Traffic Map, a new user-generated online map of Joburg’s roads, has ambitions to change the way the city’s residents commute. Using information gathered from social networks to chart an unprecedented, real-time overview of traffic incidents throughout the city and surrounds.

Africa itself has a unique set of challenges – and these challenges can be met head on using technology. Tech4Africa is the premier mobile, web & emerging technology conference, aiming to bring a global perspective to the our African context. The conference will bring together some of the most respected people in technology to share, teach and interact with us.

So, who should attend?

• Business people wanting to understand how Web 2.0, mobile, and emerging technology and mobile is relevant to the enterprise
• Technologists, geeks, bloggers, social media hipsters, hackers, journos, ponytails, propellorheads, and of course suits, who want to learn from the best in tech
• Everyone working in a tech startup
• Entrepreneurs interested in learning more about venture funding
• Companies wanting to expose their product or service to a focussed audience
• People looking to recruit technology people

Focus areas are:

• Emerging tech and trends for Africa
• Applications for Web 2.0 in Africa
• Mobile & wireless innovation and trends for the next 3 years
• Cloud computing and it’s relevance for business in Africa
• Startups & business opportunities in Africa
• African success stories
• The funding landscape in Africa

Johannesburg Conference:

27 – 28 October 2011

Johannesburg, South Africa. For more details visit the Tech4Africa website.

Cape Town Meetup:

If you are stuck in Cape Town however, there will be a meetup on the 27th of September, which starts at 18:00. Place – Alba Lounge.

Whether you are an individual or a startup, you are welcome to attend. Attendance is free, and there will be a bar tab and some light eats. There will be a draw for a ticket to the JHB Tech4Africa conference, and you will have the opportunity to get up to 60% of on conference tickets, provided you attend the meetup. A speaker will be confirmed soon.

Hope to see you there!

Google has announced that street view’s latest destination will be South Africa. Soon, Toyota Prius models mounted with cameras will start their journey across cities of South Africa, taking pictures along the way. Cities to be included in the Google Maps Street View are Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

Google’s Street View is a very popular service that currently includes a number of major metropolitan areas across the globe, where cars fit with directional cameras did the job of capturing the 360 degrees view from the street. In some locations, Google also used a trike to capture images, though it is not immediately clear if they will be used in South Africa as well.

Where available, Street View can be accessed by zooming-in to the lowest level, or by using the “Pegman” icon on a highlighted street. Also, roaming about in the environmentally friendly hybrid Prius helps to give Google’s image a boost, while bringing good PR for the Prius as well. Once the images have been collected, they go through a process of being “stitched” together, and may only be available on street view after several months.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Google and supplying our fuel efficient and environmental friendly Prius for this groundbreaking project in South Africa. South Africans and international visitors alike will benefit tremendously from Street View, which is both fun and practical. We hope that people across South Africa’s major cities keep their eyes peeled for the Street View cars, and feel part of a major new initiative,” said Toyota’s Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing, Andrew Kirby.