Nissan goes some of the way

Nissan has just launched a car that detects whether the driver has alcohol in his system. It does this by sensing tell-tale signs of alcohol in the driver’s sweat, as he places his hand on the gear leaver. The car also picks up the scent of alcohol, and monitors the driver’s eye movements to ensure [...]

In praise of the rights-based approach

There are countless NGOs in every country providing clothing, shelter, food, education, health care etc. to those who sorely need it. No doubt the work they do makes a huge difference the the millions who receive their aid. But when you really think about it, are these efforts just short term fixes, and possibly even [...]

Zapiro, not always original

Jonathan Shapiro, under the Zapiro label, is one of South Africa’s best satirical cartoonists. His pictures get to the heart of the issue straight away, a lot more effectively than words ever could. But they’re not always original. Have a look what appeared in the Mail and Guardian on November 23, 2006, pointing out the [...]

So what if Zuma becomes president?

There’s been a lot of nervous chatter in the business community in South Africa about what would happen if Jacob Zuma becomes president of the country. With all the scandal that surrounds the man, how can the country be taken seriously by the international community? Not to mention all his friends and supporters of in [...]

Investec Private Bank, slipping up

Investec Private Bank, South Africa’s premier private bank seems to be slippling up quite a lot lately. Over the past year or so, I’ve had other people’s cards spending my money and other people’s cheques deposited into my account (at least their mistakes go both ways.) But if you can’t even trust your bank to [...]

GMail and security

Despite all the promises about security, within days of signing up for a GMail account I started to get spam. And lots of it. Some of it even had a few GMail addresses alphabetically before mine, and a few after. I sent a mail to the folks at GMail suggesting that their security had been [...]