In this digital environment, the value of data is self-evident. As a result, the technology about storage media is evolving with more complexity, larger capacity, and longer lifespan too. Even though the disks are more reliable than they were before, improper operations, unexpected power-off, malware attacks or other reasons still make the data loss bound-to-happen.

It is hard to bear with the situation where the lost data contains the files you will never expect to be lost. Fortunately, companies like iBoysoft have been working on the professional data recovery software for you to restore the valuables.

iBoysoft is a start-up company which specializes in data recovery and disk management solutions for both Windows and Mac users. One of iBoysoft products is named iBoysoft Data Recovery that helps get back deleted or lost from desktops, laptops or any other portable disks like external hard drives, SD cards, USB flash drives and memory sticks. It requires no experiences of data recovery and recover deleted or lost data within a few clicks. Data recovery can be amazingly effective and successful with the software.

iBoysoft Data Recovery retrieves the deleted or lost data in three simple steps. First of all, you need to install the software on your computer, identify which disk you want to scan for data and make sure it is connected to the computer. The software provides Windows version and Mac version for your choice. Then next step is to decide which scan mode you want to search for the lost files. The software provides Quick scan and Deep scan. For deleted files, Quick scan is time-saving and has a great chance to find them back. If your data becomes inaccessible because of formatting or corruption, check Deep scan before you start to scan the disk. Deep scan will take longer time to scan the whole disk sector by sector and find more files. Even old files can be found by Deep scan. The last step is to preview the files and recover the wanted ones. The software has enhanced pre-recovery features to help locate certain files quickly. A single click can bring you detailed information of a file especially the thumbnail. Additionally, the tool can provoke applications on the computer to preview the whole content of a file. If a file can be previewed, it can be recovered.

Key features of iBoysoft Data Recovery:

1. Recover data after Recycle Bin or Trash has been emptied.

People may think files are permanently deleted once Recycle Bin or Trash has been emptied. In fact, they are just marked as deleted but not wiped off the disk yet. iBoysoft Data Recovery can trace down the deleted files from emptied Recycle Bin or Trash.

2. Recover photos, multimedia files, documents, and any types of files

iBoysoft Data Recovery is a comprehensive data recovery tool to support almost all-type file recovery, especially good at photo recovery, video recovery, email file recovery and documents recovery.

3. Recover data in various data loss situations

Data can be lost due to accidental deletion, mistaken formatting, sudden disk corruption, unexpected computer breakdown, etc. iBoysoft Data Recovery can deal with all data loss scenarios and can save data from formatted/RAW/unreadable/corrupted/inaccessible disks.

In addition to that, the software can recover data from BitLocker encrypted partition (Windows version) and encrypted APFS volumes (Mac version). Another feature needs to be mentioned is that the Mac version can even recover data from bootable Macs.

4. Excellent compatibility

iBoysoft Data Recovery is maintained and optimized carefully by iBoysoft developers. iBoysoft Data Recovery for Widnows is fully compatible with Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP and Windows Server 2019/2016/2012/2008/2003. iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac can work on macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7. The tool is very stable and won’t cause any damages to your data or the devices.

Final words

iBoysoft has quick and professional technical support to assist you. If you are a student or a staff in a government or non-profit organization, the company is happy to give you 20% discount on all their products.

The rise of increasingly personal and personalised media interaction fueled by technology and evolving customer behaviour is gaining momentum. Consumers are using an array of connected devices to organise, curate and discover their own unique worlds of media. In response, companies are designing their offerings to revolve around personal preferences, using data and usage patterns to pitch their products not at audiences of billions, but separately at billions of individuals. These are some of the highlights from PwC’s 10^th annual edition of the Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2019-2023 – An African perspective released today.

These profound shifts are taking place against a background of ongoing global growth in entertainment and media (E&M) revenues. By 2023 total E&M revenue in South Africa is expected to reach R170.5 billion, up from R128.9 billion in 2018. Consumer spend on Internet access is a major contributor to growth, accounting for 61% of the overall rise in E&M revenue. Total Internet access is forecast to increase at an 8.2% CAGR over the forecast period and reach R77.7 billion in 2023.

Vicki Myburgh, Entertainment and Media leader for PwC (www.PwC.com) Southern Africa, says:

“This year, The Outlook looks at the industry through the eyes of the consumer – the central theme of this growing media is personal and increasingly digital. There is an increasing shift to personalised experiences all around us in the fast-changing human behaviours involving E&M.

“Consumers around the world want to exert greater control over how they experience and enjoy media content. They are managing their own media consumption by way of smartphones and an expanding array of devices, by curating their own personal selection of channels via over-the-top (OTT) services and by bringing more digital media content into their lives via smart homes and connected cars.”

The Outlook is a comprehensive source of analyses and five-year forecasts of consumer and advertising spending across five countries (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania) and 14 segments: Internet, data consumption, television, cinema, video games, e-sports, virtual reality, newspaper publishing, magazine publishing, book publishing, business-to-business, music, out-of-home (OOH) and radio.

Annual revenue growth continues in the E&M industry

Although Internet access’ growth in the share of overall E&M revenue will reduce by 2023, its 46% share of the total in that year will exceed the global average of 33%, indicating that many South African consumers find access alone provides sufficiently compelling and free entertainment experiences.

Charles Stuart, Entertainment and Media Partner, PwC South Africa adds:

“The advent of 5G networks will also impact the entire technology, media and telecommunications value chain over the next decade. 5G will impact virtually every industry, but E&M companies will be among the earliest to incorporate 5G into their offerings and business models. It will also enhance the customer experience further and accelerate growth for many subsectors within the E&M industry, from video games to high-definition video streaming of sporting events.”

The growing segments of VR, AR and mixed reality (MR) will also accelerate as a result of 5G. The potential use cases from this mobile revolution will be seized by the most agile and innovative E&M companies to create new revenue streams stretching into, and fundamentally changing the future.

South African consumer revenue is set for a 6.4% CAGR between 2018 and 2023, increasing from R99.4 billion to R135.6 billion. Although print-exposed segments are proving a drag on growth, there are many pockets of positivity here, with gaming, video and music revenue all performing strongly. Although Internet revenue takes a major proportion of overall revenue, it is positive to note that three other sectors – video games, e-sports and virtual reality – have stronger CAGRs than Internet to 2023. Music and podcasts are also other good sources for consumer revenue, as is television.

Advertising revenue in South Africa rose by 2.8% year-on-year in 2018, reaching a total of R29.5 billion. Further reasonably consistent rises at a CAGR of 3.4% will see the total reach R34.9 billion in 2023. South Africa enjoyed 24.2% year-on-year growth in 2018 in total Internet advertising revenue. Whereas globally Internet advertising has already become the biggest advertising medium by revenue, in South Africa it still trails behind TV advertising. International evidence, however, suggests that Internet advertising will continue to catch up rapidly. Over the forecast period, its revenue will increase at 12.4% CAGR, doubling to R8.7 billion by 2023. This fast growth will see Internet advertising overtake TV advertising in 2022.

Differences in growth rates at the segment levels

Looking at specific E&M segments, the video games market in South Africa will continue to see growth over the next five years, with total revenue rising from R3.5 billion in 2018 to R5.4 billion in 2023. Social/casual gaming represented 56.6% of total video games revenue in 2018 and is set to increase significantly to 68.4% in 2023.

Digital music-streaming providers continue to gain traction among consumers. Consumers have an array of music-streaming providers to choose from. Digital music streaming revenue reached R325 million in 2018, up almost 57% year on year. Streaming revenue is set to increase at a 20.1% CAGR to total R815 million in 2023.

South Africa continues to be the largest TV market on the African continent. Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment and political uncertainty in recent years, the TV industry has shown growth and will expand at 3.9% CAGR to R40.5 billion in 2023. TV advertising will grow at 1.8% CAGR but will account for a smaller proportion of the market in 2023.

Virtual reality (VR) remains a niche category, but the industry is slowly overcoming certain challenges such as content availability, comfort, compatibility and affordability. This sector continues to attract significant investment from major media and technology companies that are eager to seize a share of this fast-growing market.

E-sports’ popularity in South Africa is indisputable. Total e-sports revenue is forecast to reach R138 million in 2023, a 24.7% CAGR rise from the R46 million recorded in 2018.

Radio continues to have a solid listener base in South Africa with 47% of listeners tuning in for more than 20 hours in a given week. All being well over the next five years, total radio revenue has the potential to edge towards the R5.0 billion-mark, totaling R4.8 billion in 2023.

The print-exposed newspapers, books and consumer magazines segments have the worst forecasts through to 2023, with revenues projected to suffer declining or constrained CAGRs of -2.3%, 0.3% and 1.1% respectively

Nigeria

In Nigeria, E&M revenue is set to rise at 19.3% CAGR to reach US$10.8 billion in 2023 from US$4.5 billion in 2018. Nigeria’s E&M revenue is dominated by Internet access in 2018, and the figure will rise to 81% in five years’ time. Although the Internet dominates much of the revenue there is still room for improvement in service. Outside of Internet access, TV and video will push towards US$1 billion in revenue by 2023 after adding US$172 million over the five years.

Kenya

Kenya’s E&M market is set to see growth at 10.3% CAGR over the next five years, reaching nearly US$3.0 billion in 2023. In 2018 the market rose by 13% year-on-year to reach US$1.8 billion. Internet access is integral to this revenue and growth, but not quite to the extent that it is in Nigeria. TV and video are also major contributors to overall revenue, responsible for 17% of Kenya’s total in 2018.

Ghana

Ghana’s E&M industry is set for the fastest growth of any of the countries considered in the Outlook, forecast to rise at a 19.8% CAGR to reach nearly US$3 billion by 2023. This comes after the country’s E&M market rose 36.3% year-on-year in 2018, to reach US$1.2 billion. TV and video are the largest contributors in terms of nonaccess revenue. Over two-thirds of Ghana’s TV industry is attributable to advertising revenue, with the subscription TV market limited and struggling for growth.

Tanzania

Tanzania’s total E&M revenue rose 17.2% year-on-year in 2018, reaching US$598 million. A CAGR of 18.3% will see the market stand at US$1.4 billion by 2023.

Between them, the five countries considered in the Outlook , will add US$13.1 billion in revenue over the next five years, a CAGR of 11.9%. This is indicative of the still-strong capacity for organic growth, across the countries with many millions of consumers seeing improvements in their discretionary incomes over the next five years that will enable them to enjoy E&M experiences.

“The breakneck pace of technological progress is the catalyst for growth, as Internet access revenue rises drive overall revenue forward. But away from this, trends and norms differ greatly by country, with markets firmly resisting easy characterisation.

“All of this means that companies that want to position themselves for a successful future will have to focus intently on consumers, innovate and experiment continually and be prepared to make significant investments,” Myburgh concludes.

Document: Consumer demand for personalisation drives revenue growth in Africa’s Entertainment & Media industry – PwC’s Africa Outlook

Source: press release

Google is considering making changes to its political ad policy. Recent events have made Silicon Valley search engine giants a center of attraction to the authorities. For the past 18 months, Google has pocketed over $120 million in revenue from political ads across its platforms. But that seems like it’s about to be changed.

Not quite long ago, Twitter announced it’s banning all political ads on its platform contrary to Facebook’s decision to allow it. Facebook has been taking the heat from U.S. lawmakers for selling political ads with lies and misinformation. The social media giants have been called on to refrain from offering its platform as a propaganda sanctuary to deceitful politicians.

But in a defiant response, the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, said the company will continue to serve political ads as it perceived banning it as a move against free speech.

Many companies in Silicon Valley have been on the watch list of regulators for irregularities, and recently, Google and Facebook have been on the top list. In a bid to curtail the heat, Google has been reported to be weighing in on changing its political ad policy, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Although it’s not clear exactly what the changes will be, employees are hoping to be briefed as soon as possible. The report said some Google employees are speculating the changes could be related to what type of audience targeting the company allows ad buyers to place.

Given that all Google’s advertising policies are uniform across all its platforms, it is difficult to ascertain if the company is introducing a new policy. However, a Google Spokesperson said that whatever change there would be, would reflect in all its platforms.

Last month, Google ran a political ad that contained controversial claims about Democratic presidential aspirant, Joe Biden. The ad was served by the Trump’s administration and has unsubstantiated claim that Biden played a role in the ouster of Ukraine’s prosecutor.

The proliferation of digital misinformation has become worrisome to the U.S. lawmakers, prompting a series of debates and hearings with responsible companies. With the 2020 election getting close, the concern that politicians will capitalize on free speech to buy misleading ads on digital platforms is increasing. Digital ads selling companies are expected to be responsive to calls to tame the tide of lies being promoted by politicians.

Twitter’s decision to ban political ads appears now to be a benchmark to judge the rest. And Google is showing signs that it is willing to bend the rules to appease the clamor. This is not the first time Google is changing its policy due to complaints.

In June, Google changed its advertising policy after facing scrutiny for giving out $120 000 in free ads to an anti-abortion group, Obria. The Guardian reported that the group ran a misleading ad to deter women from doing away with pregnancies. The Obria Group ran an ad that suggests it provides abortion services at its medical clinics, but then urged women to refrain from terminating pregnancies.

The U.S. Congress didn’t find it funny. In a letter addressed to Google CEO, Sundar Pichai and cosigned by Suzanne Bonamici, a Democratic congresswoman from Oregon, Carolyn Maloney, a senior Democratic from New York, called the development “appalling,” expressing her disappointment that Google could provide funding for misinformation.

“Google should in no way be subsidizing any misinformation campaigns, especially campaigns designed to deceive women about their reproductive care options,” she said.

In response, Google announced that it’s changing its ad policy starting in June; any advertiser who wants to run ads using keyword related to getting an abortion will first need to be certified as an advertiser that either provides abortion or does not provide abortions.

And to get certified, advertisers must submit an application where they self-declare if they provide abortions or not. The application will require some basic information about your organization. Once your submitted information is reviewed and approved, you will get a certification.

Google appears to have a moral burden to stand up against misinformation on its platforms since it is against its policy. Its policy on misrepresentation says:

“We don’t want users to feel misled by ads, so we strive to ensure ads are clear and honest, and provide the information that users need to make informed decisions. We don’t allow ads or destinations that intend to deceive users by excluding relevant information or giving misleading information about products, services, or businesses.”

Political ads containing misinformation have become a challenge to this policy and questions Google’s standard. It is expected that Google may introduce a new rule similar to the abortion policy to curb the rise of misleading political ads across its platforms.