teacher ID and attainment recording system. The system is to help verify the grades of students through digital means and also monitor their school performance. This will be…
Author: Smart Megwai
Smart Megwai
Smart is a technology journalist covering innovation, digital culture, and the business of emerging tech. His reporting for Innovation Village explores how technology shapes everyday life in Africa and beyond.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an announcement on April 27th, 2021 which confirmed that Instagram is working on new tools to help people who do creative work generate more revenue from the content they create. This includes having a platform that matches brands with creators whose content fits the audiences…
Telegram, one of the hottest private messaging apps, yesterday rolled out new features for its Android app and also the web versions. The update includes a revamped payments system, voice chat scheduling, new apps for your browser and more. Payment 2.0 Telegram says, “Starting today, merchants can natively accept credit…
Zoom rolls out a video background feature, which it calls Immersive View. This feature, which was announced six months ago at the Zootopia Conference, could make the platform feel a bit more like an office meeting. It is now available to users of Free and Pro accounts who attend meetings…
Just last week, Apple Inc. announced the 2021 iPad Pro at its Spring Loaded Event. The device has an M1 processor, a Thunderbolt port, 5G support and many more features. The larger 12.9-inch iPad now sports a mini-LED display that offers ‘XDR’ contrast ratios and high peak brightness levels. The…
YouTube now has a new feature that would make it a bit easier for its mobile app users to save on data while watching video on the go. This feature can be enabled in the App’s video settings. You can now toggle between three different modes that either favor video…
Honda has resolved to sell only electric vehicles by 2040. The Japanese Automobile company has set this new goal that 40 per cent of its sales globally will comprise battery-electric and fuel-cell vehicles by 2030, followed by 80 per cent in 2035, and 100 per cent of sales by 2040.…
Last night on Thursday, April 22nd, Twitter caused a little panic when it accidentally sent out emails asking users to confirm their accounts which according to a report by BleepingComputer seemed like a phishing attack. The IT news company said that the emails began around 10 PM EST, with numerous…
A Brand Account lets YouTube creators support their business or brand identity without having to show a connection with their personal Google Accounts. If you create content on YouTube, Google has now made it possible to change your channel name and profile picture to better reflect your content. You can…
The Ghanaian government has acquired a 100% shares of the Telecommunications Company, AirtelTigo, for US$1 The Minister of Communication and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, revealed this in a news report by CNBC Africa on Wednesday, April 22nd 2021. Minister Ursula explained that the current state of AirtelTigo and the circumstances under…
Twitter finally fixed its low-resolution picture problem, yesterday April 21th 2021. The company’s Web App is already in support of higher-resolution images (at up to 4096 x 4096 resolution). The update was made to the mobile apps which used to have a maximum resolution of 2048 x 2048. Earlier this…
If you remember, in January 2019, Microsoft told us to expect a hard-wearing digital pen for use with the Surface Go in classrooms. The company later launched in February and called it Microsoft Classroom Pen. Today, Microsoft announces that it has redesigned the Surface Pen for students and will release…
On Wednesday, 21st April 2021, Instagram announced a new feature that will let users automatically filter out direct message requests which contain abusive words, phrases, and emojis. The tool was created to respond to the unwanted, harmful direct messages which celebrities and public figures receive. This App update is an…
Amazon is extending its palm-scanning payment system to a Whole Foods outlet in Seattle. This biometric technology will allow buyers to pay for items by placing their palm over a scanning device. The company made this announcement on Wednesday, April 21st, saying that this is the first of many other…
Earlier this year, the world saw Google Pay and Samsung Pay gain cryptocurrency support when both apps allowed users to carry out transactions using Bitcoin and more. PayPal’s Venmo mobile payment app is now allowing users to trade bitcoin and other digital currencies. This is a significant step toward moving…
Tomorrow, Apple Inc. is hosting its “Spring Loaded” 2021 event where the long-rumoured AirTags could finally be made public. While waiting for that, Samsung — which earlier on rolled out a competing SmartThings Find service and two products — touted how many widgets it has in-network and two new features.…
Geico, the Second-largest Car Insurance provider in America, has fixed a security bug that gave access to hackers who stole customers’ driver’s license numbers from its website. Information gathered from other sources by the Insurance company confirmed that the fraudsters gained unauthorized access to the driver’s license number of individuals…
This week, Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service which operates like Netflix or Spotify, rolls out in beta to Apple phones and tablets. The Vice President & Head of Product, Project xCloud, Catherine Gluckstein, shared this news on the company’s website on April 19th, 2021. She has said that invites would…
Tesla’s Autopilot technology continues to be scrutinized, as two men died on Saturday, April 17th, after a 2019 Model S crashed into a tree and ignited. Though investigations are ongoing as to what caused the accident, a constable confirmed there was no one driving the vehicle when the crash took…
Twitter has announced that it wants to begin an initiative that will improve its Machine Learning algorithms. The company shared this with the public on Wednesday, 14 April 2021 in a blog post. It wants to take responsibility for its own algorithmic choices after many arguments about what its algorithm…