Galaxy Music strip ad 21cmx3cm.pdf 1 Feb/13/13 5:27 PM

Galaxy Music strip ad 21cmx3cm.pdf 1 Feb/13/13 5:27 PM

1 

UGANDA/INTERNATIONAL - pctechmag.com 

KENYA EDITION - ke.pctechmag.com 

GHANA EDITION - gh.pctechmag.com 

3 NIGERIA EDITION - ng.pctechmag.com 

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2

EDITORIAL 

2 

SOCIAL INNOVATION? iHub Nairobi, just like many other hubs is not just about work. They also act as focal point for the tech community to 

come together, learn and, of course party. SEE FULL IN THIS MONTH’S COVER STORY 

4 | Editorial team, and Editor’s Notes 

6 | Verbatim 

THE WALL 6 

7 | Numbers: The Mobile World Congress 2013 

(Infographic) 

UPDATE 8 

8 | Uganda to introduce law to regulate mobile services 

8 | 50% Bonus on Data from Airtel Uganda 

9 | MTN introduces Nokia Lumia 

9 | Google Glass one step close 

10 | Adobe Creative Suit goes free (sort of) 

11 | MTN’s cross-border fibre cable commissioned 

12 | Kenya: SIM Registration Laws Come Into Effect 

12 | MTN, RIM partner on Blackberry 10 

13 | Kenya Begins Construction Of ‘Silicon’ City Konza 

Artistic Impression of what is intended to be Africa’s “Silicon Valley”. 

WHAT’S NEW 14 

14 | BlackBerry’s Z10 Smartphone 

14 |Panasonic 4K 20-inch tablet 

15 | Google’s Chrome Pixel 

15 | New Samsung Refrigerator 

COVER STORY 16 

17 | Inside East Africa’s largest Innovation Hubs 

“Hubs” are all over the place these days. And if you look 

closely, it means there’s one universal problem: how to 

turn techies into entreprenuers. So this article, part of 

which is from a report from a research that used iHub 

(Nairobi) as a case study, seeks to tell us how the business 

of coding is turning into real business! 

FEATURES 24 

25 | 10 things the comments section taught me about the 

Web 

27 | Market Analysis: Mobile Payments In Emerging Nations 

28 | The Dark Side of Computers 

FEATURES/BLOGS 32 

32 | Ecommerce Is Now A Trillion Dollar Industry: Here’s 

How It Happened 

33 | Lock up your mailbox 

34 | Why life through Google Glass... 

REVIEWS 36 

36 | Samsung Galaxy Music 

38 | Nokia Lumia 920 

40 | Orange Money 

41 | TOSHIBA Satellite P845t-101 

pc tech ISSUE 25 FEBRUARY 2013 

ISSUE 25 FEBRUARY 2013 pc tech 

3

EDITORIAL 

4 

CHIEF EDITOR/CEO 

ALBERT MUCUNGUZI 

albert@pctechgrop.net 

+256 792 619812 / 782 619812 

DIRECTOR, West Africa 

RICHARD BOATENG, PhD 

richard@pearlrichards.org 

FINANCE MANAGER 

WYCLEF RUSHAJU 

wyclef@pctechgroup.net 

+256 703 473073 

EDITOR 

JEDDY GENRWOT 

jeddy@pctechmagazine.com 

WEBSITE ADMINISTRATORS 

EPHRAIM BATAMBUZE 

ebatambuze@gmail.com 

NORMAN MUHWEZI 

norman@pctcehmagazine.com 

BLOGGERS 

SIMON KAHERU 

skaheru@smsmedia.info 

DOUGLAS B. KASYABA 

kasyaba587@gmail.com 

PATRICK TUMUSIIME 

marpat2000@gmail.com 

NIGERIA 

Ishola Abdulkabeer 

abdulkabeerishola@gmail.com 

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES 

advertising@pctechmagazine.com 

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PUBLISHER 

PC Tech Communications Ltd 

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www.pctechmag.com 

© COPYRIGHT 2013 

PC Tech Magazine is published 11 times a year 

by PC Tech Communications Ltd. The name PC 

Tech Magazine is a registered trademark and is 

property of PC Tech Communications Ltd. 

Welcome to yet another issue of Your Most Contemporary Technology 

Magazine. 

It is, of course, my pleasure to introduce our 

new editor, Jeddy Genrwot, a young and dynamic 

guy that’s worked so hard to see this issue 

through. 

In the coming months, you’ll be seeing more of 

his name through the pages. 

In the news this month, mTN commissioned 

the cross-border fibre cable at Katuna, Uganda/ 

Rwanda border, a landmark event that effectively 

means Uganda has access to an alternative 

internet “route” in the event the default one goes 

down. 

The same company then introduced Nokia’s flagship Windows 8 Phone, 

the Nokia lumia. I got the sense that microsoft may be borrowing a bullet 

from Google’s gun and coming down to this (Sub Saharan market) that has 

long been dominated by chinese manufacturers. 

In the cover story, we look at three Innovation Hubs across east Africa. 

These are co-working spaces that primarily target tech-minded young people, 

and attempt to help them become better entrepreneurs and - in some cases - 

help them get access to investors. 

We speak to Richard Zulu from Uganda’s outbox Hub, and also feature 

excerpts from a research report conducted in Kenya with iHub as a case 

study. 

Don’t miss the reviews, and Special Features, including one on “The 

Darkside of computers”. 

Until next month! 

Albert mucunguzi 

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+256 792 619 812 / +256 703 473 073 

EDITORIAL

THE WALL 

6 

Think of this as your 

Facebook Wall, now called 

Timeline. Here, we publish 

anything. Yes, ANYTHING. 

So what’s there this month 

may not necessarily be 

there next. 

‘ 

Verbatim 

“We want Google to be the third half of your brain.” 

“There are a lot of amazing things that Steve’s leadership achieved — 

Windows 8, the Surface computer, Bing, Xbox. Is it enough? No. He 

and I are not satisfied that in terms of breakthrough things we are doing 

everything possible.” 

Former Chief Executive and current chairman of Microsoft BILL gATES comments during a recent interview on NBSC 

Sergey Brin Russian-born American computer scientist and entrepreneur is also along side Larry Page, a co founder 

of Google 

“I don’t care if you’re a billionaire. If you haven’t started a company, 

really gambled your resume and your money and maybe even your 

marriage to just go crazy and try something on your own, you’re no 

pirate and you aren’t in the club” 

Michael Arrington, TechCrunch 

One of the huge mistakes people make is that they try to force an 

interest on themselves. You don’t choose your passions; your passions 

choose you. 

After learning that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer would not be giving the keynote speech at CES in 2013, and instead 

Co-founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Inc JEFF BEzOS 

“Every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change 

his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful 

hijinks stored on their friends’ social media sites.” 

STEVE BALLMER, Microsoft CEO To the Wall Street Journal 

“We didn’t miss cellphones, but the way that we went about it didn’t 

allow us to get the leadership. It’s clearly a mistake,” 

Former Chief Executive and current chairman of Microsoft BILL gATES comments during a recent interview on NBSC 

Thick skin will be a necessity for technology companies in the coming 

years of the digital age, because they will find themselves beset by 

public concerns over privacy, security and user protections…They’ll 

also have to hire more lawyers. Litigation will always outpace genuine 

legal reform, as any of the technology giants fighting perpetual legal 

battles over intellectual property, patents, privacy and other issues 

would attest” 

STEVE BALLMER, Microsoft CEO 

INFOGRAPHIC: The Mobile World Congress 2013 


Turn to page 23 


THE WALL

UPDATE 

TOP STORIES THIS MONTH 

8 

Uganda to introduce new law 

to regulate Mobile Services 

UCC boss praises Orange Uganda 

Uganda’s telecommunications regulator announced 

that it will introduce a new law that will see more 

regulation of advertising on short text messaging 

services and mobile money business in the East African 

country. 

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) 

said that the new law will “restore sanity” and help 

“improve the quality of services that mobile telephone 

companies have added to their platforms.” 

The statement from the UCC continued to say that 

the new law will help these services from continuing to 

be “a safe haven for fraud to fleece the unsuspecting 

public.” 

According to the UCC Executive Director Godfrey 

Mutabazi “the most common problems have been the 

loss of mobile money, dropped telephone calls, free 

airtime promotions, SMS promotions where the public 

is asked to vote through certain codes, unsolicited 

messaging services where the public loses money by 

replying by text message to certain numbers, as well as 

unexplained airtime deductions.” 

Mutabazi singled out Orange Telecom as the “only 

mobile operator which has tried to stick to prudent 

business by protecting its customers.” 

He added that the “UCC and the Bank of Uganda 

are in advanced stages of coming up with a law on 

mobile commerce as well as make amendments to the 

1997 Uganda Mobile Communications Act because 

it has been found to be lacking in the prosecution of 

fraudsters.” 

“Although the prices of Internet service have 

considerably dropped in the last two years, the quality 

has been compromised by unprofessional activities by 

the telephone operators,” he continued. 

50% Bonus on Data from Airtel Uganda 

AIRTEL UGANDA launched 50% bonus data campaign 

that which is a way of giving back to our data 

customers. This will mean that for every purchase of 

a data bundle, one will get a bonus of 50% on that 

purchase. 

Our aim is to be the most loved brand in the daily 

lives of Ugandans and we recognize the importance of 

internet in the transformation of Uganda as a country 

and in the lives of Ugandans as a people. We are 

continuously trying to make our services more relevant 

to our customers. 

Mr. V.G Somasekhar, the Managing Director, Airtel 

Uganda has this to say, “With the 50% bonus our 

customers will be able to enjoy a wholesome internet 

experience with a reliable and abundant service. We 

hope with this offer to get more people to access our 

affordable data package and transform their lives by 

keeping up with the times.” 

Airtel launched 3.75G in august 2012 and so far 

has the largest 3G Network and the most affordable 

packages. 

On 5th February Airtel also launched a new 

partnership with UGO to avail all her customers with 

free local content through www.ugo.co.ug 

IN BRIEF 

Google Glass 

one step closer 

GOOGLE HAS INVITED software 

developers to get their hands on its 

Project Glass prototypes, in the hope 

that they will start work on new and 

innovative apps that take advantage 

of the upcoming augmented reality 

headset. 

Based around the same technology 

as its Android smartphones and tablets, 

Google Glass was first unveiled in 

April last year as a prototype wearable 

computing device that projects a small, 

discrete image into one eye of the 

wearer. 

Original estimates suggested the 

device would cost the same as a mid- to 

high-end smartphone – in other words, 

roughly $250 to $600. However, that 

target was far below what early adopters 

are being charged for the privilege, 

which is $1,500, something that will 

hopefully change when the technology 

reaches mainstream consumers. 

Project Glass isn’t without its 

competitors: sunglasses specialist 

Oakley is working on a version of its 

own, while Vuzix already sells a range 

of Glass-like devices. Even Motorola 

is getting in on the act, albeit with a 

ruggedised version aimed more at the 

military than the consumer. That’s why 

Google is hoping it will have generated 

developer interest in its Glass Foundry 

days in San Francisco and New York, 

to create unique new apps specifically 

for Project Glass. The invite-only events 

will see developers given access to 

the hardware and underlying software 

interfaces, in order to begin work on 

applications that can make the most of 

the wearable computer system. 

The San Francisco event took place 

at the end of January, and the New 

York event was held at the beginning of 

February. 

MTN introduces 

Nokia Lumia 

MTN UGANDA ANNOUNCED THE availability 

of the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 

smartphones, adding its name to the growing 

list of operators globally selling these flagship 

Windows 8 Phone devices. 

“We’re excited to work with Nokia to bring 

one of the most innovative smartphone on the 

market, – the Nokia Lumia 920. With unrivalled 

innovations in imaging technology, wireless 

charging and a bright, sensitive display, we 

think the Lumia 920 is going to turn a lot of 

heads.” said Ernst Fonternel, MTN Uganda Chief 

Marketing Officer” 

“We welcome MTN Uganda’s decision to 

offer the Nokia Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 to our 

valued consumers in Uganda. With a growing 

demand for smartphones across East Africa, 

we believe this announcement continues the 

momentum behind our Lumia range of devices 

and the broader Windows ecosystem,” said 

Bruce Howe, General Manager for Nokia East 

Africa. 

The Nokia Lumia 920 includes the latest 

advances in Nokia Pure View imaging 

innovation. Using advanced floating lens 

technology, the camera in the Nokia Lumia 

920 is able to take in five times more light 

than competing smartphones without using 

flash, making it possible to capture clear, bright 

pictures and video indoors and at night. It 

also compensates for hand movement while 

the photo is being taken through image 

stabilization technology. 

In addition to built-in wireless charging, the 

Nokia 920 also comes with Nokia City Lens, the 

latest addition to the Nokia location suite and 

the start of a new augmented reality experience 

that also enhances Nokia Maps. Along with 

enhancements to Nokia Drive and Nokia 

Transport, the Nokia location suite of services 

represents the most comprehensive, integrated 

mapping experience of any smartphone. 

The Nokia Lumia 820 is a snappy, mid-range 

smartphone that delivers high-end performance 

in a compact package. While the Nokia Lumia 

820 has the same unibody look and feel as the 

high end Lumia smartphones, it comes with an 

exchangeable shell design. Exchangeable shells 

not only make it possible to select from a range 

of colors, but also to add wireless charging. 

Beneath the shell is room to insert a micro SD 

memory card. 

Both phones will be available in pentaband 

LTE and HSPA+ variants. 

The Lumia 920 is priced at UGX2, 255,000. 

The Lumia 820 is priced at UGX1, 615,000. Both 

phones come bundled with 300MB and are 

now available at all MTN service centers 


ISSUE 25 FEBRUARY 2013 pc tech 9 

UPDATE

UPDATE 

10 

 

 

 

 

 


Curve 9220 

Adobe Creative 

Suite 2 goes 

free (sort of ) 

ADOBE, THE CREATOR of software such as Photoshop and 

InDesign, has made its entire Creative Suite 2 (CS2) free to 

download – sort of. Having disabled the CS2 activation servers 

late last year, the company was inundated with complaints from 

users demanding to download and install software they had already 

paid for. In response, Adobe released both the installation 

files and accompanying serial numbers for download, letting 

anyone who previously bought CS2 re-install it on a new PC. 

However, this generosity has also been extended to the 

general public; initially, anyone with an Adobe.com account 

was able to download the files, but now simply pointing your 

browser at www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index. 

html will give you complete access to the Creative Suite files. 

Although the software is only intended for those who purchased 

it legally in the past, there’s nothing to stop anyone from 

downloading the company’s Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, 

Premiere, Audition or the entire Creative Suite software to their 

own PCs. 

CS2 originally launched in 2005, and as such isn’t optimised 

for the latest processors or graphics cards – if you want hardware 

acceleration and some of the software’s more advanced 

features, you’ll need to pay for the latest version. 

However, each application represents a major improvement 

over the free alternatives: Photoshop CS2 has many more 

features than Microsoft Paint, Paint.NET and the GIMP image 

editors, while Premiere is far more powerful than Windows 

Movie Maker. InDesign and Illustrator are both industry standard 

design programs, which don’t have free alternatives. 

We were able to install each Creative Suite application on a 

Windows 8 computer and can confirm they work perfectly. It 

might be something of a legal grey area, but while the files are 

still freely available we suggest you give it a try. 

MTN’s cross-border fibre cable commissioned 

By AlBert Mucunguzi 

MTN Uganda this month commissioned its 

fibre network at Katuna Border in Kabale, 

Uganda. 

“The launch of the new fibre system at 

Katuna is a major development which we 

are confident will have a positive impact on 

the future of Uganda’s ICT Roadmap, and 

will substantially improve connectivity with 

neighboring countries,” said CEO Mazen 

Mroue in a press statement. 

The event at Katuna border is has been 

graced by ICT Minister, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, 

UCC‘s Executive Director Godfrey Mutabazi, as 

well as MTN Chairman Charles Mbiire. 

Since its launch in Uganda in 1998, MTN 

Uganda has made major investments in 

Uganda. In 2012 alone, its CAPEX investments 

exceeded USD 80 million by December. This 

investment was mainly towards the expansion 

of network infrastructure, establishment of 

ultra-modern Switching and Data Centre, as 

well as rollout of fibre infrastructure to boost 

the quality of voice and data services 

In terms of Network infrastructure, last year 

MTN Uganda rolled out an additional 600km 

of fibre backbone closing the year with over 

2,800km of fibre system providing the capacity 

for high speed data connectivity and wider 

national coverage of 3G mobile data services 

that extend internet access to the rural areas 

of Uganda. 

MTN Uganda has over the last 6 months 

completed the installation of another 81 new 

Network Coverage Sites and also added 

another batch of capacity sites to enhance 

the quality of network services across 

Uganda. MTN has a total of 1,100 sites at the 

end of 2012 providing Network Coverage 

and communication services to millions of 

Ugandans across the country. 

In 2009 MTN Uganda launched the first 

mobile money service with tremendous 

success. MTN Uganda Mobile Money ranks 

2nd in the world in terms of absolute number 

of active customer accounts added during 

2012 as per GSMA research completed 

recently. 

Over the past couple of years MTN has 

also installed backhaul systems providing 

connectivity to the submarine cables landed 

at Mombasa. This has enabled secured and 

reliable connectivity with the rest of the world 

while providing quality voice and data services 

and high level redundancy. 

MTN has an extensive list of new 

innovations that will be gradually announced 

during the year. MTN Uganda announced 

recently about the plan to deploy Long Term 

Evolution (LTE) network in Uganda during 

the coming months, which will enable MTN 

Customers to access world class internet with 

bandwidth speed up to 100Mbps. Today, more 

than 7.5 Million Ugandan enjoys country wide 

the Yellow revolution providing best network, 

fastest growing Mobile Money services, widest 

coverage and world class internet. 

ISSUE 25 FEBRUARY 2013 pc tech 11 

UPDATE 

Uganda Communications Commissions Executive 

Director, godfrey Mutabazi, MTN Chairman Charles 

Mbiire, Uganda ICT Minister, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, 

and MTN CEO Mazen Mroue pose for a photograph at 

Katuna border last month. [Photo by A. Mucunguzi]

UPDATE 

12 

Kenya: SIM Registration 

Laws Come Into Effect 

The SIM card registration 

regulations come into effect 

today, a month after they were 

gazetted on January 11. The 

Communications Commission 

of Kenya (CCK) has asked 

the operators to submit their 

statistics on reconnected lines, 

new registrations and suspended 

lines to monitor compliance with 

the regulations. 

Under the Miscellaneous 

Amendment Act No 12 of 2012, 

mobile operators have to keep 

an accurate register of the people they provide 

access to. Those found not complying face a 

fine of up to KSh500,000 (approx US$5,700) 

for any breach of the law. 

Users of the unregistered SIM cards are not 

spared either as, according to the law, anyone 

found in contravention faces a fine of up to 

KSh300,000 (approx US$3,400) or a three year 

jail term. 

MTN, RIM partner on Blackberry 10 

MTN Nigeria and Research In 

Motion (RIM) - now BlackBerry 

- makers of the brand new 

Blackberry Z10 smartphone, 

are planning to introduce the 

new Blackberry 10 to the country. If the deal 

sails through, MTN will be the first to bring the 

latest Blackberry to the Nigerian market. 

MTN customers will be among the first users 

in the world to experience the new product, 

which has been re-designed to give customers 

a unique experience. 

Speaking on the deal, Chief Marketing 

Officer, MTN Nigeria, Larry Annetts, said the 

firm is giving them value for their money. 

“MTN is offering pre-order opportunities 

thus conferring on our customers the privilege 

of being one of the first to own the device in 

Nigeria. Not only that, those who pre-order 

will get the smartphone at a bargain price and 

they will be contacted for pickup at locations 

ABOUT PC TECH NEWS 


of their choice even before the phones 

become commercially available at retail stores. 

They are not required to make any deposits; 

they will simply pay on delivery,” he said. 

MTN Nigeria has an alliance with RIM, 

dating back to 2007, when MTN Nigeria was 

the first telecoms company in Africa to offer 

Blackberry on pre-paid. 

Analysts say the success of the Blackberry 

10 will largely rest on winning back those 

customers who fled for the gorgeous hardware 

and exceptional user interface of the iPhone or 

fancied the range of phones running Android. 

The task is tougher here, though at least 

BlackBerry has 70,000 apps available on day 

one. This is a remarkable achievement and 

is many ways is enough to be going on with. 

Apple and Android have over 700,000 apps 

each, but the number of jewels is much lower. 

Some of the stories posted in this section have been extracted from Pc Tech online’s daily news updates. You can visit www. 

pctechmag.com for daily tech news stories. If you wish to run your story, please email it to editor@pctechmagazine.com*. 

*Not all stories that we receive are published. 

Information 

and Communication 

ministry permanent secretary Dr 

Bitange Ndemo said the efforts are meant 

to ensure that a repeat of the 2007/08 post 

election violence that saw telecommunication 

gadgets play a major role is not repeated. 

“Mobile operators will bear 

the intermediary liability in that 

they become an accomplice by 

failure to register the SIM-cards. 

Any aggrieved person can sue 

the telecommunication firms for 

any crimes committed using the 

unregistered SIM cards. It will be 

upon the mobile operators to 

reveal the identity of the person,” 

said Ndemo in an interview with 

Business Daily. 

Critics observe the operators 

have every reason to avoid 

finding themselves pinned against the wall for 

crimes perpetrated by their subscribers given 

the number of increased kidnappings and hate 

speech using mobile phone devices. 

As to the level of compliance, Kenyans have 

to wait and see whether the CCK will have the 

power to implement some of these threats 

against major companies largely considered to 

be more powerful than the regulator. 

Kenya Begins Construction Of ‘Silicon’ City Konza 

Kenya’s president has launched a 

$14.5bn (£9.1bn) project to build 

a new city intended to be an IT 

business hub and dubbed “Africa’s 

Silicon Savannah”. 

It will take 20 years to build Konza 

Technology City about 60km (37 miles) from 

the capital, Nairobi. 

It is hoped that more than 20,000 IT jobs 

will be created in Konza by 2015, and more 

than 200,000 jobs by 2030. 

Despite Kenya’s usually divisive politics, the 

project has the backing of all political parties. 

Konza is part of the government’s ambitious 

Vision 2030 initiative to improve muchneglected 

infrastructure over the next 18 

years. 

Correspondents say the government also 

wants to take advantage of the growing 

number of software developers in the East 

African nation. 

‘TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITIES’ 

“It is expected to spur massive trade and 

investment as well as create thousands of 

employment opportunities for young Kenyans 

in the ICT [information communications 

technology] sector,” President Mwai Kibaki said 

at the ceremony to launch the construction, 

adding it would be a “game-changer” for the 

country’s development. 

He called on domestic and foreign investors 

to take advantage of Konza’s “tremendous 

opportunities”. 

The 5,000-acre (2,011-hectare) site was a 

ranch to the south-east of Nairobi on the way 

to the port city of Mombasa. 

When the plan was announced after the last 

elections property prices in the area soared, 

reporters say. 

According to the Konza information 

website, the city wants to attract business 

process outsourcing, software development, 

data centres, disaster recovery centres, call 

centres and light assembly manufacturing 

industries. 

A university campus focused on research 

and technology as well as hotels, residential 

areas, schools and hospitals will also be built. 

The government has appointed the Konza 

Technopolis Development Authority to oversee 

the building of the IT hub, which will be built 

in four phases – starting with the technology 

centres first. 

NaiLab has been contracted by the Kenya 

ICT Board (KICTB) to pilot the National 

Business Incubation program for companies 

with high growth potential. This project is an 

initiative of the Kenyan Ministry of Information 

and Communications under the World Bank 

funded Kenya Transparency & Infrastructure 

Project. 

NaiLab is a Kenyan Tech Business Incubator 

based in Nairobi that was launched two years 

ago. It’s goal is to lower the entry barriers for 

ICT entrepreneurs who want to start and scale 

their businesses in Kenya. Business Incubation 

provides entrepreneurs with access to critical 

information, education, contacts, capital and 

other resources crucial to the growth of the 

business. 

Ten tech ways to say ‘I love you’ 

1. TWEET YOUR SWEET CLUES TO WHERE 

you should meet with Google Map links and 

send her Facebook gifts as a prelude to more 

geeky treats. Tech her out to a laser show 

and have her select whether she likes the Jelly 

Bean, Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich 

as a Valentines gift. As the final move, show 

her a YouTube link to your love declaration 

and leave her a self-designed game where 

the hero rescues the damsel in distress from a 

world being overtaken by killer robots. 

2. Give your girl a bunch of roses, handmade 

via your 3D printer. 

3. For those struggling to find someone to 

tell those three special words, check out the 

Crazy Blind Date app, powered by developers 

OKCupid. Unlike other dating applications, it is 

more private and turns dating into a game. All 

the user gets prior to the date is a scrambled 

picture of their potential love interest. 

4. Will you embed with me? 

5. The free Valentine app for Windows 

Phone does the job for you with a gift section 

and 40 pre-designed romantic text messages. 

All you need to do is enter the right number. 

6. Poke them on Facebook. 

8. If there is no one to say ‘I love you’ to 

then check out new South African social network 

No Strings Attached. A “hookup” website 

which went live on January 4, it is free for the 

first two months after registration. The site is 

based on the premise that people do not want 

relationships, but rather a ‘one night-stand’. 

9. Rather than tell a person ‘I love you’, 

Where is Your Valentine allows people to label 

a place their one true love. Developer team 

Maptia believe “places are like people - that 

their sights, and sounds, and personalities can 

fill our lives with joy and wonder, that we can 

fall heads over heels in love with a place just 

as deeply as with a person, and that for just 

a few special places we form relationships or 

memories that last a lifetime”. 

10. Nestor Benavidez: Why not use a programming 

language to say ‘I love you’?: 

a) Java comment 

/* I love you */ 

b) Ruby times loop 

1000000.times do 

puts “I love you” 

end 

c) Java while loop (infinite) 

while (true) 

{ 

IloveYou++; 

} 

ISSUE 25 FEBRUARY 2013 pc tech 13 

UPDATE

WHAT’S NEW 

gADgETS, TECHNOLOgY 

14 

BlackBerry’s 

Z10 Smartphone 

BLACKBERRY Z10 ISN’T JUST 

another new smartphone. It’s a 

symbol of redemption, the net 

result of the efforts of thousands 

working to salvage one of the most 

famous brands in the history of 

mobile technology. For the first 

time in years, “the new BlackBerry” 

isn’t just some repackaged business 

phone; it’s an iconic flagship on 

which rests the fate of the company 

that now shares its name. 

“We had to make a serious 

decision,” BlackBerry CEO Thorsten 

Heins said at the coming-out party 

for its new smartphones; “adopt 

someone else’s platform, or build a 

new one from the ground up. We 

decided to go it alone.” 

It’s almost easier to ask “what 

changes weren’t made?” This is a 

ground-up overhaul for BlackBerry, 

and they’re hedging the entire 

company on the success of this 

new platform. Among some 

improvements: 

• 

The Z10’s hardware is a giant 

step forward. It packs a 1.5 

GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 

CPU, 4.2-inch HD display, 2 GB 

THE PROTOTYPE PANASONIC 4K 20-inch tablet 

premiered at CES 2013 in Las Vegas. But it won’ 

remain a prototype for much longer. Yup, this megasize, 

ultra HD tablet is heading to the shelves later in 

the year. 

Aimed at the pro market, the giganta-tab - which 

doesn’t have an official name or price point as yet 

- packs in a 3840 x 2560 pixel resolution across its 

20-inch LED-backlit surface. But it doesn’t add on the 

pounds. Weighing in at around 2.2kgs, it feels really 

light considering its sheer scale. 

Tucked in to the trim body is an Intel Core i5 

1.8Ghz processor with Nvidia GeForce graphics and 

16GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD for storage. We had 

a play with the Windows 8 touchscreen and all that 

power sure does deliver the heat - literally; the rear of 

the tablet felt very warm to the touch when rested on 

the one hand. 

The touchscreen felt generally responsive and we 

even had a play with an optional stylus that responded 

much like a normal pen. Writing, scribbling - it was 

easy to add notes over architectural drawings. 

Visually, too, the 4K tablet with its relatively slight 

bezel is all about the visuals. Flicking through a gallery 

• 

• 

• 

of RAM, a 1,800 mAh battery, 

and 4G LTE connectivity (in 

most markets). The hardware 

itself is well-designed, and 

still retains a corporate look 

and feel for those legacy 

BlackBerry users. 

The camera is improved 

and offers new features like 

TimeShift, which allows you 

to take multiple pictures and 

choose the best face(s) - all 

without modifying the existing 

picture. 

The on-screen keyboard is 

a huge improvement from 

the Storm days, with fantastic 

prediction software. 

BlackBerry 10 exudes a far 

more modern feel, though the 

exact gestures will take some 

time to get used to. The 

personalization isn’t quite to 

par with other OSes on the 

market, and the file system 

needs some work. 

It’s new! For those fatigued with 

Android, iOS, and Windows Phone, 

this could be a device to turn 

to. 

of Lumix camera images the resolution and bright 

panel really shows its worth. 

How much, exactly, that will be worth we’re yet to 

hear. Don’t expect this tablet to be a budget buy by 

any means, but we’re impressed with what’s on ground 

so far. 

Google’s Touchscreen Laptop 

The Chrome Pixel 

GOOGLE unveiled a groundbreaking 

new Chromebook laptop — one with 

touchscreen capability, 

powerful chipset 

and an extremely 

high-resolution 

display. 

The Chromebook 

Pixel, available for 

order on the Google Play 

store and shipping in April, 

features a 12.85-inch touchsensitive 

Gorilla Glass screen. 

The resolution is 4.3 million pixels, 

which 

works 

out to 

239 

pixels per 

inch. (The average Windows 

laptop has about half that; technically, it also 

beats the Macbook Retina.) 

The Pixel will come in two versions, both 

boasting an Intel Core i5 processor. The 

basic model is Wi-Fi only; a more expensive 

model has the ability to connect to Verizon’s 

superfast LTE network. Google claims a battery 

life of five hours on the device, which has 

QuickOffice built into the browser and an 

SD card slot for automatic photo uploads to 

Google+. Those features can also be used 

offline 

(uploads queued for 

later, of course). 

The price, however, is relatively steep: 

$1,299 for the Wi-Fi only version, $1,449 for 

the LTE model. 

Google was careful to emphasize that the 

Pixel isn’t for everyone. “This is for power users 

who live in the cloud,” Senior Vice President of 

Chrome Sundar Pichai repeatedly told a select 

group of journalists at a low-key launch event 

in San Francisco. 

Having a touchscreen doesn’t mean that 

Google plans to integrate its mobile OS, 

Android, into the device. But Pichai hoped 

web developers would start making their 

interfaces touch-sensitive — so that content 

on the device would be indistinguishable from 

Android. 

“Touch is here to stay, and I’m pretty sure 

every laptop will have touch in the future,” 

Pichai said. “Using a laptop with touch seems 

strange at first, but your day-to-day browser 

experience starts changing. In our tests, 

users started replacing the touchpad pretty 

quickly.” 

The aluminum-coated Pixel was designed 

and built by 

Google, with help from 

other unnamed PC manufacturers. Plenty of 

thought appears to have gone into the design: 

For example, there’s an extra laser microphone 

under the keyboard, complementing the two 

mics next to the camera, allowing the software 

to cancel out any noise you might make while 

typing on a video conference. 

“Our goal was to have the hardware 

disappear,” Pichai added. 

Panasonic 4K 20-inch tablet New Samsung Refrigerator 

Has Soda Stream Built In 

We’ve seen some pretty snazzy high tech 

refrigerators lately, but a fridge that has a 

sparkling water dispenser? That takes the 

cake. 

Samsung has announced that its new 36” 

four-door refrigerator has the industry’s firstever 

automatic sparkling water dispenser. 

It’s powered by SodaStream, so you can get 

cold, bubbly water anytime of the day or 

night. The filtered sparkling water will come 

through the dispenser on the fridge door 

that already delivers water and ice. 

The sparkling water dispenser uses a 

standard SodaStream 60L CO2 cylinder 

which is concealed inside the left refrigerator 

door. That way it’s easy to get to when you 

need to change it. 

Kevin Dexter, senior vice president of 

home appliances sales and marketing for 

Samsung Electronics America, said, “By 

joining forces with SodaStream, we are able 

to offer our consumers something never 

before seen on a refrigerator and bring a 

new experience to the kitchen.” 

All this fizz comes with a price. 

The Samsung Refrigerator with sparkling 

water dispenser will be available in the U.S. in 

April 2013 for around $3899. 



WHAT’S NEW 15

COVER STORY 

16 

Inside East 

Africa’s Biggest 

Co-working 

Spaces 

“Hubs” are all over the place these days. And if you look closely, 

it means there’s one universal problem: how to turn techies into 

entreprenuers. So this article, part of which is from a report from 

a research that used iHub (Nairobi) as a case study, seeks to tell 

us how the business of coding is turning into real business! 



COVER STORY 17

COVER STORY 

18 

DOWN TO BUSINESS 

As fibre optic cables continue to lay the 

foundations for a new era of African innovation, 

the continent is undergoing a dramatic “techhub 

boom”. There are now more than 50 tech 

hubs, labs, incubators and accelerators across 

Africa, with a new one springing up nearly 

every two weeks. 

These hubs portray a very different Africa 

to the one often seen in the media and attract 

creative, young tech graduates who come in 

search of opportunity. In most cities, these 

spaces offer students, programmers, developers, 

entrepreneurs, creative, investors and techies a 

place to work, network and create for the first 

time. 

As these spaces become the nerve centres 

for the tech community, they also become 

critical international touch-points for those 

seeking to engage in technology and business in 

Africa. They are the new points of exchange for 

long-term expatriates and short-term visitors 

looking to identify trends, find local talent, and 

catch the African wave of innovation. 

AS 

part of a year-long 

study on various ICT 

Hubs across Africa, 

the iHub Research 

conducted a 3-month 

study to understand the iHub model, its 

members and how the iHub impacts the 

individual members. The study builds on 

surveys with the 7,011 total members and 

interviews with various stakeholders. 

This research aimed to understand the 

impact of the ICT Hubs to entrepreneurs. 

An ICT hub is a space where technologists 

congregate to bounce ideas around, network, 

work, program and design to bring their ideas 

to fruition. The first ICT Hub of the 15 hubs 

to be profiled within this study series is iHub, 

Nairobi’s innovation Hub for the Technology 

Community. The study found that 100% of 

the entrepreneurs appreciate the iHub space 

as it has been a conducive and innovative 

co-working space that drives continuous 

networking through the events, community 

meetups that leads to collaboration and 

partnerships, sharing skills and knowledge 

through teamwork among others. This is likely 

because most of these talented entrepreneurs 

having graduated with no formal job 

opportunities, have had their talents and 

skills nurtured and housed under these hubs. 

Overall, the entrepreneurs believe that the 

iHub can further sustain this co-working spirit 

by building more capacity through communal 

projects and active virtual member interaction 

among others. 

ABOUT IHUB 

For years, technological innovations were 

limited to universities and to a select few 

ambitious souls. In the span of two to 

three years, however, the innovation scene 

in Kenya has greatly expanded thanks to 

careful planning and a push for a robust 

telecommunications infrastructure and highcapacity 

International gateways. At the front 

line, pushing for this progress has been the 

Kenya ICT Board. 

The Kenya ICT Board aims to accelerate the 

momentum of the ICT sector in the country. 

Dr. Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent 

Secretary in the Ministry of Information and 

Communications has conceptualized a plan 

to see ICT contribute twenty-five percent to 

the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) – 

which would outstrip agriculture’s contribution 

to GDP in the country (ICT Procurement 2012). 

The Kenyan government also plans to set up 

a steering committee to oversee the country’s 

transition to a “digital nation,” providing 

support to entrepreneurs looking to start their 

own businesses. 

There is huge untapped talent of young and 

upcoming tech innovators who are building 

great innovations (Vision 2030 Report Kenya). 

Hubs such as iHub are being viewed by many 

as a means of nurturing talent and providing 

youth employment for graduates. It is 

therefore important to understand what makes 

these Hubs/Labs successful and their impact 

to the tech community of entrepreneurs. 

This understanding is recommended for the 

successful implementation of ICT Hubs. 

A recent article written on ‘Silicon Valley 

of the World’ by IBM SmartCamp, that 

examines the world’s up-and-coming tech 

communities – from Germany to Mexico 

to Indonesia and more – compare them 

on a number of different factors, including 

entrepreneurial mindset, access to capital and 

general strengths and weaknesses shows that 

the global entrepreneurship index is at 2.49: 

Kenya is at 2.63, second only to Nigeria at 2.7 

in Africa among others like the US at 2.8. 

This number clearly depicts the great 

potential for Kenya to become a globally 

recognized ICT center and more so, an 

environment for nurturing entrepreneurs 

talent to a higher level. Entrepreneurship 

is becoming widely recognized for its 

role in economic growth through youth 

employment to solve problems that improve 

the living standards of the community to 

enhance a common goal hence need for 

more research to be done on tech hubs to 

understand the implementation of the models 

and entrepreneurs to ensure a sustainable 

SOCIAL SPACE: The hubs are not just about work. They also act as focal 

point for the tech community to come together, learn and, of course party. 

approach in the making. 

As part of a year-long study on various 

ICT Hubs across Africa, the iHub Research 

conducted a 3-month study to understand the 

iHub model, its members and how the iHub 

impacts the individual members. This report 

is the second phase of the first report in the 

series, after the first phase that examined the 

ICT Hubs model report of the iHub, which 

explains how the iHub and its management 

model works. The two reports are 

complementary to each other and together 

inform the reader of the various components 

of the iHub, how they are managed and 

how its management model impacts its 

entrepreneurs. 

To access the iHub Model report, go to 

http://bit.ly/JtonRl. 

Currently there are 7,011 total members in the 

iHub in all membership tiers. 5,915 (84%) are 

male and 1,096 (16%) are female. 

The noticeably large gap in male and 

female members of the iHub reflects a larger 

countrywide and global trend. The gender 

gap in technology remains very real across 

the world, including in Kenya. Perhaps the gap 

exists because women view computer science 

as a subject for men, or have not developed 

skills in the field because they have not been 

exposed to the subject matter or have been 

discouraged by family and friends. Despite the 

many possible analogies why there are fewer 

women in the computer science field, there is 

enormous potential for maximizing the growth 

of technology through increasing the number 

and quality of women in technology with 

initiatives such as Akirachix among others that 

are springing up from the iHub. 

HOW IHUB STARTED 

iHub was started as part of the Ushahidi 

strategy. Erik Hersman, founder of iHub, and 

a group of young developers, volunteers and 

journalists who were passionate and energetic 

about technology assisted in developing the 

Ushahidi platform for the global community. 

Due to space limitation, the developers 

were forced to meet in co_ee shops and 

restaurants that had limited WiFi connection. 

These meeting places had a couple of 

challenges. 

It was expensive for the members to work 

from there, as they had to buy something to 

either eat or drink as they worked from places 

like Java House and Dorman’s. 

There were also many distractions that 

arose from the restaurants. 

It was then that, Erik Hersman, some of 

the advisors, and Jessica Colaço, the initial 

iHub Manager; gave birth to the iHub—at 

the time, just a bare concrete space with a 

few chairs, a table, and a router flickering 

in the background. The original team sat 

and thought of how they would be able to 

accommodate thousands of techies in Nairobi 

in that space and breathe life into the space 

and the community. “We were looking for 

techies who were doers and not talkers. The 

techies therefore had to undergo a vetting 

process and fit within a certain structure,” says 

Jessica Colaco. “We then decided to come up 

with a membership structure to accommodate 

the physical and virtual techies of Nairobi and 

Kenya,” she continues. 

Erik started jotting the structure that the 

iHub would adopt on a piece of paper. White 

members – these are the ‘virtual’, green 

members – those who can physically access 

the space, red members - physical members 

with a semi-permanent desk space, and black 

members - the iHub management team that 

assists in daily management and operations. 

All of these members came together to 

make the iHub space a reality. It was only later 

that the founding team realized that they had 

picked the colors of the Kenyan flag for the 

membership structure. 

The piece of paper, which had the details of 

the membership structure, was then used to 

develop wireframes and mockups to be used 

to build the iHub membership system. 

These were further refined to a functional 

website by a volunteer web team, led by 

Joshua Musua, the webmaster for iHub. 

Challenges faced by members as they run 

their businesses 

The entrepreneurs have also faced 

challenges either as startups or freelancers 

Inside kLab, Kigali 

Expectations while joining kLab 

When coming to kLab, there is one thing in mind, a space to think and collaborate. My 

expectation in the space was to find people that could work within our startup company 

Zilencio Creativo’s project and bring it to life. Coming from a technical background with a 

passion for branding I needed people with programming skills to team up with so that we 

harness our efforts and create an impactful product. 

kLab environment and culture 

kLab is a serene environment for developers, IT enthusiasts and interested parties of a growing 

ICT community in Rwanda fostering intellect and entrepreneurial spirit. “The space gives 

one a peace of mind to work, providing a professional space to engage with other tenants and 

experienced mentors” says Ara. 

kLab brings like-minded innovators together and give them the resources they need 

to explore their ideas, learn from each other, and develop innovative solutions. kLab is 

a technology space enabling ambitious entrepreneurs come together and develop their 

trailblazing ideas into successful businesses. 

Opportunities and exposure at kLab 

Ara’s startup company, Zilencio Creativo emerged as the 2012 finalist for the Startup World 

competition in Kigali. “As we prepare ourselves to travel to Sillicon Valley to compete globally, 

we are working hard on our winning crowdfunding project prototype” says Ara. My company 

was also selected to be part of local ICT companies that went to showcase their products at this 

year’s ITU Telecom World in Dubai, with this our team considers this opportunity and award 

possible only by the exposure provided by kLab. 

With people you create experiences; kLab is such a space to provide you with both an 

experience and a community to engage with. For any technology person out there, for 

any person who has an idea that can get into the ICT field, I recommend to join the kLab 

community. 



COVER STORY 19

COVER STORY 

20 

DOWN TO BUSINESS 

as they run their businesses. Some of the 

key challenges that the researchers identified 

include but not limited to: 

1. Funding 

Many of the entrepreneurs either have 

no access to enough capital to grow their 

business in terms of scaling up their products 

and their team capacity, hence many of 

them do not end up focusing on their core 

business, but are required to have free-lance 

side projects in order to generate revenue 

to sustain the business. Without appropriate 

financing, the inevitable result is a significant 

slowdown in the business development 

process, which may ultimately jeopardize 

chances of success. 

2. Sustained Growth 

With today’s increased market competition 

and change of technologies, requires that 

the entrepreneurs need to constantly revise 

their innovation strategy by continuously 

developing and organizing capabilities 

within companies and translating them into 

competitive advantages and profits. The 

challenge faced by most of these startups is 

the ability to continuously innovate to cultivate 

the right environment where their innovations 

can be repeated and satisfy the needs of the 

existing customers. 

3. The right mentors 

Only a few of the entrepreneurs are lucky 

enough to have the support of mentors. Many 

of these entrepreneurs are still searching for 

the right mentors who can create time to 

continuously advise them and guide them 

through as they run their business. Mentors 

come in di_erent shape, size and forms, with 

their experience and diverse skills they can be 

able to strategically provide support that is 

necessary to the entrepreneurs in each stage 

of their business. Finding a good mentor and 

building a strong relationship takes time. It 

takes a strong time investment on both sides 

in order to make it a meaningful and valuable 

relationship. 

4. Pricing their products 

Q&A: Outbox Hub’s Richard Zulu 

TELL US ABOUT OUTBOx 

Outbox is a technology incubation, collaboration 

space, and innovation hub for techies – as well 

as other people in the technology space to meet 

and create ideas that they can later on turn 

into sustainable businesses that utilize a mobile 

phone and the internet. 

Those are the three aspects of Outbox. So, 

first of all, we focus on fostering technology 

entrepreneurship – which we do through the 

incubation of utmost 5 startups in our incubation 

program. We take these through business and 

technology training, thereby helping them 

become sustainable businesses. 

As far as Collaboration is concerned, we 

create a space where like-minded people can 

come together can co-create. You see, when 

businesses thrive, there’s also a possibility of 

inter-marketing, because of the various skills 

that these individuals have. All that boosts 

entrepreneurship. That’s done through the space, 

and also the kind of events that we hold. 

Our main focus is entrepreneurship, but not 

everybody is born to be an entrepreneur. Which 

brings me to our third aspect, Capacity Building. 

We engage with different groups in various 

events through which we equip them with skills 

we believe can empower them to perform better 

in their various fields. We hosted over 20 events 

last year alone. 

We’ve been able to work and take in three 

companies – startups – and last year one of 

them was able to obtain funding to help them 

set up. 

HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THE 

FUNDING? 

It’s very significant. Quite a lot. 

WHICH COMpANY IS THAT? 

Unfortunately, I can’t disclose. 

HOW DOeS OUTBOx BeNeFIT? 

At the end of the day, we want to have 

impact. Our current focus is to create 

sustainable businesses that drive relevance on 

the mobile and web. Having such milestones will 

encourage other people to embrace the kind of 

initiatives that we are trying to push out here – it 

leads us more to our final objective. 

HOW DO YOU SUSTAIN YOUR ACTIVITIeS? 

Outbox’s sustainability model is built around quite 

a number of things. First of all, Outbox provides 

the co-working space – a space that comes at a 

price. entrepreneurs pay to have access to the 

internet, access to our partner network – Google, 

Samsung, e.t.c - and access to our business 

support services. 

We also host a number of events – people rent 

the premises to host various events. 

Outbox is run as a business. 

BUT YOU HAVe pARTNeRS WHO ARe 

GIVING YOU SeeD FUNDING; HOW DO THeY 

BeNeFIT FROM YOUR ACTIVITIeS? 

Most of the partners we work with align with 

the objective of creating sustainable businesses, 

and that’s how we look out for our partners. 

Working with such an initiative helps them push 

their objectives as we achieve ours. Having all of 

us working together in the ecosystem will later 

on help us realize our goals. 

YOU’Ve HeARD OF THe LAW OF 

DIFFUSION OF INNOVATION? HOW DOeS 

THIS FIT INTO YOUR BUSINeSS pLAN? 

One thing we have realized is that it’s still a 

challenge for most of the people to understand 

what we do. When you talk of words like 

Innovation, collaboration – some people don’t 

quite understand what we do. 

Most of the people we have in this space are 

early adopters – people who go out of their way 

to learn what it is that’s going on here. 

The kind of marketing we do is mainly 

through out-reach activities – universities and the 

like. Our approach to outreach is very targeted, 

and we have intentionally kept it that way. 

It is clear that 77% of the 

entrepreneurs we interviewed have clients 

for their business, but the question is are 

they proposing the right prices to them? 

How do they ensure they price their products 

sustainably and not ‘free’ model that will lead 

their companies to bankruptcy? On the other 

hand, if the entrepreneurs are working on 

social products, do they have enough support 

from funders to scale their products? Most of 

the entrepreneurs do not consider coming 

up with a pricing strategy for their products, 

basing their pricing on tiers depending on 

their target users. 

5. Competition 

The entrepreneurs competing against larger 

organizations in the market such as Google, 

and Safaricom, among others, sometimes 

find that their ideas end up being ‘stolen’ 

and implemented by these corporates. This 

leads to the entrepreneurs having a negative 

mindset and lack of confidence in their ideas. 

They end up having excuses, fears that 

paralyze them from achieving their dream. 

6. Unverified Assumptions 

The nexus of tech startup failures are false 

assumptions, wild guesses, conjecture and 

generalized self-deception. Extrapolating 

anomalies are in the same category as false 

assumptions. Most of the entrepreneurs do 

not consider doing market research before or 

as they develop their projects to understand 

their market and if their product is viable. 

They focus on the technical aspect and forget 

the most important thing that clients want to 

know —how does this technology, product or 

service add value to me? How does it solve 

my problem? 

WHITE MEMBERS 

Richard zulu, 

Program Director 

- Outbox Uganda 

As earlier mentioned, the iHub has a 

population of 7,011 members. As it is 

impossible to have all of these members 

physically accessing the space, 96% of the 

entire iHub membership populations are 

white members (6,738 in number). The white 

members are basically an online community 

that attends occasionally or regularly the iHub 

events held in the physical space. These white 

members are constrained by various factors 

that do not allow them the option of being a 

red or green member as depicted in the figure 

below: 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

The key objectives of the research was to 

investigate what factors make up the ICT Hubs 

model and how the model itself impacts to 

the entrepreneurs in the space, that make 

them to actively continue to use the space. In 

the coming months, the study will also focus 

on other initiatives in the eco-system such 

as innovations at high level of education and 

upcoming local tech companies’ in order to 

measure the innovation in the country, which 

will then be replicated to other hubs, and 

initiatives around Africa. 

In the long run the research will aim to do 

a comparative study to identify what unique 

factors came out of the different hubs that 

make them successful creating an impaction 

on the economy’s development that is 

adoption of new technologies and innovations 

of employment leading to improvement in the 

living standards. 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IHUB 

AND OTHER ICT HUBS: 

When asked what changes members 

would like to see at the iHub this year 

(2012), members shared the following 

recommendations: 

Events to Build Pitching and Presentation 

Skills 

30% (n=6) of the interviewed members 

suggested that the iHub management should 

train people on pitching their products. 

The researchers believe that eff¬ecting 

platforms such as 5-minute presentations 

with the overall community, and community 

consulting projects will greatly accelerate 

the development of members’ skills through 

sharing knowledge, above all building 

members’ confidence to become better in 

presentation skills. 

Creating Opportunities For Funding 

the iHub management to start marketing startups 

that have a good product to potential 

investors and clients, also creating formal 

networks for seed funding opportunities. 

Finding relevant funding for startups has been 

a key challenge at their early stages (Capital 

Markets Authority of Kenya 2012), although 

some innovators and entrepreneurs have 

found avenues to get the funding they need 

through participating in pitching competitions 

such as IPO48, Pivot East, and Mobile Garage, 

among others. 

Hence there is a need for ICT Hubs to 

help start-ups look for necessary funding 

from a wide array of sources, such as using 

venture capitalist from their networks but also 

advocating for more local investors to start 

investing in making the country an IT hub. On 

the other hand, the entrepreneurs have to be 

serious about their businesses and execute to 

enhance minimal risks and an incentive for the 

investors to see the startup succeed; the better 

the startup does, the greater the Venture 

Capitalists’ return on investment. 

Diversity of Events 

This study revealed that there are some 

members who frequent the space often feel 

the iHub events are repetitive. Nevertheless, 

these responses are not reflective of all of the 

7,011-iHub members. The research suggests 

that iHub management not to eliminate the 

events that are currently taking place, but 

rather, have more diversified events, especially 

focused on business aspects of building a 

start-up. In addition, exploring other avenues 

of marketing the events may also help to bring 

new audience groups to the iHub events. 

Membership Turnover 

Having a 6-month assessment for green 

members to reapply for membership allows 

other members a chance to apply and 

enjoy the benefits of the iHub space. White 

members who are virtual should be given 

alternative options depending on their 

schedule, even if it means allowing them 

to visit the space and work for some hours 

to physically interact with the community. 

Nevertheless, the researchers believe having 

online forums and initiatives such as the online 

write board will be a remedy for physical 

engagement with the community. 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 

ENTREPRENEURS: 

Create a detailed financial model 

Members suggested that it would be good for 

Want to contribute to PC Tech Magazine? 

Contact us with a brief bio, and a link to your previous pieces 

editor@pctechmagazine.com 



COVER STORY 21

SPECIAL 

22 

Bootstrapping–self-funding from one’s own savings such as 

pocket money, friends & relatives—is the most preferred option 

for funding a start-up because one does not end up spending a 

lot of time going hat-in-hand to investors and does not relinquish 

any control of their company. Entrepreneurs should ensure they 

have carefully planned their businesses in advance by creating a 

detailed financial model that projects their revenues accurately, 

estimating the company’s financial circumstances over the next 

2-3 years. 

ICT Hubs should also set up formal mechanisms to link 

entrepreneurs to potential capital opportunities through venture 

capitalists or funding to promote their own innovators. 

Create a strategic plan 

The challenge of most of the startups is to continuously innovate 

and cultivate an environment where innovations can be repeated 

and satisfy the needs of customers. This challenge can be 

addressed through a clear strategic plan where the entrepreneurs 

can continuously revise to always ensure they align with the 

changing needs of their users and changing technologies. 

Creating and implementing a clear strategy will not only set the 

company on a clearly articulated course to growth but also bring 

positive side effects like improving teamwork and boost morale. 

Find Appropriate Mentors 

No man is an island, and every entrepreneur needs guidance 

and a support network. While it is important to have a network 

of friends, collaborators, and connections from the community, 

it is equally important to have a mentor act as a steward for the 

startup. Mentors can assist a start-up think through the business 

idea, suggest ways to get funding, or provide the experience and 

contacts that a young business needs. 

Finding the right mentor is a hard task for entrepreneurs, 

something that the management of ICT Hubs can work out 

through their networks, compiling a reliable pool of mentors, 

which entrepreneurs can tap into for help. 

Plan your products accurately 

Entrepreneurs need to formulate a pricing strategy as they plan 

their business. A pricing strategy will help entrepreneurs to 

structure their prices based on their users. Entrepreneurs also 

need to seek advice from experts or mentors to advise if their 

pricing model makes sense. Finally, entrepreneurs must research 

the offering of their competitors and compare prices in order to 

remain competitive. 

Conduct Market Research to Test Your Assumptions 

New facts and circumstances can change the validity of any 

assumption previously held. Sadly, the management of some 

tech start-ups continue to rely upon original assumptions, despite 

mounting results and financial evidence to the contrary. Verifying 

assumptions enables one to be certain that assumptions are valid 

and realistic. Verification can be done through market research. 

Running a start-up without market research as a key 

component in the business plan is like travelling down a highway 

with a blindfold on; Market research for start-ups is essential 

as the organization is at a sensitive stage in understanding the 

needs of their target market. Understanding one’s target market 

can be a benchmark in evaluating the success of a start-up and 

also to help start-ups validate their assumptions. Market research 

will guide entrepreneurs in making strategic business decisions, 

uncovering unmet customer needs, and in many cases, help to 

discover new ideas for products or services. 

Infographic continued from Page 7 

Next Issue: March 15, 2013 

Want to contribute? Got a story? 

Send email to: 

editor@pctechmagazine.com 

Deadline: Friday March 10, 2013 



SPECIAL 23

FEATURES 

24 

REPORTS, ANALYSIS 

10 things the comments section... 

...taught me 

about the Web 

AS WE 

HIT THE 

ROAD FOR 

ANOTHER 

YEAR, 

the pace 

of business 

may slow 

momentarily, 

making it a good 

time to take stock 

of your startup’s IT 

assets, spending and 

future plans. Inevitably, someone – 

maybe the chief financial officer, maybe an 

investor – will want to know how much the company 

spent on technology over the past year. In addition, 

there are tasks to complete now, in order to start fresh 

in the new year. 

Of all the challenges faced by those who put content 

online, the comments facility must be the most vexing 

one. (There’s even a Twitter account, @AvoidComments, 

which reminds followers not to read the comments, 

ever. Sample tweet: Whenever you see a smiling child, 

remember: she’s never read a comment in her life, and 

she’s doing just fine.) 

Many websites have experimented with reining in 

the bad behaviour that predominates in a facility that 

offers a toxic combination of visibility and anonymity. 

Imposing standards all too often means sacrificing 

interaction, however. Recently, TechCrunch announced 

that it’s bringing its comments facility back; channelling 

comments via Facebook resulted in a precipitous dropoff 

in engagement, so now it’s trying LiveFyre. 

I usually don’t read the comments on one of the 

platforms I blog on, and haven’t for years. This is sad, 

because I’ve always thought of blogging, unlike the 

opinion pieces or features I write, as a fundamentally 

social act. You write in the expectation that others 

will have a view on what you’ve written, and the text 

is created in the space between your post and the 

reactions to it. 

If I stopped reading the comments, it’s because they 

became a strain on my sanity. To survive them, writers 

need 

to have 

thick skin, or 

be a masochist, or 

both, and I know of bloggers 

who stopped writing because they 

couldn’t handle the vitriol. Actually, I don’t 

know of anyone who can spend any time reading the 

comments on some websites without wanting to stab 

themselves in the eye with a hot fork. But trolling and 

abusive comments are par for the course, so much 

so that serious research has been conducted into why 

people behave so badly online. 

Researchers have found that that people online 

have lower levels of self control. (Oh yes, and spending 

too much time on Facebook makes you fat – the more 

people spent online, the more likely they were to 

engage in binge eating). 

In my years of blogging, I’ve learned a thing or two 

from the comments facility. 

1. There’s a kind of Kevin Bacon game going on 

In the Kevin Bacon game so popular in the 1990s, the 

challenge was to link any actor to Kevin Bacon. In the 

comments facility, the challenge is to see how long it will 

take for the comments on any post to devolve into a 

slanging match between – for want of a better term — 

liberals and conservatives. 

Take this report (http://www.independent.co.uk/ 

news/world/americas/bound-beaten-and-robbedbackpackers-attacked-by-whipbrandishing-peruvianvillagers-in-savage-two-day-ordeal-8480069.html) 

from a UK news website on a group of American tourists 

attacked in Peru. 

The first comment takes a swipe at liberals and it 

goes downhill from there, becoming nothing more than 

an opportunity for Republicans to fling insults against 

Democrats, and vice versa. In South Africa, for 

example, all comments facilities ever somehow 

end up hosting rants against the ANC and/ 

or apartheid and/or white privilege, whether 

or not the original post had anything to do 

with it. The situation is similar in countries with 

similarly torrid pasts. 

Which is why…. 

2. If you want lots of comments, write 

about race and/or politics 

Around the world, hot button issues range 

from gun control to rape. Nothing fires up the 

comments facility like discussions about race. 

With over 88 000 views and 575 comments, 

this post generated far more interaction on 

blogging platform Thought Leader than any 

other in the history of the site. The recent FNB 

ad debacle effectively turned South Africa into 

a giant comments facility, with much ranting 

about the ANC on various news sites. 

Don’t write about race or politics unless you 

are very thick skinned or utterly convinced of 

the correctness of your views (I’ve learned the 

hard way). 

3. Abuse is nothing new 

The comments facility has just made it easier 

for people who’d otherwise just rant around 

the dinner table, to articulate them in public. 

Back in 2004, readers were forced to fax 

hatemail to the publisher of my satirical pieces 

about bitter expats; now all they need to do 

is post a comment. Fortunately, the comment 

sections on many sites are moderated so 

the abusive, ad hominem attacks on their 

bloggers are mostly filtered out. If I got to 

see the comments they didn’t let through, my 

insomnia would probably be worse than it 

already is. 

4. We’re talking a small number of 

people 

Editor of News24 (a division of emerging 

markets media giant Naspers) Jannie 

Momberg says about one percent of readers 

comment, and of those, around 10% are 

abusive. “News24 comments” remains 

a byword for aggressively stupid, racist 

comments, but that’s not really fair because 

the same behaviour can be seen in the 

comments facilities of other news websites, 

too. In fact, the comments on a couple of 

recent pieces have been sane and reasonable 

for the most part. 

5. The same names crop up everywhere 

Spend any time reading news or comment 

and you’ll spot the same familiar names and 

pseudonyms, banging the same drum they’ve 

been beating for years. Commenting must 

virtually be a full time job for some of them, 

and they never seem to get bored. 

6. Very few people actually read what 

they comment on 

This is what really grates me. If I go to the 

trouble of putting together an argument, the 

least I expect is for the reader to take in what 

I’ve actually written before commenting. Sadly, 

the typical reader strategy seems to be: read 

the heading, scan through the body of the 

text, blurt out the first thing that comes to 

mind. 

Most popular columnists and bloggers have 

regular readers who know them well, or think 

they know them well, so by the time the latter 

click on the link, they’ve already made up their 

minds (familiarity, alas, breeds contempt — on 

both sides). They read what they think they 

see, then argue with their own projections. 

Much of the so-called debate in the comments 

facility is a form of ideological shadow-boxing. 

7. Angry, abusive comments beget more 

angry, abusive comments 

Take any divisive topic – in this case, climate 

change. According to this study, the more 

abuse in the comments facility, the more 

it will inflame others who might otherwise 

have been reasonable. Study co-author 

Dietram Scheufele, a professor of science 

communication at the University of Wisconsin- 

Madison, pointed out that the comments 

made what used to be a private act now more 

like “reading the news article in the middle of 

the town square, with people screaming in my 

ear what I should believe about it.” 

8. There will be mansplaining 

Mansplaining is the practice of men telling 

women what she’s actually thinking because, 

poor thing, she’s misinformed. Because 

commenters don’t list their gender, it’s 

impossible to make a reliable assessment of 

whether men comment more than women, 

but my impression is that they do. Any female 

blogger who writes on a platform where 

there are many male readers knows all about 

mansplaining. 

9. The real discussions often happen 

elsewhere. 

This is something that happened when 

TechCrunch shifted to a Facebook-based 

comment system. I’ve long held the view that if 

people really wanted to debate with bloggers 

in a civil manner, they can do it on Twitter or 

Facebook. Luckily, I haven’t had to deal with 

much trolling on either platform, and because 

there’s more immediacy — the blogger is 

there in person, not a disembodied name 

attached to words – it’s harder to be abusive. 

10. And yes, sometimes the comments 

are more interesting than the piece that 

inspired them 

Sometimes, the comments facility works as it 

should, bringing out viewpoints that actually 

add to an understanding of an issue. The 

comments on this post on a rather obscure 

subject are easier to read than the piece that 

triggered them. 

There are no ad hominem attacks, and each 

commenter seems to be genuinely interested 

in teasing apart a complex issue. But this is all 

too rare, and probably only happens when 

the vast majority of potential commenters are 

filtered out by the complexity of an issue. 

Recently, I changed my blogging strategy, 

writing slightly less contentious material that’s 

as much about seeing what responses I get 

as it is about putting my opinion out into the 

world. A meta post, if you like. As a result, I’ve 

started reading the comments again — but I’ll 

probably stop, because it’s still too depressing: 

the same crowd are still saying the same things 

they did five years ago. Not that it matters, 

really. 

The commenters don’t really need me to 

participate, because once the post is up, it’s 

not mine anymore, but theirs. It takes on a life 

of its own, and I am happy to let it go. 

Here’s the ultimate irony: if the comments 

facility teaches you anything, it’s that if you’re 

going to be a writer, and put yourself at the 

mercy of others online, you have to learn 

to filter out most your readers or you’ll stop 

writing altogether. As that Twitter account 

reminds us: “The next time you’re thinking of 

reading the comments, do a Google image 

search for ‘fluffy puppies’ instead.” 

Have you checked out... 

www.directory.pctechmag.com? 

— Written by Sarah Britten and first 

published by Memeburn.com 



FEATURES 25

FEATURES 

26 

USEFUL WEBSITES 

Market Analysis: 

Mobile Payments In Emerging Nations 

Pankaj Kumar is the 

chief marketing 

officer at F1Soft 

International 

and specializes 

in Strategic 

Partnership, 

International 

marketing, 

Global Business 

management and 

mobile Payments. 

He contributes to 

Pc Tech’s mobile 

Payments section. 

Follow Pankaj on 

Twitter: 

@kumarpankaj1985 

BEING A MOBILE PAYMENT PROFESSIONAL, I HAVE always 

been curious to identify the elements influencing mobile 

commerce business in emerging nations. The growing 

ubiquity of mobile phone users proves the potential 

of mobile money & extension of services to unbanked 

population. Above all, most of the financial institutions, 

telcos, vendors are also endorsing mobile payments, 

however, the challenges are inevitable. In the recent news, 

International Finance Corporation, a member of World 

Bank Group is supporting Nepal to develop an efficient 

national payment system to regulate all electronic payment 

mechanism in the country. This should be a great initiative 

to develop the infrastructure in the country in order to 

promote mobile money, nevertheless, there are other 

segments as well where we should emphasis on. 

In spite of last few years of chaos in Nepal, competition 

among the financial institutions, money remittances hubs 

and telcos has proliferated. There are evidences of financial 

institutions actively serving the populations in remote areas 

for money remittances while telcos are engaged to expand 

the telecommunication spectrum to serve every corner 

of nation. Integration of telecommunication system with 

financial institutions will be surely urging a revolutionary 

changes to the traditional banking in remote areas. As of 

now, mobile phone users practice sending air time transfer 

to another phone, similarly a basic phone can also be 

used to manage financial arrangements. As a progression, 

very soon we will be using our air time for shopping. The 

gigantic volume of remittance has also been the major 

factor to induce the technological advancement in the 

region. 

In any region across the world, the business model 

for mobile money could be Bank driven, Telco driven or 

Parternship Led. The regulatory frameworks and AML 

compliance need to be well taken care of before jumping 

into this space, which eventually strectes a barrier to any 

privately held company to start mobile money remittances. 

However, if a new entrant follow a partnership led model 

with a leading bank or telco they can easily spread to mass 

and thereby truncate the market size. Considering two 

or three players in the mobile payments space serving a 

small region, It becomes mandatory to share merchant 

and payout agents. It justifies that even if the consumers 

are reluctant to use the mobile money, the threat of new 

entrants exist. 

Currently the mobile phone is primarily used for voice 

or data but taking it to next level in under developed 

countries has been a challenge. There are money 

remittance hub serving unbanked economies in remote 

areas through payout agents thus discouraging the people 

to use their mobile phone as a wallet. As long as these big 

players are providing substitutes to the services, people will 

stick to the traditional approach. 

Statistics reveals that, Nepal and Bangladesh come 

in the top 5 countries to receive remittances, however 

a proficient channel of remittance is still absent in the 

region. The investment cost to build a seamless receiving 

end for this remittance volume also introduces barrier to 

the development. The experience has also claimed that 

it’s challenging to any one entity to fulfill all of buyer of 

remittances services. 

We comprehend that all the risk involved in retail 

payments will exist in mobile space as well. However, 

winning the confidence of customers should be the priority 

on top. In spite of several fraud cases exist in credit card 

payment, financial institutions succeeded to obtain the 

assurance of consumers. In the same way, we can create 

a trusting relationship and convince them to encourage 

mobile payments in the nation. 

As a conclusion, I would say that we have impressions 

of live case studies of mobile payments in developed 

countries and we completely understand the future 

and benefits of mobile payments. However, educating 

user about m-commerce, unified receiving channel 

for remittance, existing traditional way of banking and 

securities should be addressed on priority basis, otherwise 

the vision of mobile money will only be fragmentary. 

Reviews? 

Checkout... and make an informed decision before 

you buy next time! 

www.reviews.pctechmag.com 



FEATURES 27

FEATURES 

28 

The Dark SiDe of 

Computers 

Technology may have enriched all our lives, but it has also been used for 

nefarious purposes by unscrupulous governments, criminals and terrorists. In 

this feature, we try to explain how computers have helped to perpetrate evil 

around the world. 

During the six decades or so that 

they’ve been around, computers 

have brought dramatic changes to 

our understanding of the world and 

the ways in which we work and communicate. 

The technology has generated our homes, 

cars and pockets, driving changes in our 

culture, behavior and governance. 

Most of this change has been for the good: 

we now communicate more easily, can work 

more efficiently and are better entertained 

than ever before. However, the foundations of 

today’s technology were built amid the darker 

motives and necessities of the Second World 

War and the Cold War that followed, and 

the history of computing contains troubling 

examples of the pursuit of power and profit at 

the expense of people’s lives. 

Computers have been used for evil 

deeds, and through bugs or negligence have 

accidentally committed dreadful acts, but the 

ongoing development of artificial intelligence 

and autonomous systems raises an even 

more frightening prospect. Could ever more 

intelligent computers be used for ever greater 

evil, or could they leap above the humanity 

that created them and, living up to the darkest 

imaginings of science fiction, themselves 

become evil? 

Could technological evolution reach a 

tipping point beyond which humans, when it 

comes to survival, are no longer ‘the fittest’? 

GOING BALLISTIC 

Computer-based technologies such as GPS 

and digital X-rays help to protect and save 

lives everyday, but modern computers are 

built upon advances undertaken in darker 

times. The origins of computing were 

innocent enough, with some of the earliest 

programmable machines developed by 

Joseph Marie Jacquard to automate looms 

in the textile industry in the 1800s. The first 

theoretical computer, Charles Babbage’s 

‘analytical engine’, was originally devised 

simply to remove human errors from the 

mathematical tables available in the early 19th 

century. 

The motivations for these inventions may 

have been innocent, but the computer as 

we understand it today wasn’t fully imagined 

until the years leading up to World War II, 

and it was the war that provided the money, 

facilities and impetus for the theories of 

computer scientists such as Alan Turing 

to be made real. It was the need among 

the analysts at Bletchley Park for massive 

computing power that drove development, 

first of the electromechanical ‘Bombe’ and 

‘Heath Robinson’ machines and subsequently 

of Colossus – the first programmable, digital, 

electronic computer. 

Being the product of a war effort doesn’t 

automatically render a computer ‘evil’, 

of course. The Colossus computers were 

famously used to mount ‘brute force’ attacks 

on the Lorenz cipher used by the German 

High Command, work that helped to save 

Allied lives and almost certainly shortened 

the duration of the war in Europe, even if Axis 

soldiers, and inevitably civilians, were killed in 

actions taken on the basis of the intelligence. 

Things are muddier, though, for other war-era 

computers, such as ENIAC. 

ENIAC, a huge electronic ‘brain’ weighing 

more than 27 tonnes and containing 

more than 17,000 thermionic valves, was 

commissioned and funded by the United 

States Army and developed in secret at 

the University of Pennsylvania from 1943. 

Operational from 1946 until 1955, ENIAC was 

a ballistics computer, designed specifically to 

calculate artillery firing tables. 

The very reason for its existence was to 

improve the accuracy and deadliness of 

the army’s firepower, but while still under 

development it came to the attention of the 

mathematician John von Neumann, then 

working in the Manhattan Project on the 

development of the hydrogen bomb. The 

computer’s first test run was computations for 

the bomb. It’s hard to say whether ENIAC was 

instrumental, but the lethality of mankind’s 

arsenal has certainly been improved thanks to 

computers. 

DARK HISTORY 

While the building of weapons (nuclear 

or otherwise) is a divisive debate, often 

dependent on who and why they are 

deployed, other examples of computer use 

seem harder to defend. In the 2001 book IBM 

and the Holocaust, US journalist Edwin Black 

alleges that IBM and its German subsidiary 

Dehomag developed and continued business 

relationships with the Nazi regime from Hitler’s 

1933 rise to power until the 1945 downfall of 

the Third Reich. 

In particular, Black looks at the role of 

Hollerith punchcard machines, supplied 

by Dehomag, in the identification and 

cataloguing of Jews in the 1930s, and of IBM 

technology in the organisation of railroads 

and registration at concentration camps. His 

book alleges that IBM’s subsidiaries leased, 

rather than sold, equipment to the Third 

Reich, that they maintained and upgraded 

punchcard machines throughout the war, and 

that Dehomag trained Nazi officers including 

concentration camp administrators. 

The full extent of IBM’s involvement with 

the Third Reich is disputed, but Dehomag, 

which had come under the control of Nazi 

authorities, did provide Hollerith equipment 

that was used for census operations vital to 

the Third Reich as it pursued various actions 

against its own citizens and those of annexed 

and invaded countries. Although the systems, 

designed to log data read from punchcards, 

weren’t strictly computers, they were close 

cousins, and there’s no doubt they helped to 

make terrible acts possible. 

COMPUTER PARTITION 

While the crimes of the Nazis might stand 

alone in their brutality, history offers other 

examples of regimes who used computers 

for unsavoury purposes. The South African 

government made extensive use of computers 

under apartheid to keep track of its citizens 

and help enforce the division between racial 

groups. 

An arms embargo was enforced upon 

South Africa from 1977, but computers 

were still sold for years after. In 1980 a UN 

Committee told the Security Council that the 

export of computers should be prohibited. In 

1985 and 1986 the Security Council and EU 

both halted exports of computers for police or 

military use. 

However, a total embargo wasn’t enforced, 

so the ruling had little effect on government 

procurement of computers. 

Although it’s hard to link computers directly 

to acts of violence against citizens, computers 

were certainly used to control their movement 

and restrict their human rights. Black citizens 

were each given passbooks detailing where 

they could go, live and work, and these were 

tied into a computerized population register 

for easy reference. 

A further possible example is Iraq under 

Saddam Hussein which, according to an 

unsubstantiated December 2000 story on the 

conservative World Net Daily website, once 

sought to build a supercomputer from 4,000 

Sony PlayStation 2 consoles. Quotes attributed 

in the article to a ‘military intelligence officer 

who declined to be identified’ read more like 

the exaggerations of a PlayStation marketer, 

however, focusing on ‘staggering’ graphics 

capabilities that were “roughly 15 times more 

powerful than the graphics cards found in 

most PCs”. 

Despite the story’s dubious feel, it is likely 

that Saddam’s regime would have been more 

dangerous were it not for the embargo on 

buying more conventional computing power. 

It’s certainly true that today, consumer 

PCs with multicore processors and massively 

parallel graphics processors can be combined 

in distributed computing projects such as 

Folding@home to tackle the most complex 

of problems. The world’s most powerful 

computer, the Cray Titan based in Oak Ridge, 

Tennessee, owes its supremacy to a 2012 

upgrade that, among other things, installed 

18,688 Nvidia Tesla K20 GPUs. 

EVERYDAY EVILS 

While supercomputers (of whatever era) are 

often used for shadowy purposes, anyone’s PC 

could be co-opted to act maliciously. 

There are many examples of malware that 

turn computers into a botnet; a group of 

distributed computers under the control of a 

hacker, activist or sometimes even the agents 

of a state. While botnets don’t usually offer 

much computing power, a large botnet can 

flood a website or online service with data 

requests, overwhelming its ability to respond 

and temporarily preventing the service’s 

legitimate use – a tactic known as a distributed 

denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. 

While many such attacks are certainly 

criminal or malicious, some highly targeted 

examples might be considered ‘evil’. In the 

South Korean by-elections of April 2011, for 

example, DDoS attacks targeted the websites 

of the National Election Commission and of 

mayoral candidate Park Won-soon, making 

it harder for the electorate to look up details 

of where and when to vote and, potentially, 

influencing the turnout and outcome of the 

election. Police later arrested the secretary of 

the Grand National Party and four others in 

association with the attacks. 

In recent times, the comparative ease with 

which a DDoS attack can be mounted has 

helped it to become a tool with which activists 

can attack the institutions with which they 

disagree, whether the targets be commercial 

or political. One example is the ongoing DDoS, 

hacking and other attacks by pro-Israeli and 

pro-Palestinian groups that, at the beginning 

of 2012, resulted in the downing of the Tel 

Aviv stock exchange, First International Bank of 

Israel and Israeli national carrier El Al websites, 

followed by the retaliatory taking down of the 

Saudi and UAE stock exchange websites. 

Such attacks are deliberate, but a website 

can be overwhelmed by genuine demand, and 

a service can be swamped as a result of a bug 

in internet hardware such as a router. 

Such bugs, or simple mistakes, can 

quite often be the root cause of computer 

behaviour that, to the casual observer, might 

seem malicious. As an example, a simple data 

entry mistake could result in a black mark on 

a customer’s credit score that subsequently 

prevents them obtaining another service for 

which they should in fact be eligible. 

Such mistakes are routinely made, but may 

not be so easy to correct. In November 2012, 

the financial services company Prudential 

was fined £50,000 by the Information 

Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in a case where 

the records of two customers had been 

mistakenly merged. The mistake, originally 

made by one of the customer’s financial 

advisors, was understandable as the two 

customers shared the same forename, 

surname and date of birth, but the fine arose 

because Prudential failed to investigate 

properly when told of the problem. 

In every area where modern technology 

gathers, stores and shares information about 

us there’s the potential for such mistakes, 

but there’s also the potential for deliberate 

exploitation. In Google’s early years – a 

company whose entire reason for being is to 

‘organise the world’s information’ – its staff 

recognised this threat, adopting the informal 

motto ‘Don’t be evil’. It’s still referenced 

prominently in the company’s code of conduct, 

although critics might question the extent to 

which it influences behaviour. 

Companies aren’t the only organisations 

that gather data, with governments across the 

world eager to retain their grasp on citizens’ 

communications and activities as they use new 

tools such as social networks. 

In the worst cases, technology delivers new 

tools for potential oppression and suppression, 

from facial or number-plate recognition and 

tracking in CCTV networks, to censorship or 

blocking of the web and other services. 

WAR MACHINES 

There’s a limit to the damage that can be 

done through the gathering and analysis of 

information or by simple mistakes, but the 

same isn’t true of computer systems that 

are designed to act on shadowy information 

or to do harm in the first place. Weapons 

technology didn’t stop with the development 

of the first ballistic computers; modern warfare 

relies on a plethora of computerized systems 

that help map the battlefield, locate and 

identify friendly troops and enemy targets and, 

ideally, destroy only the latter. 

Some, such as GPS, indubitably have 

far-reaching and peaceful applications, while 

others such as missile guidance systems may 

be more specialised. 

We often hear of ‘pinpoint’, ‘surgical’ or 

‘targeted’ strikes in the context of military 

action, but even the most accurate decisions 

and infallible targeting are only as good as the 

information on which they’re based. 

When the US declared war on Iraq in March 

2003, it launched a cruise missile strike against 

a supposed leadership bunker and other 

targets in the hope of wiping out Saddam 

Hussein and his command, yet the objectives 

weren’t met. Iraqi sources claimed that nonmilitary 

targets had been hit and civilians 

wounded, while CBS later reported that the 

bunker had never existed. 

In the past decade or so, the US in 

particular has intensified its use of unmanned 

aerial vehicles (UAVs), colloquially referred to 

as drones, for surveillance and air strikes, both 

within theatres of war such as Afghanistan, and 

outside such as in Pakistan. 

Drones are appealing to security agencies 

and the military because they’re cheaper 

than an aeroplane, and can be deployed in 

dangerous or illegal missions without risking 

a pilot’s life, or the difficulties should they be 

shot down and held captive. However, by 

reducing human involvement in the gathering 

of intelligence data and offensive missions that 

rely on it, many argue that unmanned vehicles 

increase the risk that innocent people will be 

killed. 

It’s often difficult to verify casualty reports 

from regions in which drones are used 

offensively, but there are numerous reports of 

civilians being caught up in supposedly highly 

targeted strikes. Among the 3,000 people 



FEATURES 29

FEATURES 

30 

estimated by the Bureau of Investigative 

Journalism to have lost their lives since 2004 

in drone strikes within Pakistan, it’s reported 

that civilian casualties number between 

473 and 889. Other estimates are far more 

pessimistic. Writing for the Washington-based 

Brookings think tank in July 2009, Middle East 

security expert Daniel L Byman estimated that 

for every militant killed by drone strikes, 10 

civilians might also lose their lives. 

NAUGHTY BY NATURE? 

Whatever the exact figures, it’s debatable 

whether weapons of war are inherently evil 

while they’re under the control of humans, 

who bear the moral and legal responsibility 

for their use. However, drone technology has 

improved, and the US Air Force believes that 

“advances in artificial intelligence (AI)… will 

enable systems to make combat decisions and 

act within legal and policy constraints without 

necessarily requiring human input”. 

In other words, a future generation of 

drones might decide for itself who to kill. 

There’s clearly great risk in such a situation. 

“Military robots are potentially indiscriminate,” 

cautions Patrick Lin, a Stanford University 

researcher quoted by US news website 

the Global Post. “They have a difficult time 

identifying people as well as contexts; for 

instance, whether a group of people are 

at a political rally or wedding celebration.” 

Weapons and AI researchers caution that there 

is no plan for humans to be totally removed 

from the process, but the military currently 

doesn’t have enough trained operators 

to meet the demand for UAV sorties, so 

increased automation would certainly be a 

great benefit. 

While fully autonomous drones might 

be considered evil – especially if in practice 

they prove to be less discriminate than 

human-piloted weapons – in reality even 

these weapons can’t truly be evil without the 

intelligence, consciousness and morals of a 

human being. In all of the examples we’ve 

looked at so far, where evil has been done it’s 

come from those who designed or used the 

technology rather than the technology itself, 

but with computers increasingly able to ‘think’ 

for themselves, will this always be the case? 

Artificial intelligence is still a distance away 

from the super-intelligent systems envisaged 

by computer scientists and writers, but these 

may still be closer than we’d think. Computer 

brains may not be able to tackle the reasoning, 

thought, adaptability and self-learning of the 

human mind, but for some time they’ve been 

able to beat humans at highly specific tasks, 

such as preventing a car’s wheels locking 

during hard braking or playing chess. More 

recently the best artificial systems have begun 

to outperform humans at more complex 

tasks such as facial recognition, and progress 

continues. 

GHOST IN THE MACHINE 

While it’s uncertain whether we’ll ever succeed 

in modelling the exact nature of the human 

brain, it’s highly likely that we will manage 

to create a machine with a similar level of 

intelligence and, ultimately, a computer 

that’s substantially more intelligent than us. 

This event is the basis for the concept of 

‘singularity’ in the field of artificial intelligence; 

a scenario in which mankind creates an 

intelligent machine that’s more capable than 

we are of designing subsequent intelligent 

machines. These in turn will create computers 

that are an order of magnitude more clever, 

and so on, leading to a sudden and – 

potentially – unlimited explosion in the intellect 

and utility of computers. 

Such a scenario raises some astonishing 

possibilities. With unlimited intelligence, future 

computers could be used to solve problems 

that have so far defeated humans, such as 

curing disease, inventing a safe and limitless 

power source or theorising a new physical 

model for the universe that incorporates 

particles, gravity and all the other observed 

phenomena. They could even tackle vexing 

philosophical problems such as the existence 

or otherwise of God, or the meaning of life 

itself – a scenario anticipated by Douglas 

Adams in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, 

where the computer Deep Thought designs 

Earth, the computer, to devise the ultimate 

question. 

A more earthly concern is that, while the 

tipping point for an AI singularity doesn’t 

require an artificial intelligence similar to 

our own, it’s quite probable that something 

similar will arise at some point after singularity 

is reached. This raises the possibility that 

computers could come to ‘think’ or be 

conscious in a similar sense to us, and to 

understand morality and the concepts of good 

or evil for the first time. 

Philosophically, the actions of computers 

with such an understanding could, finally, truly 

be said to be good or evil. 

It’s an intriguing concept, disquieting for 

some, but even more thorny is the thought 

that a machine morality borne of a different 

intelligence and consciousness to ours is likely 

not only to have different interests, but to have 

a different concept of morality. 

In other words, a computer with nothing 

but good intentions could prove incredibly 

evil by our standards, because its interests, 

morality and thus its understanding of evil 

wouldn’t reflect our own. 

ABSOLUTE POWER 

Asked if there would ever be a computer 

as intelligent as humans, US author and 

singularity proponent Vernor Vinge replied: 

“Yes. But only briefly.” Even in a scenario 

where technology remains benign, there exists 

the possibility for mankind to lose control of 

it and ultimately face competition for energy 

and materials from, for want of a better word, 

a species of our own creation. 

While such an outcome sounds far-fetched, 

it’s realistic enough that it’s now coming to 

be considered quite seriously. In November 

2012, such concerns led to the formation at 

the University of Cambridge of the Centre for 

the Study of Existential Risk (CSER), specifically 

to consider ‘extinction-level’ risks posed to 

humans by their own technology. 

Writing jointly on the Australian academic 

website The Conversation, CSER founders Jaan 

Tallinn and Huw Price likened the prospect of 

uncontained singularity to a ticking bomb. On 

containing the risk, they wrote: “A good first 

step… would be to stop treating intelligent 

machines as the stuff of science fiction, and 

start thinking of them as a part of the reality 

that we or our descendants may actually 

confront, sooner or later. Once we put such 

a future on the agenda we can begin some 

serious research about ways to ensure 

outsourcing intelligence to machines would be 

safe and beneficial, from our point of view.” 

Some academics have suggested that a 

potential strategy by which we could achieve 

this is to create only human-based AI, which 

will share our human values and thus be 

likely to share and protect our interests. A key 

problem here is that it seems unlikely that 

the first super-intelligent AI we create will be 

similar to ours, and it’s by no means certain 

that we’ll ever duplicate the exact nature of the 

human brain. 

An alternative argument espoused by Tallinn 

and others is to limit artificial intelligences to 

narrow domains, such that AI can never reach 

the generalised superintelligence that would in 

all likelihood be necessary to displace humans. 

Certainly, this approach appears more feasible 

against the background of our current 

progress, which has delivered super-human 

ability only in very narrow applications. 

TOOLS OF THE TRADE 

Computers are probably mankind’s greatest 

tools and, like other tools, the purposes for 

which we wield them can be good, neutral or 

evil. They usually do our bidding, and where 

they don’t it’s usually by an accident of our 

design. Either way, the moral responsibility 

is with us. The future promises increased 

intelligence and autonomy, however, and 

the prospect that computers may evolve 

beyond our control. In such a scenario artificial 

intelligence may act according to its own 

morality. If we fail to ensure that this is aligned 

with ours, we may deliberately or otherwise 

unleash the first truly evil computers. 



FEATURES 31

FEATURES 

32 

Buying aeroplane tickets, buying 

domain names, the odd concert ticket, movie 

ticket and books online is pretty much where 

most of us feel comfortable when we talk 

ecommerce. We generally like to touch and 

feel things when we are looking at buying 

tangible goods. But while we have been 

looking and touching; the rest of the world has 

taken to ecommerce like a humpback whale 

to krill. 

A recently released eMarketer report 

estimates that Business 2 Consumer (B2C) 

ecommerce sales rose 21.1% in 2012 to a 

stunning one trillion US dollars. This all-time 

high figure is predicted to increase a further 

18.3% to US$1.298-trillion in 2013. 

These figures are almost incomprehensible 

especially when we compare the regions in the 

graph below. 

Albert Mucunguzi 

Albert is the Founder and CeO of pC Tech Magazine. He contributes to pC 

Tech Blogs, and runs another popular blog called “Thinking Different” on 

http://almuc.me. You can follow him on Twitter at @albertmuc, or get share 

your comments about his articles via the email, albert@pctechgroup.net 

Ecommerce Is Now A Trillion Dollar 

Industry: Here’s How It Happened 

The Asia-Pacific market makes the Middle 

East and African markets look like they are 

standing still, with the former region holding 

30.5% of the market and the later eking out a 

paltry 1.9% in 2012. 

According to ComScore, 90% of Americans 

(about 194-million people) visited retail 

shopping sites in December of 2012. That 

194-million is part of the reason why the MEA 

region is lagging behind. America simply has 

a large bulk of connected users. MEA’s total 

digital buyers amount to 40.9-million people 

in 2012. 

Low internet connectivity, poor 

infrastructure and a lack of education have 

been cited as major reasons as to why 

ecommerce particularly is an industry that 

developing nations struggle with. So what are 

the major draw cards that make people shop 

online and not offline in the brick and mortar 

stores? 

1. CONVENIENCE 

Where else can you do shopping at midnight 

in your birthday suit? Not at your local corner 

shop that’s for sure. Online shops are 24/7 

and there are no lines, queues, disgruntled 

employees or other irate customers to deal 

with. 

2. BETTER PRICES 

Nine times out of 10 it costs shoppers less 

to shop online than in the physical store. It 

costs the shop keepers less so they pass this 

discount on to their online clients. 

3. SEND GIFTS 

Online shopping makes it super easy to give 

and send gifts to loved ones. The retailers 

often offer “gift wrapping” as part of their 

service as well as (obviously) delivery. This 

takes all of the hassle (and excuse) out of gift 

giving to those who might be in another town 

or country. 

4. COMPARISON OF PRICES 

Online shops make comparison and research 

of products and prices possible. 

5. DISCREET PURCHASES 

Sometimes it is better to not be seen whilst 

shopping for those, erm, special products that 

you would rather not have your pastor see 

you buy. Online shopping offers anonymity 

when you need it most. 

Lock up your mailbox 

I’D LIKE TO use this month’s column 

to highlight an increasingly prevalent 

cybercrime that is causing distress, 

concern and, in some cases, real 

financial damage: email hacking. In 

recent weeks, I have spoken with victims 

of email hacks. The real-life testimony of 

how their lives were turned upsidedown 

and the difficulty involved in recovering 

their accounts compelled me to explore 

this phenomenon further. 

The trouble is that we all hang 

on to old emails as a way to store 

valuable information such as website logons, 

verification emails and financial transaction 

details that are kept ‘just in case we need 

them’. In some circumstances, this information 

can hold the key to your online identity. 

Storing it in web-based email accounts is an 

invitation to any would-be hacker. 

GROUP DYNAMIC 

So how are these accounts compromised 

in the first place? The most common way 

is by phishing or key-logging malware. I’ve 

discussed these hacking methods in previous 

columns, so I don’t intend to go over them 

again. However, there’s another method that’s 

becoming increasingly common method: 

social engineering. Hackers inveigle their 

way into accounts by first accumulating 

information on a target. This information is 

then used to answer security questions in 

order to gain access to the account. I was told 

of a hacker who had gained control of his 

victim’s Facebook account by way of an initial 

email compromise. This allowed him to send 

messages to the victim’s friends, claiming that 

he had lost his phone and needed the mobile 

number and email address of a particular 

person in order to contact him. 

Having obtained this information, it 

was used to change the specified security 

phone number on the second victim’s email 

account, so allowing a further email account 

compromise to be attempted. 

Fortunately, when the first victim logged 

on to his Facebook account, he noticed the 

phantom conversation and phoned the 

compromised friend to alert him, and the 

game was up. 

To be fair, web-based email providers are 

aware of the problem and have taken steps 

to increase security. It’s worth knowing how 

these steps can help you ‘target harden’ your 

particular account. 

HAVE A WORD 

First and foremost, make sure your passwords 

are strong enough. How many of your 

passwords for different accounts are identical? 

Come on, answer truthfully. When faced with 

an online registration form, the temptation to 

use the same old password is overwhelming. 

One compromised database, though, and 

you’ve handed out your keys for all the others. 

When was the last time you changed your 

email password? Ok, confession time: in my 

case, it was two years ago. I discovered this 

alarming fact when I opened the control 

dashboard of one of my email accounts and, 

as a result, I immediately changed it. It’s good 

practice to change your email passwords 

regularly; it’s painful, I know, but do it, and if 

you have been compromised and the bad 

guys have yet to use these details, they will be 

useless to them when the time comes. 

Think of a password that’s at least eight 

characters long with alphanumeric and 

special symbols, then copy and paste it into 

a password folder (along with the relevant 

website details) and secure that folder on 

your machine. Don’t name the folder 

‘Passwords’, though, will you? 

A recent study of passwords used in 

a popular database found that a cracker 

with a dictionary of only 5,000 words 

could brute-force his way into all the 

accounts held on that database. 

Brute-forcing is a method of guessing 

passwords repeatedly until the correct 

one is found, and there are programs 

out there that can do this automatically. 

To help avoid this, some providers have 

a form of twofactor authentication, which 

allows a phone number to be linked to the 

account so texts are sent directly to you in 

the event of a password reset attempt. Go 

into your email control panel to see if you can 

enable this. 

Next, tie your Facebook account down 

by restricting who can view your page and 

who can see your friends. Facebook is fast 

becoming the hacker’s tool of choice for 

compromising email accounts and data 

gathering, so it makes sense to restrict who 

can interact with you. Also, don’t assume that 

requests for details that appear to come from 

friends are what they seem. If in doubt, call 

your friend directly to make sure the request 

is genuine. 

Finally, clear your inbox of all emails that 

could be used against you – the password 

confirmation emails, the account detail emails, 

the ‘confirmation of transaction’ emails. Copy 

them into a secure folder and then delete 

them from your inbox. It’s the cyber equivalent 

of a clear desk policy. 

MAIL PROTECTION 

If you look around YouTube, you’ll see a 

large group of people who think it’s funny 

to compromise email accounts: it’s not. It’s a 

criminal offence, and the chances of being 

caught and prosecuted are increasing. But 

we should all do our bit to make things more 

difficult for would-be hackers by beefing up 

our email security. 

You know it makes sense. 

Follow your favourite 

blogger every week! 

http://blogs.pctechmag.com 



FEATURES 33

FEATURES 

34 

Why life through 

Google Glass... 

It’s hard to engineer this kind of creepy 

serendipity. Earlier this week, European Union 

data watchdogs, fighting to protect our privacy 

in an age of big data, put pressure on Google 

over the privacy of user information. 

Just 48 hours later, Google potentially struck 

...should be for our eyes only 

a new blow against privacy when it posted a 

video preview of its new “Glass” technology -- 

high-tech spectacles featuring a revolutionary 

digital interface that enable its wearers to not 

only view the world through Google’s eyes but 

also automatically photograph all that they 

see. 

“How strange is that!” CNN’s Erin Burnett 

exclaimed after a contemplating a “world seen 

through Google Glasses”. 

Strange indeed. But these glasses, a kind 

of digital surrogate for our eyes, are strange 

in a creepy, Hitchcockian, “Rear Window” sort 

of way. Or the same way that Big Brother’s 

ubiquitous cameras were strange in George 

Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty Four.” And in the 

same way that a future in which “promethean” 

data companies like Google rule the world 

now appears strange. 

The coincidental timing of last week’s EU 

and Google announcements may have been 

unintentional, but it sure is ominous. 

The EU is concerned about the way in 

which Google has, since last March, been 

pooling the data of its individual users 

across its popular services like search, Gmail, 

Google+ and YouTube in order to bundle 

them up for advertisers. 

Its anxiety over this aggregation of our 

personal information is twofold. Firstly, Google 

has done little, if anything, to inform users of 

this unilateral change. Secondly, Google hasn’t 

offered users a way of opting out. 

Google insists its privacy policies respect 

European laws and simply help enhance user 

experiences. But in the eyes of the EU, those 

of us using products like YouTube, Gmail or 

Google+ are being, to borrow a Microsoft 

coined neologism, “Scroogled” by Google’s 

new privacy policy. 

Last October, EU watchdogs gave Google 

four months to revise this policy. But last week, 

after nothing appeared to have changed, 

Brussels raised its warning a bureaucratic 

notch, promising to take action against Google 

by the summer. 

And yet, in light of Google Glass, the EU’s 

concerns seem like a quaint throwback to a 

more innocent digital age. 

Watchdogs should, of course, be barking 

madly at Google’s decision to pool our data 

for its advertising clients. Regardless of the 

legitimacy of such practices, I’m strongly in 

favor of making Google accountable, both 

legally and morally, for policies that so patently 

disregard the privacy of its users. 

google Class covers only part of the eye, 

more like an optional vision aid! 

But Google Glass opens an entirely new 

front in the digital war against privacy. These 

spectacles, which have been specifically 

designed to record everything we see, 

represent a developmental leap in the history 

of data that is comparable to moving from the 

bicycle to the automobile. 

It is the sort of radical transformation that 

may actually end up completely destroying our 

individual privacy in the digital 21st century. 

While none of us were looking, Google 

-- the most data-hungry of today’s digital 

giants -- is reengineering mobile technology. 

Thanks to Silicon Valley’s mad rush to develop 

wearable computing, it isn’t alone. Apple is 

supposedly working on its hotly-anticipated 

wristwatch and wearable personal data devices 

from companies like Nike and Fitbit are already 

beginning to revolutionize the healthcare 

industry. 

But there’s something particularly troubling 

about Google Glass. When we put on these 

surveillance devices, we all become spies, or 

scrooglers, of everything and everyone around 

us. By getting us to wear their all seeing digital 

eyeglasses, Google are metamorphosing us 

into human versions of those Street View vans 

-- now thankfully banned in Germany -- which 

crawl, like giant cockroaches, around our cities 

documenting our homes. 

Neither Orwell nor Hitchcock at their most 

terrifyingly dystopian could have dreamt up 

Google Glass. According to Google cofounder 

Sergey Brin, quoted by tech website 

Mashable, “Glass will also have an automatic 

picture-taking mode, snapping pics at a preset 

intervals (such as every 5 seconds).” 

Pics every 5 seconds! Gulp. So where 

will all that intimate data go? Erin Burnett’s 

strange “world seen through Google Glasses” 

is actually, as another leading tech site 

Techcrunch notes “the world seen through 

Google’s omnipresent eye.” 

And the terabytes of data sucked up every 

five seconds by its omniscient glasses will, 

of course, flow to Google. That’s the whole 

business model, the very raison d’etre of 

Google Glass. Those pics every 5 seconds 

will be used to aggregate data and then to 

generate billions of dollars of revenue by 

selling advertising around it. 

One EU complaint about current Google 

practice, you’ll remember, was about the 

absence of an opt out button to enable users 

to say no to Google’s pooling of their data. 

But the problem of saying no, of opting 

out, becomes even more problematic with 

Google Glass. After all, as these Warby Parker 

or Ray-Ban-designed devices become more 

fashionable (ie: innocuous), most of us won’t 

even know if we are being filmed when gazed 

at by a bespectacled stranger. 

The EU watchdogs also objected to 

Google’s current pooling of our data in a 

single personalized record. And Google Glass 

could, I fear, become the focal point for all our 

data in a world where privacy no longer exists. 

“Everything, from Google searches to 

notifications to hangouts, seemingly happens 

in this one space,” notes Techcrunch about the 

spectacles. Google Glass, thus, may become 

the pivotal post PC, post iPod and post tablet 

device. A pooling of all our most intimate 

data, a mirror of ourselves -- the holy grail, of 

course, for advertisers. 

I remarked earlier that it’s hard to engineer 

this creepy kind of serendipity. But I may 

have been wrong. You see, the whole point 

of Google Glass is actually to successfully 

engineer serendipity. The creepier, the better. 

After all, when we wear these devices, those 

clever engineers at Google will know where we 

are all the time. So what’s to stop them serving 

up personalized advertisements for products 

when the gaze of our glasses rest upon those 

products? 

At the very moment we look at those new 

clothes in that store window, a special offer for 

the clothes will flash up on the digital interface 

of our Google Glass. How serendipitous, eh? 

But what to do? Is there an antidote to 

Google’s eyewear? 

Google Glass is currently in being tested 

with plans for a finished product to be 

released into the mass market next year. Last 

week, Google announced that a few prototype 

models of the spectacles would go on sale 

for the not exactly bargain price of $1,500. 

To qualify, well-heeled Google fanboys need 

to go to their Google+ or Twitter accounts 

and, in 50 words or less, using the hashtag 

#ifihadglass, explain how they would use 

Google Glass. 

So, if anyone at Google happens to be 

reading this, here’s my application: 

#ifihadglass: I would make data privacy 

its default feature. Nobody else sees the 

data I see unless I explicitly say so. Not 

advertisers, nor the government, and certainly 

not those engineers of the human soul at 

the Googleplex. No, Google Glass must be 

opaque. For my eyes only. 



FEATURES 35

REVIEWS 

PHONES 

Samsung Galaxy Music 

BY JOHNSON P. 

INTRODUCTION: 

Have you ever cursed that your smartphone is not 

really suited to be a music player in your pocket, 

as you have to unlock the screen to control the 

player? 

Well, the Samsung Galaxy music is here to remedy 

the situation with a dedicated play/pause button 

plus stereo speakers, and it won’t break the bank 

either, as it should be with a phone targeted 

squarely at teens. 

The specs are ho-hum, but the phone promises 

some extras for music aficionados, so is it likely 

to win their hearts and minds the way it is? 

Read on our review to find out.. 

DESIGN: 

As is customary for teen-oriented phones, we 

have a design with flashy color, and a lot of 

chrome-like rim supplied. In the case of the Galaxy 

Music, however, we also have metal grills over 

the two speakers on the front - a material Samsung 

doesn’t use very often in its phones. 

The tiny handset is very easy to hold and operate with 

one hand, fitting comfortably in your palm with its 

rounded corners and tapered edges. It is on the chubby 

side, but nothing too grand and unbearable, while the 

weight is kept in check. 

The Galaxy Music scores points for the regular SIM card 

slot and the easily accessible microSD one on the left 

- a must if you need to hot-swap cards with your vast 

music collection. The memory card slot, as well as the 

microUSB port at the top are covered with protective 

flaps, that are easy to pry open or snap back into place. 

Looking around the sides we find a dedicated play/ 

pause key down right, which works while the phone 

is locked for easily managing your music playback on 

the go. If you hold it, the phone goes directly into the 

music player, even in a locked state, so you can manage 

your tunes quicker. 

INTERFACE AND FUNCTIONALITY: 

The phone runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich, which 

is covered with Samsung’s own TouchWiz UI on top. 

It offers no surprises, with the typical Samsung set of 

widgets, and an abundance of connectivity toggles in 

the notification bar. 

There is a pretty spare use of transparencies and 

transitional animations compared to the large caliber 

Galaxies, as the processor is not very powerful to 

support 

those 

freely. 

Apart 

from 

its own 

apps and 

media Hubs, 

Samsung has 

only preloaded 

Quickoffice for 

opening MS Office and 

PDF files. 

As you can easily guess, typing on the smallish display 

is not very easy, especially with bigger hands, and the 

fact that the keyboard doesn’t turn in landscape mode 

isn’t helping either. 

PROCESSOR AND MEMORY: 

The 850 MHz processor is single-core, but with a 

Cortex-A9 architecture, so it has enough power to pull 

through your daily tasks and interface navigation, but 

often has hiccups while loading apps, or running more 

demanding ones. 

The Galaxy Music has 512 MB of RAM, and 4 GB of 

internal memory, of which 1.7 GB are user-available, but 

it also offers a microSD card slot on the left for storage 

expansion with up to 32 GB cards. 

INTERNET AND CONNECTIVITY: 

The browser on the Galaxy Music is a basic ICS version, 

with no Adobe Flash support, and somewhat choppy 

panning and scrolling thanks to the comparatively slow 

processor. The low pixel density is a bummer, too, but 

you are unlikely to use it on such a tiny screen for hours 

36 pc tech ISSUE 25 FEBRUARY 2013 


36 

on end anyway. 

The handset sports the basic connectivity 

options - 7.2 Mbps HSDPA downloads, Wi-Fi, 

Bluetooth, GPS and FM Radio. 

CAMERA: 

The 3 MP camera on the back of the phone 

doesn’t have a flash, and the interface is pretty 

basic, hinting at the limited functionality of 

the unit. Still, you get a few shooting modes, 

including Panorama, and a few scene presets, 

as well as some standard color effects. 

Going into the Camera app is pretty quick 

directly from the lock screen, and focusing and 

taking a shot is very fast, too, with minimal 

shutter lag. 

MULTIMEDIA: 

Despite its Music designation, the phone 

generAl FeAtureS 

In Sales Package Handset, charger, Battery (1300 mAh), Data cable, 

Headset, user Manual 

Form Bar 

SIM Dual SiM, gSM + gSM 

Touch Screen yes, capacitive 

Business Features Pushmail 

Call Features conference call, loudspeaker 

Handset Color ceramic White 

PLATFORM 

Operating Freq gSM - 850, 900, 1800, 1900; uMtS - 2100 

OS Android v4 (ice cream Sandwich) 

User Interface touchWiz uX 

Java yes 

Processor 850 MHz cortex-A9 

DISPLAY 

Type lcD 

Size 3 inches 

Resolution QVgA, 240 x 320 Pixels 

Color 262 K 

CAMERA 

Primary Camera yes, 3 Megapixel 

Video Recording yes, 25 fps 

zoom Digital zoom - 2x 

Other Camera Features 

DIMENSIONS 

Size 59x110x12.25 mm 

Weight 107 g 

BATTERY 

Type li-ion, 1300 mAh 

Talk Time 15 hrs (2g) 

Standby Time 500 hrs (2g) 

MEMORY AND STORAgE 

Internal 4 gB 

Expandable Memory microSD, upto 32 gB 

geo-tagging, touch Focus, Full Focus, Auto Focus, 

Photo effects, White Balance, cMOS Sensor, Photo 

Quality, image editor 

doesn’t offer anything extra in the already 

pretty rich TouchWiz tunes player. The usual 

song categorization options are present, along 

with the Music Square mood matrix. The 

player interface is easy to operate, with sound 

effects and equalizers directly accessible while 

the song is playing with the tap of a button. 

There are two stereo speakers, top and 

bottom at the front, and the supplied Sound 

Alive and SRS Surround Sound modes do 

make the music more intense, yet overall the 

speakers are nothing to write home about, 

not so much in terms of strength, which is fine, 

but in terms of sound quality, which is about 

average, read nothing impressive when it 

comes to clarity and fullness. 

CONCLUSION: 

Depending on the way it is priced, the 

FULL SPECIFICATIONS 

Memory 512 MB rAM 

INTERNET & CONNECTIVITY 

Internet Features email 

Preinstalled Browser Android 

gPRS, EDgE yes 

3g yes, 7.2 Mbps HSDPA; 5.76 Mbps HSuPA 

Wifi yes, 802.11 b/g/n 

USB Connectivity yes, micro uSB, v2 

Tethering Wi-fi Hotspot 

Navigation Technology 

A-gPS, glOnASS, with google Maps 

Bluetooth yes, v3, Supported Profiles (HS, A2DP, AVrcP) 

Audio Jack 3.5 mm 

DLNA yes 

MULTIMEDIA 

Music Player yes, Supports WAV, FlAc, MiDi, MP3, eAAc+ 

Video Player yes, Supports PVX, 3gP, AAc, VP8, AAc+, MP4, 

H.263, H.264, MKV, MPeg4, AAc+V2, AMr, AMrnB 

FM yes 

Sound Enhancement SrS Surround Sound, SoundAlive Solution 

Ringtone MP3, 64 Polyphonic 

OTHER FEATURES 

SAR Value 0.754 W/Kg 

Call Memory yes 

SMS Memory yes 

Phone Book Memory yes 

Sensors Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, compass 

Additional Features Kies Pc Application, Mini SiM, Wi-Fi Direct, Video 

Streaming, calendar, clock, Alarm, DrM Supported 

(OMA 1.0), Voice input 

Important Apps google Mobile Services, Samsung Apps, Music 

Hub, game Hub lite, google talk, google+, 

chatOn, Play Store 

WARRANTY 

1 year manufacturer warranty for Phone and 6 months warranty for in the box 

accessories 

Price: Approx. ugX 550,000 

Samsung Galaxy Music could turn out one 

unpretentious hottie amongst teens, as it has 

the prerequisite colored looks, with chromelike 

blingery and extra music features thrown 

in. The dedicated play/pause/music player 

access key on the side is the only thing that 

makes it stand out as a music player, though, 

since the two stereo speakers are of pretty 

average quality. 

There are no major gripes with the handset 

but the smallish screen and the low pixel 

density, as well as the lack of some sensors. 

The Galaxy Music sports a a hot-swappable 

microSD slot and a regular SIM card one, 

which are a plus nowadays, and it also offers 

a pretty good call quality, making it a versatile 

affordable device for music aficionados. 

REVIEWS 37

REVIEWS 38 

LAPTOPS & DESKTOPS 

NOKIA Lumia 920 

NOKIA UNVEILED THE LUMIA 920 and Lumia 

820 way back in September last year and, 

expectedly, it took quite a while for the phones 

to find their way on to East Africa. This month, 

though, MTN Uganda launched the phone in 

Uganda, and here’s our slightly belated review 

of the Nokia Lumia 920. 

HARDWARE/ DESIGN 

The first thing you notice about the Nokia 

Lumia 920, no doubt, is the bulk. The device 

may not be as large as the Galaxy Note II, 

but somehow Nokia has managed to make it 

heavier than Samsung’s phablet. Once you get 

past the weight, however, there’s plenty to like. 

The Nokia Lumia 920 is solidly built out 

of a polycarbonate unibody shell that goes 

all around the device and offers a welcome 

change if you’ve been living in the Samsung 

world of plastic for too long. The left side 

of the phone is completely bare, giving 

way to the Micro-SIM slot on the top left. 

The 3.5mm headphone/mic jack is at the 

centre of the top edge, adjacent to a noisecancelling 

microphone. The right edge has the 

volume rocker, power-button and the camera 

button, in a typical Windows Phone button 

arrangement. 

The bottom edge comes with the micro- 

USB port flanked on either side by a rather 

cute looking speaker grill. Nokia Lumia 920 is 

one of the few phones that manages to have 

two visible screws without flipping the ugly 

switch over. The back has Nokia/ Carl Zeiss 

branding alongside the dual-LED flash. The 

front has an earpiece grill and a front camera 

next to Nokia branding at the top, with three 

capacitive touch buttons rounding off a typical 

Windows Phone device look. 

DISPLAY 

Nokia has put in plenty of work on the display 

of the Lumia 920 and thrown in a helping of 

buzzwords for good measure – PureMotion 

HD+, ClearBlack and the likes. So does that 

translate into a great viewing experience? By 

and large, yes. 

Nokia has ditched the AMOLED display 

found in the Lumia 900 and gone with a 4.5inch 

IPS LCD with 768×1280 resolution in its 

latest flagship. We’ve always been fans of truer 

colours that the IPS LCD represent and while 

colours on AMOLED may look ‘prettier’, even 

its biggest proponents have started moving 

away from the technology, given the obvious 

inaccuracies in colour reproduction. 

Overall, the Nokia Lumia 920 offers best in 

class viewing experience, indoors as well as 

outdoors. Yes, we did give the touchscreen 

a spin while wearing gloves and yes, it does 

work as advertised. 

CAMERA 

Much has been written about the camera in 

the Nokia Lumia 920. The camera carries the 

PureView moniker, made famous by the 41megapixel 

Nokia 808. Unfortunately, the Nokia 

Lumia 920 does not have the 41-megapixel 

sensor or the oversampling technology found 

in the 808, so we’re not sure what component 

of ‘PureView’ technology has been carried 

forward here. Nonetheless, the camera doesn’t 

let us down. 

There are two things that the Nokia 

Lumia 920 camera does better than any 

other camera-phone out there. The first is 

photography under low-light conditions, 

where the Lumia 920′s imaging capabilities 

really come to light (excuse the bad pun). 

Images clicked in poor light conditions using 

the Lumia 920 are much better than those 

clicked with the iPhone 5, perhaps the Lumia 

920′s closest match in low-light photography. 

However, if you really cherish a shot, we 

would recommend clicking an extra snap 

or two, since the results can be a little bit 

unpredictable in terms of which object gains 

focus. 

The other area where we can safely say 

the Lumia 920 is lightyears ahead of the 

competition if image stabilisation. We shot 

side-by-side videos taken with the Lumia 

920 and competition, and the difference was 

like night and day. Nokia has suspended the 

entire Lumia 920 optical assembly using tiny 

springs that absorb shocks and the results are 

stunning. If you are fond of taking videos on 

the move, or just have the hands of a drunken 

sailor like us, you’ll love the Nokia Lumia 920′s 

cameras. 

Windows Phone 8 introduced the concept 

of camera lenses, which let you see and click 

images in a “different light”. Nokia Lumia 

920 comes with Bing Vision, Panorama, 

Cinemagraph and Smart Shoot lenses to cater 

to various shooting moods and requirements. 

SOFTWARE/ UI 

The Nokia Lumia 920 comes with Windows 

Phone 8, Microsoft’s latest mobile-OS 

that ships with multiple improvements like 

enhanced performance, multi-core processor 

support, NFC and more. Lumia 920, of course, 

benefits from these and the focus in this review 

will be to highlight the non-core software 

components of the Lumia 920. 

While Windows Phone 8 doesn’t offer 

much flexibility to the manufacturer in terms 

of customising the OS, Nokia has managed 

to include a few apps that may well prove 

to be the differentiator compared to the 

competition. The Lumia 920 comes with 

popular apps like Nokia Drive, Nokia Maps 

and Nokia Music, as well as other Nokia apps 

like Nokia Care and Nokia City Lens. We’re big 

fans of the Nokia Drive app – as documented 

in the Nokia 808 review and as far as we 

are concerned, Nokia continues to set the 

benchmark in navigation apps, even ahead of 

Google Maps. 

Two other services we like are Nokia Maps, 

which is a huge improvement over the stock 

Bing Maps and Nokia Music, that offers 

unlimited music free for a year. We’ve had 

mixed results with the City Lens app, though 

your mileage may vary. All in all, thanks to a 

small but important lineup of exclusive apps, 

the Lumia 920 offers a compelling option once 

you’ve decided to go ahead with Windows 

Phone 8. 

But is Windows Phone 8 itself worth your 

time? Sure, if you can look past a rather bare 

looking app store and other annoyances like 

the app-installation procedure that requires a 

few too-many clicks to get back to what we 

are doing. Windows Phone could surely do 

with an improved notification system as well. 

But if you’re a first-time smartphone buyer, 

or looking for a change from the monotony 

of the Android/ iOS world, Windows Phone 8 

Compared to Samsung’s galaxy SIII as well as most other existing high-end smartphones, the 

Lumia 920 is definitely bulky - with a larger screen area. 

offers a pretty solid alternative. 

PERFORMANCE/ BATTERY LIFE 

Windows Phone 8 paved the way for multicore 

processors to find their way to Microsoft’s 

mobile world, with earlier versions limited to 

single-core processors. The current generation 

of flagships including the Lumia 920 promptly 

utilise the enhanced capabilities by shipping 

with dual-core chips, and the benefit, is there 

to be seen. 

The Nokia Lumia 920 suffered from no 

noticeable delays during our time spent 

with the device and handled pretty much 

everything we threw at it without any 

problems. Battery life is unlikely to be a 

problem even for heavy users, and you can 

expect to go by an entire day on a single 

recharge. 



VERDICT 

Nokia Lumia 920′s release can perhaps be 

termed unfortunately timed. The current 

generation of flagship Android devices from 

the likes of Samsung and HTC have been 

around for a while and have benefited from 

one or more rounds of price-cuts, to the point 

that they are available at a considerable price 

advantage compared to the Lumia, even when 

their original prices weren’t too dissimilar 

compared to the 920′s. In this environment, 

it is understandable that customers would be 

tempted to pick up more impressively specced 

devices at lower prices. 

Having said that, both the camera and the 

display are as good as money can buy at the 

moment and if you’re willing to give Windows 

Phone a spin, we definitely recommend 

giving the Lumia 920 a second look. At UGX 

2,2500,000/= (MTN Uganda) the Lumia 920 is 

by far the most expensive Windows 8 phone 

on the market. 

However, given Lumia 920′s superiority over 

the 8X in terms of the camera, display as well 

as bundled apps, we give Nokia’s offering a 

slight edge. 

Read more reviews at: 

http://reviews.pctechmag.com 

Are you a good reviewer? We’re hiring! 

Email: editor@pctechmagazine.com or simply 

tweet @pctechmagazine. 

REVIEWS 39

GALLERY 

APPS 

Review: Orange Money TOSHIBA Satellite P845t-101 

By BrigHt OnAPitO 

So NoW IT IS oFFIcIAl, oRANGe Uganda 

limited has joined the informal banking sector 

by introducing their version of mobile money 

dubbed orange money. This brings the number 

of mobile money operators to 5 after Airtel, 

mTN, UTl and Warid launched their platforms 

earlier on. 

THE 2011/2012 Uganda Communications 

Commission half year posts and market 

review puts the number of mobile 

subscribers at 16.6 million, which is nearly half 

the number of Uganda’s population. MTN 

alone has about 3.5 million registered mobile 

money subscribers and as the deadline for 

registering mobile subscribers fast approaches, 

the Mobile Network Operators are scrambling 

to have all their clients registered. 

Mobile money has been such a huge 

phenomenon in Uganda. A 2011 Gallup, 

Inc report estimates that 43% of all money 

transfers carried out was by mobile money. 

That is huge! The numbers are surely going 

up, more so that a new player has joined the 

market. Mobile money as we know it has had 

its glitches. As far as scalability and reliability 

are concerned, mobile money users have 

suffered the pains of incomplete transactions, 

network time-outs and blackouts. That 

moment when you are stranded in town and 

need quick cash only to be told by the mobile 

money agent that ‘the network is down’! 

Such has been the plight of mobile money 

subscribers in Uganda. So the big question is: 

Do we need another mobile money operator 

in this market? What innovations does Orange 

money bring to this already chaotic spectrum? 

I took time to register for Orange Money so 

as to see what makes it tick or screech and this 

is what I found out: 

FRONTEND 

I don’t see anything new here. Orange Money 

uses the traditional architecture consisting of 

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data 

(USSD), Short Message Service (SMS) and 

USSD/SMS servers and web services, which 

is similar to all the other mobile money 

operators. Now while USSD(see the screenshot 

below) is compatible with just about any GSM 

mobile phone, in this day and age of mobile 

Apps, it simply lacks in terms of user interface 

and experience. We thought that perhaps it’s 

was high time the Telecoms drummed up to 

the beat of intuitive native mobile Apps that 

offer better user experience and are much 

intuitive for smartphone users while keeping 

USSD for the feature phones. But alas, it’s the 

same old. 

REGISTERING 

It was so easy for me to register for Orange 

money. It actually took me less than 10 

minutes. No need for passport photos 

because they have those smart phones for 

image capture. Once my details were in their 

systems my Orange Money account was 

activated almost instantly. I thought this was 

great! 

NETWORk RELIABILITY 

Orange Money already has a head start for 

a fact that the Orange network is not overly 

congested like its competitors and is still 

regarded as the most efficient mobile network 

(according to the Uganda Communications 

Commission). So far the application currently 

runs flawlessly on my Samsung Galaxy. Only 

time will tell how reliable the service will be 

as the number of users increase. I will be 

watching closely. 

SECURITY FEATURES 

Orange Money has what they call the Multiple 

Transaction Rule, which protects users 

from making the same transaction twice. A 

message is sent to the sender asking them to 

confirm if they wish to repeat that transaction. 

Also, when they send money for the first 

time the recipient will be sent an SMS asking 

them to confirm the transaction by entering 

the sender’s number. Considering that they 

(most likely) won’t know the sender’s phone 

number, the system automatically sends back 

the money and transaction fees after 5 days 

if there is no confirmation. This is a smart 

innovation they have introduced that the other 

operators lack. 

COST OF TRANSACTIONS 

Comparatively, there is no significant 

difference in transaction cost, though overall 

Orange Money charges are slightly higher 

than the other competitors. Also, the 

maximum transaction limit is much lower that 

the competition. You can transact a mere 

maximum of UGX 2,000,000 while you can do 

up to UGX 10,000,000 with UTL. I get a feeling 

this is a strategy to keep the network traffic 

under check. 

UTILITY PAYMENTS 

The only things I can buy using Orange Money 

are airtime and data bundles. Hopefully they 

will integrate other utility service payments in 

the short run. 

Some features that I think Orange Money 

(and all the other network providers) need 

to include in their applications among others 

include session caching. Sometimes the 

network might time out when the transaction 

is almost complete and the user has to start 

the process again. That can be very frustrating 

for the users. How about the user being able 

to continue right where they stopped? 

The developers ask — do they have an API? 

The software engineer that I am is also looking 

for ways to integrate third party services to 

any application. There is still a major lack of 

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to 

accomplish this. The fancy name aside, an API, 

just enables you to do more. If Orange Money 

could address this need they could experience 

a huge demand for their service considering 

that software developers will lead the way. 

This will be a deal breaker. Mobile technology 

is advancing exponentially and the mobile 

operator willing to embrace these changes will 

be ahead of the game. One of these advances 

is Near Fields Communication (NFC) which I 

believe is going to revolutionalize how mobile 

transactions are carried out in the near future. 

CONCLUSION 

Other than the promise of a more reliable 

and secure mobile money service, Orange 

money brings absolutely nothing new to 

the mobile money industry and we found 

no differentiating killer feature just yet. The 

platform is still “closed” and tightly controlled 

by the carrier just like all other platforms giving 

no chance for third party providers like say 

payment aggregators to use or extent the 

benefits of the system. 

—The author is a contributor for The 

TechPost (www.techpost.ug) 

TOSHIBA’S SATELLITE P845T-101 takes 

everything we loved about the Asus VivoBook 

S200 and adds an extra helping of raw 

processing power. Its third-generation Intel 

Core i5-3317U processor runs at 1.7GHz, but 

its Turbo Boost technology can increase the 

clock speed to 2.6GHz when it’s within certain 

thermal limits. 

This makes it plenty fast enough for 

everyday applications, as well as more 

demanding programs that benefit from 

multiple cores. 

The Core i5’s built-in Intel HD Graphics 

4000 GPU provides the visuals, but this 

laptop performed better than most in our 

Dirt Showdown benchmark, scoring 19fps at 

720p with graphics options set to High and 

4x anti-aliasing enabled. This is a much 

better score than we’ve seen on other 

laptops with similar integrated chips, 

and we only had to lower the settings 

to Medium to achieve a more playable 

30fps. 

The real highlight of the P845t-101 is its 

14in 10-point touchscreen. It’s very responsive 

and a joy to use whether you’re browsing the 

web, scrolling through the Windows Store 

or zooming in and out of Google Maps. The 

only slight worry we had was with how much 

it wobbled when we tapped icons or the 

onscreen keyboard, but it has just enough 

weight to stop it rocking on the table if you jab 

the screen particularly hard. 

The downside to having a touchscreen is 

that you have to deal with fingerprints, but 

thanks to its glossy finish they weren’t very 

noticeable unless the screen was switched off 

or particularly dark. In fact, we had more issues 

with reflections than fingerprints in general 

use. One advantage of a glossy display is 

bright, vivid colours, and the screen certainly 

made our solid-colour test images extremely 

vibrant. 

The full-size Chiclet-style keyboard is 

comfortable to type on. The well-spaced keys 

provide plenty of bounce and tactile feedback, 

and a white LED backlight illuminates the 

keyboard in low light. We didn’t like the way 

the keyboard picked up fingerprints, though. 

It’s a small complaint, but we could easily see 

where we’d been typing, even after a short 

period, and the prints weren’t particularly easy 

to clean off. 

The smooth all-in-one touchpad didn’t 

pick up fingerprints and didn’t 

get in the way while typing, 

even though it’s not quite in 

the centre of the wrist rest. 

Multi-touch gestures such 

as pinching to zoom were 

accurate, and we could easily 

use it to bring up Windows 

8’s Charms Bar and switch 

between windows. Clicking 

icons and folder links 

sometimes sent our cursor 

jolting upwards, as the 

buttons are incorporated 

into the rest of the 

touchpad, 

but overall 

it wasn’t too much 

of a nuisance. 

If you find yourself away from 

the mains, the P845t should just about last 

you most of a working day, as it lasted five 

hours and 56 minutes in our light-use battery 

life test. It also has a wide range of ports, 

including three USB3 ports, a multiformat SD 

card reader, a headphone and microphone 

jack, a DVD rewriter, an Ethernet port and 

an HDMI and VGA input for connecting an 

external display. The range of video outputs 

is useful, as you’ll be able to use practically 

any external display from an HD TV to an old 

projector. 

Our only concern is the price. At £650, it’s 

in direct competition with the Toshiba Satellite 

L855-148, which is both much faster and 

more powerful than the P845t. The Satellite 

L855-148 doesn’t have a touchscreen, but it’s 

a much better buy. 

This makes the P845t hard to recommend 

outright, but for those who need a 

touchscreen, the P845t is perfectly in the 

middle ground between the budget price and 

power of the Asus VivoBook S200 and the 

vastly more expensive Ultrabooks such as the 

Dell XPS 12 and Asus Taichi. If you don’t need 

a touchscreen laptop, we recommend the 

Toshiba Satellite L855-148. 

40 



SUMMARY 

PROCESSOR: 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317U 

RAM: 6GB 

STORAGE: 640GB hard disk 

GRAPHICS: Intel HD Graphics 4000 

OPTICAL: DRIVE DVD+/-RW +/-DL, DVD- 

RAM 

DISPLAY: 14in widescreen LCD (1,366x768) 

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 8 

DIMENSIONS: 24x349x234mm, 2kg 

POWER CONSUMPTION: 1W standby, 12W 

idle, 33W active 

WARRANTY: One-year RTB 

PART CODE: PSPJ5E-00C00JEN 

DeSIGN 

FeATUReS 

peRFORMANCe 

Reviewed by Expert Reviews 

Professional Web Development? 

www.adnoteplus.com / info@adnoteplus.com 

41 

GALLERY

GALLERY 

42 



43 

GALLERY

VISION 

SPECIFICATION STATUS 

First Published FEBRUARY 2010 

Issues Published 25 

Circulation UGANDA, RWANDA, KENYA, GHANA, NIGERIA, South Africa 

Frequency MONTHLY 

Pages 52 

Price (Local) UGX 5000, KSH. 200, FRW 1200, USD 5, GHS 8 

Quality GLOSSY 

Milestones September 22, 2010: Launched in Ghana, December 2010: PC Tech won 

the Young Achievers Award ICT Category (2011). PC Tech Named in Top 

10 most popular websites in Uganda (Alexa.com) 

Other Initiatives PC Tech “Educate”, CTBuS (The Academuc Journal of PC Tech), Digital 

Learning Africa (Online Resource Platform), PC Tech Directory, PC Tech 

Jobs, Africa Internet & Mobile Entrepreneurs’ Conference and AdNote+ 

VERDICT You decide. 

To be the leading media organization that 

promotes openness and collaboration on 

sustainable innovations in Technology, Business 

and Society 

MISSION 

To create and disseminate inprint and online 

products on Technology, Business & Society that 

have a global perspective but contextually relevant 

to Africa 

FACT FILE 

FEATURED COVERS 

www.pctechmagazine.com 

Africa’s Most Contemporary Technology Magazine 

Plot 14 Martyrs Lane, Ntinda, Kampala. Website: www.adnoteplus.com Twitter: @adnoteplus Facebook: /adnoteplus Phone: (+256) 792 619812/0782924374 Email: info@adnoteplus.com

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