Author: Duncan Pike

Asus has launched several laptops this year. Between the gaming powerhouse Strix Scar 17 SE, the new and foldy Zenbook 17 Fold, and other machines aimed at business types or creatives, there’s something on offer in nearly every market segment. But with the ROG Flow X16, the lines are blurred. We’re not saying that’s a bad thing. In fact, we really enjoyed most of it. And that’s not to say the things we didn’t like are necessarily bad. But we were left with a few questions. We’re sure you have some too. Is this the new display king? The ROG…

Elden Ring – coming to a table near you Before From Software’s Elden Ring launched in February of this year, it was one of the most anticipated upcoming games. In the month or two following its launch, it reached a peak of 952,523 concurrent players, according to Steam charts. Now, seven months later, it is still one of the most talked about games and will probably win at least a few accolades come video game awards season. It makes sense then, that this is the latest title Steamforged Games – the company responsible for the board game adaptions of Horizon…

DJI launched the second generation of its first-person view (FPV) drones, the DJI Avata, in South Africa recently. We went along to today’s Joburg event to get the important bits of info, like how it’s different from the DJI FPV, when you’ll be able to fly one of these, and how much it’ll cost. Perfect for zipping around DJI hasn’t only improved on the specs but the whole flying experience, especially if you’re new to FPV drones. The 410g-weighing 180mm square and 80mm tall DJI Avata ships with a 4K60fps camera that uses a six-axis gimbal and Electronic Image Stabilization…

We hope you weren’t holding out hope, or your breath, for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service to launch in South Africa. The service’s webpage has updated the estimated timeline for a rollout in South Africa. We’ve been moved from the ‘waitlist’ to the ‘coming soon’ list. A watchful watcher We’re always keeping an eye on internet things. The Starlink coverage map is no exception. We’re aware of a dedicated Starlink coverage specialist whose only job is to refresh the page and tell folks when something changes. Well, that person realised yesterday, 14 September 2022, that the service changed from indicating…

As most of the world, save for the fanatic crypto-loyalists, collectively loses interest in cryptocurrencies amid an ongoing economic slump, South Africa has jumped on board with its own stablecoin. The ZARP Project launched in November last year and claims to be “fast, safe, efficient, and the only fully audited Rand stablecoin.” It also just partnered with Old Mutual Wealth as the custodian to manage its cash reserves. The future financial system? If you’re still in the dark as to what a stablecoin is, it is a cryptocurrency that’s ‘pegged’ to a fiat currency (government-issued tender) or exchange-traded commodity, like…

Artemis I: Round 3 NASA’s engineers have completed the necessary repairs to the space agency’s new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Engineers found the pesky leaky fuel line seal and replaced it. It was this leaky seal that was responsible for the cancellation of the second launch attempt on 3 September. The crew at Kennedy Launch Center attempted to troubleshoot and fix the problem three times on the day but to no avail. While they had the rocket off the launch pad, engineers also replaced another seal on the hydrogen “bleed-line” responsible for cooling the engines before ignition. That faulty…

It might have been Apple’s big day yesterday but that didn’t stop Bose from announcing its updated QuietComfort II earbuds. Maybe the Bose folks didn’t know Apple was also announcing new earbuds. Perhaps they did but thought theirs were better because this time they ship with what Bose is calling “Bose CustomTune sound calibration technology”. Either way, if you want the latest earbud technology, you have two more options. That’s the way it Bose The headline feature in the new buds is CustomTune. This is supposed to “intelligently personalize audio and noise cancellation performance” for your individually shaped ears. Bose…

NASA delays Artemis 1. Again. NASA’s Artemis 1 lunar mission was supposed to launch on Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center but was aborted once again following the detection of a hydrogen fuel leak. The agency detected the leak early on Saturday morning and made several attempts to find the cause and fix it inside the two-hour launch window. It was unsuccessful, obviously. After three failed attempts the launch was postponed. A hydrogen fuel leak isn’t like your check engine light that you can just ignore and hope it goes away.The space agency is running out of launch windows following…

Sony’s noise-cancelling headphones have enjoyed a lofty position atop reviewer shortlists and Top 10s for years. The third and fourth iterations of the WH-1000X range traded blows with the Bose Quiet Comfort and Sennheiser Momentum product lineups and, recently, the Apple Airpod Max for those in Apple’s ecosystem. The older Sony models shared a lot of similarities in design, feature set, and sound profile with the company making relatively minor adjustments between the two. Now, the WH-1000XM5 is here and it is a departure from the formula. Changes were made, some for the better and some… not. But, wherever your…

Popular password manager LastPass issued a statement yesterday that it had suffered a breach. Two weeks ago, an unauthorised party gained access to and stole source code and other proprietary information from the company. Before you rush to switch to a different service, the company says, “we have seen no evidence that this incident involved any access to customer data or encrypted password vaults.” Also, it was two weeks ago. If they did get to your passwords, it’d already be too late. Who goes there? In a statement issued by the company on Tuesday, it revealed that the unauthorised party…