Let’s face it folks, addiction is real. I’m writing this piece whilst smoking a cigarette and drinking a cup of coffee. And of course I’m doing this whilst feeding my internet addiction (and listening to a podcast that I downloaded on iTunes). Am I a Multi-tasker or Addict? I really don’t know.
Fact is: Everyone has some of other form of addiction. Some people go out drinking or spend their nights drinking at home and others smoke 2 packs of cigarettes a day (without going out drinking). There also those that indulge themselves in 5 cups of good tasting non-caffeine free coffee a day and internet and social media addicts that spend 8 hours a day on Facebook. There’s gamers out there who spent 12 hours a day playing World Of Warcraft, Diablo 3 or Eve Online. And let’s not forget the sex addicts out there, Lord knows what they do to get their fix.
To be honest I smoke a pack of cigarettes every two days, I drink at least 3 cups of coffee a day and I go out drinking at least 2 nights a week. In between all of this I spend 8 hours a day working on the internet. And when I get home I spent another 2-3 hours working on this blog daily. Let’s not forget the urge I have to do my bit in the SA Music scene by taking at least 1,000 to 2,000 photos almost every weekend and the urge I have to get some excitement running through my veins that only happens when I attend the coolest gigs and festivals that SA Music has to offer.
Yes, I know it’s not healthy and yes, my name is Henno and I’m addicted to Nicotine, Caffeine, Alcohol, the Internet, Photography and Live Music. At least I’m brave enough to admit it. I picked up this Meme that features the Battle Of The Addictions. I’m pretty sure that it’s damn relevant to many of you reading this.
So, we’ve established that addiction is alive and well in 2013. What we haven’t established is which one of these 4 addictions in this meme will win in the Battle of Addictions? Leave a comment and let me know who you think wins.
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Watch this space for regular updates in the Humor category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
LTE (Long Term Evolution) will be rolled out in full force in some South African cities soon. Many of you are probably in the dark about LTE in South Africa, so I thought I’d write up a little something to inform you a bit more about it.
Wikipedia defines LTE as a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. LTE is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies and increases the capacity and speed using a different radio interface together with core network improvements.
Here are 10 Facts about LTE in South Africa that you should know:
- LTE in South Africa could be up to 3 times faster than 3G. In ideal conditions connection speeds could reach 60 Mbps, but South Africans should be able to reach about 10 Mbps on average, according to Vodacom.
- LTE coverage in SA will be limited to a few cities. Most networks are rolling it out in Johannesburg first.
- Vodacom launched SA’s first commercial LTE service earlier in October 2012. Connectivity is very limited, mostly to the Johannesburg and Midrand region.
- South Africans can expect the release of LTE compatible phones over the next few months. Samsung and Nokia have already announced LTE compatible phones in the last week or so. The Apple iPhone 5 is LTE compatible and might be in SA before the end of the year.
- LTE will offer better latency than 3G. Downloads will probably not bomb out if you’re connected via LTE.
- On the Vodacom network your device will automatically switch to 3G if you’re out of range of LTE.
- Cell C will launch a commercial LTE offering before the end of 2012, if anything doesn’t go wrong.
- MTN has said that they already have 250 LTE sites that a ready and that they are aiming to launch in Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban. They’re also planning to expand their network to up to 500 sites by the end of the year.
- 8ta is planning to limited LTE testing in the Gauteng region in the coming months and should launch a commercial service soon.
- My BroadBand recently tested the Vodacom LTE network in Johannesburg using their Speedtest server: It showed download speeds ranging between 10 Mbps and 35 Mbps. Upload speeds typically ranged between 5 Mbps and 16 Mbps.
If you ask me this is good news. Finally we’re going have LTE in South Africa. The real problem is the cost of data in this country though. More than 10 million South African internet users are getting very bandwith hungry and it’s still extremely expensive compared to the rest of the developing world. Mobile networks should really look at ways that will make data extremely cheap in South Africa.
What are your opinions about LTE in South Africa? Leave a comment on this post and let the readers of this blog know, feedback is appreciated and welcome.
Watch this space for regular updates in the Facts and Technology category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
I hate to admit it, but in this day and age, the Internet is one of my best friends. I Unlock the Power of the Internet on daily basis. In fact I’ve been unlocking the power of the internet since 1998 (AKA “The Good Old Days of Dial-up”).
Vodacom have asked me to write a blog post about How I Unlock the Power of the Internet, and I thought that I’d give it a shot.
The Internet has grown since its early days. When I first encountered it back in the late 1990s it was nothing like it is today. There were limited browser choices and virtually no adverts, images or videos online. Back then saving info on stiffy disks used to be in style and connection speeds were also slower than Father’s Day in Mexico. And I don’t even want to go into the ridiculously high phone bills that I used to pay for using dial-up in this country. If I recall correctly my highest dial-up bill was something like R2,000+. I’m speaking under correction, but I’m probably responsible for at least 0.3% of Telkom’s revenue between 1998 and 2002.
That all changed in 2003 when I activated my first broadband connection. This had a huge impact on the way I viewed the internet. For the first time I was able to experience the way it should be experience by everyone. It just made unlocking the power of the internet easier.
Thanks to even better connectivity today, I Unlock the Power of the Internet in these 5 ways daily:
- I blog daily: Since 2008 Running Wolf’s Rant has been in existence. I started this blog because one of my online friends (whom I haven’t met till this day) told me to start one because, according to her “I had way too much to tell the world”. Since then it has developed into a daily activity for me. It’s also opened a lot of doors professionally. To give you an idea: One of my daily tasks at my current job is to write blog posts. A few years ago my daily job consisted of answering phones and e-mails at the same company. My blog has also become an excellent platform to promote events and give feedback of ones I’ve been to (like Oppikoppi, RAMFest, etc).
- I tweet like a race horse on steroids: I discovered the power of Twitter back in 2009 when I started doing work with social media. I quickly discovered that Twitter is more powerful than most people think. I started tweeting intensely throughout 2010 and the rest is kinda history. I Unlock The Power of the Internet with Twitter Daily by interacting with my readers / followers and networking with fellow bloggers, musicians and other media folk out there. To give you an idea, I’ve met over 100 people via Twitter in the last 2 years, just one of the reasons why I consider Twitter an ultimate way to Unlock the Power of the Internet.
- I use Facebook like a heroin addict: I honestly can’t remember what I did online before I discovered Facebook in 2007. And I’ll admit, I have been addicted to it ever since. I Unlock the Power of the Internet daily by sharing blog posts that I wrote, interesting links, funny pictures, commenting on statuses and managing Facebook pages for various brands. I also interact with friends and family and sometimes I even conduct business via Facebook. Facebook has also empowered me to get more exposure for my photography. Like many folks out there, it has become part of my daily routine, no question about that. If you’re not on Facebook nowadays, I seriously don’t know how you Unlock The Power of the Internet.
- I stream YouTube videos more than average Joe out there: YouTube has changed the way I see the world. If you told someone that you would be able to watch videos online and there would almost be no need for a television, they’d probably laugh at you. Nowadays you can find anything on YouTube: Music Videos for your favorite song, How To videos for almost anything that you can think of, ridiculously funny clips of people doing stupid things, movie trailers for upcoming films, etc. The list of what you can find on YouTube is really endless if you ask me. YouTube is just another way I Unlock The Power of the Internet.
- I read a lot of News and blogs Online: The Internet is my main source of information. I read a lot of blogs online, some of my favorites are Memeburn, Bangers and Nash, Texx and The City, Gevaaalik.com, Watkykjy and Imod (to name just a few). If I wanna find out whats hot in the Social Media Sphere I check out Mashable. I also read a lot of Music websites like NME and Rolling Stone. And I spent quite some time reading the latest news on News 24, IOL, Times LIVE and Eyewitness News. I Unlock the Power of the Internet by staying informed. Staying informed is very important if you ask me.
There you have it, the 5 ways that I Unlock the Power of the Internet Daily. I hope this has provided you with insight about me.
Want to Unlock the Power of the Internet as well? Well, you have a chance to win one of 2 Vodacom 5 Gb Data packages with Running Wolf’s Rant. All you have to do to enter is to comment on this post and let me know how you Unlock the Internet daily and Retweet this post on Twitter and mention the #unlockthenet hashtag in the tweet. Easy enough if you ask me. The competition closes on Monday (the 3rd of September 2012) at 12 Noon
Watch this space for regular updates in the Technology category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
