EngineerIT e-News
 
ICT, electronics, instrumentation, automation and control in engineering
Issue number 75
March 2014  

EE Publishers apps July 2012

In this issue...
- Cell companies inhibiting South Africa's growth
- When the earth moved for ICT
- Targeted malware topped list of security threats in 2013
- When should we buy into the cloud?
- Panel discussion: Security in SCADA systems
- EngineerIT Inbox - March 2014
- Q&A: Ask an expert: Batteries
- Third-party cloud services gain traction in Africa
- CERN Large Hadron Collider instrumental in medical and automation developments
- Protecting industrial control systems and SCADA networks
- Kinetic wireless mesh networks for mining and process operations
- Modern techniques of verification for wireless M2M communication
- 3D printing technology produced locally
- Preventing data corruption during an extended power outage
- Passwords move on - biometrics enter!
- 3D printing - applications from industry to hobby
- Mobile connectivity - still many "dead" areas
- Tips for planning an industrial wireless network
- Fibre for City of Cape Town broadband
- Telecoms developments in Africa
- Aerospace Technology
- Views, Comment and Opinion
- Industry News
- Product and Service News

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Cell companies inhibiting South Africa's growth 
by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
  
"Stop hurting SA", Telkom CEO, Sipho Maseko, told MTN and Vodacom in an open letter published in the Sunday Times of 2 March 2014. This follows legal action by Vodacom and Cell C after ICASA published new call determination rates ... (more)
When the earth moved for ICT   
by Arthur Goldstuck, WordWideWorx   
 
At the end of February 2014, the earth moved. It wasn't a seismic event, but in the world of ICT, it represented a clear movement of the tectonic plates underlying the industry. The event was Mobile World Congress in Barcelona... (more)
Targeted malware topped list of security threats in 2013
by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT  
  

Andrew Kirkland of Trustwave says: "There are pressures on SA IT professionals". Targeted malware topped the list of security threats exerting pressure on organisations in 2013, while threats from viruses/worms were the lowest... (more)

When should we buy into the cloud?  
by Richard Vester, EOH Cloud Services
  
Cloud computing has been flagged as the new mantra to address age-old challenges, yet there are dozens of definitions of what it actually entails. Essentially, cloud computing is a business model. It is the delivery of on demand software and infrastructure as services via the Internet... (more) 

Panel discussion: Security in SCADA systems 

by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
 
Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) security is being taken more seriously, but is it still fragile? Is action required to beef up security on SCADA systems? What are the concerns? We put these and a number of other questions to a panel of industry leaders in the automation field... (more)
EngineerIT Inbox - March 2014 
Letters from our readers 
 
The March 2014 letters to the editor discussed challenges facing electronic manufacturers, and bridging the needs of academia and industry... (more) 
our expert is Michael Rogers, MD Uniross Batteries

Uniross Batteries is an industrial battery manufacturer. Rogers discusses key points to consider when designing an electronic device or gadget such as availability and price of the batteries... (more)
Third-party cloud services gain traction in Africa
by Jeremy Matthews, Panda Security

World Wide Worx and Cisco's recent study of cloud computing trends in Africa suggests the continent is gaining confidence in both the reliability and security of the cloud. In support of this forecast, Ovum predicts that cloud services spend in South Africa will likely double over the next four years... (more)
CERN Large Hadron Collider instrumental in medical and automation developments
by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
   


It is almost unbelievable that systems like LabView, PXI and NI FlexRio hardware could become an important and integral part of a CERN-developed treatment for cancer. CERN (the European Organisation for Nuclear Research) made history over the past few years when it fired up the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)...
Protecting industrial control systems and SCADA networks
A Check Point White Paper review by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
     


Cyber attacks on critical infrastructures are now a reality. Service uptime, data integrity, compliance and even public safety require that organisations implement steps to deal with these security concerns. It is time to take action...
Kinetic wireless mesh networks for mining and process operations
Information from Scanrf Projects    

Kinetic wireless mesh networks enable communications and data acquisition in mobile environments such as mining operations, which are constantly changing and expanding. This wireless infrastructure is able to maintain reliable and seamless communication... (more)
by Franz-Josef Dahmen, Anritsu, Germany
   
Machine-to-machine communication brings benefits to device manufacturers and end users: remote sensing, monitoring, tracking and data-logging bring a new dimension to the functions of machines in industrial, commercial, military and other markets... (more) 
by Ross Manyika, Digital Cube/Deltronics 
 
The 3D printing technology which has revolutionised the design and manufacturing field the world over has also become popular in Africa. Our biggest challenge is that most of these devices originate from overseas, so obtaining one locally is expensive. Now the first locally designed 3D printer will soon be available... (more) 
by Ted lves, APC, UK
  
Despite advances in computer technology, power outages continue to be a major cause of PC and server downtime. Protecting computer systems with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) hardware is part of a total solution, but power management software is also necessary to prevent data corruption after extended power outages... (more)
by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
   
For the past five or more years, the debate on biometrics versus passwords has been the subject of many media releases and articles. Although biometrics technology has advanced during that time, many institutions and people are still hanging on to the passwords... (more)
3D printing - applications from industry to hobby
by Hans van de Groenendaal, EngineerIT
  
3D printing  or, to give its technical term, additive manufacturing, is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model.  3D printing is achieved by using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes... (more)
by Hans van de Groenendaal, features editor, EngineerIT
  
Despite all the hype and promises from the cellular telcos, many people still experience connectivity problems - mainly due to poor signals which often can be attributed to the terrain or simply not enough masts to cover an area. Connectivity problems are often also experienced in large buildings... (more)
by Mike Werning, Moxa Americas
  
WiFi is now present everywhere and people have become comfortable using it for just about any application. For example, many systems designers are choosing to move their industrial applications from wired Ethernet to wireless utilising WiFi... (more)
Telit
by Dr. Alan Nelson, Tank Industries
  
Social demands for increased municipal services have created the need for faster and improved communications. The choice for upgrading the City of Cape Town system was to change over from the conventional fibre optic (FO) cable interconnecting method, to a blown fibre optic (BFO) cable... (more)
Telecoms developments in Africa: March 2014
Compiled by Matthew White
  • Experts debate strategy for getting a billion more online
  • Mahindra Comviva to deploy comms platform in 16 countries
  • Seacom invests in further network expansion
  • Vodafone Ghana builds more sites
  • Safaricom and Airtel pay US$93-million for competitor yuMobile
  • Liberia Telecoms Authority head admits irregularities
  • Malawi urges mobile firms to cut tariffs, improve services
  • Malian section of Trans-African optical-fibre cable inaugurated
  • Nigeria's regulator plans more spectra auctions... (more)
  • High definition recordings
  • New display technology for e-reader
  • World's slimmest and lightest waterproof tablet
  • Mega power on the go... (more)
Aerospace Technology
  • SA student satellite captures image of the Cape 
  • The SKA will transform our understanding of the universe
  • Stellenbosch University's project to deorbit satellites 
  • CubeSats deployed from the ISS... (more)
Views, Comment and Opinion  
Industry News  
Product and Service News