White Wall Web

Have iPad, will travel

Recently I featured on eTV’s ‘The Tech Report” illuminating the concept of Cloud Computing and discussing the benefits thereof. I thought it would be fitting to further my thoughts on the topic, as the insert didn’t allow me to expand on why I’m so passionate about the technology or what the path was that has led me there.

Lets step back a bit

I’ve been in the technology world working with computers for most of my adult life and to tell you that I’m tired of computer problems is quite an understatement. I used to really love the idea of being able to build my own computer up from various components that I had specifically chosen for their features, performance, speed, etc. I could sit for hours configuring the multitude of settings, tweaking this, fixing that, until the machine was running optimally. That would never last for long though. Something invariable changes and incompatibilities arise – usually it’s an updated driver, an update to the operating system or something as obscure as temperature fluctuations due to a faulty fan. Just like a mechanic’s car spends a large portion of its life with the bonnet off, so the geek’s PC usually spends most of its life with the side panel open – easy access if something needs to be changed, ripped out or replaced.

December 21, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

DDoS Attacks 101

If you have been following the news around WikiLeaks this past week you may have heard a bit about Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. We experienced a DDoS attack firsthand this week on ProfessionL, one of our products, so we thought we’d write a post about what DDoS is, and expand a bit on the back story…

Back Story: The WikiLeaks Fandango

The WikiLeaks founder, Australian born Julian Assange (See NY Times full story on his background) turned himself in to UK officials on the 7^th of December after a international warrant for his arrest warrant was issued by Sweden for rape and molestation charges (more here). This will, in all likelihood, kick off a potentially long protracted battle where Assange will be fighting extradition to Sweden to face the charges. This comes about a week after WikiLeaks released 250,000 diplomatic cables (referred to as “Cablegate”) amidst much controversy which has embarrassed many governments and strained international relations. A lot of media attention has been focused specifically on the cables between the US and Iraq. Shortly before and then again after WikiLeaks went live with Cablegate, it experienced a DDoS attack and went down for some time.

December 10, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

What went down at the Google South Africa Conference

The Google South Africa conference, was recently held on 8 and 9 November 2010 at The Bay Hotel in Camps Bay, Cape Town. Francois Campbell, our resident Support and Maintenance guru reflects on what went down at the conference

The conference was very informative and was delivered by a powerhouse lineup of Google’s finest. They presented a host of products and services delivered by Google, and also demonstrated the newly launched Voice Search functionality available on Android and iPhone – a stunning piece of technology.

What stood out for me is Google’s commitment and drive into Africa. A few points as stated by Nelson Mattos in the keynote:

Africa – the last frontier of the online world.
For every 1% increase in internet users a country experiences 4.3% increase in growth.
Challenges – Languages 50+ in Africa.
Africa is a mobile continent – 80% of internet users are mobile based.

November 26, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

A day with White Wall Web

WWW Executive Director, Zayne Upton, with Ilhaam & Nabeela

Recently we were visited by two Bcom students from the University of the Western Cape, Ilhaam Gierdien and Nabeela Ebrahim.

The students listened to talks and presentations by some of our key personnel in each department to gain a better understanding into career paths they are considering to follow.

“All the employees I had the opportunity to meet with were very helpful in answering my questions, and I was particularly drawn to the positions of HR and Project Manager. I enjoyed the working environment of White Wall Web and the friendliness of the staff. I admire the work that White Wall Web does and can see myself being comfortable in this type of work environment,” commented Ilhaam.

Nabeela continued: “I found all the presentation talks very interesting, and was drawn to the functions of HR, Project Management and PR in the IT Industry – these are fields I would like to go into. We’ve been visiting various companies during the course of the week, and I enjoyed our time with White Wall Web the most, it was very informative, the employees are helpful, friendly and the working environment is really pleasant – there is a very positive atmosphere in the company.”

November 23, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

The evolution of social media: Game Dynamics

At a recent TEDX convention held in Boston, USA, Seth Priebatsch (Chief Ninja of SCVNGR) boldly announced the dawn of a new technology era: ‘The decade of Game Dynamics’ – which he claims is the next big evolution of social media.

For quite some time now, businesses and society have been focusing on social media as “the next big thing.” Organisations large and small have been seeking to harness the power of social media, – with a noted increase in spend allocated to SM strategies and campaigns.

Seth asserts that the construction of this social layer of the web is complete – even though many people are still trying to figure it out – and that the framework is facebook open graph. This initial ‘construction period’ was all about establishing and maintaining connections and conversations. The next phase – The Game Decade – will be about utilising those established connections to influence behaviour. He uses the term ‘Game Dynamics’ to illustrate the startling similarities between why people play games and how they use social media.

November 15, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

Skype 5.0 for Windows integrates Facebook

The new sleek and sophisticated Skype 5.0 for Windows was recently released, with several impressive new features. The most notable of these new features is the integration of Facebook News Feed and Phonebook.

Users who download the new Skype will be met with an expanded home page, which serves as a personal dashboard displaying news and alerts. Users will find 3 tabs on their dashboard: Skype Home, Profile and Facebook, with a nearly identical display to the real thing, with additional SMS and call buttons. The Facebook tab allows users to keep abreast of what’s happening on Facebook whilst also being able to interact by posting status updates, commenting, and liking directly from Skype.

October 27, 2010 | 2 comments | View Post

The Future: HTML5, Flash, or both?

Steve Jobs outlandishly blasted the future of Flash in his launch of the iPad earlier this year, and many Mac addicts followed suit. But is this distaste for Flash exclusive to those within the Mac fraternity, or is it indicative of a general dislike for the technology?

In April, Jobs published a blog post listing several reasons why he feels that the use of Flash will rapidly disintegrate; why Apple will never implement Flash support in any of its products, and why HTML5 is the way of the future.

Jumping the gun perhaps? In a recent turn of events, Apple announced that they have lifted restrictions on their third-party developer guidelines for the iOS operating system powering the popular iPhone and iPad products (previous license rules prohibited developers from using cross-compilers, i.e. Adobe Flash Packager for iPhone). Apple stated in a media release: “This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need.”

October 13, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post

5 tips on building software that non-techies can use

As a software developer, it’s crucial to understand that you and your target user have very different levels of understanding when it comes to software, the development process and even common best practices. This by no means implies that your users are unintelligent; it simply means that they come from a different perspective and perhaps don’t have the depth of technical understanding that you possess.

We’ve compiled a list of things often overlooked by software developers that can cause issues for users, and in turn, result in frustrated clients and support teams. Prevention is always better than cure…

September 29, 2010 | 0 comments | View Post