by Tech Talk | Feb 22, 2023 | Articles
Integrated energy and chemicals firm Sasol anticipates financial as well as environmental benefits from its drive to use renewable energy for its operations, CEO Fleetwood Grobler said.
The world’s biggest producer of fuels and chemicals from coal and gas, is working to cut its emissions by 30% by 2030.
Sasol and French gas company Air Liquide, which acquired Sasol’s oxygen production units in Secunda, launched a partnership in 2021 to jointly procure 1.2GW of renewable energy for their respective operations.
On Tuesday, the two companies announced a 260MW wind and solar power purchase agreement with TotalEnergies and the privately owned South African renewable energy firm Mulilo.
This adds to deals for 289MW of renewable power Sasol and Air Liquide signed in January with Enel Green Power, a unit of Italy-based Enel and Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm.
Grobler said in an interview that 550MW of renewable energy projects that are expected to be operational by 2025 would account for around a third of Sasol’s current electricity consumption of 1.5GW.
“It helps us on our decarbonisation journey. It also makes business sense, when you look at the escalation of Eskom power price increases and factor in what the renewable power purchase agreements come out at, it becomes economically sensible to go for renewable energy,” Grobler said.
Sasol reported a 9% profit jump in a half year it described as mixed as higher oil prices offset the impact of weaker global economic growth, higher costs, power cuts and poor rail logistics.
Sasol’s core headline earnings per share — the company’s preferred measure of its operating performance — was R24.55 in the six months to December 2022, compared to R22.52 in the corresponding six-month period a year earlier.
It said production volumes declined during the six months due to lower productivity and poor coal quality from its mining operations.
Sasol declared an interim dividend of R7/share. — Reuters
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by Tech Talk | Feb 22, 2023 | Articles
Microsoft headed into a showdown with European Union antitrust watchdogs by insisting its US$69-billion (R1.3-trillion) takeover of Activision Blizzard will “bring more competition” for gamers but pledging to show willingness to address antitrust concerns.
“I think we’ll make clear that our acquisition of Activision Blizzard will bring more games to more people on more devices and platforms than ever before,” Microsoft president Brad Smith told reporters ahead a closed-door hearing in Brussels.
“We’re more than willing, given our strategy, to address the concerns that others have, whether it’s by contracts, like we did with Nintendo this morning, or whether it’s by regulatory undertakings, as we’ve consistently been open to addressing,” Smith said.
He was referring to the signing of a 10-year agreement with Nintendo that “will bring Call of Duty to Nintendo devices”. Microsoft last year already publicly offered to give other rival Sony Group a similar licence for the blockbuster game.
The EU hearing, with dozens of lawyers, officials and rivals, comes just two weeks after Britain’s merger regulator provisionally found that the deal could substantially harm competition in gaming consoles and cloud gaming services in the country. That raised questions about the viability of the transaction that’s also under attack in the US over fears Microsoft could make it harder for rival platforms to access Activision’s most popular titles.
Microsoft recently received the EU regulators’ initial findings in a so-called statement of objections, laying out the bloc’s key concerns about the deal, according to people familiar with the review.
In the UK, it’s clear already that licensing alone won’t be enough to convince its watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority this month suggested a number of structural remedies that include the divestiture of the business associated with Call of Duty, the Activision part of the business or blocking the merger altogether.
In the EU, the SO and this week’s hearing, which also includes Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, will set the path for the kinds of formal remedies Microsoft will have to submit in the coming weeks. The EU aims to finalise its review by 11 April.
The UK probe, which has focused on whether the deal will allow Microsoft to foreclose on rival console gaming platforms and cloud gaming service providers, is set to conclude by 26 April. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission is locked in a lengthy legal process after formally suing to veto the transaction.
Microsoft has repeatedly said it has no plans to make Call of Duty exclusive. The software giant has offered to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for several years and a similar deal to Nintendo for its Switch console. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer maintains that the company’s plan is to seed its content across as many screens and systems as possible. — Bloomberg
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by Tech Talk | Feb 22, 2023 | Articles
Console gaming is one of the most popular forms of gaming, with record stats showing there are 800 million console gamers around the world. Impressive yes, but even more awe-inspiring is the new technology coming to the fore to fuel the gaming craze. Consoles nowadays are designed to give gamers the best possible experience with revved-up graphics, high frame rates, and super-fast gameplay. But without a top-quality display to go with their consoles, gamers simply won’t experience their games’ full potential.
The LG OLED C1 was unveiled in 2021 and quickly positioned itself as one of the best, most innovative TVs ever created, especially when it comes to gaming. Now, LG has released the OLED C2, which has been designed for an even more mind-blowing experience.
Mister Flak, South African gamer and YouTuber, knows all about the incredible gaming experience the C1 has to offer, so who better than him to put the brand-new C2 through its paces? Keep reading for his full account on the latest OLED available in stores and online now.
First impressions
Mister Flak was blown away by the gaming experience on the OLED C1, and now, after some time playing around with the OLED C2, we want to know what his verdict of the new model is.
What was your overall experience of the OLED C2?
“The C2 feels phenomenal. I already said the C1 was the best gaming TV on the planet. The C2 is everything the C1 is, with added sprinkles. And not just for gaming but for movies and series, plus its built-in software and apps too. An absolute polished work of art and I hate that I can’t fault it. I’m a realist, so I love finding faults. But on this one, I got nada.”
What games did you play on the OLED C2?
“All my games – Forza, Rust, Apex Legends. I’m even playing games I don’t usually play because the C2 makes everything feel completely different from my normal gaming screen. I’m loving the high-speed games; those fast-moving pixels on the 120 hz OLED are such a treat for the eyes.”
Brighter than ever before
The OLED C2 offers infinite contrast thanks to self-lit pixels that illuminate individually. Taking this technology to the next level are the α9 Gen5 AI processor and Brightness Booster, which delivers 20% more luminance.
How has the brighter display impacted your gaming experience?
“The C1 was already very bright; the C2 is somehow brighter. I found the C2 better in darker games – the extra oomphreally helps.”
How did you experience the contrast and colour quality in darker scenes?
“On traditional gaming screens, darker scenes felt very washed out. The OLED naturally excels at dark scenes, so everything feels better, sharper, clearer, darker. It’s very difficult to describe with words. One has to witness it to experience it.”
Brains and beauty
Upgrading from the α9 Gen 4 AI Processor chip to the Gen 5 allows the system to be even smarter when analysing behaviours and optimising your content. The processor uses Body and Object Enhancing to detect and sharpen objects. Foreground and Background Enhancing maximises the field of depth for lifelike images.
How would you describe the visuals? Could you feel the difference of the upgraded processor?
“Yes. Other than the brighter OLED panel, the webOS interface on the C2 is faster, menus are snappier. The C1 was already perfect, so finding improvements on the C2 wasn’t easy. As I said before, the C2 is like the C1, with added sprinkles, turned to 11.”
With a response time of 0.1 ms, gamers can always expect clear visuals. Low latency means buttons pressed on your controller result in near-instantaneous action on screen. VRR (a certified specification of HDMI 2.1) keeps up with changes in frame rate to reduce image tearing, and NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD Freesync Premium also keep images smooth without tearing or stuttering.
Did you notice any tearing or stuttering?
“Nothing. I love to brag about the C2 being the world’s best gaming TV. I adore showing my gamer friends games on it. Every time it’s just adoration and dropped jaws. 120 hz refresh rate, less than 1 ms response time, G-Sync – all of it absolutely destroys any choppiness.”
Stylishly sleek and modern
OLEDs are known for their seamless design and ability to enhance your space. Luckily, the OLED C2 comes in a variety of sizes (42” to 83″) to best suit the dimensions of your home.
What size TV would you recommend to your followers for the best immersive gaming experience?
“Definitely 48”! While I love my 55” C1, it’s too big for shooters. 48” is big enough to enjoy but small enough to be effective for shooters. 48” is the sweet spot.”
Does a great gaming TV really make a difference to your performance?
“Having an actual gaming screen is the single most important upgrade a gamer can make. An office screen and a gaming screen are worlds apart, and so are a TV and a gaming TV. The former in both examples are 60 hz, meaning they display 60 frames per second. Consoles now display 120 frames per second, so if you use a regular TV, you’re losing half the game info to a slow screen, making games feel sluggish. Consoles have only recently reached the 120 hz mark. The TV market hasn’t completely caught up yet, so even new TV models are coming out in 60 hz. If you aren’t running 120 hz in 2023, you’re basically playing on old console specs.”
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by Tech Talk | Feb 21, 2023 | Articles
Lenovo Group reported a 24% revenue decline for the third quarter, its largest revenue fall in 14 years as global demand for electronics slumped, and said it would look to cut spending and make workforce adjustments.
The world’s largest maker of PCs said on Friday that total revenue during the October-December quarter was US$15.3-billion, down 24% from the same quarter a year earlier. The results trailed an average Refinitiv estimate of $16.4-billion drawn from seven analysts.
The outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020 provided a huge boost in electronics sales for Lenovo and its peers worldwide as many people opted to work remotely and replaced or upgraded their equipment. However, demand has begun to fall and Lenovo’s revenue started contracting in the July-September quarter last year.
Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing told an analyst call after its earnings that the entire PC and mobile market experienced a “severe downturn” in the last quarter, and the company was looking to reduce expenses and improve efficiency.
Lenovo is aiming to reduce its run-rate operational expenses by approximately $150-million to achieve a medium-term goal of doubling net margin, its chief financial officer, Wong Wai Ming, added. “This includes overall reduction in operational spending as well as workforce adjustments where necessary and appropriate.” he said. Wong did not elaborate on whether this would involve layoffs.
Rivals Dell Technologies and HP have announced they will cut staff. Dell said it will cut about 6 650 jobs, or 5% of its global workforce, while HP expects to cut up to 6 000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025, or about 12% of its global workforce.
Lenovo’s net income attributable to shareholders for the October-December quarter plunged 32% to $437-million. Lenovo shares in Hong Kong slid 3.1% on Friday.
IT research firm Gartner said last month that shipments of PCs and mobile phones were likely to fall for the second consecutive year in 2023. PC shipments are likely to slide 6.8% this year after falling 16% in 2022, Gartner said.
Lenovo said that market was in the process of digesting excessive inventory, which may need one or two more quarters. But Yuan said device activation data showed that real demand was not as bad as it may appear. “From the second half of the year, you will see the PC market resume growth,” he said. — Reuters
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by Tech Talk | Feb 21, 2023 | Articles
Last week, MultiChoice announced that French media company Groupe Canal+ SA had increased its stake in the company to 30.27%.
Canal+ is the pay-TV arm of French media giant Vivendi, which has interests in television, film, video games, book publishing, and video hosting.
Over the last thirty months, Canal+ gradually increased its stake in MultiChoice – from 6.5% in October 2020 to its current level of over 30%.
The buying spree by Canal+ sparked speculation that a bigger deal may be on the cards as it makes sense for both companies.
MultiChoice would not comment on a potential deal, only saying it kept an open mind about its relationship with Canal+ and Vivendi.
What grabbed the attention of many experts is that the deal seems to be in contravention of the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005 (ECA).
The ECA puts limitations on foreign control of commercial broadcasting services through strict ownership rules.
- A foreigner may not, whether directly or indirectly, exercise control over a commercial broadcasting licensee.
- Not more than twenty (20) percent of the directors of a commercial broadcasting licensee may be foreigners.
ICT legal and regulatory expert Lisa Thornton told Daily Investor that Canal+’s 30% ownership in MultiChoice appears to be a prima facie contravention of section 64(1)(b) of the Act.
“It would seem that Canal+’s 30% ownership of MultiChoice is violating the Act. It seems that it would be in violation of the Act even before the latest transaction,” Thornton said.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Davies said the share buying will likely end soon, as a 35% stake would trigger a mandatory offer.
“South African law restricts foreign ownership to 20% — which MultiChoice enforces via a voting-rights cap,” Davis said.
However, the ECA states, “a foreigner may not have a financial interest or an interest either in voting shares or paid-up capital in a commercial broadcasting licensee, exceeding 20%”.
Other regulatory experts, who spoke to Daily Investor off the record, said the answer might be in how the deal was structured, as the ECA prohibition is pretty clear on foreign ownership.
They added that Canal+ breached the 20% ownership threshold in July 2022. Should it breach the ECA, competitors like eMedia would have been expected to protest.
A MultiChoice spokesperson said their compliance with section 64 of the ECA is ensured through restrictions in their Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI), where voting rights for foreigners collectively are limited to 20%.
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