Author: Brett Venter

Are you ready to go down the rabbit hole? That’s unfortunate because we’re not that familiar with the family of Leporidae. But… a representative of the European Union (EU), financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness, said earlier this week that a possible Digital Euro “…is not a Big Brother project”. She was addressing concerns some have that the launch of a digital currency in the region could be used for purposes other than those stated. But it’s been an awful long time since a massively powerful controlling agency put its hands up, said “Aw, nuts, you caught us”, and went back…

Another American city is making use of robotic cops. New York’s new mayor, Eric Adams, has restarted a controversial program that uses Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot in a law enforcement capacity. In addition, another type of surveillance robot is going on patrol in the city. It can effectively be dressed up as a Dalek from Doctor Who, for the vandalism-minded. Robots working in cities aren’t a new phenomenon. Usually, these robots are purpose-built for tasks like bomb disposal. Sometimes, as in the recent case in San Francisco, cities will make foolish decisions for these machines (like giving them permission to…

Previously when we spoke about Artemis, we were referring to NASA’s program to send humans back to the Moon. That’s still on, but there’s a new ARTEMIS in town. This one is more closely related to Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot, except that it’s got no time for construction work. The name is an acronym of Advanced Robotic Technology for Enhanced Mobility and Improved Stability. It was developed by the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and it plays soccer. No, really. ARTEMIS rising https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTkupawAG6w The robot has been in development for some time…

Huawei South Africa (though it’s not the only part of the world offering this) has announced a new battery replacement program for a whole range of its older smartphones and tablets. It’s paid-for, of course. Batteries cost money. But it could give your ageing Android a new lease on life. The Chinese company is offering users “…the chance to obtain a genuine battery replacement tailored to their specific device model at a remarkably low price”. That low price isn’t fully detailed — you’ll have to query for that — but pricing will start at R150. Huawei gonna do this? Usually,…

Stuff has had its hands on loads of wearable tech over the years but one brand we’ve been dying to try out is Amazfit. Sure, it doesn’t roll off the tongue and the Amazfit Bip 3 Pro is an even clunkier moniker but the Chinese brand offers great-looking devices at price points considerably below premium. The tricky thing is determining whether those prices are a bargain or accurate reflections of what you’re getting. That takes experience and experience is what we have. Amazfit, weirdly named or not, isn’t likely to strike you as a waste of money. Quite the opposite.…

Just like the stealthy tornado, which lies in wait to ensnare oblivious victims, Netflix has been relatively silent about its plans to stop users from sharing their passwords. Make no mistake, following its rollout to several markets, it’s still on track to turn up this year. But it’ll take a little longer than originally expected. The company said, while reporting its most recent set of financial results, that the plan to limit password sharing on the service more aggressively has been pushed back toward the middle of 2023. Netflix in the USA These plans apply to the company’s largest market…

Who says you need rockets in order to make a difference in space? Well, Elon Musk, obviously. But that’s not the only way you can contribute. The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has announced that it will be taking part in the United Arab Emirates’ upcoming lunar rover mission. The UAE’s Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre will see its first lunar rover mission, the Rashid Rover, arrive on the Moon’s surface on 25 April this year. And South Africa will be taking part. SA isn’t building the rover — that’s already done. Nor are we contributing to the launch.…

The world of NFTs may be slowing down but there are some places where so-called digital collectibles are still alive and kicking. Emphasis on the ‘kick’ bit of this. Nike’s .SWOOSH platform, announced late last year, is gearing up to perform its very first drop. Dubbed Our Force 1 or OF1, the first set of digital sneakers from the dedicated digital accessories platform are based on the brand’s Air Force 1 sneakers, which were first released in 1982. These collectibles will become available in two sales — the First Access sale and then a wider general sale. You know, kind…

SpaceX’s Starship was supposed to have its first proper test flight last night, finally putting to bed ages of anticipation for the debut of the company’s Super Heavy rocket. Unfortunately, it’s called rocket science for a reason and the launch didn’t take place. SpaceX opted to cancel the launch of the gigantic interplanetary rocket precursor, thanks to one of those pesky engineering faults. Specifically, a pressurisation valve on the lower of the rocket’s two stages froze up, leading to the company scrubbing the launch. Starship, take two https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5QXreqOrTA The call was made during the launch’s live stream last night, postponing…

If you’re a South African resident, you can’t really afford to be without back power. This could be something as simple as a 10,000mAh internet backup or as involved as the Switched 307Wh Portable Power Station. The big difference? Battery capacity and, of course, price. Batteries are expensive. Why do you think the average EV costs more than R1 million? If you’ve got R6,000 or so that could go into keeping a room lit and several devices (internet, certainly, and smaller TVs) powered, then Switched’s 300W/307Wh battery pack is worth considering. It’s incredibly easy to set up and use, it’s…