IT varsity Tech Watch

Imagine a time when the blind will be able to see, the deaf to hear, the disabled will be able to walk, people with brain disease will be cured, and people will have computer-like mind power. This might seem like science fiction, but is going to be a reality in the near future.

Which country has the most video gamers in the world? Hint: not the USA.

Video games are BIG business globally, with billions of dollars of annual revenue. The big question is, are video games the cause of violence, like the El Paso shootings in the USA in 2019, or is it all just media hype?

#technology #videogames #violence #massshootings

South Africa is long overdue for Smart Cities Last  week I was invited to speak on the Economics Unbound programs on the SABC Live News channel. The topic was Smart Cities, and we discussed  various aspects, primarily whether President Ramaphosa’s vision for a  South African Smart City was realistic, and whether South Africa was ready for a Smart City. 

Based  on the feedback received via social media, it became clear that the  general sentiment among South Africans on the topic of Smart Cities was  negative. However, most of this negativity stems from misconceptions many people have about smart cities

We are living in a time when the world’s population is experiencing accelerated growth. According  to the study, by the end of this century 25% of the earth’s population,  which will hit the 13 billion mark, will reside in urban areas. This  will give rise to cities that will be much bigger than anything we’ve  seen in human history: cities I like to call mega-mega cities.

In 2006, for the first time in  human history, the number of people living in urban areas equaled the number living in rural areas. This was due to what is often labelled as  the “biggest mass-migration in history”, where the world’s population is moving in masses away from rural areas into urban areas. Naturally, this increase in population will place tremendous amount of pressure on the infrastructures of the world’s cities like public transportation, water supply, power supply, sanitation, solid waste management and others.

The recent announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa about developing a  “smart city” in South Africa has created quite a stir and has triggered a  lot of conversation. Unfortunately, it seems not many people are  thrilled about the idea.

Naseema Adams has had enough. She has decided to close her women’s clothing store after four years in operation.  

“The rentals and operating costs are insane. It’s just not worth it anymore,” she says. 

Naseema has decided to become part of a global movement that is taking the world by storm: she is joining the ranks of what I call the “micro-e-entrepreneurs”.  

In the previous episode, we spoke about the impact of ecommerce on traditional brick-and-mortar stores. But why is ecommerce so successful, and why is it taking so much away from traditional stores? 

The  ongoing “retail apocalypse” in the United States has claimed more  victims in the first quarter of this year than all of 2018 combined. By  end April this year, almost 6000 retail stores closed down in the US, while the total number of store closures in 2018 was just 5864.

This  a continuation of a trend that has been going on since 2010, and rather  than slowing down, it is only showing signs of accelerating.  Researchers predict that by 2026, nearly 75000 stores will have closed  down in the US alone.

What is causing this this apocalypses and should we try and stop it?

Cryptocurrencies  have gained a lot of negative publicity recently, due in large  part to their wildly volatile prices, but also due to reports  of cryptocurrency theft to the value of over US$ 1 billion in 2018  alone. This is particularly alarming for a currency that was touted as  being blockchain-based, and hence super-secure. I have nothing against  cryptocurrencies; I believe they are great in theory, even though they  do have some unresolved issues. But in time, they might evolve to a  point where theory becomes a practical reality.