Author: Duncan Pike

Local e-retailer Faithful to Nature recently introduced two locally-made three-wheeled electric delivery vehicles to its fleet. The two tuk-tuk-looking trikes will form part of the e-retailer’s express delivery fleet in Cape Town and, true to the company’s name, emit no carbon emissions. The MellowVans, as they are known, are manufactured by a South African company of the same name and are entirely electric. The company’s website doesn’t specify an exact range of their vehicles. But you aren’t going to be taking long road trips in these things. As a last-mile delivery solution, they make sense. Especially if the quoted 15…

When Asus announced the Special Edition (SE) update to its Strix Scar 17 back in May we didn’t think much of it. Until we saw the spec sheet. We knew it would probably be epic but we’d have to wait until the review samples for that to be confirmed. Well, they’re in. And it’s confirmed. Asus hasn’t changed much else about the Strix, aside from some crazy internal upgrades. But, for gamers, the internals are what matter most. RGB is cool and all, and this machine has plenty. But you might find it difficult to appreciate if you’re getting bodied…

Netflix is conducting another round of tests with its paid-for password-sharing plans. This time it seems a little more thought-out than the previous attempt. The first time Netflix publicly tested its paid-for password sharing in South American countries, things didn’t seem to go that well. Back then, Netflix introduced an additional cost for sharing the credentials to your Netflix account with users that didn’t live under the same roof. Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica acted as guinea pigs for the “add an extra member” feature that saw mixed results. Ding ding, round 2 This time, Netflix is testing an “add…

Notable leaker Evan Blass, known by some as evleaks, has revealed a leaked promotional poster for Samsung’s next Unpacked event. Mark your calendars for 10 August 2022, if the poster is to be believed. Everything is already unpacked **THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN EDITED TO OBFUSCATE CERTAIN DETAIL** See what I did there? pic.twitter.com/BrH4sT99yU — Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 18, 2022 The poster, which looks very similar to promotional material for the new M2 MacBook Air, depicts a blurry device. Through advanced means (guessing) we have been able to deduce that the device depicted is the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Which…

Municipal-provided light at the tunnel’s end Here’s something we think we can all agree is good news. Eskom CEO André de Ruyter expects load shedding to end this week. But that’s only if the power utility can bring enough power generating units back online. Since the beginning of June, Eskom had to implement stage 6 for the second time since load shedding started all the way back in 2008. The most recent escalation resulted from striking workers, which meant Eskom couldn’t stick to its schedule of getting faulty generation units back up and running. As the end of July approaches,…

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…