Author: Duncan Pike

The Huawei MateBook D15 landed on our desk recently. At first glance, it could have passed as a MacBook, which was the whole idea behind the design. Mission accomplished on that front, we guess. Then we picked it up and turned it on and our illusions were immediately shattered. Mostly because we were greeted by a Windows 11 welcome screen. This particular MateBook is part of Huwei’s D-series and it’s roughly 15in. That’s where the ‘D15’ comes from. It also launched last year, hence the ‘2021’. So it’s not a MacBook. And that’s okay. More or less. Huawei might have…

LG is back at it again with its next line of Tone Free wireless earbuds. It has released three new models, FP5, FP8 and FP9. Those are priced at R2,300, R3,000 and R4,000 respectively. We received a set of the FP9s to review because we love to start at the top. These sit somewhere in the upper mid-range of wireless earbuds. You get most of the features you’d expect for the price, miss out on others, and may be surprised by a few more. Well, they aren’t really a surprise. It’s written on the box. But we’ll get to that.…

Car makers charging extra for additional features in cars is nothing new. But BMW is one of the first manufacturers with a local presence to take that to the next level. As part of its optional extras, the German company now charges a monthly fee for selected features. Front seat and steering wheel heating, various driving assistant options, and automatic high beams are some of what is currently available as monthly subscriptions. On BMW’s Connected Drive page, you’ll find traditional optional extras, like adaptive M suspension for R7,200. This time, though, you’re buying the ability to turn it on. You…

The first public beta builds have launched for Apple’s new generation of operating systems for its many platforms. iOS 16 for iPhones, macOS Ventura for Macs, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS are now available to the general public if you’re looking for new ways to make your life difficult. Shortly after Apple announced the updated OS at its World Wide Developers Conference, it opened up beta programs for the new operating systems to developers and insiders. These are the kinds of folks that (Apple hopes) will give insights into how to make it better while providing info when something doesn’t work…

The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) recently launched a new app for iOS and Android. It aims to make trips to and around South African airports less of a chore. The free app offers several services covering at least nine of South Africa’s largest airports. Not all those who wander are lost Mthoko Mncwabe, ACSA chief information officer, said the app was designed to make the lives of travelers simpler. He also said the app was part of a larger digital transformation project that ACSA is undertaking. We’re not sure what the rest of that project will look like, but…

Elon pulls out of merger, Twitter upset This past weekend saw the next evolution in the Elon Musk x Twitter Saga. The CEO and wouldbe Twitter purchaser has once again been thrust into the spotlight as he attempts to pull out of his $44 billion deal to buy the company. His Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing lists a “material breach” of an agreement between the two parties as well as citing “false and misleading” statements Twitter made during negotiations.This follows a lengthy back and forth between Musk and Twitter’s board of directors regarding the number of bot accounts on the…

We don’t need to tell you there’s been a fair bit of load shedding recently. More than a bit, actually. EskomSePush estimates we’ve had 1,008 hours of load shedding this year, so far, with severity between a constant Stage 2 all the way to Stage 6. If you’re a regularly functioning human then you’ve probably also tried and failed to make heads or tails of Eskom’s schedule. Or maybe you haven’t. Maybe you couldn’t be bothered to attempt to find your area in a sea of coloured blocks to see when you’re getting switched off. And why should you put…

The SABC thinks the sporting broadcasters and organisers in the country need a stern talking to. By that we mean they’re taking them to court. The national broadcaster has filed an anticompetitive complaint against SuperSport for “exclusionary behaviour”, in the hopes it is fined, according to a TechCentral report. The SABC is out for money blood According to that report, the SABC is motivated by its belief that SuperSport has abused its influence with regards to sports broadcasting. This has made things difficult for the broadcaster and its own standalone sports channel, SABC Sports. Which, it argues, goes against the…

When it comes to television sets, most folks don’t have many thousands to drop on a new one. Then there are some who aren’t looking for the latest and greatest display technology. They just need a dependable TV with okay-to-decent picture quality that lasts a good few years without becoming too obsolete too quickly. And it shouldn’t cost them a kidney. If that’s you, then you might want to consider the LG QNED 4K 806 series. We were sent the 65in model and it’s a compelling offer. You can expect an extensive feature list for your R24,000. What can it…

It should be no surprise at this point that Apple is working on a car. It has been for years, but we still don’t know when it will stop playing coy and just tell us or give us an official picture at least. But with the amount of effort it is putting into CarPlay of late, it could be soon™. The latest update from the fruit company was unveiled without much fanfare at a developer conference last month. The update will allow CarPlay users to navigate to a petrol station and then buy fuel from their dashboard. Next stop, cars…