Author: Carla Mouton

Popular streaming service Netflix is shutting down all of its operations in Russia. No new customers will be able to sign up. It’s still unclear what will happen to existing accounts. The company hasn’t made an official call on that just yet. Netflix halted all of its Russia-affiliated projects last week. Don’t push Netflix Netflix stands to lose around one million subscribers from the move. The streaming service told the website, Vulture, that it did not intend to comply with the Russian broadcast law that requires streaming platforms to offer several “Russian government propaganda channels”. Netflix joins a long list…

Norway and the UK are spending a combined R600 million to help South Africa transition to clean fuels. The Norwegian investment fund for developing countries, Norfund, is investing R360 million, whilst the United Kingdom development finance institution CDC Group is investing R240-million in the project. This money is going to H1 Capital, a black-owned renewable energy company. H1 Capital will use the investment to build 2.4GW of wind and solar plants in South Africa. The deal can be traced back to the Cop26 summit, a climate change conference held in 2020. Funding clean fuels Most of the Norwegian and UK…

The Walt Disney Company said on Friday that it would introduce an ad-supported version of Disney+ later this year. The streaming service is best known for Marvel and Disney series and movies. The new ad-supported tier will first be rolled out in the United States, followed by other countries in 2023. This means that, when South Africa eventually gets access to the mouse company’s service this year, a discount is unlikely. We’ll be paying full price, at least for a while. Not that anyone knows what the cheaper cost is yet. Disney+ ads = cheaper Disney has not yet set…

Some of us just enjoy living on the dark side, and we prefer our Google searches that way too. Today Google updated its dark theme with an even darker dark theme on the Google app on Android. Last week some users over the globe got to experience a darker desktop web search as well, capable of changing from Dark Grey to Your-Ex’s-Heart Black. It similarly tweaked other colours for links and previously visited pages to be bolder and less bleh. The Google logo also pops more, don’t you think? Check out the difference in theme When it comes to the…

Netflix just introduced a gaming-while-watching feature for those of us who can’t pick one or the other. And we applaud you for that, Netflix. Think about how cool was it making your own choices in the dark series, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. That… was a little depressing, though. Instead, for all the trivia night fans out there, Netflix in April plans to offer one hell of a game night. That should perk things up. A squiz at Trivia Quiz https://youtu.be/9ijh4nWgiMg Trivia Quiz is based on the popular game Trivia Crack, which is inspired by classic family board games like Trivial Pursuit.…

Are we surprised that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is throwing another idea out there to become financially feasible? No. No, we are not. After the whole ‘get a TV licence for all your streaming devices’ idea last year? Little surprises us anymore. But alas, a new TV licence scheme is being introduced, according to the SABC. The idea is one of several being bandied about by the broadcaster. It’s not exactly an unfamiliar sight, either. No more TV licence SABC board chairperson Bongumusa Makhathini proposed in a presentation to Parliament on 2 March that the current system should…

If you haven’t been in hibernation, you probably know that there is a bit of a situation going on in Ukraine right now. At times like this, they need all the help they can get. Enter Elon Musk. Ukrainian vice prime minister as well as minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted Elon Musk for Starlink stations in Ukraine on Saturday, 26 February. Because everyone knows by now that Twitter is the best way to contact Musk. Starlink engaged In response, Musk cooly tweeted that the SpaceX Starlink satellite service has been activated in Ukraine and said terminals were on the way.…

Jeep has revealed its first full-on electric SUV. According to parent company Stellantis, it will be on sale from 2023 and is its first step to a zero-emissions future. Jeep plans to offer a fully electric alternative in each SUV category by 2025. First up, though, is this little yellow number. We don’t know much about the vehicle yet. Even the name is still a secret at this point in time. But thanks to some juicy images, and Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 business plan that explains they’re “embracing new mindsets”, we can at least tell you something. Jeep this The…

Massive tech companies are among those taking a political stance on Russia’s actions against Ukraine. Most companies tend to stay apolitical, so this is a big step for the tech industry. Most companies removed the Russian news apps; Sputnik and Russia Today. The largest tech companies, and how they are involved Yesterday, Apple said that it is limiting the functionality of some of its services, like Apple Pay, in Russia. They’re also pausing product sales, in case Putin wanted a new iPhone. But Apple deal in half-measures, it also removed all Russian news apps, like Kremlin-backed Russia Today and Sputnik…

Bing Bong! Today, TikTok announced that soon all users will be able to create 10-minute videos. Which is stepping into YouTube territory as Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram are stepping into TikTok territory with Reels and Spotlight. Are we the only confused ones? TikTok has always been the place to go if you need your daily dopamine boost. Short, concise videos about whatever you’re into. Content ranges from dancing to watching what influencers are doing in the newest and weirdest #SocialMediaChallenges. How TikTok started At launch, users could make a video of only up to 30 seconds at first, which was…