Tech

Twitter has changed its brand and logo from its famous blue bird to “X”. The new white X on a black background has replaced the blue bird on the desktop version of the social network, although is yet to appear on the mobile app. “Tweets” will also be replaced, according …

Debates around Africa’s digital sovereignty have flourished in recent years. Numerous African scholars have passionately written about the need to protect African countries from being “overly-dependent” on foreign-owned companies, mostly US and Chinese, to build their internet infrastructures. In 2021 a cohort of universities invited prominent African fellows from 14 …

Facebook has tried to compete with Twitter in numerous ways over the years, including copying signature Twitter features such as hashtags and trending topics. But now Facebook’s parent company is taking perhaps its biggest swipe at Twitter yet. Meta on Wednesday officially launched a new app called Threads, which is …

Facebook owner Meta is launching its new app to rival Twitter and says it will go live on Thursday. The app, which is called Threads and is available for pre-order on the Apple App Store, will be linked to Instagram. Screengrabs show a dashboard that looks similar to Twitter. Meta …

Artificial intelligence (AI) can’t taste or smell – at least not yet – but it is now increasingly helping people buy a decent bottle of wine. Blake Hershey says that the inspiration for his AI-powered wine recommendation app Sippd came from his wife. One weekend she was away with friends, …

China accounts for half of global electric vehicle sales and is the site of Tesla’s first factory outside the United States. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has met top ministers in China to discuss the development of electric and “intelligent networked” vehicles as well as the expansion of the carmaker’s operations …

After playing catchup to ChatGPT, China is racing to regulate the rapidly-advancing field of artificial intelligence (AI). Under draft regulations released this week, Chinese tech companies will need to register generative AI products with China’s cyberspace agency and submit them to a security assessment before they can be released to …

Yesterday, Nigeria became the first African country where Elon Musk’s SpaceX internet service, Starlink, became active. This announcement comes seven months after Musk initially announced that Starlink had received approval to launch in Nigeria—and Mozambique.  According to the website, Starlink offers speeds of 50–200Mbps in most areas in Nigeria—an upgrade …

Half of Zimbabwe’s population has no access to the internet, a cabinet minister has said, warning that digital exclusion reinforces and deepens existing economic and social preclusion. ICTs minister Jenfan Muswere said although internet penetration has been increasing and now stands at just over 60 percent countrywide, actual access remains …

Zimbabwe sent its first satellite into orbit on Monday, part of the Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Project-5 (BIRDS-5) sponsored by Japan. The small satellite, which Zimbabwe hopes will help in land use planning and weather preparedness, was on a Northrop Grumman Cygnus resupply spacecraft which blasted from NASA’s Wallops Flight …