Apple claims it sold over 3 million iPad units over the weekend....

In a news release, Apple marketing Sr. Vice-President Phil Schiller claims the technology giant sold over 3 million units of the new iPad this past weekend.

He was quoted as saying further that:

"The new iPad is a blockbuster with three million sold―the strongest iPad launch yet ... Customers are loving the incredible new features of iPad, including the stunning Retina display, and we can't wait to get it into the hands of even more customers around the world this Friday."

It was indeed surprising that Apple decided to release the sales figures after all.

While Apple did not announce sales last year (hence no way to do year-by-year comparison), analysts and speculators believe that the released figures portend a very good sign for the new iPad as Apple continues to consolidate its market share in the technology gadgets and accesories space.

It will be interesting to see how and where the numbers trend from here.


Source: TechnologyInsider

Mad rush expected for Apple's latest iPad

The customary storefront crowds are expected to gather as Apple's latest iPad goes on sale Friday. Long lines are likely even though customers could have ordered the new tablet computer ahead of time for first-day home delivery.

The third version of Apple's iPad will be available in the U.S. and nine other countries beginning at 8 a.m. local time. The new model comes with a faster processor and a much sharper screen. It also boasts an improved camera, similar to that of the latest iPhone.

For many customers, visiting a store in person — instead of having one shipped — offers consumers a chance to mingle with die-hard Apple fans.

Two years after the debut of the first iPad, the device's launch has become the second-biggest "gadget event" of the year, after the annual iPhone release. A year ago, thousands lined up outside the flagship Apple store on New York's Fifth Avenue. The device sold out on launch day, even though it didn't go on sale until 5 p.m.

Apple does its part to encourage a party atmosphere. In past years, the company's retail employees have provided bottled water, coffee, bagels and even cupcakes to people in line. They've cheered and clapped as customers entered and left. Some customers bring lawn chairs and sleeping bags. Others dress as iPhones and iPads.

Although Apple's product releases have become a cultural phenomenon, the cult-like crowds that line up outside of its stores have made the company vulnerable to gentle ribbing from its competitors.

Television ads for Samsung's Galaxy line of phones routinely poke fun at people who are camped out in line for what appears to be an Apple product release.

The spots, in heavy rotation since December, portray Apple fans as clueless drones who think they're too cool to buy gadgets made by companies other than Apple. In one of the commercials, a bearded hipster says he could never buy a Samsung phone because he's "creative." A bystander observes: "Dude, you're a barista."

For some customers, standing in line will offer the only chance to get a new iPad on Friday. Apple quickly ran out of supplies it set aside for advance orders. The company was telling customers Thursday to expect a two- to three-week wait for orders placed through its online stores.

The new iPad is called just that: "the new iPad." Apple declined to give it a name like "iPad 3" or "iPad HD." That is consistent with its naming practice for iPods, MacBooks and iMacs, but a break with the way iPhone models are named.

In the U.S., the new iPad starts at $499, the same as the previous model, the iPad 2, when it debuted a year ago. The iPad 2 remains in stock, for $100 less.

Despite competition from cheaper tablet computers such as Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle Fire, the iPad remains the most popular tablet computer. Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since its debut in 2010, including some 40 million last year. Researchers estimate that the iPad has more than 60 percent of the market for tablets.

The iPad's accomplishments have contributed to the company's success on Wall Street. Apple's stock touched $600 briefly for the first time on Thursday. Apple is the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization of nearly $555 billion. It topped $500 billion for the first time in late February, a market value peak where few companies have ventured.

Apple's retail stores are likely to draw the biggest crowds because they usually have the largest launch-day supplies, but the tablet will also be sold at Best Buy, Radio Shack, Sam's Club, Target and Walmart.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless will also sell iPads, but only models with built-in cellular broadband modems. Those models use the companies' latest high-speed wireless networks, based on so-called "4G LTE" technology. They'll be the first Apple devices with that capability built in.

The cellular-capable models cost $130 more than Wi-Fi-only versions. There's a separate monthly data fee, but none of the long-term contract requirements typical with phones. The priciest iPad goes for $829; it comes with cellular access and four times the storage capacity of the basic, $499 model.

Apart from the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the device goes on sale the same day in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

A week later, another 25 countries will get the device, altogether making for an unusually fast product roll-out for Apple.

Source: AP News

Pretoria apologizes to Abuja over deportation row

South Africa has apologised for the deportation last week of 125 Nigerians over suspicions that their yellow fever certificates were fake.

The action quickly turned into a diplomatic spat - with Nigeria refusing South Africans entry and the foreign minister branding Pretoria xenophobic.

South Africa has rejected that claim - and promised new procedures to avoid a repeat of the "regrettable incident".

At one stage Nigerian carrier, Arik Air, suspended flights to South Africa.

Yellow fever is spread through infected mosquitoes and has a wide array of symptoms from nausea and vomiting to kidney failure, jaundice and bleeding.

According to the UN World Health Organization, about half those who develop severe symptoms of the haemorrhagic illness and are untreated die from the disease - about 30,000 people each year worldwide.

"We wish to humbly apologise to them, and we have," South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ibrahim said.

"We are apologising because we deported a number of people who should not have been deported," Mr Ibrahim said - adding that he does not expect an apology from Nigeria for the tit-for-tat deportations of South African nationals.

He blamed airport authorities for what a joint statement with Nigeria described as a "regrettable incident which the South African government believes could have been handled better".

The Nigerians were turned away on 2 March because the yellow fever certificates were not check properly, according to the deputy minister.

South Africa is considering reopening a travel clinic at Johannesburg's airport - so that travellers without a yellow fever certificate can be vaccinated on arrival rather than deported.

And from now on, mass deportations will need the permission of foreign ministry officials, the deputy minister said.

On Tuesday, Olugbenga Ashiru, Nigeria's foreign minister, said the deportations was evidence of xenophobia.

"What you see playing out is what we call xenophobia by South Africans against all Africans - not just Nigerians," AFP news agency reported him as saying.

In 2008, South Africa saw a wave of xenophobic violence which shocked the nation and shook up the world's view of the "rainbow nation".

Mr Ibrahim said on Thursday that South Africa is not a xenophobic country.

The two countries say the yellow fever row will not undermine bilateral relations - and they are moving towards strengthening them.

Nigeria is one of the biggest markets for South Africa's MTN mobile phone operator, while retailer Shoprite and Standard Bank also have profitable operations there.

The Kony Files: Fact or fiction....

A former Catholic altar boy from northern Uganda, Joseph Kony has waged war against the government of President Yoweri Museveni for almost two decades.

His Lord's Resistance Army movement has been demanding that Uganda be ruled according to the Biblical 10 Commandments.

Wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mr Kony has failed to sign a peace deal with Uganda's government, seeking assurances that he and his allies will not be prosecuted.

But after more than two years of delicate peace negotiations, regional governments appear to have lost patience with Mr Kony, mounting a new attack on LRA bases in eastern DR Congo.

Born in the early 1960s in Odek, a village east of Gulu, Mr Kony is remembered as an amiable boy.

"He played football and was a brilliant dancer," one of his former classmates said, recalling the rebel leader's days at Odek primary.

He is thought to be the cousin of Alice Lakwena, a former prostitute who formed the Holy Spirit Movement in 1986.

This group represented the Acholi people who felt excluded from power after the overthrow of the northern leader, Milton Obote, by Mr Museveni.

Ms Lakwena promised her followers immunity from the bullets of the Ugandan army, but Mr Museveni's troops defeated her movement in 1988 and she fled to Kenya.

After this defeat, Mr Kony founded his own rebel group which over the next 19 years went on to abduct thousands of children to become fighters or sex slaves.

Mr Kony himself is thought to have at least 60 wives, as he and his senior commanders take the pick of the girls they capture.

He sees himself as a spirit medium.

Young abductees, who have escaped from the LRA, say that Mr Kony would tell them he got his instructions from the Holy Spirit and would often preach in tongues.

"I will communicate with Museveni through the holy spirits and not through the telephone," he once said.

He has created an aura of fear and mysticism around himself and his rebels follow strict rules and rituals.

"When you go to fight you make the sign of the cross first. If you fail to do this, you will be killed," one young fighter who escaped from the LRA told Human Rights Watch.

"You must also take oil and draw a cross on your chest, your forehead, and each shoulder, and you must make a cross in oil on your gun. They say that the oil is the power of the Holy Spirit."

Mr Kony appears to believe that his role is to cleanse the Acholi people.

He uses biblical references to explain why it is necessary to kill his own people, since they have - in his view - failed to support his cause.

"If the Acholi don't support us, they must be finished," he told one abductee. 

Source: BBC Africa News

Most common traits of bad leaders....

Poor leadership in good times can be hidden, but poor leadership in bad times is a recipe for disaster. To find out why leaders fail, we scrutinized results from two studies: In one, we collected 360-degree feedback data on more than 450 Fortune 500 executives and then teased out the common characteristics of the 31 who were fired over the next three years.

In the second, we analyzed 360-degree feedback data from more than 11,000 leaders and identified the 10% who were considered least effective. We then compared the ineffective leaders with the fired leaders to come up with the 10 most common leadership shortcomings. Every bad leader had at least one, and most had several.

The Worst Leaders:

 

Lack energy and enthusiasm. They see new initiatives as a burden, rarely volunteer, and fear being overwhelmed. One such leader was described as having the ability to “suck all the energy out of any room.”

Accept their own mediocre performance. They overstate the difficulty of reaching targets so that they look good when they achieve them. They live by the mantra “Underpromise and overdeliver.”
Lack clear vision and direction. They believe their only job is to execute. Like a hiker who sticks close to the trail, they’re fine until they come to a fork.

Have poor judgment. They make decisions that colleagues and subordinates consider to be not in the organization’s best interests.

Don’t collaborate. They avoid peers, act independently, and view other leaders as competitors. As a result, they are set adrift by the very people whose insights and support they need.

Don’t walk the talk. They set standards of behavior or expectations of performance and then violate them. They’re perceived as lacking integrity.

Resist new ideas. They reject suggestions from subordinates and peers. Good ideas aren’t implemented, and the organization gets stuck.

Don’t learn from mistakes. They may make no more mistakes than their peers, but they fail to use setbacks as opportunities for improvement, hiding their errors and brooding about them instead.

Lack interpersonal skills. They make sins of both commission (they’re abrasive and bullying) and omission (they’re aloof, unavailable, and reluctant to praise).

Fail to develop others. They focus on themselves to the exclusion of developing subordinates, causing individuals and teams to disengage.

These sound like obvious flaws that any leader would try to fix. But the ineffective leaders we studied were often unaware that they exhibited these behaviors. In fact, those who were rated most negatively rated themselves substantially more positively. Leaders should take a very hard look at themselves and ask for candid feedback on performance in these specific areas. Their jobs may depend on it.


Source: Harvard Business Review

Apple victorious in China iPad dispute

Apple can for now continue to sell the iPad tablet in Shanghai after a court ruling over naming rights was suspended on Thursday.

Chinese firm Proview had called for the courts to prevent Apple - who it accuses of infringing its trademark - from selling the device in the city.

A local court agreed to Apple's request to suspend the decision until a bigger case is heard later this month.

Apple insists it acquired worldwide rights for the iPad name in 2009.

Proview had requested that the court impose a provisional injunction to take the iPad off Shanghai's shelves - which would have included three of Apple's own stores.

Proview claims the rights to the iPad name in the Chinese market after registering it back in 2000 - years before Apple released its tablet computer.

The company is threatening to continue the battle in US courts.

Although Proview's Taiwanese affiliate registered the name "iPad" in a number of countries, including China, Apple subsequently bought the rights to the global trademark.

However, Proview claims that its Taiwanese subsidiary had no right to sell the rights to the name in China.

The tussle has seen Apple's device taken off the shelves in some parts of the country - while Proview has also sought to block the import and export of the product.

Apple had previously lost a similar case in the southern Chin city of Shenzhen, where Proview is based.
That decision will be appealed by Apple at Guangdong High Court on 29 February.

On Thursday, the Shanghai judge said a ruling on sales in the city will not be made until that other judgement has passed.

His decision follows heated exchanges between the firms' lawyers in court earlier in the week.
Apple lawyer Qu Miao dismissed Proview's "IPAD" device, saying: "They have no market, no sales, no customers. They have nothing."

He argued that the US company's device was of benefit to China, providing jobs and tax revenues.
Proview lawyer Xie Xianghui said this factor was irrelevant.

"Whether people will go hungry because you can't sell iPads in China is not the issue," he said.

"The court must rule according to the law. Do you absolutely have to sell the product? Can't you sell it using a different name?''

In a written statement, an Apple spokesman re-iterated the company's position on the dispute.

"We bought Proview's worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago," he said.

"Proview refuses to honour their agreement with Apple in China and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter.

"Our case is still pending in mainland China."

Mid-week morning brew: Wall Street falls on disappointing retail data

The S & P 500 index retreated yesterday from near a seven-month high after weaker-than-expected January U.S. retail sales data curbed investors’ appetite for risky assets.

Leading the fall was the financial sector, with two of the top three biggest decliners on the Dow being Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase.

Citigroup downgraded Bank of America Corp to “neutral” from “buy,” saying earnings headwinds would continue at the company even as capital concerns subside. Bank of America shares were down 1.1 percent at $8.16 and JP Morgan shares fell 1.5 percent to $37.70.

The 0.4 percent rise in retail sales fell short of the 0.7 percent increase expected by economists polled by Reuters and reflected cutbacks in car purchases and online shopping.

“The data shows that consumers are still hanging in there, just not as strong as we expected,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James at St. Petersburg in Florida.

“It shows that we are still battling some headwinds here, but the economy is definitely in a recovery mode.”

The disappointing data added to concerns stemming from Moody’s Investors Service downgrade on Monday of credit ratings on six euro-zone countries.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 42.54 points, or 0.33 percent, at 12,831.50. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 6.30 points, or 0.47 percent, at 1,345.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 12.93 points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,918.46.

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose near a seven-month high, up more than 25 percent from a low in early October. The benchmark index has encountered strong resistance in the 1,355 -1,360 area.

In other data, U.S. business inventories rose 0.4 percent in December, slightly lower than an estimated increase of 0.5 percent in December.

A third report showed import prices rose a touch more than expected in January as petroleum and food rebounded strongly, but underlying inflation pressure from imports remained muted.

Late Monday, Moody’s put Britain’s Aaa rating in jeopardy for the first time and warned it may cut France and Austria as well. Moody’s also downgraded six euro-zone nations, including Spain and Italy.

But data from Germany on Tuesday suggested that Europe’s bulwark economy is picking up pace again. The ZEW economic think tank’s monthly poll of economic sentiment jumped to 5.4 from minus 21.6 in January, well above the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts for a rise to minus 12.0.

Apple Inc plans to announce a fourth-generation (4G) version of its iPad in the first week of March, a Wall Street Journal report said, citing a person briefed on the matter. Apple shares rose slightly to $503.41 after hitting above the $500 mark for the first time on Monday.

Nigeria’s jobs website in Forbes top 10 Africa tech list

By Tope Templer Olaiya

NIGERIA’S number one jobs website, Jobberman.com has been ranked 8th among Africa’s top 20 tech start ups in the latest February 2012 edition of Forbes Africa, making the jobs board the only Nigerian company on the list, amongst other African Internet businesses.

Forbes, an influential global business magazine, assessed the organisations using the following criteria; relevance in helping to overcome Africa’s problems, especially in communications and skills shortage, online presence on social media, pan African presence and organisations less than a decade old.

This assessment places Jobberman as Africa’s number one stop-shop for recruitment and advisory services. Currently, Jobberman ranks as the 5th most visited Nigerian website according to alexa.com and receives 5,000 job applications per day – all achieved in less than two years since it was started by three undergraduates from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).

Whitney Houston: The end of an affair....

Whitney Houston - RIP

By the Editor-in-Chief

She was blessed with something no one else ever had, save for a former arch-angel of Heaven; a beautiful voice that engendered a sense of reflective nostalgia.

She was so easy to listen to. But even far more endearing to millions across the globe, was the effortless ease, with which she reached those soaring heights of vocal nirvana. And she would smile as well, while in that rarefied zone.... as if to assure us all that it was really quite a thing of pleasure, for her to bring so much joy, into the lives of many.

Musical legend and multiple Grammy winner Whitney Houston passed away, way too soon. Her demons (or those bequeathed to her by ex husband Bobby Brown) finally got the best of her.

It was a tragic end to an infamous chapter in her glorious life, that many (including this writer) had hoped would be expunged.

Born into the regal glory of a distinguished musical family, Whitney's life was one that seemed scripted to not only go well, but end well.

Her mother, Cissy Houston was a gospel singer and Whitney began singing in the choir at an early age. It was there she was discovered.

With a unique voice and grace that embodied the best of her mother, her aunt, Dionne Warwick and her godmother, Aretha Franklin, Houston stormed onto the scene and made an impression that would shape generations of soul and pop female singers, still to come.

While some would sadly remember her struggles with drug addiction in her latter years, it is important that the totality of who she was and what she represented at her very best (both professionally and personally), is the focus of all and sundry, for years, decades and generations to come.

From her rendition of the Star Spangled Banner in 1991 to her numerous musical hits and inspirational movie roles, she truly was an American original; the likes of which we may never see again.

May her precious soul rest in perfect peace and my heartfelt condolences go out to her family, especially her young daughter, Bobbi Kristina.

Brazil sues Twitter over police speed-trap alerts

The Brazilian government has filed a lawsuit against Twitter, demanding that the firm remove accounts in the country that warn citizens of police speed traps and roadblocks.

The authorities are concerned the service is undermining its efforts to tackle drink-driving in the country.

The lawsuit also orders Twitter to pay 500,000 reals ($290,000) for each day that it does not comply with the request.

Twitter is not commenting on the case.

The lawsuit comes after Twitter announced in January that it could block messages that contravened local laws if requested by governments.

It said it would publish all censorship requests it received to the website Chilling Effects, but nothing relating to the case has been submitted yet.

The lawsuit was filed by the Attorney General of the Union (AGU), Luis Lucena Adams, to a federal court in the state of Goias. It claims accounts that provide information to road users violate both traffic and criminal laws.

Chief Prosecutor Celmo Ricardo Teixeira da Silva said: "The prosecution responded to a necessity to ensure the effectiveness of action on surveillance of the federal highway police."

There are several popular accounts that warn road users of incidents in Brazil, with one, @LeiSecaRJ, followed by more than 285,000 users.

Another, @RadarBlitzGO, which has almost 12,000 followers, has already ended its service in light of the filing.

"We are suspending the updates until justice has ruled," it said.