MarcForrest.com

Category: Tech News

  • Win a prize valued at $10,000 with FNB & PayPal X

    The guys from FNB & PayPal X have put up a prize valued at about $10,000 for a South African developer who create innovative an application using PayPal’s payment platform. This is any type of app, not iPhone, but can also be web etc.

    The competition forms part of the PayPal X Innovate Conference which is in taking place in October in San Fransisco. The winner of the local leg of the competition will get to travel to the conference courtesy of FNB & PayPal X, and all expenses will be covered. The conference will feature presentations from industry experts, new product announcements and sessions that will give developers the tools and support they need to create the future of payments.

    PayPal X is the PayPal developer network which has loads and loads of resources and forums for creating your own PayPal application. I was looking around on the site earlier, and there are some really cool things to play around with. Being the non developer that I am, even I understood it :) I also came across a very very cool iPhone Library, which allows you integrate PayPal into your iPhone app, and allows you to accept mobile payments.

    How to enter
    To submit for the FNB and PayPal X Award, log on to x.com and click to register for the PayPal X Developer Challenge. Select the box for the FNB and PayPal X Award. Developers who register by 4 August, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. PDT will be entered to win one of 10 iPads. The use of some of PayPal’s products requires approval by 1 September, 2010; please check x.com for detailed contest timelines and deadlines. The winner of the FNB/PayPal X Award will be notified on 29 September, 2010.

    Good Luck :)

  • My Gadgets & Gizmos article in “The Ballito” magazine

    A couple of months ago, I met Justin Scott who is the editor of a local magazine in Ballito, aptly called, “The Ballito“. The magazine is a published every two months and covers life on the beautiful North Coast of KZN. The magazine also forms part of a  stable of magazines including “The Centurion” as well as various residential estates around South Africa.

    Justin asked me to contribute to the magazine by writing a “Gadgets & Gizmos” column. Being the gadget freak I am, I jumped at the opportunity, and and I am stoked to say, that my first column was published in the months magazine. The spread is a 2 page article where I look at 3 different gadgets and one of my favorite sites on the net, PopURLs.com.

    Of the 3 gadgets, The iPad, the MiFi & ShoX speakers, I covered in the article, I only owned 1 at the time of writing the article(the speakers), and through fate, and being very blessed, I am now the proud owner of all 3. I need to start planning ahead on my next article. If my run of luck continues, I will skip the gadgets and go straight for the Ferrari :) (Jus kiddin)

    If you would like to see the article, feel free to download a PDF copy from here ->

  • Vodacom Microsim

    With the advent of the iPad 3G and Apple iPhone 4, I have had a number of people contact me to ask me about the micro sim which is needed to work with these devices.
    The micro sim is about 52% smaller than your normal simcard, and is starting to be used as the industry standard worldwide for new devices.

    Image courtesy of Vtime.co.za

    Because neither of the above 2 devices are currently available in South Africa, there hasn’t been much of a demand for them yet, apart from the early adopters.Vodacom have however shipped in a couple thousand micro sims which are available from most Vodacom outlets. The cost of the micro sim is round about R100 bucks, and there may be a sim swap charge of R62 if you go with that option. You can also use the sim as a Twin Call sim, which means you can have 2 sims on 1 contract.

    Remember the Micro Sim will only work in deices that support it.Trying to use it in devices that don’t will damage the sim and the device. Also cutting a normal sim to the size of a micro sim, can be both costly and completely ruin your simcard

  • Introducting SA Lotto iPhone App

    Well, today is a pretty exciting day, because I can finally let the cat out of the bag, and reveal, a project I have been working on for the last couple of months. Introducing the SA Lotto App iPhone app (iTunes Link).

    Over the last couple of months I have been working with a chap down in Cape Town called Juliaan Evenwel on this app, and today it was (finally) approved by Apple. Juliaan did most of the iPhone groundwork, and designed the app, while I gave input on the functionality and design aspect of the app. Big Big thanks go to Juliaan on the work he has put into this app. He has spent hours and hours on this project. Respect :)

    The app will show all the latest results from the South African lottery, as well a couple of cool features such as a random Quick Pick generator. Another funky feature is the ability to choose your own numbers which the app will then match up to the drawn ones, and show you if you have won.

    This is the app store description we have set:

    SA Lotto App offers you the most comprehensive iPhone South African Lotto App

    Features of the app include:
    * Simple and intuitive user interface
    * Instant results from Lotto, Lotto Plus & Powerball draws as soon as they are made available.
    * Full prize division payouts for Lotto, Lotto Plus & Powerball.
    * Full draw information including machine used as well as draw number etc.
    * Quick pick numbers with hot & cold indicators as well as number appearances.
    * Pick your own numbers to match up to winning numbers to see if you have won.

    * This App Requires a working internet connection (WiFi or 3G) to download the latest results and statistics.

    To see more info about SA Lotto App, head on over http://www.salottoapp.com or download it from the app store at – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sa-lotto/id378928613?mt=8

    I would love to hear feedback and comments on the app and if you have any suggestions on how we can change the app, we would really appreciate it. This is just the start of a couple of what is destined to become a really great South African iPhone app.

  • Vodacom MiFi Device

    After a week with the beloved iPad, I am starting to see the bigger potential for the device. admittedly in the beginning I was a naysayer (sorry to all), but after using it for the last week, I truly see the bigger picture.

    That said though, my biggest gripe about the iPad is the WiFi. Well, I suppose I can’t really call it a gripe, I think it’s got more to do with the fact that South Africa still hasn’t seen the WiFi wave that you have in say America or Europe. Internet access is hard to come by in SA unless you have an ADSL line, which means you can’t use a mobile device, or 3G. although the higher spec iPads do have 3G connectivity, the model I received is a WiFi unit.

    So that’s that were the Vodacom MiFi device comes in. The awesome team at Vodacom kindly sent me a MiFi device to use with my iPad, and WOW, what an amazing piece of hardware. The MiFi is a 3G broadband router which is capable of speeds up to 7.2MB/sec, AND it also acts as a Wireless hotspot. What this means is that you can have 5 wireless devices connected to the MiFi hotspot, all sharing the 3G connectivity.

    So I picked up the MiFi (marketed as the Vodafone MiFi 2352) yesterday from the swanky new Vodacom offices in Umhlanga Ridge. They have just completed the building, and it looks awesome, although no where near as pretty as Vodaworld :) Earlier in the day, I had bought a pre-paid simcard for 99c (Bargain), which I had to RICA before I could use it. Surprisingly the RICA process was pretty painless, and I did all my sims, and I was out in 5 minutes. I then loaded the sim with a prepaid data bundle (R88 for 110MB). Once I had the new gadget in my hands, I put the sim card in, switched it on, and it just worked. Boom. Just like that. No config, no setting up, no messing with advanced settings. It JUST worked. Easy.

    Once the MiFi is up and running, you can search for a wireless hotspot using the iPad, or any wireless device, it will pop up with the name of the MiFi, usually something like VodafoneMobileHotspot_XXXX. It will then ask you for a WEP key password. They key can be found on the back of the battery compartment, and once you have entered it, it stores the key and keeps you connected. You can also change settings by navigating to http://vodafonemobilebroadband.hotspot/ from any of the connected devices, which will allow you to log in and change some of the options.The rechargable battery lasts up to around 4 hours, so you can use it while you are on the go.

    And that’s it really. It is by far one of the easiest pieces of equipment I have ever needed to set up. I am looking forward to getting out and about and using the MiFi device, and seeing what it is capable of. You can pick up a MiFi device from most Vodacom retail outlets, for around R2500. The price may seem steep, but it is well well worth it if you travel and need constant internet access. If you don’t come right, pop me a mail, and I will try to point you in the right direction. I will also post some of my findings in the future about the MiFi and how it handles the networks and the different devices.