I have often complained about Apple, iTunes and the App Store in South Africa. We pay more for our iPhone and get practically nothing!

This really makes the point, at least on the App Store side!

Yes thats right the most downloaded free application in South Africa is bubblewrap! Not because of the limit of our dexterity or intellect but because we do not have a games category in the App Store!

Please Apple!

We also don't have any other iTunes content - on the crippled app store!

 

Facinating Data Analysis

Gapminder is a fascinating tool taking the concept of graphs several steps further by using computer multimedia.

The graph below is available online and shows the relationship between life expectancy and average individual income.

from Gapminder
(click image for full story online)

 

This graph instead of showing only the income vs expectancy data points also shows the geographical location (by the colour of the point) and the population (by the size of the point) of the country's datapoint.So its easy to see that Africa has low income and associated low life expectancy and also that some have much lower life expectancies than the rough trend line. Labeling the points is revealing, Southern African countries amonst are those that lie below the line while Muslem countries suxh as Comores and Senegal are

Then one is able to look at these points in time to see changes and even track the changes as a line connecting successive years

or as a video

How Time Passes

Here in my second life I needed some documents for an application and found this 30 plus year old certificate!

Makes one think back.

Queuing for Government Services!

Why do we as South Africans, accept to stand in queues like this? and only complain to one and other about how bad things are.

Batho Pele - Putting people first?

To me the most revealing thing about Batho Pele is its website!

While Batho Pele is a process for the user of government services, the website gives no way of addressing the system in writing.

The INTERNET contact form specifically states

"due to high volume of mail, we're not always able to provide a personal response"

Submissions to the the form resulted in no response after 3 days, although a specific request was made to establish electronic communication.

To add to the inefficincy the website was offline for several hours on 16/03/08.

Batho Pele - What is It?

Batho Pele was established by Government to

"enhance the quality and accessibility of government services by improving efficiency and accountability to the recipients of public goods and services".

promising the user of government (local, provincial and national) services that eight service delivery principles be implemented

* regularly consult with customers
* set service standards
* increase access to services
* ensure higher levels of courtesy
* provide more and better information about services
* increase openness and transparency about services
* remedy failures and mistakes
* give the best possible value for money.

Do these things seem to be being done in the areas you interact with? - definitely not for me!

Even Sweets Can Be Healthy

Food & Drink Europereport that Lallemand Health Ingredients (LHI) have anounced the launch of a chewy fruit containing PACran cranberry powder eith the claim that "One daily 'PACran softchew' is recommended by the company to support urinary tract health"

This appears to be a growing tend - Euromonitor value the functional and healthy confectionery market at $7.4bn (€5bn) in 2005 representing 24 per cent of the functional food market.