Author: CraigWilson

Earlier this month the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) issued the first drone pilot licence to Nicole Swart, a 23-year-old pilot and a testing standards officer for aviation personnel standards at the SACAA. This follows the introduction of South Africa’s regulations regarding drones that were finalised at the beginning of July. “I am thrilled by the honour to be one of the pioneers in this field,” Swart says, adding that she thinks drones are set to become “as common and necessary as cellular phones”. She says she wanted to ensure she was suitably equipped and skilled for the growth…

Tim Cook and the crew at Cupertino are now shaking their heads smugly at those who suggested Apple had given up on the iPod Touch. The latest versions transform what to many was little more than an ageing iPhone (without the “phone” bit) into a device that can almost hold its own against an iPhone 6. We say almost, because it’s not just the Phone app that’s absent, which makes us love and hate the new iPod Touch in almost equal measure. What we love…1. The potent A8 chip inside Generation five of the iPod Touch was looking a little dated beneath its shiny exterior.…

If you’re the sort who throws caution to the wind and likes to try the latest and greatest in software before the rest of the unwashed masses get their grubby paws on it you’re in luck: the public betas for Apple’s latest iterations of its mobile operating system, iOS 9, and its desktop one, OS X El Capitan, are now out in the wild. You’ll need a supported device — and preferably a spare one, especially in the case of iOS 9, which you don’t want to go running on your primary mobile phone lest something goes awry — and…

Electronics giant Samsung says the growing interest in ultra high-definition (UHD) and 4K TVs in South Africa has resulted in some manufacturers (no names mentioned) trying to palm off inferior, 3K devices on unsuspecting consumers. Thankfully, there are a few ways to check whether the TV you’re buying is actually up to spec, starting with its price tag. If it doesn’t cost roughly as much as your first car, it’s probably not the latest and greatest in electronic babysitters. We should probably start by clearing up some of the confusion that surrounds the terms 4K and UHD. As we explained last…

Four more Johannesburg suburbs can look forward to high-speed, fibre-to-the-home internet connectivity courtesy of Vumatel. Trenching to lay fibre will begin in Victory Park, Linden, Bryanston South and Blairgowrie in the last quarter of this year. Vumatel provides the physical infrastructure on an open-access basis, meaning consumers can choose from various internet service providers for data. Vumatel already offers fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) services in Parkhurst, Greenside and Parktown North with Killarney, Saxonwold and Parkwood expected to come online before the end of the year. All of which must be giving the execs at Telkom sleepless nights. It’s not just Vumatel offering…

South African digital communications agency Retroviral has joined the Bidvest Group’s media arm. Retroviral will form part of Bidvest Media, which in turn falls under the Group’s travel services division. Retroviral was founded in 2010 by Mike Sharman and Murray Legg. Legg is exiting the business as part of the deal. Bidvest has taken a majority stake in Retroviral, which will stay in its Sandton offices for the time being. Bidvest Media CEO Neil Jankelowitz says the deal is more about providing Retroviral with access to the decentralised Bidvest Group than taking control of the company and its activities. “Joining Bidvest…

Every teaser for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End gets us more excited for the final product, due out from game developer Naughty Dog next year, and this pursuit video shown off at E3 is no exception. The fourth instalment of the franchise sees retired fortune hunter Nathan Drake pulled back into the world of thievery, with familial bonds to raise the stakes even higher. The cinematics look amazing, as does the seamless mix of chase sequences, trigger-happiness and more explosions than a bag of microwave popcorn. Skip to around minute seven of the video for the previously unreleased gameplay footage.…

The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship flipped the conventional hackathon on its head this week by bringing together hackers and NGOs to try and find solutions to the challenges faced by early childhood development (ECD) practitioners. Up for grabs was R10,000 for the best idea. More than 60 participants spent last Saturday in the MTN Solution Space, an innovation hub located at the UCT Graduate School of Business. The tech teams spent the morning with the ECD practitioners fleshing out the problems that need solving, problems that are particularly pertinent in South Africa where over six million children are under the…

Until now Gautrain stations have been connectivity-, food- and drink-free zones. You still can’t chew gum or take a sip from your water bottle, but at least you’ll be able to moan about it on social media, assuming you’re a Vodacom customer, that is, because South Africa’s largest mobile network now offers mobile connectivity. No more waiting to post your Hyperlapse during those five magic minutes of connectivity between Marlboro and Rhodesfield Stations, no more Facebook separation anxiety and no need to engage in small talk with other passengers while we mull around the platform trying to remember how we filled our…

Within hours of Vodacom announcing it now offers mobile connectivity at the Gautrain’s Rosebank, Sandton and Park Stations rival MTN has done likewise. In a statement released late on Wednesday MTN says commuters will be able to enjoy the connectivity from 3 July, adding that the “other stations will be covered by existing infrastructure”. It appears MTN will be piggybacking on the infrastructure installed by rival Vodacom. How heart-warming it is to see them playing nicely with one another — that or, you know, Vodacom’s charging MTN a premium. For added confusion, MTN also announced that it will be “further deploying…