One of the great pleasures of being a movie fan is the discovery of new performers. So here we go:

5. Paulina Garcia – “Gloria”
The Chilean actress—best known for her theater work back home—plays a fifty-something divorcee, still glamorous, but deeply lonely after her children have left home, who immerses herself in the world of singles dances, and becomes drawn to an older man still tied up in his own family. Like a sort of South American Mike Leigh heroine, Gloria can be maddening in her self-deception and repetition of past mistakes. But you also love her from the first frame to the last (particularly after her glorious late-in-the-game revenge), with Garcia giving a performance of tremendous warmth and vivacity. Quite rightly, she won the Best Actress prize at Berlin in February, and if there was any justice, she’d be nominated alongside Bullock, Streep, Blanchett, et al. at the Oscars. Still, with Chile currently putting out some of the most exciting cinema around, we sincerely hope there’s more to come from Garcia soon.

4. Lupita Nyong’o – “12 Years a Slave”
We heard that one of the standout performances of the film came from someone called Lupita Nyong’o. And they were absolutely right, because now, the Kenyan raised actress, cast in the film soon after her graduation from Yale last year, is on her way to an Oscar nomination after a truly extraordinary performance. Nyong’o doesn’t really register in the film until almost halfway through, but once Patsey, the tortured slave so beloved by Michael Fassbender’s cruel slave master, arrives, she’s not quickly forgotten. Other characters get far more screen time, but every second of Patsey is truly wrenching, from that unforgettable whipping scene to her desperate plea to Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Solomon for him to kill her, rather than let her live any further in the world she can never escape. It’s a performance of fierce anger and compassion, and if Nyong’o can pull something like this off at her first time at bat, imagine what she can do a decade from now.

3. Barkhad Abdi – “Captain Phillips”
If necessity is the mother of invention then perhaps desperation is the bastard offspring of survival and necessity. In Paul Greengrass’ kinetic snapshot of the pirating of the Maersk Alabama cargo ship, Barkhad Abdi plays Muse, a Somali man forced to turn hijacker because of his dire economic circumstances. Starving literally and figuratively, Muse claws his way to the top of his dismal food chain, dispensing one of his rivals to become the pirate leader. However, we get the sense the Somali man isn’t violent by nature, but that his grim situation has transformed him into the zenith of desperation. Naturally, Abdi plays Muse like a wide-eyed starving rat; all raw nerves, skeletal psyche and false sniggering ego. But his puffed up, inflated self-worth, belies what’s underneath: a scared human being forced to suck up what wicked reserves he has inside to pull off this heist and feed himself and his family. What’s more Abdi goes toe to toe with Tom Hanks in what is one of his strongest performances to date. Not bad for an unknown first-time actor who has to somehow inject some sense of humanity into a character who would otherwise be seen as a one-note villain.

2. Brie Larson – “Short Term 12”
Brie Larson’s been around a long time and she’s built up quite the roster of credits and respect in shows such as Showtime’s “United States of Tara” and in films like  “Greenberg,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” and “21 Jump Street.” But 2013 was the year of Brie, with impressive turns as Miles Teller’s ex in the Sundance hit “The Spectacular Now,” and as Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s sister in his directorial debut “Don Jon.” But it wasn’t until SXSW when Larson got to show off her leading lady chops in that festival’s big winner “Short Term 12.” Often cast in the blonde mean girl roles, Larson is decidedly dressed down as Grace, a supervisor at a foster care facility who is dealing with her current life challenges as they collide with the ramifications of her troubled past. It’s a role that demands a lot of Larson, as she has to demonstrate all sides of Grace: her strength as well as her weakness, her deep mourning for herself and others, and her joy in the small victories; her fear and her fearlessness. It’s a deeply physical role that she inhabits fully, whether she’s biking out her anxiety, chasing down a wayward kid, or unleashing her rage on the windshield of a car.  It’s an incredible emotional and physical performance. She’s stunning in this role, proving her might, her vulnerability and just how darn watchable she is. She’s been here all along, but she’s proven she’s got talent to last.

1. Adèle Exarchopoulos – “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Seemingly moments after “Blue is the Warmest Color” won the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the discussion turned from the relative merits of the film to just about anything else—the prolonged lesbian sex scenes, the original comic book author’s displeasure with the adaptation, the endless infighting between various members of the creative team. Exarchopoulos’ performance borders on the miraculous; she’s able to portray a teenager consumed by a fiery love affair with a blue-haired girl (Léa Seydoux) and, somehow, an older version of that same girl, one who has loved and lost and matured greatly along the way. Part of that transformation is physical; in earlier parts of the movie she’s less a personality than an engine, eating and fucking and throwing herself around. In the later sequences she’s more measured, nuanced, and exacting, even her posture becomes more rigid. The sex sequences are feats of infinite bravery, as well, but Exarchopoulos is even sexier in one of the movie’s non-sex scenes, where she’s sprawled out, nude, a cigarette dangling precariously from her upturned mouth, her arty lover sketching her nearby. Exarchopoulos perfectly captures, in a beautifully rendered performance full of wit and grace, the sensation of falling in love with someone and knowing that, no matter how much you try and fight and wish it to be true, that you’ll never, ever, as long as you live get over that person.

A mafia boss and his family are relocated to a sleepy town in France under the witness protection program after snitching on the mob. Despite the best efforts of Agent Stansfield to keep them in line, Fred Manzoni, his wife Maggie and their children Belle and Warren can’t help but revert to old habits and blow their cover by handling their problems the “family” way, enabling their former mafia cronies to track them down. Chaos ensues as old scores are settled in the unlikeliest of settings.

The family’s love for each other is unconditional and treats challenges with a baseball bat rather than diplomacy. If a Frenchman disrespects Americans, he might find his supermarket in flames. Its throwaway stuff packed with corny gags about rich French cooking and annoying Gallic manners, in which light relief is offered by the sight of our hero torturing a plumber. Eventually De Niro winds up at the local film society watching Goodfellas – presumably leaving him wondering (as do we) what the hell happened.

If this sounds like a story to turn the nuns’ heads completely around, don’t worry; it’s an ultra “black comedy,” equal parts Italian-American gangster satire and laughable domestic shenanigans. It’s pretty much territory owned by Scorsese and De Niro. Additionally, the use of the “f” word has never been so cleverly played in a comedy. After a few times of “things” happening they came to be expected. But I still couldn’t help laughing. And really the only time I didn’t laugh was because the script decided to have a couple serious moments.

Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t just stupid laughs. There is a plot, there is acting; there is everything that makes a great comical movie. Some people really hate this movie, but I say if you love humor, this is for you. Comparable movies are Law Abiding Citizen and Donnie Brasco without the corny comedy, 6.3 stars for The family.

The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has today reviewed downwards tariffs for digital signal distribution; this move is aimed at facilitating a smooth migration from analogue to digital television broadcasting in the country.

According to Determination No. 1 of 2013 on Cost-Based Terrestrial Digital Broadcast Signal Distribution Tariff issued today, Digital Signal Distributors shall charge broadcasters at Ksh. 125,990 per MB for Nairobi and Ksh.93,202.75 per MB for other sites in Kenya. This new tariffs will take effect from today.
Before the review, the Pan-Africa Network Group (PANG) had proposed to charge broadcasters a monthly signal distribution fee of Ksh. 1,135,312.50 per channel in Nairobi. Kenya Broadcasting Corporation-owned SIGNET on the other hand had proposed to charge Ksh. 248,141 per MB for signal distribution services within Nairobi.

For other sites in Kenya, SIGNET had proposed to charge a uniform signal distribution fee of Ksh. 248,141.45 per MB, while PANG had proposed to charge a flat monthly fee of Ksh.378,437.50 for signal distribution services in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyeri, Eldoret, Kakamega, Kisii and Meru.  For Malindi, Webuye, Garissa, Narok, Kericho, Isiolo, Kitale, Bungoma, Embu, Voi and other regions, PANG had proposed to charge broadcasters a flat monthly fee of Ksh.126,145.83 to distribute their digital signals.

The Regulator further requires the two Digital Signal Distributors – Pan African Network Group (PANG) and Signet, to publish a Reference Offer three months from today in order to ensure that there is access, transparency and non-discrimination on the terrestrial signal distribution platform.

According to the determination, digital signal distributors are also expected to prepare separate accounts for each commercial subsidiary including the appropriate allocation of central overheads within six months from today.

In arriving at the afore-cited tariffs, CCK adopted a consultative approach where the signal distributors were involved.

Econet  is opening a series of premium stores and the first ones have been opened in Bradfield, Bulawayo.

The stores, Econe says are to reward its committed customers for their loyalty over the last 15 years.

The Bradfield Shop shall be the first in a series of exclusive shops for Econet’s premium customers to offer access to top class service.

The store’s design aims to put the customer at the heart of Econet’s service philosophy by ensuring that the needs of the High Value Customers are easily identified and taken care of in the most efficient manner possible.

Econet’s premium shops will offer end-to-end service from bill payments, air-time top-up, replacements, purchase of handsets and devices and the ever growing EcoCash mobile money service.
To ensure convenience to the customer, the premium shop comes with a variety of benefits,including access to premium service, access to flexible payment plans for handsets and devices and easy and convenient access to all Econet products and services.

Other benefits include a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere in the lounge suites where premium customers can access and surf the internet.

Intel Corporation and FC Barcelona have made an agreement that brings together two brands with shared core values of innovation and performance, as well as to support and improve the communities they serve around the world.

“This is more than a sponsorship to Intel,” said Deborah Conrad , Intel chief marketing officer. “The technology we are deploying and the programs we are working on together are designed to lift FC Barcelona into one of the most technologically advanced soccer clubs in the world and to launch an ambitious slate of educational initiatives.”

So as part of the partnership, or rather a symbol of the partnership is the new jersey, which will feature the Intl Inside logo for the very first time.

This jersey was unveiled today at FC Barcelona’s training facility by Intel’s Conrad; Sandro Rosell, president of FC Barcelona; and   FC Barcelona players Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. The new jersey will be worn beginning in the La Liga match against Villareal on Dec. 14.

“It is a huge satisfaction for FC Barcelona to be able to join forces and share the values of innovation and teamwork with a company of such worldwide prestige as Intel,” said Rosell.
“We are both trendsetters in our fields, and I am convinced the collaboration we are starting today will be very important. It will mean much more than a financial sponsorship.”

Initiatives unveiled today include:

• Providing the latest Intel-based technology to the students at the famous La Masia academy to enable and foster a culture of creativity.
• Supplying FC Barcelona players and coaches with the latest Intel-based 2 in 1 devices, while working with the club to improve its research, training and performance via the most up-to-date technology.
• Working to improve the fan experience through new technology at Camp   Nou.
• Delivering the latest technology to the education network FC Barcelona has built across the globe.

It now easier to understand where the land of a thousand hills started from as the country has launched the Rwandapedia; Through this platform anyone can access cultural and historical information.

The portal was launched, with the help of the African Development Bank(AfDB), at the recent Transform Africa Summit’s Cultural Gala.

The online archive is a free, openly accessible platform on Rwanda’s post genocide development including Home Grown Solutions, sustainable development programs derived from the ways Rwandans historically dealt with various challenges, modernized to fit the 21 century context.

Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo, said the documents, statistics, videos, photos and audio would be useful to students, journalists and anyone who wanted accurate information about Rwanda’s post genocide journey.

“It is a means by which Rwandans can share the story of ourselves, our country, and especially our reconstruction journey, our development. It is done in a very transparent way, a credible way and it is accessible to all. It solves the problem of inconsistent and patchy record keeping during the post-genocide critical development period,” she said.

Negatu Makonnen, AfDB’s Resident Representative in Rwanda, said: “This project has been great for two reasons. The first is that it shows how working with this government is made easy by the leadership and how they get things done. The second is that it gives access to accurate primary information that enables Rwanda to tell its story. The Bank is proud to support this project and we hope it can be replicated throughout the continent.”

For the last four years, ­Appsfire, has worked as an apps promoter now it has changes gears and is now looking to venture into the mobile advertising sector.

So far, the company has managed to reach 12 million different users and makes an extraordinary growth of 8-10,000 users daily.

Well, despite all this success Appsfire wants to take a different turn saying that the future for them is no longer in Apps but in the growing, or hype-lead, native advertising model — which used to be more commonly known as advertorials.

The company is therefore no longer offering its existing service to new customers, although it will support existing users. It is also stopping development of the Appsfire service.

It’s a big leap for any company to shift focus, and the company is itself not sure as it says in its own statement that it might bring the Appsfire app back at a later date.

The company also hinted that Apple have made it harder for small companies to flourish in Apple’s App Store. Appsfire also alleged that Google did not look as if they were doing much to make its app store easier to use either, reserving rare praise for the Amazon app store.

By Kate Voss

In the age of widespread internet, where free Wi-Fi is available anywhere from coffee shops to libraries, Africa is undoubtedly lacking in regards to affordable and widespread access to the internet. In 2011, a UN commission stated that access to broadband internet is a basic human right, but Africa still stands as the world’s last major untapped market for internet.  According to Internet World Stats, the current internet penetration in North America is at a 78.6 percent, Europe at 63.2 percent and Africa at 15.6 percent.

White space broadband — a technology that makes use of the unused channels between TV broadcast signals left open to protect interference between multiple networks — might just be the solution Africa needs to solve its internet access crisis. Wireless broadband internet is able to utilize these “white spaces” in order to transmit data and provide remote regions, where traditional cable is expensive and hard to lay, providing anyone with the opportunity to access high speed internet.

A white space device (WSD) is designed to detect the unused areas of airwaves and utilize them to transmit signals for Internet connectivity. Due to the low frequency of the adapted white space radio waves, signals can travel up to a 10-kilometer radius, enabling them to reach remote areas. White space is not only cheap to provide, since it operates on an already existing structure, it also penetrates walls and has the ability to bend around physical obstructions (like trees, or better yet, mountains) far better than mobile signals can. These low-frequency signals are the reason that single, large TV transmitters can broadcast a signal to millions of residential homes, versus cell phone signals or cellular radio, which need towers every few miles.

Already, there have been various proposals, such as IEEE 802.11af that advocate using white spaces to provide and improve the availability of wireless broadband Internet access, and are working to define standards for future spectrum sharing. Powerhouse companies Google and Microsoft, who have been long-term supporters of white space usage, have already started trials in Kenya, Cape Town and Tanzania in hopes of lessening the digital divide and creating new opportunities for education, healthcare, commerce, and government services in Africa and other underdeveloped countries.

Africa currently heavily relies on mobile phones to access the internet, but only the wealthy can afford such devices, and mobile phone companies are hesitant to build expensive networks in remote areas. Satellite internet was once the only option for connecting rural communities, but now, if white space technology proves effective, African countries could have access to affordable broadband access that requires less set-up, runs faster, and costs less.

Google is already claiming that their white space trial, which began in March and implemented white space Wi-Fi in ten schools in Cape Town, has had positive results. The company announced that, “After six months, the trial has been a success. The participating schools, which previously had slow or unreliable Internet connections, experienced high-speed broadband access for the first time. Teachers were able to use videos in their lesson plans, make Skype calls to other schools, update school websites, and send regular email updates to parents. Students could use educational videos for research. Because the service was better and faster, teachers and learners used the Web to enrich the classroom experience.”

In addition to the Google white space trials in Cape Town, Microsoft launched a white space pilot in rural Limpopo. Microsoft hopes to prove that white space technology can be used to meet the South African government’s goal of providing low-cost internet access to 80 percent of South Africans by 2020. The company worked with the University of Limpopo as the hub for a white space network that would provide internet access to nearby schools in local communities, and also provided each school with Windows tablets, projectors, laptops and solar-panel chargers.

Microsoft previously worked with Tanzania and Kenya, and those trials proved that white space technology is an excellent solution for internet access in rural areas. As of today, the Kenyan government reportedly is delivering bandwidth speeds up to 16mbit/s to communities which previously lacked internet access and electricity. Likewise, in Google’s South African white space trial, the goal was to ensure that white space would not interfere with broadcast channels and that, too, was also successful.

World Bank research shows that a 10 percent increase in broadband penetration can result in an extra 1.4 percentage points of annual economic growth, but there are further benefits if Google and Microsoft’s tests prove successful. As the companies are working to perfect white space technology, there’s no doubt that any amount of increased internet access will help improve education by providing more resources and learning opportunities, strengthen the government by allowing for more interaction, and give Africans their basic human right — access to the internet.

About the author:

Kate Voss is a tech blogger from Chicago focused on covering new technology including electric vehicles and white space.