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SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma today denied that he was racist and assured white people that they should not fear being “chased” out of Nelson Mandela’s “Rainbow Nation”.
The president also said that a new law preventing foreign ownership of land in South Africa applied only to agricultural properties and not to private residences.
Zuma was reacting to concerns raised by some white South Africans after he told a rally of his ruling African National Congress that all the country’s troubles began when the first white settlers landed more than 300 years ago.
“South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white,” he told parliament, quoting the ANC’s Freedom Charter, which was adopted during the fight to end the white racist system of apartheid.
Breaking away from his written speech in response to debate on his state of the nation address last week, he said: “We are a rainbow nation, nobody will chase you away. There should be no fear.”
But, he said, he would never stop talking about history because South Africa’s children should know the country’s past to ensure that mistakes were not repeated.
Zuma’s off-the-cuff remarks won enthusiastic applause.
It was a redemption of a kind for the president, who has been under fire over the past week since security forces were called into parliament to evict lawmakers who disrupted his annual address by accusing him of corruption.
He said the government was committed to freedom of speech and pledged that the cutting of mobile phone signals in parliament ahead of his address — a move which infuriated reporters and opposition lawmakers — would never happen again.
- © AFP 2015.
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Complain about the EU all you want, but I love when they pass common sense laws like this.
It’ll almost certainly be Micro USB. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the future though if a new standard is introduced or if a phone comes out with such a small form factor that Micro USB isn’t really small enough. Will they have to re-legislate?
Ah you don’t want cheap 5 euro universal chargers people….. You need the official iPhone 5 charger…. Only 50 euro… It’s white too….!
It’s common sense right now. It seems all positive, especially for borrowing chargers, reducing waste, etc. But what about in a few years time when some company designs a better charger with a higher data transfer rate or quicker charging? Or somebody invents surface-to-surface wireless charging capability and still has to include an EU charging slot in designs? Do you really expect national governments to keep the law up to scratch with innovations?
The opportunity cost of uniformity will be innovation.
Hi Jason,
Wouldnt it be great if the EU said no to apple and said if you want to sell your items in the EU you have to conform to the new law or you cannot trade here..
But that will never happen.
No, you don’t want those crap chargers. One of those cheap ones blew my iPhone up. About 15 more have broken in the first month. My Apple official cables and plugs are solid and have been the whole time I’ve had them. Not a single one broken. This is why I don’t like this idea. I think one single connector 1) limits the speed of data transfer… so lowest common denominator becomes king… bad. 2) means no one will be able to design a better connector and ever get anywhere near it being used. Because law will say “No, you have to use this crappy old spec cable that was created XX years back because it’s better for the consumer”. Screw that. Why is it a problem to use the cables that come with the devices? My Nexus 5 uses Micro USB. My iPhone 5 uses Lightning. I don’t see what the issue is … I have all the cables I need because they came with the devices. This is not an issue, and never was. It’s only a problem for people who like to create problems.
There is already wireless chargers. Nokia brought one out last year were you place your phone on a mat that is plugged in and it would charge it.
Such a shame, am I going to lose my lightning cable where I don’t need to care about what way I stick the connector in?
And this is progress? What an -ing load of bull.
The charger is already standard. Everybody uses USB charges now.
Calm down there cable Dave.. I think you need to get out more and get laid…!
….well seeing as iPod/Phone etc are all made in the land of the cheap charger I fail to see the issue: it’s all made in China anyway.
As for the lightning connector – well they’re on their own with that: I’m moving to Google Play and using Android as there’s no way I’m retrofitting my car kits etc from the 30-pin to some other oddball Apple standard only to have them dump that again.
Micro USB all the way.
Ah good to have the super-wise mandarins to fix what those darn markets can’t see. Mobile device chargers are the real important issue the EU lawmakers should tackle. Forget trivia such as sluggish economic growth, crippling government debts, demographic black holes in parts of EU and still non-functioning common currency.
Apparently not. Apparently it’s been worded in such a way that the charger (plug) has to be universal, not the connector (the actual cord that goes into the phone). So really nothing has changed. Tech guys 1, politicians 0
Apple don’t need to do a thing as they sell an adapter that makes their charger micro USB, apparently thats enough to dodge the law so no bothers for them there.
I thought that phone manufacturers are working towards this now anyway? I thought that contracts were the only thing holding this back.
hmm.. not so much, my HTC One started complaining when I plugged it into a USB charger intended for a tablet even though there shouldn’t have been a problem, but most phones only take 1amp, wheras tablet chargers produce 1.5Amps. The theory is using a tablet charger just charges a phone faster, but the behaviour of my phone suggests it doesn’t like the extra ampage & actually overheats the phone.
So if the legislation does come in to make all mobile devices take the same cable & charger it would make things far less complicated.
I really do wonder how much Apply pays to the EU for their “special” case ?
Great! I’ve an iPhone 4 with 3 years and I’ve had to buy 4 chargers since. The Apple chargers are totally useless and badly made.
I’ve gone through 4 Macbook chargers in 5 years.
Macbook chargers are €95 each. Designed to fail, pieces of s**t.
I don’t understand how people mess up their MacBook chargers… The only conclusion I can draw is that the users neglect them, a little care goes a long way.
MacBook chargers are €79 not €95 so you’re already spoutin’.; and if you look after them they last years. I’ve one floating about there that’s over 5 years old. 4 MacBook chargers in 5 years means that at least some of those would have died within 2 years of purchase, Apple cover that under EU law. Daft
Hi Andrew,
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Kind regards,
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The Journal
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Jamie.
Ah Gaz look what you’ve gone and done?! You’re dead tomorrow
€85.15 for a macbook charger including postage. gone down €10 in the last year.
“The Apple Battery Charger comes with the normal Apple One-Year Limited Warranty. ”
218 reviews on the apple site, 168 give 1 star out of 5.
The chargers are crap.
I wonder how many of those negative reviews ‘wrap’ their cable up safely (using the 2 plastic hooks provided), or just ‘chuck’ in their bag under books and that. There’s a magnet built in to the head of the chargers that pops out under any kind of stress (for example getting the cable caught in your leg).
I can’t understand how you can damage those chargers if you take a little bit of care of them.
Hi Andrew,
I must insist that you behave according to our terms of use or I will be forced to take action and flag your account for immediate termination. We here at The Journal strive to deliver a great user platform in which people can browse an environment free of threat and ridicule. Negative behaviour towards our community and/or staff will *not* be tolerated. Special thanks to Jamie for the support. I am considering this matter closed.
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Hi Gary,
Despite your best efforts to develop an environment free from ridicule and promote free speech, I must ask you to desist posing as a Journal.ie employee.
Due to your ongoing cheeky pupness, your administrator level at your *actual* place of work has now descended to level 1.
Please see the cleaner on Monday morning to gain access to the main office; I have placed your One Direction tapes which you recorded from the radio and your Celine Dion Croke Park 2007 t-shirt in a cardboard box for you.
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Anybody got the loan of a fat Nokia charger?
Not sure if this is the right way to go about it in case the cable isn’t up to scratch/futureproof…You’d want a cable that can handle charging, data transfer, video transfer etc. I suppose for Android users we nearly have it already with micro USB though!
Which was down to EU laws anyway.
It’s fine though my Note 3 has a micro USB 3.0 charging port, but it’s backwards compatible with current the current standard.
It will be interesting to see what happens when a company releases a better cable for a tablet/phone and realises they can’t actually use it because of EU regulations. That’s one thing that concerns me really. Many tablets need something more powerful than the likes of Micro USB due to the extra power consumption.
Having said that, if it means no more shelling out for expensive proprietary chargers, that’s definitely a plus. Just hope with the regulation they leave open space for progress in the future (remember, USB only properly kicked off around 10 years ago, it has gone through many revisions, could easily be something entirely different in the next 10 years)
I can see Apple adding an adapter for this if pushed as they can’t stop using the lightening connector. Particularly with the launch of CarPlay who’s function won’t be possible over general USB. Lightening does a lot more than basic charging and simple data pushing.
Actually a lightening to micro-USB adapter is already available for purchase, just not included with the devices
I don’t think an adaptor will cover the law. Devices will have to be able to use the universal charger without an adaptor – that’s the whole point of the law.
Then the EU are dictating manufacturing and engineering. That’s not going to happen. That’s like telling car makers they can only use one specific type of tyre
The EU and other countries dictate manufacturing standards all the time.
You mean like telling car manufacturers that they have to have seat-belts and airbags? Or that aircraft have to meet certain standards before they can operate in the EU? Yeah you’re right Peter, the EU dictating manufacturing and engineering is never going to happen.
Jason, nice catch because standard safety practices are directly synonymous with the type of I/O a device has. Let me use a simpler analogy, it’s like the EU dictating that only one type of display technology can be uses in PCs. Realistically this is being implemented because of waste but invariably people with are embedded in the Apple ecosystem stay there. Also these cables are standard across iPhones, iPads and iPods. These cables will stay in circulation
Peter’s right — hell will freeze over before Apple ditch lightening for micro USB. Lightening is an incredibly advanced, flexible I/O port that USB just can’t match. Apple will include an adaptor, but it’ll stop there. Apple will not destroy the design of their phones for the EU, and EU consumers will not be happy if their beloved Apple devices are not available. This law is stupid.
It makes sense. years ago the big computer manufacturers got together and standardised parts across the board. Made it a hell of a lot easier for the rest of us.
This law isn’t simply stupid, it is ass-backwards.
The complex. bulky, wasteful part is the actual power block bit, the charger, and we all use USB now anyway.
Lightning cables are superior to plain USB, can’t say the same for the 30-pin yokes, though.
@James, can you give me an example of something that the lightening connector can do that usb can’t match, other than be reversible. I ask because I’ve heard that thrown around by Apple, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard an actual example.
AV out is the main one John
John — analog audio and hdmi output are two that spring to mind. The pins of the lightening connector can be dynamically reassigned based on the connected device.
John, let me google that for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_(connector)#Lightning_vs_Micro-USB
Thanks for the answer, can’t say I’d be too pushed by analogue audio output though, much rather have a device that has the space to have a decent dac in it use the one built into a phone. I’m sure the iPhone could handle either way, I’d just consider the analogue one a little pointless. As for hdmi, while the mhl stuff isn’t officially part of the usb spec, it can still be integrated into the same connector without violating the spec.
It’s a nice connector and all, but I just don’t understand why people prefer it over having a single standard.
Well, I think the analog audio requirement was mainly to offer backwards compatibility on all the 30 pin docks, car kits, etc.
I think the power brick is the biggest waste — we are pretty much already standardized on the USB charger. Carrying a cable is no big deal.
Look its simple…the law will be they will have to be able to be charged by a universal port.
there will be nothing stopping apple/any other phone maker having 2 charging ports! the universal one and their one
I think it’s more akin to telling car manufacturer’s that they can only use a particular type of filler pipe assembly, which I’m pretty sure they do. Can you imagine the madness on forecourts if manufacturers used proprietary petrol pumps!
Nonsense. These kind of laws always take years to implement, and therefore result in stifling innovation.
Table makers? That’s some hi tech furniture!
Ah tablet! That makes sense.
I want Tayto now after seeing your picture.
Thanks for that. I’m on commission!
This could be mini thunderbolt. Charging a phone is only one purpose of a cable or socket, syncing data and connecting to peripherals are others.
I hope this doesn’t end up in restricting better design, but I suspect it will.
EU politicians are not engineers.
Yep, my thoughts exactly
It won’t hinder design, as long as an adapter is available they’ll be fine. They may just have to include it with the devices. Although it’s so tiny it’s be lost in 5 mins unless permanently attached to something. Apple MFi programme is worth too much to them for them to go through with adding a different I/O to the devices. Peripherals are key, especially upcoming MFi game controllers.
“Charging a phone is only one purpose of a cable or socket, syncing data and connecting to peripherals are others.”
All of which Micro USB can do.
Two words: iPod Out (probably has a newer nomenclature with lightening) but it allows extended functionality to other devices, hence CarPlay and iPod docks. You would need 2 different I/Os to accomplish this if using micro-USB as the spec just doesn’t cater for it. And yes I know MHL does the same thing but it’s not a standard spec yet
MicroUSB is only designed to handle 9W, most tablets need at least 10-12 to charge at any decent rate. It also only has 5 pins, as opposed to the 8 pins in the lightning connector which allows for a lot more functionality. Not to mention that MicroUSB is notoriously fragile and is known to have a limited lifespan.
The problem is not the charging cables but the charging adapter and battery:
(cables break easily and should be easily replaced: don’t have them hard wired into adapter)
* the charging adapter should have a USB port
* have a changeable plug for UK/EU/US sockets (also work over the different input voltage ranges)
but the bigger problem is output, more than likely 5V but which Amp-age 500mA, 700mA, 1A, 1.6A, 1.8A, 2.1A or 3A which all depends on the battery mainly.
Sure as hell battery technology will change over the coming years.
A lot of mobile phones are sold without adapter and just come with a cable nowadays, manufacturers are cutting their costs this way.
I think most of us have a drawer or box of countless chargers in our homes that attests to the necessity. I have at least 40 chargers from over the last 10 years I’d say. I don’t know what most of them are for but I’m afraid to throw them out.
In all fairness its a good idea.
Before I got let go in my work I had an iphone (work) ipad mini (work) and a Samsung (personal) thats 3 different chargers, an all for one charger is needed.
One charger would do, what you need is 3 cables.
Same difference. .. all three had different connections, a universal connection is whats needed then only one plug and one cable
What place does the EU have in telling private businesses what charger they can or can’t use in their products. If everyone is forced to use micro usbs, which is the most likely outcome, then it will stifle innovation. What if Apple, Samsung or Sony invent a new charger that can send more data, can charge quicker and can act as AV out but it doesn’t conform to these standards and agreement can’t be reached to adopt it. Who loses out then? The consumer, the very people this supposedly protects.
They already have. Lightening is this. Particularly AV out.
Considering the fact that it is EU recycling centers and landfills that are being filled up due to discarded chargers, I’d say they have every right to tell private companies what they can and can’t do. In the end of the day, if the state tells companies they can no longer legally do something then it is the problem of those private companies. They are not superior to the state.
Then teach people to recycle the stuff.
Given that we have become almost completely dependent on our mobile phones for communication (when was the last time you saw a functioning phone box?) I would say that the is completely within the remit of the EU to regulate this. With internal batteries and proprietary charging ports now the norm – and with smartphone battery life so poor – isn’t it in everybody’s interest to have an agreed standard for this?
This is going to be a innovation killer. Micro USB is already outdated technology. I/O changes all the time.
This was suggested by the European big wigs months ago -
It was law September last year
First it’s suggested, then it’s discussed, then a draft is made which is discussed and refined before this is put to the parliament for a vote. That’s generally what happens and it can be reported on separately over the course of a few months to scrape a few articles out of one story.
A universal battery charger?.. I see positive and negative aspects.
Wireless charging will be the out come in the end
**** apple and their rubbish cables
If they also brought out a law that dictated that ALL computer parts be replaceable such as non integrated processors in motherboards & non integrated graphics cards- if you could simply remove an older processor & replace it would make computers last far longer & be upgradeable into the future with motherboards having a longer potential life!!
There are two answers to this issue, if your an Apple fanboi you want a lightning charger, everyone else will want a common charger, micro USB as it is for the moment.
This means nothing – the new law means all manufacturers will have to supply a universal charger that will work with all phones. That means a transformer ( the plug part ) with a USB outlet into which you plug the ( brand specific ) charging lead. So yes, you can use any charger, but you will need the lead that came with your phone. So all apple devices are already compliant, and most other brands have been for a long time too :-)
I spoke to some guys from the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2009 who were trying to push this into law.
5 years later and it looks like some common sense will prevail.
Well done lads.
Not what people think, the chargers will become standardised, not the connectors so all the talk of micro USB vs lightning etc is moot, they’re not going anywhere
This is such common sense! now there is only really 3 types of chargers, micro usb, 30pin and lightning. If it is all switched to micro usb then that would be such a relief, and as for future chargers and ports just make them backwards compatible for instance a new laptop has usb3.0 you can still use usb2.0 devices, im sure the same would be applied to this new standard port and therefore transfer speeds wouldn’t be affected
Excellent news, however need same for laptops
The charger is the plug device, while the pin connection (attached to the cable) to the device is another thing. This law only covers the plug. It will have little impact
No, that’s not right. Re-read the article.
It’s only the plug end that goes into the electrical socket that is being standardised, not the phone connector.
The one cable to rule them all: http://www.focalprice.com/IP3352W/4in1_Data_Charging_Cable_for_iPhone_5_iPod_Touch_5_iPod_Nano_7.html
Who cares if their phone has a different charger than their electric razor. Stupid waste of time and money trying to bring this in! Most mobile devices charge from a USB 5v charger already, laptops require a little more power, it’s no big deal!
i read this story three years ago and still not happening.
Actually the current Micro USB Connector is in the process of been replaced by an apple lightning type connector.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-57614456-76/with-new-usb-connector-no-more-wrong-way-up-cables/
Time at last !! 18 iPod touch 5th gen chargers in 1 year..that’s €500 spent on these things !
There will be massive challenges in court…. Every single ‘device’ from my Sonicare tooth brush up to my Nissan leaf all HAVE to run off one charger. Good luck making that work.
You can’t even charge an iPad and iPhone effectively from one charger, the current/voltage are different, it takes forever to charge an iPad from an iPhone charger and damages the life of the battery.
Glad to see companies take this into consideration already. All of my devices are micro USB despite different manufacturers and types…except for my iPad. I like Apple products but I can see them finding a loophole in this which is a pain for all
I thought this law was passed about 2 years ago and that’s why most devices now have micro usb or maybe it was in anticipation of the change. For those saying it will limit transfer speeds etc there is nothing stopping companies from having a second option for connections you could have a micro usb for charging and data transfer and an option to use another port on the device.
The loophole is that when the refer to the charger they are only referring to the part that goes into the wall, the ‘connecter cable’ is not affected….., so you will still need your lightning connection or usb ect…, so you will still need different cables for your samsung and your apple phone according to this article http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/onecharger-law-wont-hit-smartphone-makers-30091690.html
They were supposed to do this a couple of years ago
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