Author: Duncan Pike

Google yourself. We’ve all done it at some point in our lives. The results you usually get back — unless you’re famous — are a few of your social media pages and the realisation that your name isn’t as unique as you first thought. Unless Google mistakenly thinks you’re a serial killer, then you also get a surprise. That’s just what happened to Hristo Georgiev, a software developer in Switzerland. He found that search results of his name included a photo of him linked to the Wikipedia page of a serial killer with the same name. https://twitter.com/hggeorgievcom/status/1408135112559054850 Google needs to get a…

Microsoft held its “next generation of Windows” event on Thursday last week, where it gave us the first official look at Windows 11. During the long-winded conference, Microsoft was eager to make sure we knew that (like the new start menu) we, the end-user, are at the centre of the design and functionality choices. It was a lot less upfront with info on the requirements the new OS would have, but then that doesn’t make for a very engaging viewing experience. Instead, Microsoft has put the requirements towards the bottom of its Windows 11 page. Here, you’ll be able to see…

If you’re the owner of a Western Digital My Book Live network-attached storage (NAS) device, then you should maybe definitely unplug it or risk losing all your data. The WD My Book is a NAS device, which means it’s an external hard drive that’s always on and connects to an internet-accessible network. Think of it as a personal cloud device and you’re most of the way there.  Bleeping Computer first reported that some device owners around the world have found theirs wiped clean. They also could not gain access to the device via online login. “I have a WD My…

Valve has spent the last two years working on The International 10, ever since The International 9 in 2019 (three guesses as to reasons for the skipped year, and the second two don’t count). But we may have to wait a little longer for the next one. In a statement issued on 22 June, Valve said that it would not be holding The International 10 in Sweden, following a vote by the Swedish government and Swedish Sports Federation to not accept esports into the sports federation. Valve said that “…despite previous reassurances, we were informed two weeks ago that the…

The next instalment in the Battlefield franchise was announced not too long ago and this one has us — along with many others — somewhat excited. Well, it turns out EA thought this release cycle might be going a bit too smoothly. So they decided to shake things up a bit by letting us know there will be bots in some multiplayer matches. At the game’s announcement event, it was revealed that the All-Out Warfare game mode will allow up to 128 players but it turns out that this will likely not only be humans.  Deploy onto the Battlefield with your AI…

If you’re a cryptocurrency investor in South Africa and you trusted an exchange called Africrypt, you probably haven’t had a great time lately. Africrypt was one of South Africa’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, a digital platform that allowed its investors to exchange cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin for other forms of cryptocurrencies or conventional fiat money like the Rand or Dollar. Launched in 2019 by Ameer (20) and Raees (17) Cajee, the exchange promised investors a good return on their money but it seems like it meant a ‘good return’ for the exchange, not so much for the investors. The first red flag appeared earlier…

Nothing makes you want to give up on technology more than learning that some too-smart-for-their-own-good folks have found yet another way to gain access to your electronic devices. And that’s exactly what we have here with the O.MG cable, a seemingly harmless device that has serious implications for your security. Let us explain. A security researcher who goes by MG has modified legitimate Apple Lightning cables to allow them to gain access to your device. His cables — which are all made by hand in his kitchen — contain everything a normal Lightning cable would, as well as an extra…

Have you ever seen a profile on Twitter and been so interested that you wished you could give them your money? Wait, really? You have? Well, Twitter thought you might like this then. Earlier this month, the company announced its new features, Super Follow and Ticketed Spaces and has since opened applications to begin testing them.  Twitter has now opened these features up for testing. Well, we say ‘opened’ but it isn’t really. The company will be selecting a “small group” of applicants in the US to test these new features. Applications are open through the company’s mobile app but…

Back in February, we learned that SpaceX will send four “civilians” into space sometime in September. These lucky few will be the worlds first-ever space tourists when they take off in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. What a time to be alive. Commander of the Inspiration4 mission, Jared Isaacman, showed off the crew’s new suits on Twitter earlier today. https://twitter.com/rookisaacman/status/1407159096114098179 Going to SpaceX…again The suits aren’t that big of a deal, we’ve seen them before. They look pretty much exactly the same as the suits that the first Crew Dragon astronauts wore on their first mission. The contents of the suits…

If you’ve bought a new Apple product since the inception of Apple TV+ back in 2019, then you were eligible for a whole year of free access to the subscription service. Starting 1 July 2021, that’s being cut down to just three months. Don’t get us wrong, three months of free anything is still great, but that’s a whole… hang on… quarter less than before. And it’s not like you get it for nothing either. You have to buy a new product to be eligible for the free year (or three months now), and we all know they aren’t the cheapest…