Category: Tech News

Mweb announced this morning that they will be offering DSTV on demand to all Uncapped ADSL customers with effect from today. This means you will now be able to stream live sport and movies on your PC.

Here is the press release from Mwebs Free the web Facebook Page:

MWEB is again taking the lead in the internet market in South Africa, this time by becoming the first ISP to offer DStv ON DEMAND to its subscribers via on online portal. DStv Premium subscribers that have an ADSL account from MWEB will now be able to experience this free service at www.DStv.com where they can stream or download premium video content online. MWEB is currently the only ISP currently accredited by DStv to offer this service and that meets its stringent quality of service and technical requirements.

MWEB’s launch of affordable uncapped ADSL in March this year was the first step in changing the internet landscape in South Africa. In April, the company then called for further liberation of the industry by becoming the first of the large network operators to offer open peering agreements to all ISPs. This latest development is a further step to enabling South African users to access and download content on a scale never seen before, and on a par with the rest of the world.

Rudi Jansen, CEO of MWEB, said the company is proud to be first to offer this content online to its subscribers in an easily accessible way. “DStv ON DEMAND offers easy access to quality, locally-available online video content that users can watch using their MWEB ADSL service.”

The DStv ON DEMAND online offering provides 80 hours per week of premium content including blockbuster movies, award-winning series, sporting action, kids’ shows and documentaries. The online service is well suited to DStv Premium subscribers who do not have a PVR.

“MWEB has a top quality, reliable network that has been engineered to world-class standards and is able to support the demand for this service,” said Jansen. “We operate and manage a high capacity and highly redundant carrier grade network with sufficient bandwidth allocation to enable the streaming of video content online. Importantly, MWEB also does not throttle its ADSL service which is a requirement for delivering DStv ON DEMAND.

“For users still on a capped service, this product offering also provides a compelling reason to switch to uncapped ADSL. Users enjoying this product won’t want to be restricted in how much online TV and video entertainment they can watch and uncapped ADSL will help avoid high internet costs,” he added.

Jansen said that MWEB customers will enjoy the benefits of optimised viewing of DStv ON DEMAND. “For content that can be downloaded from the DStv.com website, any ADSL line speed can be used. However, certain video content can only be streamed (and not downloaded) because of the content rights associated with it. For streaming this content we recommend a 4Meg line speed. While a 512kpbs line could be used, the experience will not be optimal.

“Watching DStv ON DEMAND online on your PC or laptop effectively also gives you an additional viewing channel in your home,” added Jansen.

The product will be available from 5 May 2010, and MWEB ADSL subscribers with a DStv Premium subscription can go to www.dstv.com to register for the DStv ON DEMAND online service.

If you haven’t got MWEB uncapped ADSL yet, you can sign up here.

You may have noticed the Facebook Like button at the top of this post. This is a new feautre from Facebook, which allows you to like any site on the web. If you click the “Like” button above, it will post a message to your Facebook wall, which your followers will see.

This is a great way to generate traffic from Facebook to your site, as well as allowing readers of your site to share your posts. I been doing a bit of research on some of the plugins that are available for the Facebook Like button, and eventually settled on is called FaceBook Like Button Plugin for WordPress (Download link)

The options are pretty straight forward as well:

One you have the plugin installed, it is just a matter of activating it, and you will have Facebook Like buttons on each page and post.

Canon hosts a free event twice a year where they invite amateur photographers from around South Africa to attend a session, usually on a Saturday morning, where they have guest professional photographers. These guys are usually exprets in their field, and share their knowledge and expereience.

This year Canon has added another day onto the event which will be a training course for amateurs to get the best out of their cameras. Even if you don’t have a Canon camera, this is a must if you are even remotely interested in photography. I have been to one of the roadshow sessions and thoroughly enjoyed it.

This year Travel Photographer, Andy Lund as well as Paul Hofman will be sharing their knowledge and experience with the audience.

Sessions take place in Cape Town on the 7th&8th May, Joburg on the 14th&15th May and Durbs on the 21st and 22nd of May. The Friday sessions for the training are from 2pm – 4pm and the Roadshow on the Saturday is from 10am – 1pm. I am defitnely going to try and get down to the Durban one.

Here is a bit more info about the Canon EOS Roadshow (PDF)

I came across a very cool service offered by SuperSport.com today, where I can actually the rugby at work (sneaky sneaky).

To sign up for the service you need to be a DSTV Subscriber, and you need your smartcard number to sign up. The registration process is quick quick, and you can watch your favorite game as soon as you have signed up.

The streaming of the video was pretty smooth, and I didn’t have to buffer once. Although this is at work, I have yet to try this on an ADSL line, but I’m pretty sure it should be pretty smooth on a 4MB line. The service is offered 7am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

To get a full line up of upcoming live games that are being streamed, click here

I came across this very cool looking FREE internet marketing course by online marketing guru, John Shoemoney.
The course covers a whole bung of topics on internet marketing, and you get sent a PDF every week on a different topic.
The topics included in the course are:

• Week 1 – The Beginner’s Guide To Internet Marketing
• Week 2 – Affiliate Marketing 101: Everything You Need To Know To Start Promoting Products
• Week 3 – Market Research: How To Crush Your Competitors And Discover Hot Niches
• Week 4 – Introduction to Pay Per Click
• Week 5 – Advanced Pay Per Click
• Week 6 – SEO Tips, Tricks, and Tactics
• Week 7 – Content Creation: How To Create Articles That Attract Users And Increase Sales
• Week 8 – Marketing: How To Use Social Media To Spread Your Brand
• Week 9 – Make That Cash: 10 Ways To Monetize Your Site And Increase Profitability
• Week 10 – Testing & Tracking: How To Optimize Your Site & Make Sense Of The Figures
• Week 11 – Building Your Team: How To Network With Others And Find Long Term Partners
• Week 12 – Launch Day: How To Kick Start Your Business And Manage Your Projects

If you are keen to sign up, you can do so at http://www.shoemoneyx.com/signup.php

Lemme know if you signed up and what you thought of the course.