The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe playing hide and seek!

The expecting applicants for single commercial radio licences in Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) have since waited for the results of their applications, even though the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) appears to be delaying the processes. 

The applicants who displayed great enthusiasm for commercial radio licencing included officials from Skyz Metro FM, Skies FM and Skyz FM. The first two applicants were invited for a hearing on the 1st of September (2014), whilst Skyz FM presented its case on the 3rd of September in 2014.

Part of the crowd that attended the public hearing in Bulawayo

The hearings for these applicants were first scheduled for July 2014, but were postponed when the BAZ proclaimed that they were postponing the hearings due to "unforeseen circumstances."

To both the applicants and the public, the so called "unforeseen circumstances" came to be viewed as a lame, vague and an autocratic excuse peculiarly set out to intimidate the applicants as they had already prepared their presentations.

As if that was not enough, the BAZ did not even care to propose new dates for these hearings but instead told the applicants that the new dates were not available but were going to be announced. 

According to the Southern-Eye, Popular DJ Ezra Sibanda, a director of Skies FM, said the postponement was frustrating because they had spent a lot of resources inviting people to come and support their project.

"We were ready for the hearing. Some people were coming from peri-urban areas and some had excused themselves at work to attend the hearing," he said.

"We don't see the reason why it was postponed."

"They were supposed to give us reasons why it was postponed instead of saying it was due to unforeseen circumstance."

The BAZ basically seems to have adopted a system of intimidation and delay, which makes one doubt whether it will surely grant the commercial radio licences to the applicants in time...and that is if the applicants would not have run out of funds before BAZ licences them.

According to the NewsDay Publication, Skie FM is being bankrolled by Transport minister Obert Mpofu while Skyz Metro is fromted by Qhubani Moyo and Cont Mhlanga and Skyz FM is owned by Alpha Media Holdings, publishers of Southern Eye, Newsday and Zimbabwe Independent.

The government said that it is targeting to have licensed at least 25 radio stations in January, within two months.

A machine that makes water from thin air. Awesome!

        A picture of the Atmospheric Water- Generation machine


The World Health Organization reports that 780 million people don't have access to clean water, and 3.4 million die each year due to water-borne diseases. But an Israeli company thinks it can play a part in alleviating the crisis by producing drinking water from thin air.

Water-Gen has developed an Atmospheric Water-Generation Units using its "GENius" heat exchanger to chill air and condense water vapor.

"The clean air enters our GENius heat exchanger system where it is dehumidified, the water is removed from the air and collected in a collection tank inside the unit," says co-CEO Arye Kohavi.

"From there the water is passed through an extensive water filtration system which cleans it from possible chemical and microbiological contaminations," he explains. "The clean purified water is stored in an internal water tank which is kept continuously preserved to keep it at high quality over time."

The system produces 250-800 litres (65-210 gallons) of potable water a day depending on temperature and humidity conditions and Kohavi says it uses two cents' worth of electricity to produce a litre of water.

Another product Water-Gen has developed is a portable water purification system. It's a battery-operated water filtration unit called Spring. Spring is able to filter 180 litres (48 gallons) of water, and fits into a backpack -- enabling water filtration on the go.

It is much inspiring to see some subnormal, though creative human beings coming up with such 'out-of-this-world' technologies, as they attempt to save souls. One would definitely give credit to Water-Gen for the invention of such an awesome machine which has been donated to some areas of the world that experience water shortages.

Isn't this awesome?

Samsung S5 mobile phone a super phone, is it a phone anymore by the way?

Some ten years ago, a mobile phone was something that was used for calling and sending people messages ONLY, but now the use of mobile phones has changed to a somewhat multi-media definition. It now sounds inappropriate to call phones like Samsung Galaxies, Nokia Lumias and Huawei Ascends mobile phones, as they seem to perform far much more than a normal mobile phone should.

Taking a closer look at the new Samsung Galaxy S5, yes Samsung would be right to say it is a super phone, but can we still call it a phone anyway? The Samsung Galaxy has some features that are really out of this world, well right considering that it was designed and programed by some subnormal human being.

Put it on stones, drizzle it on water...it will be alright!

Galaxy smartphones are known for going big: on screens, specs, software tricks and, of course, sales. The S5 is no exception, but the small stuff can be just as exciting as the headline features, and that’s what the S5 will need to get right if it’s to become the very best.

Using the S5 can still feel overwhelming at times, mind you. The settings menu is somewhat over-stocked with options, to the extent that they (Samsung) gave up scrolling the icons and used the search tool. All the familiar Samsung innovations are there if you want them, including last year’s motion gestures (eye tracking, touchless scrolling, etc) neatly tucked away in their own section. It’s worth noting that none of these are as useful and intuitive day-to-day as the One (M8)’s swipe- and tap-to-unlock gestures.

There’s plenty to brag about with the S5 - a glorious screen, superb camera, Multi Window apps, fingerprint scanning. If the tweaked build and cleaned-up user interface are anything to go by, Samsung is taking design - inside and out - seriously.

But can we still call that a phone? Is the question...

A group of Nust (Zimbabwe) Journalism students make it big with Telecel's Telecash

A group of National University of Science and Technology (NUST) Journalism students shined when they organised a very successful two day Public Relations campaign with Telecel. The campaign was held at the University's premises on the 19th and 20th of March, attracting a gigantic crowd of students as they were seen gathering around the temporary Telecel booth.

The student forerunners of the campaign were Mbongeni Zondo, Nastasjia Gwenzi, Patience Magora, Tapiwa Muzondo and Thembi Zulu. With Telecel coming with only their telecash agents, temporary booth and Telecel sim cards, the students extended their efforts and managed to register about sixty nine Telecel users for telecash. Many students and lecturers also purchased sim cards and registered with Telecel on those two days.

Using their Public Relations skills, the students also interviewed participants asking them about the problems they face with Telecel. The responses were submitted to the Bulawayo Main Branch Telecel Manager, Mr Chipangamate, with the hope of seeing improvements on the complaints soon.

Telecash is a mobile transfer service, which allows subscribers to use mobile phones to send money to anyone on any network, pay bills and and pay for groceries and other goods and services.

Registration and transaction is easy. To transact a registered telecash subscriber simply dial *888#, which will result in the menu appearing on the mobile phone screen, from which the type of transaction required can be selected.

The *888# number can be used to, among other things, purchase prepaid airtime for oneself and other Telecel subscribers, pay bills, pay for goods and services, check one's telecash account balance, check one's transactions and change one's pin.

Subscibers can register for telecash at any Telecel office, with selected telecash agents or with telecash ambassadors, who will be found roaming the streets for the convenience of customers wishing to sign on.

All that is needed for one to register is one's identity card, driver's license or passport and a copy of it. Registration is fast, almost instant.

Latest on the disappeared Malsysian Flight MH370

The Chinese never cease to amaze anyone with their extra-ordinary minds that are always looking for solutions to everything. According to the Toronto sun, the Chinese have spotted a new object in the southern Indian Ocean, which they suspect it could be the remains of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

According to the Toronto sun, a satelite image was taken on March 18, 2014 by the Gaofen-1-high resolution optical Earth observation satelite China National Space Administration (CNSA).

An Australian Journalist said that China announced they have discovered a new satelite image, which they suspect could be a wreckage from a missing Malaysian airliner. More palnes and ships have headed towards the direction of the object to join an international search operation.

We might thank China if the wreckages of the plane are found, but it is very unfortunate that China's subnormal technological advancement has come in too late for the lost 239 souls.

Technological institutions world wide should now start working on making new technologies, that will rather help to detect the fault before it happens or before any souls are lost. This particularly goes to flight engineers who should work on developing a better tracking system for all the flying objects that are used to carry people.

My condolences go to those who lost their loved ones in that mysteriously disappeared Malaysian plane.

Technology is an idol: Parents worry over technology use

 

Many would certainly agree that they wouldn't survive if their phones had to be taken away from them for just 24 hours. Technological devices can be likened to very addictive drugs especially to the youths of the 21st Century. Parents really do have reasons to worry about the effects of technological devices on their children.

As defined in the Wikipedia, technology is the making, modification, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods of organization, in order to solve a problem, improve a pre-existing solution to a problem, achieve a goal, handle an applied input/output relation or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, including machinery, modifications, arrangements and procedures.

A technological device  is anything that uses the most recent technological information. A screw driver at one time was a technological device. A technological device can be anything from a can-opener to more complex devices like computers.

Some of the common technological devices

The common technological devices include mobile phones, computers, pads, game consoles  and many others. These technological devices enable people to interact, invent, improve and to do many other things. In our days, technological devices have made youths to feel incomplete when they don't access them for just a short period of time. One can safely say that they have become a god to youths, and even adults as they spend most of their time using them.

It is for this reason that most parents worry about the effects of technologies on their children. Youths now spend most of their time using these technologies and barely have time to chat with their parents, brothers and their sisters at home. In short, these technologies have almost taken over family time.

Educational psychologist Dr Kairen Cullen said: "Modern technology is part of contemporary life and naturally this is reflected in the way families operate. However, it is becoming clear that a number of children and young people use technology excessively.

"Parents now have to adapt to a different climate of communication and work hard to ensure open and meaningful conversations with their children, who have grown up with instant messaging and social media.

"Virtual communication is never going to substitute face-to-face family contact though, and parents are well placed to encourage sensible and balanced use of online facilities in a way that includes time fully offline and supports family dynamics."

It can thus be seen that technological devices are highly addictive, and when not monitored in terms of their use, they can destroy the face to face social life of a person.

Mark Zuckerberg purchases whatsapp for $19 billion: is this a question of money or his personal insecurities?

Mark Zuckerberg-the founder of Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the famous social network site Facebook, has purchased WhatsApp; an instant messaging application for smartphones, for $19 billion. Analysts have though argued that the decisive act by Zuckerberg to purchase WhatsApp for such an amount of money, was more of business in-oriented and economically insane, but rather pushed by his personal vendettas against his major opponents.

"The purchase must also be viewed in the context of the high-stakes battle being waged between Zuckerberg and Larry Page, his opposite number at Google, for the prize of users and their eyeballs, across which lucrative streams of advertising can be delivered," the Guardian said on their website. 

People should note that it was not the first time for the young Facebook fella to offer such amounts of monies to other operators in his field, whom he reckoned where/and some still are his enemies in a business sense.

According to the guardian, facebook picked up Instagram, the photo-sharing app, in 2012 for $1bn, a price that dropped jaws at the time yet now seems like a steal, and attempted to buy Snapchat, the tiny self-destructing photo-messaging app popular among younger users, for $3bn.

It is quite clear that Zuckerberg is more of an emotionally and yet financially driven, or should I say he is one awkward fella who wouldn't think twice about selling his own mother just to outrun his fellow business opponents. Hey Mark, its just business man...and you are already stinking rich anyway!

Facebook has faced stiff  competitions from various social networking sites which include Line, WeChat and Snap chat. Besides these rivals, Zuckerberg has clearly felt the most pain coming from the contagiously growing instant messaging application which is WhatsApp.

 

WhatsApp is adding about a million users per day, Facebook co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on his page on Wednesday.

According to the guardian, Zuckerberg has promised to leave his new subsidiary be – for now. "He made it very clear that they are committed to not make changes to the user experience by introducing ads," Jan Koum (WhatsApp's Chief Executive) told the Wall Street Journal. "He positioned it more as WhatsApp will stay completely independent and autonomous."

South African television channel (eTV) staffers are highly unprofessional!

Many will certainly agree with me when I say that some of eTV's staffers are highly unprofessional. This takes particular reference to some of the eTV news presenters, who rather choose not to follow media journalistic principles and ethics. I'm not really sure if the staffers or the management team is to blame.

It was a pain to me when I watched the Tuesday 18 February (1900hrs) eTV news and sadly came across a news reporter who reported about two Zimbabwean illegal miners who died in a mine trap near Benoni at South Africa. I believe all human beings who have healthy and functional minds have feelings, not to talk about those reporters who are even trained to have that in their minds.

"They have finally paid the 'ultimate price' of mining illegally." That is what the female journalist said when she commented on the sad incident. Yet the journalistic principles say that practitioners have an obligation to exercise their personal conscience, and that includes using your rational mind as a human being to present issues fairly.

It was a big shame and a very painful moment for me when someone decided to be overconfident on a national television station, and demonstrate to the whole of South Africa that death is less serious or painful when it befalls foreigners. Like that was enough, it did not take a blind man and the dumbest fool to see the smile that was on her face when she presented the sad news. One could swear she is the devil that the Holy Bible tells us about.

A properly trained journalist should know better. Journalistic principles say that practitioners should keep the news comprehensive and in proportion, and that doesn't say 'misrepresent' certain groups in society! I could even swear this so called eTV 'reporter' has never ran across a phrase that spells 'N-U-E-T-R-A-L L-A-N-G-U-A-G-E! Quite awkward when you are in the Journalism field.

Just a big shout out to the poor eTV Reporter: "YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO JOURNALISM!"

Bulawayo (ZBC) Montrose Studios can be easily turned into a Museum!

"The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation's equipment is still in the 1960s," -David Coltart.

One would certainly agree with me when I say that the Bulawayo (ZBC) Montrose Studios can be easily turned into a Museum. Actually, I on a real experience thought the studio was a Museum when I went on a University tour some two years back. I would say it really felt like the era of the Smith Regime, even though I was never there in Smith's era.

I was even more, or should I say 'extremely' disappointed...or rather flabbergasted to see that the ZBC Pockets Hill station (The main station) in Harare was also in the same condition. Both the Radio and Television broadcast equipment were so old that I, on some instances thought the old monitors were some pieces of art-work stamped on the wall. I would just excuse the Television broadcast equipment which was some-what better, though I can say that it is still not up to standard as I can still see spider webs when I switch on to ZBC TV at home.

"You just have to spend 2 minutes in the foyer to see that it is more like a museum than a broadcasting studio – it literally is a cast back to the 1970s, in fact possibly even the 1960s, because the Rhodesian Front regime was subjected to sanctions itself and so did not have up to date equipment," read some comments on the Herald newspaper.

I have always and I still believe that the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation is a public company which is funded and serviced by the licenses and taxes that we (the citizens) pay. Where then do our monies go since there seems to be no improvement at all on all the ZBC stations I have visited. I would even assume that the new equipment that was installed at Pockets Hill was out of pity donated by the Chinese,,,'donated' not bought. 

I just wonder if the equipment is ever going to improve at all ZBC stations even though I sincerely doubt. What makes me doubt even more is the rumor that the Bulawayo and Gweru ZBC stations will soon be relocated to Harare. I would suggest that they turn those two stations into Museums,,,they NEVER had hope anyway.

So whilst I welcome the move to transform ZBC’s equipment from analogue to digital, until we have an equally digital transformation of its mindset and ethic, it will remain a moribund Stalinist institution which will continue to retard Zimbabwe’s development and transformation into a vibrant, democratic Nation. – David Coltart

WE SHALL SEE!!!
 

Better call it the Harare Broadcasting Corporation (HBC).

YES, there is a dark side to studios! "Its better to call it the Harare Broadcasting corporation (HBC) than to call it the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC)," commented one person on the Radio Dialogue website. ZBC will soon be closing the Bulawayo and Gweru studios as the company is said to be looking for measures to restructure its expenditure.

As the issue is addressed on Newsday (a Zimbabwean Newspaper), sources close to the corporation disclosed that they had been alerted by the management that the station was being relocated to Harare. I wonder what is going to happen to hundreds of employees that were employed in these two stations; though in a far and very obvious view, one can see that many are going to be left jobless and suffering as the Corporation was a public service company that provided an economic hideout for many.

As said in Newsday, when the Zimbabwean Minister of Information and Publicity was contacted over the issue, he neither denied nor confirmed to the impending restructuring exercise.

The dark side of the matter: Why then is the studio being relocated to Harare, and not Bulawayo or Gweru? Remember, ZBC has been on various times and on various publications attacked for being monopolistic. One may then wonder why it has to be relocated to Harare and not Bulawayo or Gweru...or perhaps so that they (the elite) can then advance to RADICAL MONOPOLISM, if there is such a thing?

On the other hand, Newsday said that "Dube's board was unceremoniously booted out last November for awarding high salaries that bordered on illegality to the ZBC executives while junior staffers went unpaid for half a year."

The question still remains: Do they have to relocate the Bulawayo and Gweru ZBC stations to Harare in order to restructure the company's expenditure, and WHY???