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      How to (try to) stop spam callers in South Africa

      GadgeteerZA · news.movim.eu / gadgeteerza-tech-blog · Tuesday, 23 May, 2023 - 09:10 · 1 minute

    South Africans can take several measures to minimize the amount of spam calls and unsolicited marketing they are regularly bombarded with.

    In 2021, Truecaller’s Global Spam & Scam Report found that South Africa had the 9th-highest rate of spam calls in the world. That was a massive jump from 17th place in 2020.

    The popular call-screening app found that South Africans received an average of 13.2 monthly spam calls per user.

    So even though there is legislation, and I've opted out, I still get a few calls every day. It is true, there may be some older form that still has a tick (or no tick) next to "Yes I'd love marketing calls" or "Don't give my number to 3rdparty suppliers", but either ways, the calls just don't stop.

    Truecaller has really worked well for me, so well, that I had to get rid of my iPhone and move back to an Android phone, as the Truecaller app is crippled on iOS due to not having dialler permissions.

    So, this app is really the only way as reporting to the police, and opting out, just don't seem to work in practice. It is a nightmare in South Africa as far as managing it goes, and opting out of marketing calls.

    See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/492323-how-to-stop-spam-callers.html

    #technology   #southafrica   #spamcalls   #Truecaller

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      South African government has launched its own official app store and is inviting local developers to register

      GadgeteerZA · news.movim.eu / gadgeteerza-tech-blog · Saturday, 21 May, 2022 - 19:55 · 1 minute

    DigiTech is a digital products portal of South Africa that is supported by the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies. The purpose of DigiTech is to collect data about digital products developed in South Africa with an aim of supporting the products’ technology enablement and promote and expand their adoption and use. Through DigiTech, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies seeks to promote SA developed digital products in other markets whilst facilitating partnerships with other countries on co-promotion of local technologies.

    The Marketplace shows some really interesting government / citizen related apps. So it is not clear if this site will merely promote suitable apps, that are then downloaded from the actual Apple, Android, and other apps stores. The Marketplace page contains no links at all to any of the actual apps being promoted. SA Government already actually has a single central portal for citizens, called eServices. I would have thought that would also have been the place for citizens, not only to transact with gov, but to also obtain this information about mobile apps to use.

    So yes, an early review by Business Insider, was not glowing about this site at all. It is possibly because it is not well explained how it fits into the existing ecosystem of services and apps by government for citizens. It also has a few grammar errors, and no secure SSL certificate. The eServices site also started out with lots of fanfare a few years ago, but no-one speaks about it really in the media any more. This new site does not even link to the eServices site.

    Besides that, though, the initiative is a good one to promote local developers and apps that will assist citizens.

    See http://www.digitech.gov.za/portfolio-marketplace

    #technology #southafrica #government #mobileapps #DigiTech

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      iSinkwe app, developed by CSIR in South Africa, can help children with their reading and listening skills in all 11 official SA languages

      GadgeteerZA · news.movim.eu / gadgeteerza-tech-blog · Friday, 20 May, 2022 - 11:53

    The app, called iSinkwe – the isiZulu word for a bushbaby – adds and synchronises human-narrated or computer-generated audio to text. It aims to make textbooks, class notes and other documents more accessible to learners by making reading and learning more interactive.

    iSinkwe functions by adding audio, which can be recorded manually by someone or generated by a computer using a standard Electronic Publication Version Three (EPUB3) document, to text documents.

    There is already an Android app, with an iOS app and a Windows store app still to follow.

    See https://techcentral.co.za/csir-develops-app-to-help-kids-learn-to-read/211355/

    #technology #SouthAfrica #reading #literacy #education

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      Disney+ vs Netflix — South African libraries and features compared

      GadgeteerZA · news.movim.eu / gadgeteerza-tech-blog · Tuesday, 10 May, 2022 - 09:18

    A Disney+ subscription in South Africa will offer less than half the titles available on Netflix but boasts superior features at a lower price.

    Disney+ is launching locally on 18 May 2022, with a monthly price of R119 or an annual subscription of R1,190.

    Walt Disney Africa recently provided a complete list of all of the content that will be available on the service. These include popular movies and TV shows from Disney’s Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and National Geographic properties. It will also boast a wide range of adult-focused movies and TV shows from its Star catalogue, including content created by FX, 20th Century Studios, and 20th Century TV.

    The linked article helps highlight many of those differences for South Africans. What we don't see though is what epic movies may be available on Disney that South Africa's are currently not getting on Netflix, as that could be a decider for many.

    See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadcasting/443688-disney-vs-netflix-south-african-libraries-and-features-compared.html

    #technology #southafrica #streaming #netflix #disney