Georgina Muirhead and Liezel van der Westhuizen

Muscles, social media and technology were roped in at this year’s Pick n Pay Cape Argus cycle tour. Pick n Pay’s Georgina Muirhead tells SEAN BACHER about how the “Like” button on Facebook became the fuel for charity.

For the past 22 years, Pick n Pay has used Pick n Pay Cape Argus cycle tour to raise funds for the underprivileged, but this year wanted to get the public more involved. As a result, they geared up with Like Bike, a campaign driven by technology and social media, with a rider “fuelled” by Likes on Facebook. The campaign, developed by Aqua Online, was a first of its kind and specially designed for the Cape Argus cycle race.

“SABC’s Expresso presenter, Liezel van der Westhuizen was given a custom made bike, which she used to ride the Cape Argus. But, besides using her muscles to pedal the bike to the finish line, the main form of fuel came from Facebook,” says Georgina Muirhead, Pick n Pay’s head of digital strategy.

For every “like” received on the Pick n Pay Facebook page, Liezel would be able to pedal ten metres, and for every ten kilometres ridden, Pick n Pay would donate a bike to the Pick n Pay Velokhaya Life Cycling Academy, which focuses on getting youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds on their bikes and cycling.

“The idea behind this was to get the public to interact more with the race and at the same time let them see the difference they are making. They were not just helping Liezel complete the race, but were also doing their bit for charity,” she continues.

The campaign started two weeks before the race and, in order for Liezel to complete the race, the Pick n Pay Facebook page needed 11 000 likes. “Two days before the Cape Argus race began we had reached our target and Liezel had more than enough fuel to complete the 110 kilometre race,” she says.

What about the technology?

“Mounted on the handle bars of Liezel’s bike was an iPad 2, which was connected to a dynamo,” continues Muirhead. This enabled her to recharge the iPad while making her way to the finish, and at the same time let Pick n Pay show its commitment to saving the environment.

“We also had a custom LikeBike app designed that allowed Liezel to read tweets and Facebook messages. Her followers could also interact with her by checking how much fuel she had left and topping her up by clicking on the like button. They could also view how far she had ridden, what her speed was and where her current location was – all the while offering her words of encouragement. Liezel was also able to reply to tweets and messages while resting at water stops along the route.”

As a result of the success of the Like Bike campaign, a similar initiative will be set up before the Pick n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival in July.

* Follow Sean on Twitter on @seanbacher

Entries have opened for the Eskom eta Awards, which includes a category for Young Designers: school kids with bright minds and bright ideas. Here are a few past winners…

South Africa is a country full of talent. This is particularly true of the youth of the country – a fact which seems to constantly surprise people. In the Young Designers category of the Eskom eta Awards,

year after year, school students submit projects on energy efficiency that leave the judges and public alike open-mouthed.

The eta Awards have been running for 23 years, and were originally established with the aim of generating awareness and encouraging action in the energy efficiency field. Over the years they have grown from strength to strength, and are now widely considered the most prestigious energy efficiency awards in the country. They recognise and reward the proven application of sound energy efficiency principals across a broad spectrum of sectors, including commercial, industrial, residential, agricultural and education.

Nine different categories make up the Awards, catering for a wide range of entrants, from individuals to companies – big and small.

The Young Designers category is aimed at school-going children with a creative idea, programme, design or prototype that looks at the efficient use of energy rather than the generation of energy.

Eta Awards judge Alistair Schorn gains inspiration from the high levels of enthusiasm and understanding that the entrants show regarding issues of sustainability, energy efficiency and environment.

“This is particularly true of our primary school entrants – their submissions are generally the ones that we as judges enjoy the most,” he says.

In 2011, the judges were especially impressed by 16 year old Keegan Cordeiro’s entry. This young designer from White River built a solar system that can charge cellphones and run various small appliances that require 220V of alternating current and use a two-prong plug.

This solar-powered charging and supply unit consists of a 15W solar panel, a 12V battery, a 20W inverter, a regulator that protects the battery from being overcharged and also warns you when the battery charge is low, as well as a female USB port, a switch and twin plug. The judges agreed with Cordeiro that it would be cost-effective to manufacture a solar-powered charging and supply unit for the public. His plan is to improve the design and sell the product at a reasonable price to people living in rural areas.

Laura Andreas, a 16 year old student at Deutsche International School in Cape Town, similarly wowed the judges last year with her invention – a solar furnace that desalinates salt water and generates electricity.

Andreas wanted to determine whether it’s possible to desalinate salt water and generate electricity purely using solar energy. The device that she built heats up salt water to boiling point, and then the steam drives a turbine that generates electricity. By condensing the steam water, it produces fresh, drinkable water.

Her project innovatively integrates the concepts of renewable energy and water purification, which, the judges noted, holds significant potential for future development.

The bright young team from Greenwood Independent School in Plettenberg Bay impressed more than just the judges at the 2011 eta Awards. They examined the relationship between the climate, building design and energy usage, aiming to see what they could do to influence local municipality officials with their findings.

They took field trips to see how RDP houses are currently built and identified ways in which they could be made more energy efficient. Their findings indicated that due to lack of insulation, the houses lost a significant amount of heat, and that those built facing west did not benefit from natural warmth.

The innovative youngsters were invited to visit their local mayor, Memory Booysen, to present their findings, which were lauded as “eye-opening” and said to be likely to change the way RDP houses were built in the future.

It is innovative projects such as these that often leave adults open-mouthed.

Dr Elsa du Toit, longstanding eta Awards judge, sums up this sentiment, saying: “Sometimes the kids come up with the brightest innovations and they are so excited about the outcome, which makes the rest of us feel guilty. I like being a judge because I learn something new every year. In a world full of bad news, this is a good news item and it encourages me to continue to fight the good fight in a world full of skeptics.”

Entries to the 2012 eta Awards opened on 2 April and close on 3 August 2012.

Arthur Goldstuck

That would be a sign of a  mis-spent youth somewhere between the late 1970s and early 1990s, before the Internet began its own great invasion.

I blame those games for the extra year or two it took to finish my university degree, but also for guiding me down the path to a fascination with computers. And they were a pointer to what social networking would become a few decades later:  immersive, interactive and addictive.

And now, even as new games arrive to offer just that terrible trio of  attractions, the old games are back, this time in the form of mini-applications, or apps, for phones.

You can blame Wayne Irving II, who labels himself “Chief Gamer and Pinball Wizard” at an app developer called Iconosys.

He still bears the scars of his own misspent childhood: “My first real date was at an arcade in the bowling alley in Kissimmee, Florida.  I guess my plan to impress my date with my arcade gaming skills backfired; I was so nervous that all I could do was play Centepede and Galaxian to show off my stuff, and the girl I was with ended feeling ignored and left out.”

Decades later, Irving has found closure. His company has created versions of Galaxian, Space Invaders and Asteroids for the mobile phone. The versions of the latter two created for Android phones and tablets are called Android Invaders and Anderoids (See gameplay samples at http://www.youtube.com/iconosysgames). However, the games have also been repurposed for the iPhone and iPad.

The significance of these three games lies in the fact that they sparked the global video game industry when they were launched in 1978 and 1979 by Atari and Namco. While pinball machines survived the onslaught, they were never able to match the popularity of those games. In Japan, they caused a shortage of 100-yen coins. In my university residence, you could sell 20c coins at a rate of four for a Rand.

We may not see that kind of frenzy physically today, as the gaming model has moved from per-play to per-download and to buying virtual goods inside games. But that means far more people playing the games, and a far larger population of gamers than at any time in history.

Angry Birds, possibly the most popular game in history, is played by an estimated 30-million people a day. The latest episode in the tale of the annoyed avians, Angry Birds Space, was downloaded 10-million times in the three days following its release last month. In total, the franchise has had more than 700-million downloads.

That dwarfs the popularity of Farmville, the Facebook game that at its height probably destroyed more productivity than real-world traffic. Farmville’s creator, Zynga, raised $1-billion when it went public late last year, valuing the company at $9-billion. It makes four of the five most popular games on Facebook, including CityVille and Texas HoldEm Poker. Around 200-million people play their games a month.

So, when they saw a new gaming app called Draw Something catch fire in the Apple App Store, with 35-million downloads in its first six weeks – not to mention a billion drawings made with the app in one week – the were quick on the draw. They bought the game’s creator, OMGPOP, for $200-million.

Facebook doesn’t buy games, but took Zynga’s lead barely two weeks later. They bought the photo-sharing app, Instagram, for $1-billion. There is little doubt they were spurred on by the fact that Instagram had 30-million users at a time when it was only available for iPhones, and that it had just been released for Android phones. That made it a potential threat on Facebook’s home turf, photo sharing.  Instagram also strengthens their position in the mobile arena, where they already have a massive presence with mobile apps for chat and general usage. For them, gaming is more of an add-on, to keep the anti-social coming back to the social network.

Last year, in South Africa, 59% of cellphone users said they played games on their phone, a figure expected to grow to 71% this year. Those were mostly basic, free games, and they were hardly as addictive as the new generation making its way onto phones. So we can expect the figure to rise, especially when the newcomers are also the games that started it all a generation ago.

* Arthur Goldstuck is editor-in-chief of Gadget and heads up World Wide Worx. Follow him on Twitter on @art2gee

Sean Bacher

The AirCurve Play is as simple as a gadget gets: a plastic box with a rubber dock for an iPhone 4 or 4S, that uses cleverly designed acoustics to amplify any sounds coming from the phone’s speaker.

Numerous amplifiers are available from various manufacturers, but most of them require some kind of power supply, and in many cases are more expensive than the AirCurve Play. But is the latter a viable alternative to the powered amplifiers?

We put it through the Gadget Five Question User Test .

1. Ease of use (including set-up)

The AirCurve Play is not merely an easy to use device. It is one of the easiest yet. There is no instruction manual and it is a gadget that you can work out for yourself. Just slot an iPhone into the rubber inset, browse to your music, push Play and adjust the volume to suit the mood.

Because the AirCurve uses no power, there are no volume or power buttons on the amplifier; everything is controlled from the iPhone.

Overall, there is no faulting the AirCurve Play. It is ready to work straight out of the box. without the need for charging or an additional power supply. This is almost unheard of in a device that is designed to amplify.

Score: 20/20

2. General performance

The Griffin AirCurve Play does not only amplify music. At the back of the unit is a stand for vertical or horizontal positioning on a desk or bedside-table. This allows easy access to the bottom of the phone for charging and also frees up your hands when video conferencing or when watching videos.

However, because the AirCurve Play amplifies vibrations from the iPhone’s speaker and turns them into sound, the phone has to fit snuggly into the rubber inset. So, before it can be used, any protective cases or bumpers that are on the iPhone need to be removed. I found this irritating as my phone’s case, (and I am sure many other users will have the same problem) is not designed to be taken off on the fly.

That said, the rubber inset can be removed and will act as a case, albeit not a very protective one.

Score: 17/20

3. Does it add value to your life?

The Griffin AirCurve Play is the kind of device that can be used in most environments. It doubles up as an iPhone stand, making it a great bedside and office accessory. However, it really shines outdoors, as you don’t have to carry around additional chargers or power adaptors in order to use it, as long as you’ve charged the iPhone.

The fact that you are not constricted to a power outlet makes the AirCurve Play a versatile accessory wherever you are.

I did find a problem with the AirCurve’s plastic shell. It felt rather brittle and, if dropped, would probably crack and destroy all the acoustic properties it offers.

Score: 17/20

4: Is it innovative?

Using acoustics instead of power to amplify sound is not new. The concept has been around for years; going back to the original megaphones or even the gramophone, first introduced in 1877.

But the idea of being able to amplify an iPhone’s speaker using nothing but acoustics is definitely a novel idea. Griffin gets full marks here.

Score: 20/20

5: Value for money

Many devices score very well in the first four questions, but fail miserably when it comes to value for money. This is largely due to the manufacturers spending so much money and time researching, developing and building the “perfect” device, they don’t spend enough time researching what consumers are willing to spend.

This is not the case with the AirCurve Play. You can’t get much cheaper than R199 for performance like this.

Score: 20/20

Total: 94/100

Conclusion

The scores speak for themselves. The AirCurve Play got full marks in all but two departments. Overall, it scored 94%, the highest of any gadget we have put through the Gadget Five Question User Test, which shows it is often the most basic devices that come out top.

* Follow Sean on Twitter on @seanbacher

Acer has announced the latest in its Timeline Ultra family of Ultrabooks – the Aspire M3. The device features a combination SSD/hard disk, dedicated Nvidia GeForce graphics card and is the first 13” Ultrabook to include a DVD drive.

The new Aspire Timeline Ultra was first unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last January and now Acer is showcasing the new Aspire M3 of the Timeline Ultra family.

The latest Timeline series is slimmer and lighter than its predecessors (measuring just 20 mm thin), without compromising its performance. In fact, the new Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 raises the bar by being the first Ultrabook with dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GT640M graphics for enhanced content creation and consumption.

The slim design houses powerful all-around performance features. The latest Intel Core processor and superior dedicated graphics ensure fast navigation and multitasking even with graphics-intensive gaming and multimedia apps.

An ample hard disk drive offers plenty of space for large files, and an integrated solid-state drive enables instant-on capability. An SSD-only configuration is also available. The highly durable SSD lets users access files faster, run the battery longer, and operate more quietly.

The overall experience is ultra-responsive. Acer Green Instant-On provides fast resume in 1.5 seconds from sleep mode. Likewise, Acer Instant Connect automatically scans and registers most-visited access points, letting users connect to the Internet in just 2.5 seconds, which is four times faster than conventional methods.

The Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 is also the first 15″ 2-spindle Ultrabook to feature an optical drive for DVD enjoyment. Other entertainment enhancements include Dolby Home Theater v4 and premium speakers. The professionally-tuned sound system delivers high volume, clear dialogue and sound effects for music, movies and games.

In the Timeline tradition, this Ultrabook features 8 hours of battery life, providing a full day of on-demand multimedia enjoyment and productivity on a single charge.

The ultra-thin profile of the M3 delivers a minimalist, modern look. The stylish black cover is made of an aluminium alloy that adds to the sturdiness. The full-size chiclet keyboard with a numeric keypad makes typing more comfortable and increases productivity.

The Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 is available in Incredible Connection stores from R7 999.

* Follow Gadget on Twitter on @gadgetza

Many years ago, AfricaPositive’s UK director, Tony Granger -  as  a pioneer of the  EIS in Britain -, broached the subject with President Mandela in London, who thought it an excellent idea and put

Tony Granger

him  in touch with various Government departments in South Africa.  Granger came over to SA but failed to make an impression or to get to the right people at that time. We hope that the timing is different now. So our people are arranging meetings with SA Government, SARS and Treasury policy makers for Tony’s next trip to SA – in order to gets this moving.

We will also extend the invitation to other African governments, who support free enterprise.

Answers to Ted Sceales’ questions

Q1 Between 1994 and 2011 the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) in the UK generated £12billion (R144 bn) in investment capital into the SME sector, through a combination of tax incentives and other government measures. How many enterprises were started or expanded through these facilities?

Answer 1.

The official statistics from the HMRC website are that 29,082 companies were invested into over the period, and of these 17,640 received funds for the first time.  394,575 people invested, however some of them may have invested more than once.  I believe more people may have wanted to invest, but the quality of investment product or companies offering themselves for investment may have been less.  Certainly the more public offerings appear to fill up quickly once open, indicating a great demand for tax incentives to offset investors’ risk.  There are two main routes in the UK to invest into unquoted companies (including AIM companies) – the EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) which caters for large and small companies, and the VCT (Venture Capital Trusts) which tend to invest into larger companies.

Q2. Are there any statistics or even conservative estimates of the number of jobs this has created?

The EIS brings new equity capital into a company, which is more readily available and also has no direct cost (as loan finance would have an interest cost and has to be paid back).  As a result of being able to afford to employ more people, the increase in new jobs is significant.  On average, a small company employs around 10 people, and many are start-ups.  A good guesstimate would be around 300,000 new jobs have been created in the SME sector.  Some companies use the EIS to raise expansion capital for an existing business – one company, for example, that I am familiar with, created 150 jobs; another only 2 jobs.  We have recently gained HMRC approval for an EIS company which will create 6 jobs.

Q3. In layman’s terms, how does the scheme work? And who are the major beneficiaries, benefactors and facilitators?

The company must be undertaking a qualifying activity, usually manufacturing, marketing, distribution or whatever.  Companies that do not qualify are finance companies, farms, nursing homes, hotels, investment companies.  An application is made to HMRC (tax people) under Form EIS The HMRC gives provisional EIS approval, allowing investors tax relief when they subscribe for shares.  Shares must be newly issued ordinary shares only.  This means the money comes in to the company and not to anyone else.  After trading for four months, tax reliefs are available.  These are claimed on another form or your tax return.  The tax reliefs are very generous.  You can invest up to £500,000 (R6 million) in this tax year, and after 5 April 2012, up to £1m (R12 m) per person per year.  You get 30% of your investment directly off your tax bill.  In addition you can defer a capital gain and not pay capital gains tax through making the investment; after two years, the value of the shares fall out of your estate for estate duties.  Very generous indeed.  This also means that the taxman is taking some of the investment pain, and it is the Government way of sharing your risk without outlaying hard cash.    No one investor can own more than 30% of the company invested into.   To keep your tax reliefs you must stay invested for 3 years.  After that time you can sell your shares.  The company is very happy – it gets your money in exchange for shares.  It can now expand and employ more people.   You are happy as you have invested into a company that will grow and deliver you dividends in the future.  The cost of investing is reduced by 30%, which makes you even happier.  The Government is happy because it has supported the SME sector and is actively helping the sector to grow and create jobs.  The company is even happier if an investor takes an interest in the company, and helps with his expertise.  He can be paid fees or a salary for his input.  Many businesses would welcome a part- time finance director, or marketing person.  I envisage helping make this mobilisation of capital to SMEs a reality in South Africa.  We can build an exchange that places investors with businesses, for example.  We have a lot to offer to facilitate the process.

Q4. Most African governments believe they need more tax revenue to fund infrastructure and development. So aren’t tax breaks  going to be a hard sell, when the prevailing thinking worldwide is to tax the Haves in order to help the Have-nots?  How did you achieve this reversal of attitudes in the UK?

Every Government believes it needs to make as much as possible from taxing the income generators.  In this way they fund infrastructure and development.  However, they are also socially responsible and must realise that creating jobs reduces unemployment, creates a larger tax base, develops a happier working class, reduces crime and anti social behaviour.  It is a known fact that small business is the engine room of the economy.  They may be small, but overall they can pack a punch.  If you are looking for growth, go for the individual’s entrepreneurial skills and develop these.  Those business- growers will create wealth.  In doing so they will employ people.  So what do we have?  At some stage the Government would find itself investing on its own in various ‘get back to work schemes’ – but if there are no jobs, all you will have are better educated unemployed people and more frustration.  Going the tax incentive route brings together those with tax rands to provide opportunities in a structured way – and a legal way- to make an important contribution to the economy through investing in small businesses.  The SME makes a proposition and in a free society the investor decides whether to invest or not.  This helps him with his thinking by giving him tax relief.  Here, in the UK, in the new tax year our Government is giving 50% tax relief to investors who will invest into start up companies – which is very high risk.  You could lose all your capital.  But they are doing it – why?  Because they believe that it is at the grass roots that the greatest financial help is needed and this is precisely where the banks are not interested.  The UK has 25 years of experience in giving tax reliefs for businesses and investors in them – they think the scheme is so successful that they have nearly doubled the tax relief for businesses wanting smaller amounts.  To qualify as a 50% tax relief investor, the company can raise a maximum of £150,000 (R1.6m).  In the final analysis this is the coming together of private investors and the State for the benefit of the SME sector.  The Haves pay a lot of tax.  The Have Nots pay nothing.  Any tax relief is worth considering if you are a tax payer.  However, as they say never only invest for tax reasons.  I will let you in to a trade secret here.   Many people have money, but they can’t get jobs, or have been made redundant/retrenched.  All they want is a job or a reason to get up every morning.  If an astute investor invests his retrenchment lump sum into say 6-10 small businesses and they each pay him a monthly fee for working 2-3 days a month, giving his expertise to the business, he is not only keeping an eye on his money, but also helping to develop the businesses he is involved with.  Guess what?  He becomes a taxpayer again!

Q5. Have you had any indication of interest from influential government leaders?

As you are aware, I have been beating the tax incentives drum for SMEs in the UK and more recently in SA, as a way to mobilise investors’ capital for small business growth.  Many years ago, I broached the subject with Madiba in London and he thought it an excellent idea and put me in touch with various Government departments in South Africa.  I did come over to SA but failed to make an impression or to get to the right people at that time.  I think the timing is different now and my people are arranging meetings with SA Government, SARS and Treasury policy makers on my next trip to SA, in order to get this moving.  I have also formed a private equity team in SA to bring money to SA for projects and investment into companies there.  A lot of South Africans living abroad will invest without tax reliefs, because they believe that their money can do some good by creating employment opportunities, and give them good returns at the same time.  I am involved at a high level in the UK to facilitate UK companies investing in SA and creating jobs – right now we have a number of active projects on the go.  I am working with South African universities, like the Rhodes University Business School, to train entrepreneurs and business leaders.  Also to show them how the very successful UK EIS scheme works for us in developing business growth and opportunities.  So much so that the SA Business Club in London awarded me a Lifetime Achievement Award recently.  If you can get more SA leaders to talk to me, I will get things done.

Q6.  Do you think Her Majesty’s Government might be prepared to share their expertise and technical know-how with Africa for home grown EIS- type projects?

There is no question that the UK Government will do everything it can to assist through technical know-how and sharing of expertises.  I believe it already does so.  If it’s a matter of sharing tax legislation to enable things to get up and running, they would be only too willing to do so.  I cannot speak for the Government, but was recently at a University Forum on Africa at the Henley Business School – where these people have so much to give – but don’t know the best route to give it.  It is a matter of facilitation and opening doors.  You have much of the expertise in SA, in any event.  It’s just how to mobilise it for best effect.  Let Tony Granger become your Small Business Tsar in SA and we will get ahead in no time at all!  Ted, let me give you some firsts.  Everyone remembers who ran the first sub 4 minute mile – Roger Bannister.  Not many people remember who was second – Chris Chataway.  In the UK I launched the first EIS fund approved by the Revenue; I developed the first portfolios of SMEs with different risk levels to offer investors an investment spread of high, medium and low risk companies; the first due diligence process for SMEs so that investors had a universal investment criteria process available to them before investing; and many other firsts.  I also grew and edited the first EIS and VCT Investors Guide for over ten years in the UK to show investors the way in the UK.  Whilst Governments are good for macro decision-making, when it comes to grass roots business success, we can deliver the expertise and the know-how.  All the SA Government needs to do is to give tax incentivisation for investment into SMEs the go ahead, and people like me will deliver the BluePrint for Success.

Temba Nolutshungu

• Government should vigorously review all existing economic policies and scrap those which unnecessarily restrict the growth of the private sector since the private sector, not the state, creates sustainable jobs.  All policies which encumber the spirit of enterprise should be expunged from the statute books.  Government must ensure that the costs (in time and money) of starting up and running a business in South Africa are lowered, drastically in line with global norms. Policy measures informed by this basic principle will translate into an enabling environment for business and result in the explosion of the spirit of enterprise.  A proliferation of businesses, big, small, or informal, will create employment.  (It is estimated that some 68% of employees in South Africa work for SMMEs.)  A moratorium on the enactment of any new business related legislation would be a good start.
• The government should consider implementing a proposal by Eustace Davie that anyone  who has been unemployed for six months  or more should be entitled to a Job Seekers Exemption Certificate (JSEC).   The JSEC would free a potential employee from our present onerous labour regulations and allow them to enter into a voluntary contractual arrangement with a prospective employer.
  • Individuals who exist on the margins of the economy should receive shares in state enterprises.  This would require means testing, which might involve the testimony of neighbourhood interests, religious institutions, family members and local charities. A burdensome exercise, but necessary to ensure that only genuinely poor individuals benefit.

• The whole of South Africa should be declared an economically liberated zone, the essential characteristics of which would be: protection of private property; entrenchment of the rule of law which entails equality before the law, an independent judiciary and the certainty that contracts can be effectively enforced; adherence to the principle of willing-seller and willing-buyer (voluntary exchange which does not entail force or fraud); a low flat tax rate in place of progressive income tax, and myriad other taxes which  presently apply.

• Affirmative action policies such as Black Economic Empowerment rules and score-cards should be revoked and all vestiges of race-based policies reminiscent of our ignominious apartheid past should be consigned to the dustbin of history.  Empirical evidence discredits the very concept of affirmative action policies as they have nothing to do with the empowerment of economically disadvantaged people but everything to do with the enrichment of politically connected black elites.  They certainly have little to do with Soweto, Mdantsane or Mitchells Plain, and definitely nothing at all to do with the people in rural areas.Further, they alienate a sector of the population which takes its intellectual capital to countries where policies do not reflect racial bias. There are hundreds of South African doctors in London, many of whom are black. Thousands, upon thousands of South African born people are choosing to live elsewhere. If conditions in South Africa were more acceptable, many of them would be enhancing productivity at home with their skills and stimulating the establishment and growth of numerous businesses.  The current rate of emigration of skilled South Africans is untenable and the policies which stimulate this emigration are economically maniacal.

Of greater cause for concern is that affirmative action policies are premised on the assumption that black South Africans cannot uplift themselves socio-economically without such measures.  Historical facts negate these condescending and disdainful attitudes towards blacks and should be treated with contempt.  To compare entrepreneurship in the townships at the height of apartheid with what took place soon after it was dismantled, gives you clear evidence that black enterprise is not lacking when conditions are the same for everyone.

After decades of affirmative action in the USA, blacks, as compared to other American ethnic groups, occupy the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder. SA proponents of these racially discriminatory policies often resort to ad hominem attacks upon their critics, dismissing them as denialists (black critics) or as members of a rich and privileged minority advantaged by apartheid policies (white critics).  This is a mischievous endeavour to shore up policies that are morally indefensible, economically irrational and politically unnecessary.  There are feasible and credible alternatives which do deliver results.  Affirmative action is taking a backward step into the future.  It must go!

If positive measures were implemented, more businesses would be created and South Africans in the diaspora would likely come home and bring with them their intellectual and financial capital.  The country would experience a rebirth.  Domestic investment would be stimulated and foreign investors would find the country seductive.  This would translate into a high growth economy which could potentially set a new global benchmark.

All attempts made so far to resolve the unemployment crisis have failed.  But, as we acknowledge this, we should not seek a scapegoat to deflect attention from our failures.  . When we look to blame one or another group – often a vulnerable or conspicuous minority such as the banks, white farmers or foreign migrants – this causes us to lose focus on what needs to be done and the consequences are tragic.  Witness the holocaust unleashed by Hitler’s Nazism, or the genocidal war in Rwanda.  We can no longer afford indulging in the futile exercise of blame.

We need decisive action.

Here, post-communist Czech leaders Vaclav Klaus and Vaclav Havel loom large.  These statesmen introduced radical, ambitious measures which liberated the Czech economy from the state and put it in the hands of the people.  They gave every individual in Czechoslovakia shares in former state enterprises.  They were members of a corps of innovative leaders which included the Liberalni Institut think-tank and operated with such moral integrity and fixity of purpose that, from an outsider’s point of view, the results of their hard work were nothing short of miraculous.  Through their efforts, the Czech economy was rescued from stagnation and transformed into one of the most successful in the world.

In Vienna, I heard Vaclav Klaus respond to a question. He said, ‘Never believe politicians when they say that things cannot be done overnight, especially when they are in power’.

So apt here, today, where many who  advocate discriminatory laws in our post-apartheid South Africa and drip hatred in peoples’ hearts, have never suffered directly from the harsh practices of apartheid.

The words Dr Martin Luther King proclaimed in 1963 reverberate loudly in my mind and inspire my personal mission to fight for the repeal of all racially defining policies: “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character…”

Nelson Mandela ushered us into a future dramatically different from the past.  He embraced  his former prosecutor,  Percy Yutar.He embraced Mrs Betsie Verwoerd, the widow of Hendrik Verwoerd, a Prime Minister who had visited upon blacks some of the most vicious discriminatory laws. He embraced All South Africans and all the whole world.  As for me, I will not pass on this poisoned chalice of race-based policies and I challenge everyone who is bent on doing so.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)

Temba A Nolutshungu is a director of the Free Market Foundation.  The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s.

Pyle, manufacturers of outdoor sports gear has announced the GPS Sorts Watch, which includes a wireless heart rate monitor that lets users track their heart rate while exercising.

Pyle, manufacturers of home, car and pro audio equipment and outdoor recreational sports gear, has unveiled the GPS Sports Watch (PSWGP405) that comes with a 2.4 GHz digitally coded wireless Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) chest strap to help fitness enthusiasts track their workout analysis and provides important information on physical condition, including heart rate zones, during strenuous indoor and outdoor activities.

This GPS watch combines personal training and navigation functions to offer an all-in-one solution for health buffs who wish to monitor various elements and can be customized for various outdoor activities including jogging, running, biking, hiking, skiing, sailing, hunting and more.

The watch has four main function modes: Compass, Time Mode, Navigation and Workout Mode, depending on the preferred usage. Workout Mode, which works together with Navigation Mode, records and displays the user’s current performance, including speed, distance traveled, coordinates, workout duration, heart rate, calories burned and other useful data.

Compass Mode can tell users the direction of an object or location from a certain point in the 16 most commonly used forms of cardinal direction, including North, South, East and West. Direction can be specified in azimuth as well, which communicates via angles between North and the desired object or location.

In addition to the modes listed here, the GPS Sports Watch can monitor four target heart rate zones, including Health, Fat Burn, Aerobics and User, and even offers audio alerts to inform users when they are above, in or below their preferred zone.

The HRM chest strap features a special conductive contact pad to retrieve heart rate stats and the adjustable elastic band keeps the monitor in place while remaining comfortable and breathable during sweaty workout routines. Once the strap and the watch are successfully paired, the heart rate data will automatically be transmitted to the watch display for quick and easy viewing.

Water resistant up to 30 meters under water, the GPS Sports Watch comes with a built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery. The included GPS Master software and the USB cable, which can also charge the device, assist users with their workout analysis, route planning and training summary reports, to offer a detailed post-workout breakdown. Users can even monitor the battery life and memory to ensure efficient use.

GPS Sports Watch and Heart Rate Monitor (PSWGP405) are currently available in Black with either Blue or Black accents for $137.99 at www.PyleAudio.com and www.amazon.com.

*Follow Gadget on Twitter on @gadgetza

The end of an era arrived last week as the much-revered Encyclopaedia Britannica ceased print publication. Hooray, says ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK.

It is the end of the beginning of the end. Encyclopaedia Britannica, arguably the most famous compendium of all human knowledge, will no longer be produced in printed form.

The obituary of the printed book, delivered last Wednesday, was upbeat: “After 244 years in print, the 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica will be discontinued, but the encyclopedia will live on and grow in the myriad digital forms which have been popular with millions for years.”

Those who shed a nostalgic tear for this all-in-one library are invariably the same people whose parents acquired a set from a travelling salesman knocking at their door. So costly was the investment, most families would buy only the one set. Ever. And never update it again. That made the Britannica a wonderful source of historic information, but practically useless for keeping up with human knowledge.

Don’t weep for its owners, though. They began the transition to digital editions at the dawn of the commercial Internet, producing a CD-Rom version in the 1990s – a few brief years after their sales peaked at 120 000 sets. Today, the print edition makes up less than 1% of the publisher’s income. The saddest statistic of all is that, for the 2010 edition – the last one in print – only 8000 sets were sold, and a further 4000 languish in warehouses.

But let’s put in perspective what we have lost in print: an encyclopaedia updated a couple of times a decade, costing more than R10 000 for the set, and containing around 70 000 articles. In short: expensive, dated and – compared to online resources – limited.

The online edition has more than 120 000 articles, costs less than R1000 for an annual subscription – the ad-supported version is free – and includes video, audio and links to related publications and material.

What’s to mourn? A business model that has not made sense for well over a decade?

Let’s look at the other extreme: Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, contains more than 3,5-million articles, and is updated daily. Following controversies about the accuracy of Wikipedia, Nature magazine conducted a study, and found more errors in a sample of Britannica articles than in a similar sample from Wikipedia.

The only real tears that are shed for the big set of books are by interior decorators who bought old sets cheap to make home and corporate libraries look established and serious.

Clearly, it is the symbolic meaning of this death that is more significant than the demise of a publishing tradition. Britannica first saw print in 1768, a year that in a way represents the democratisation of human knowledge. While only accessible to the wealthy, it gradually made its way into public libraries and ordinary homes, opening up all of history, science and nature to the masses – albeit from a British-centric perspective.

The beginning of the end of the first era of knowledge democracy came in 1989, when Compton’s published the first CD-ROM encyclopedia. They were followed by Grolier, fortuitously just as CD drives began arriving as a standard component of computers, turning Grolier into the digital equivalent of Britannica.

Microsoft saw the light, and climbed into the knowledge bed with Funk & Wagnalls to produce Encarta. By the mid-1990s, you could hardly buy a Microsoft product or a multimedia PC without Encarta being included in the bundle. Britannica had called it correctly when they refused to be Microsoft’s encyclopaedia partner, for fear of it killing print sales: Funk & Wagnalls dumped their print edition just a few years later.

The CD-ROM was, however, only a stopgap on the road to universal access to knowledge. The death knell of the printed encyclopaedia was really sounded on 23 January 1993, when the first Internet browser with a graphical user interface, NCSA Mosaic, was released. The team behind it put their expertise into Netscape Navigator, which spurred Microsoft to develop Internet Explorer, and which also became the ancestor of the Firefox browser.

Thanks to the browser, all knowledge was potentially a single click away, rather than via the equivalent of a home mortgage.

The browser killed the encyclopaedia, and for that we can be grateful.

* Arthur Goldstuck is editor-in-chief of Gadget. Follow him on Twitter on @art2gee.

Gaming is bigger than movies and music in the USA, and it’s going the same way in South Africa – where it is now a R1.7-billion industry and growing.

Gaming as an industry is larger than the music or movies industry and is becoming increasingly popular as more people experience the thrill of playing online.

In the United States, gaming generated $17.02 billion last year, according to the NPD Group. Movie sales in the States generated only $9.42 billion according to The-Numbers.com.

In South Africa, close to 3.9 million physical games were sold in 2011, valued at over R900-million. According to The-Numbers.com, local movies ticket sales were in the region of R788.13 million.

GfK research shows that, together with gaming hardware and peripherals, gaming is a R1.72 billion rand industry locally – and this doesn’t even include digital game downloads.

The music industry faces continual decline of physical sales as digital downloads take over and music stores diversify their offerings.

Carolyn Holgate, MWEB GM, says whereas movies combine amazing visuals and sound effects to engross you in a story line, gaming offers an even more in-depth immersive experience.

“The difference with gaming is that, instead of simply watching the story unfold, you participate in the game, heightening the experience through your engagement with the game,” she says.

Holgate believes it’s the online element of gaming which is really driving the market, as gamers are able to pit themselves against an endless list of opponents to hone their skill and move up leader boards. This results in hundreds of hours of gameplay, as opposed to the average movie that lasts only 90 minutes.

In fact, online gaming is so popular that MWEB recently sponsored a team which represented South Africa in the Clanbase NationsCup 2012 for Battlefield 3. They competed online against Australia, Belgium, Finland, Portugal and Russia.

“The growth of online gaming has led to the formation of groups of gamers called multi-gaming organisations (MGOs), which have several teams across different games and which compete to be the best.

“In fact, many of these gamers will spend more time playing against each other during the week, conversing through online chat and voice applications like Mumble and Teamspeak than they will in social interaction with friends,” says Holgate.

That doesn’t mean gamers are anti-social, merely that much of their communication has moved online.

The key factors for online gamers are line speed, uncapped ADSL and the ability to play on local servers. Uncapped ADSL is essential because some of the games require substantial downloads. Even if a physical copy of the game is bought, game patches now run into many Gigabytes of data.

Holgate says playing on servers overseas can become problematic because of the lag time.

Lag is caused by the delay in the transfer of data. In other words, if you play an opponent based in Europe, the delay caused while the data travels to South Africa slows down the gaming experience. While you think you see the opponent on the screen, the opponent has in fact already moved, but you don’t see this because the image updates too slowly. This is why gamers prefer to play on local severs.

Holgate says MWEB has 157 game servers deployed for 59 game titles and that the average number of active gamers on the MWEB network for the last three months has increased by 8%.

As console sales continue to increase and more people start using uncapped ADSL at home on faster line speeds, Holgate expects the online gaming industry to continue growing locally.

* Visit the MWEB GameZone at http://www.mweb.co.za/games

* Follow Gadget on Twitter on @gadgetza