Cape Town based StateoftheART, an innovator in the online art world, has been showcasing and selling affordable contemporary art by emerging artists since 2010. This month they launched their new website to support the keen interest in South African art, bringing their works to a global  audience with easy access via the web.

The recent boom in the online art trade, currently valued at around R28bn is forecast to more than double by 2018. At least 71% of art collectors have now purchased artwork online according to the 2014 Hiscox Online Trade Report , with that number expected to rise. StateoftheART founder Jennifer Reynolds says "We want to offer our visitors the personal touch and intimacy of a gallery setting, without the limited selection associated with a physical space. More than half of our customers use a mobile device to browse our online art gallery, perhaps because there is something particularly satisfying about viewing art on a tablet as the tactile experience of holding the device feels almost the same as picking up a painting to look at it more closely."

The great advantage of StateoftheART is that it affords visitors to the site the opportunity to discover and buy affordable fine art that would not otherwise be easily found.  The slick and easy to use website allows visitors to browse and buy high quality art in the comfort of their own home, making contemporary art even more accessible. Works can be bought directly from the website and delivered anywhere in the world. The site offers a 7 day money-back guarantee. To discover the world of StateoftheART, please visit www.stateoftheart-gallery.com

About

StateoftheART is South Africa's premier online gallery where you will discover an exclusive selection of carefully curated art by top emerging artists. Our virtual platform is complemented by the brick-and-mortar StateoftheART gallery in Cape Town; an intimate space in which we regularly host exhibitions and where art lovers can view a dynamic selection of works by our represented artists.

For images, information and interviews with Jennifer Reynolds, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Foscam would like to issue a warning as we go into the silly season.

Christmas is such a magical time of year... lots to be thankful for and wonderful parties to attend. Some of us are lucky enough to get away for a change of scenery. Those of us who stay at home may tend to have a more relaxed outlook on life. But please, beware, criminals are most likely to strike when given half the opportunity, when your guard is down or even better, when a home is empty.

Foscam, leaders in surveillance cameras supply households and companies alike with security cameras that send live footage directly to your cellphone or web browser.

Foscam IP cameras, or in lamans terms, ‘internet cameras’, simply require a wifi signal that they can pick up on where they are installed (either ADSL or by means of 3G), and a standard electric point. Once the camera is configured, download an app to your smartphone and no matter where you are in the world, you will be able to login and monitor your most prized assets.

So if you are going on holiday this December, or simply want to beef up your security, why not take a look at our website, www.foscam.co.za where you can purchase your security cameras online. We deliver countrywide and sell a wide range of indoor and outdoor security cameras to suit your needs.

Foscam South Africa
Tel: 011 4695165
www.foscam.co.za

The eCommerce Africa Confex is proving to be Africa's most influential eCommerce gathering as we bring you face to face with the key individuals in the industry. The conference agenda will cover all things eCommerce, from how to expand your business into Africa to the survival and flourishing of SME's and small businesses. 

Raphael Afaedor, Co-Founder of Jumia and CEO/Co-Founder of Supermart, together with Simdul Shagaya, CEO and Founder of Konga.com will both be sitting on a panel discussing how to sell into Africa and grow your business beyond South Africa. 

Raphael is part of the advisory panel that has been consulted to tailor the event agenda. He co-founded one of Nigeria's largest online stores, Jumia, in 2012 and has since left to start Supermart, an online platform that allows the consumer to shop from over 18 000 grocery items. Simdul is the CEO and co-founder of recently Naspers-invested, Konga.com which is known as Africa's answer to Amazon.com. He was on Forbe's list of "The 10 Most Powerful Men in Africa 2014" and also won "Entrepreneur of the Year" at the 2013 All Africa Business Leaders Awards. 

SME's and startups can gather valuable insight during a panel that will discuss what small businesses, without the big corporate budgets, can do to build a business that will not only survive but thrive and flourish in the eCommerce industry. Panellists for this discussion include:

• David Muller, Managing Director of CyberCellar

• Phaedon Gourtsoyannis, Founder of Cape Coffee Beans

• Gary Hadfield, CEO of loot.co.za

• Olivier Chas, Managing Director and Co-Founder of CitySlicker

The eCommerce Africa Confex takes places on the 3rd and 4th February 2015 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Should you wish to register as a delegate or are interested in sponsor or exhibitor opportunities, please contact Greg Johnson on 021 180 4700 or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

MAMMOTH BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI) NAMES LAUREN SHANTALL (PTY) LTD AS ITS PREFERRED COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY FOR BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND BIG DATA CONFERENCE

Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd is proud to be managing the social media and communications for the two-day Mammoth BI Conference held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on November 17 – 18, 2014. The two-day conference and workshop will house some of the world’s foremost thought leaders in Business Intelligence, Big Data and Analytics.

The Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd stable of clients also include top local décor and lifestyle brands such Plascon, Inhouse Brand Architects, Willowlamp, Indigenus, GreenFin/MediFin and Probio. Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd provides an integrated communications offering, spanning social, digital and traditional marketing and perception management, also focusing on design and environmental clients.

Head of Business Intelligence at Saratoga, Mammoth BI Founder and Curator and self-proclaimed alchemist at TEDx Cape Town, Jason Haddock said, ‘The focus for the Mammoth BI Conference is to build a strong BI community in South Africa, dispel myths around conventional ideas on Big Data, create, and harvest a local community understanding in Business Intelligence’.

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY: Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd

A new report by Allied Market Research titled, "3D Printing Market in Emerging Economies (China, India, UAE, Brazil, South Africa) - Size, Industry Analysis, Trends, Opportunities, Growth and Forecast, 2013 - 2020", indicates that the 3D printing market in emerging economies would reach $4.5 billion by 2020 registering CAGR of 37.4% from 2014 to 2020. The additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping process adopted by the leading manufacturing companies would propel the growth of the 3D printing technologies. Amongst the emerging markets, India andChina are the most opportunistic regions for the development of 3D printing; therefore, market leaders are looking to capitalize on the prevailing opportunities in these countries.    

Higher accuracy, faster processing, efficient use of materials and the ability to build customized products optimally are the prime elements of growth for 3D printing market. Favourable initiatives by the governments in the emerging economies are contributing to the growth of the start-ups in the region giving them power to compete with the top players in the region. According to AMR analysis on the emerging sectors, the adaptation can be phrased in simple form as "Print what you think with the help of 3D printing technology effectively". Shanghai Winsun Decoration Design Engineering, a Company based in China, has adopted Contour Crafting to build houses which is a milestone to a lot of companies. Unique factors of 3D printing over traditional printing processes such as building complex designs easily, mixing of materials to meet continuously changing demands of customers, effective time management, among others have been the prominent factors driving the adoption of 3-D printing.

Get the full access of the report at http://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/3D-printing-emerging-economies-china-india-UAE-brazil-south-africa-market

The easy portability and simple installation with the facility of mixing different types of materials according to need of the operating environment has made 3D printing a popular technology. The widespread adoption of 3D printers in healthcare and medical sectors in emerging economies is bringing the technology into the limelight among the domestic players. The technology is gaining prominence amongst leading domestic players, as the products manufactured can be further used in varied applications.AMR analysis suggests that the commercialization of 3D printing technology would not only lower manufacturing material loss and minimise the labour cost, but also raise awareness and eventually lead to widespread adoption of the technology. Mergers and acquisitions among top global players and local players of emerging regions would further accelerate the growth and adoption of the technology. Acquisition of Brazilian domestic company named Robotech by 3D Systems; a global leader is one such notable example that confers the impending market trend.

The initiatives taken by governments across the emerging economies to enhance the 3D printing technology is one of the major driving factors. In April 2013, China has invested $6.5 million to conduct research on key 3D printing technologies. Technological events have been arranged across sectors for spreading awareness among stakeholders.

The adoption of the technology would lead to low labour cost and efficient use of printing material, which would give a competitive edge to manufacturing companies. General Electric, on the other hand, explored the potential in the Indian market by incorporating additive manufacturing technology in manufacturing plastic parts and eventually also used the technology in manufacturing metal parts. Key companies profiled in the report are StratasysLtd, 3D Systems, Arcam AB, Autodesk Inc., ExOne Company, Voxeljet AG, Optomec Inc., Hoganas AB, Organovo Holdings Inc., and Ponoko.

About Us:  

 Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based inPortland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

Contact:

Cathy Viber

5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,

#205, Portland, OR 97220

United States.

Direct: +1(503)505-6949

Toll Free: +1(855)711-1555 (U.S. & Canada)

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Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A new innovative technology company has been born in South Africa, from the capital city or let me say the silicon city Pretoria. Pretoria is one of the first cities to provide free internet access through wifi to its residents and it is no surprise that one of the world's social networks has been created there.

A South African internet start-up, Red Diamond World has partnered with other companies in the launch of Cybatar, a new social network available to everyone with internet access on mobile or computer. The website launches on 07 October 2014 at midnight and they invite everyone to sign up for accounts. This social network will run from trusted servers and and the company assures users of security as they use the site. A unique feature that the social network comes with is the ability to also share .PDF and .doc documents which Facebook, Twitter and other social networks do not do. This means that users will not have to use email to leave the social network to email websites and other file-sharing sites to share files making life easier.

The social network also brings solutions for companies and professionals to increase their online presence. Social and online marketing experts advise companies to utilize website and social platforms to reach more people and Cybatar comes as another website that will have a great impact on you online presence.

Be part of the first group to register for accounts. Visit www.cybatar.com and register today.

Perago, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIA, has signed an agreement with Swish Payments Ltd., a mobile commerce provider owned by leading South African payment service provider Setcom Payment Solutions, to support its new m-commerce initiative in Africa and Europe.

Through SIA’s technology infrastructure, Perago will enable the Swish solution that utilises a mobile app and card reader (both chip and magnetic stripe card) to effectively convert a merchant's smartphone or tablet into a POS terminal so businesses of all sizes can accept debit and credit card payments from virtually any location.

Perago will specifically provide Swish with the SIA gateway for payment switching to all international circuits in conjunction with a PCI-compliant Acquirer Independent solution for transaction authorisation and clearing. The SIA technology platform will be combined with the Swish solution to provide seamless integration with multiple acquirers in multiple countries, giving Swish the capability to serve varied geographic locations rapidly with its state of the art mPOS solution.

Swish Payments will be launching the new mobile POS solution in Africa and in 20 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom) starting later this year. According to its forecasts, Swish expects to reach about 400,000 merchant subscribers by the end of 2016.

“In addition to our proven experience in creating advanced systems for central banks, RTGS in particular, starting today Perago opens up its infrastructures to new services such as payment card transaction management. With this in mind, our agreement with Swish Payments represents an important milestone for SIA Group as this is the first card processing agreement in Africa, and it allows us to expand our portfolio with the integrated offer of the parent company SIA,” said Claudio Ceresani, CEO of Perago.

“The deal with SIA is a critical component of our offering as it allows us to count on an established processing infrastructure. It also allows us to focus our efforts on the business and enhance the Swish value proposition for our customers,” said Stephen Grech, CEO of Swish Payments Ltd.

About Perago

Based in South Africa, Perago is a leading provider of solutions and services for the financial system and is the SIA Group Hub in Africa. After its acquisition in 2005, Perago evolved into an innovative company delivering highly specialized, mission-critical solutions which include payment systems, securities management solutions, business intelligence solutions, card management services, enterprise application integration, and monitoring systems and tools. 

About SIA

SIA is European leader in the design, creation and management of technology infrastructures and services for Financial and Central Institutions, Corporates and Public Administration bodies, in the areas of payments, e-money, network services and capital markets. SIA provides its services in around 40 countries, and also operates through its subsidiaries in Hungary and South Africa. The company has offices in Milan and Brussels. In 2013, SIA managed 2.7 billion card payments and 2.2 billion credit transfers and collections, 28.6 billion trading and post-trading transactions and carried 293.3 terabytes of data on the network. The Group is made up of seven companies: the parent SIA, the Italian companies Emmecom (innovative network applications for banks and businesses), Pi4Pay (services for Payment Institutions), RA Computer (treasury solutions for banks, businesses and P.A.), and TSP (payment collection services for companies and P.A.), Perago in South Africa and SIA Central Europe in Hungary. The Group, which has approximately 1,500 employees, closed 2013 with revenues of €380.3 million. For more information, go to: www.sia.eu 

About Swish Payments

Swish Payments launched in Hong Kong in December 2012, and has since expanded into a number of global markets. Swish Payments offers an end-to-end mobile commerce solution platform to banks, payment service providers, telecommunication companies and others looking to deploy a fully certified, branded mobile payment platform in record time. Swish’s range of secure card readers includes EMV chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature, both with integrated magnetic stripe reader, as well as magstripe-only devices. All card readers support Android- and iOS-powered smartphones and tablets, enabling merchants to accept card transactions from any location. The Swish mobile commerce solution platform also includes mobile applications, APIs, embedded payment modules, a full-featured payment gateway complete with fraud screening, and web portals, all of which are easily brandable and customizable for rapid market deployment. For more information, go to: www.swishme.com

Findoo is a simple and effective Tender Alerts System that takes out the pain of filtering through heaps of tender data, by making it simple to receive what your are interested in. You choose the tender categories you want and the system will send you alerts directly to your phone via SMS or push email or direct to email on your computer when they are published. Easy!

Findoo is a product of Glorifieldlabs IT Consulting (Pty) Ltd, a technology company that was founded with the intention of solving technological challenges faced by small and medium sized businesses in South Africa. Glorifieldlabs' core focus is to leverage the power of the internet to create easily accessible software solutions over the web and mobile devices.

Website: www.findoo.co.za

Sometimes the owners of wonderful smartphones on Windows Phone are often frustrated when the developers of some popular game or application forget about them! They have either to wait for the release of WP version or just silently envy the owners of other more popular platforms, as it is often reported that versions for Windows Phone is not planned yet. 

Fortunately the client program WhatsApp for pc and Windows Phones is already developed and works without any problems. Of course, the very first versions were not stable and the opportunities were limited, but now the client is very stable!

SMS message is still a popular messaging service, but compared to, for example, ICQ, Skype or Jabber, much more expensive. At the same time while messaging through these protocols you need to know the other account information (the number of ICQ, jabber ID , etc.). So, lately one of the new messaging services-WhatsApp-has become popular. While messaging with this program you only need to know the phone number. This application has long been available on AndroidMarket and now the version for Windows Phone has been released.

This application is a cross -platform Messenger and allows you to share messages, photos, location and transfer SMS between various phones: iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia, Android and Windows Phone 7. Messaging is done via 3G connection or Wi-Fi and hence the price of SMS will be less than for conventional SMS.

After the installation of the app it automatically detects the contact from your phone book and adds the contacts to "Favorites". If you start a conversation, just click on any contact. The other contacts are in the tab "All". If a contact does not have WhatsApp free download, the program will send an ordinary SMS, and you do not need to go to the main menu - Messages.

If you know a lot of owners of smartphones, this program is for you. With this application it is not necessary to spend money on SMS, as messages are delivered if the program is not running . The number of unread messages is displayed on the tile of this application.  

In conclusion we can say that Whats App is an excellent replacement of SMS, MMS and even ICQ. It is convenient because you will not forget your account and password to it. Unlimited Internet traffic is the only desirable condition.

Good news for the owners of smartphones on Lumia Windows Phone 8. Recently the popular client of instant messaging service WhatsApp has been updated. It has acquired the capabilities of the latest version of the mobile operating system and made friends with such chats as Facebook, MSN, Skype, Viber and other alternative messengers.

The developers collaborate with Nokia on a version of the program that will be properly optimized for the latest platforms of Windows Phone.

The setting of this application has two stages. You download and install the app. Then you need to confirm your phone number, enter the code that will come in the SMS sent from the server of the company. After the installation the program will automatically find other users of the service in your contacts and add them to the phonebook.

You can use the application for free during the first 12 months. Then you will need to pay one dollar. The application is available for virtually all mobile platforms including Series 40 and Symbian, not just Windows Phone. WhatsApp has a lot of fans and if your friends are using it, then you need to install this application for sure.

“It is so worthwhile to come and see what is available in e-learning and classroom technology, it is the only way to move forward,” said Kennia Plaskitt, principal of the Willowmoore High School in Benoni during the SABC Education African EduWeek that took place in Johannesburg last week. She added: “one never has time during term and having the event at the start of the holiday enabled us to send 14 teachers from our school. We are excited about what we saw.”  

At an event that can only be described as lively, interactive and inspiring, more than 2436 teachers and education experts, including the Deputy Minister of Basic Education Enver Surty, attended the eighth conference and exhibition at the Sandton Convention Centre from 10-11 July. This is a 165% increase in visitors compared to last year. Some 93 leading suppliers of technology, stationery and content to the education sector created an exciting and colourful expo where visitors were encouraged to touch and try the latest classroom gadgets.  

International education platform
Says African EduWeek event director Tanya Jackman: “this event is all about the teachers and how we can empower them to go back to their classrooms with new ideas, insight and confidence to face the daily challenges at school, whether it is about teaching skills or using e-learning tools and educational technology. As an event, African EduWeek has truly come of age - our partnership with SABC Education has taken us to the next level, reaching our target audience in the farthest corners of the country, through its radio, TV and online outreach. We are also becoming an international education platform, where various stakeholders in the industry get together to brainstorm and network.” 

Platinum sponsor Pearson Education’s CEO Riaan Jonck said in a radio interview that African EduWeek was:  “a wonderful event attended by an enormous amount of people – it’s quite exciting to see how people are looking at education today versus the way that we used to in the past.” 

Teachers learning about neuroscience
During a very interactive keynote address, Dr Judy Willis, the American neurologist turned classroom teacher, explained how best to stimulate young people’s brains to process information into knowledge and wisdom. Dr Willis loves sharing her knowledge with fellow teachers: “it’s a joy teaching other educators. It’s seeing the ‘aha moment’ when they realize that their best strategies, things that have been most successful, are indeed highly supported by the neuroscience research.”  

The next keynote speaker received a standing ovation: 32-year-old Sheri Brynard of Bloemfontein who is the first person with Downs syndrome to qualify as a teacher. Says Sheri: “my dream is for South Africa to become a country where the general population respects, encourages and enables its disabled citizens to make a contribution in life, develop to their full potential, and feel that they have a purpose in life.”

Technology for special needs
Inclusivity was an important theme at African EduWeek this year with exciting technology on display for learners with disabilities and learning challenges, including a braille computer that enables  a visually impaired or blind person to go on the internet, receive and send emails, print to braille,connect to their smart phones and much more. “If I had had this technology when I was still in school, I would probably have become a heart surgeon,” says 22-year-old Kyle Williams, a visually impaired IT specialist at Edit Microsystems who demonstrated the device at the exhibition.

Doris Mokhaghane is a teacher from the Makwane School in the Free State that has many learners with special needs: “we definitely need special technology and teaching skills to deal with our learners, many of whom are already in their 20s and cannot read or write. I found this event very interesting and helpful. I will definitely be back next year and bring my principal as well.”

Literacy – two working languages for learning
The conference also focused on literacy, including a presentation by Maggie Owen Smith of the Home Language Project who notes that “every learner in a multilingual society needs two working languages for learning: a common classroom language and an own home language. As we don’t have a common language, English is the most common language for the classroom.”

WISE round-table discussion
The high-level, round-table discussion on "Creative Ways of Building Africa's Youth Skills”, presented by WISE (the World Innovation Summit for Education) included Deputy Basic Education Minister Surty and Sarietjie Musgrave, head of ICT at the Free State University, who believes that teacher training is the key to success. “Bringing technology into our classrooms,” Musgrave says, “there are so many good things already happening. But if you introduce any form of tech in class, it raises fears for the teacher about whether they know how to use it… it’s almost like we give the learner or the teacher a Ferrari but we forget to tar the road.”  

China Day
African EduWeek also celebrated Chinese-South African educational and trade exchange with a special China Day event at the international pavilion of the CEIEC or the China Educational Instrument & Equipment Corporation, a major supplier of educational and scientific equipment. The festivities were attended by the Deputy Minister, the Department’s Deputy Director General: Curriculum Policy, Support & Monitoring, Hubert Matanzima Mweli as well as the Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi. Rebecca Tang, Deputy General Manager of CEIEC, was thrilled with the response: “it is the first time that we are in South Africa and we see great potential, also from other African countries. We will be back next year.”  

Website:  www.educationweek.co.za
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/African_EduWeek 

Contact:
Communications manager:  Annemarie Roodbol
Telephone :  +27 21 700 3558
Mobile:  +27 82 562 7844
Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.