Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

Google and sister company Jigsaw are joining forces to defend election organizers and civic groups against cyber attacks free of charge as the broader tech industry seeks to fend off criticism that it is not doing enough to stop online efforts to distort elections. The growing frequency of politically motivated…

Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) says it has stepped up efforts to rid its social network of posts from users advocating political or religious violence, and was increasingly using software to find them rather than relying on reports from users or governments. U.S. and European governments have been pressuring social media companies…

Wyclef Jean is calling for a racial profiling investigation after he claims he was mistaken for an armed robber and detained for up to 10 minutes by members of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. The 47-year-old singer and actor posted a Twitter video early Tuesday morning that shows him handcuffed…

Amongst the many oddball exhibits at Sony’s SXSW “Wow Factory” was the mixed-reality “cave.” Unlike many other experiences at Sony’s event, this one didn’t require strapping on some oddball hardware or even a VR helmet. The cave was a square, four-walled room with Sony’s own GTZ1 4K projectors mounted to…

As much as some politicians might want to convince you otherwise, it’s not immigrants that are most likely to take your job in the coming years — it’s robots. And it’s not just factory workers or truck drivers that could soon be superseded by their artificial counterparts: even the humble…

The US government’s unexpected ban on laptops, iPads and other electronics “larger than a cellphone” on certain flights has sparked criticisms from technology experts, who say the new rules appear to be at odds with basic computer science. Following the distribution of a “confidential” edict from the U.S. Transportation Safety…

Africa, which imports nearly 83% of the food it consumes, has a real chicken and egg problem. The continent is caught between pressure from imports in some countries and an inability to meet demand in others. Africa’s chicken crisis is an expression of overall weaknesses in its agricultural system. If…

Zambia’s government has just banned the imports of some farm produce as a way of promoting the growth of the agriculture sector. The Conversation Africa’s Samantha Spooner asked Calestous Juma about the impact this will have on African countries and their agricultural sectors. Which African countries are the biggest importers…

Broadcast TV’s No. 1 comedy isn’t going anywhere. CBS and producers Warner Bros. Television have officially closed a two-season renewal for The Big Bang Theory,The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Sources tell THR that co-stars Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch are still without contracts though both are expected to return once…

Elections present a milestone beyond which countries either strengthen their democratic credentials or become failed states. Often states fail when there are either perceived or blatant election malpractices. This in turn can lead to prolonged civil unrest. Numerous cases exist across the continent. But I will use the Kenyan case…

Snapchat continues to falter (SNAP). Snap is already down more than 30% from its high. Snap continues to falter, the parent company behind messaging app Snapchat. The stock briefly fell below $19.00 per share and is down almost 4% on Friday. The current price is just around $2 above its…

Let me start by setting the record straight – I am a huge Manchester United fan but Chelsea’s Kante is a beast on the pitch. 90mins clocks and he will still be running up and down the pitch like he is just starting the game. He neither tires nor is…

South Africa’s Gwara gwara dance goes international. A video of pupils at a school taking part in what looks like a dancing competition has caught the eye of US musician Swizz Beats…. The pupils are seen dancing to the song Gobisiqolo by Bhizer featuring Busiswa. Swizz Beats posted the video…

The Michael Jackson-like dance moves of Nigerian traffic policeman Umar Abubakar have earned him the nickname MJ Traffic. He keeps the cars moving in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri as he jives and gesticulates to a beat that only he can hear. https://youtu.be/qynJZHF_5vg?t=10

Competition between Amazon Prime Video and Netflix remains fierce. At the moment, both streaming platforms are doing whatever they can to gain an edge. Netflix is scooping up premium content like Dave Chappelle stand-up specials and an unfinished Orson Welles film. Meanwhile, Amazon made a move today to bring the…

It’s tough for streaming music services to stand out. Cosmetic differences aside, all of them offer virtually the same thing. Each major platform has the songs listeners want, for the most part. One method that services are using to stand out is exclusive releases — even if they’re only exclusive…

The Wednesday’s indictment of Russian hackers, including from Russia’s Federal Security Service, over cyberthefts against Yahoo and the continuing controversy around cyberattacks by Russia against the Democratic National Committee have highlighted the challenge of internet vulnerability. In France, too, the campaign of the leading independent candidate is subject to extensive…

For obvious reasons, Google has a vested interest in reducing the time it takes to load websites and services. One method is reducing the file size of images on the internet, which they previously pulled off with the WebP format back in 2014, which shrunk photos by 10 percent. Their…

Apple’s Live Photos are a neat trick when done well, but in practice they tend to be a wobbly mess. Last year, Google showed off a much more elegant solution with it’s Motion Stills app for iOS, which converted shaky Live Photos to smooth looping GIFs or movie files that…

A minor, but handy update comes to Gmail on the desktop today: videos sent as attachments can now be played right in your browser window, eliminating the need to actually download them to your hard drive and play them through a media player. Of course, you’ll still be limited to…