Author: Brett Venter

Twitter Blue launched in South Africa earlier this month (and it’ll cost you up to R2,400 a year to play Elon’s game) but not every country was included at that point. That… has changed. The service is now available everywhere on the planet, provided you’re willing to pay for it. Given the other bit of news this week, you might just be reaching for your credit card. That’s because the folks who have the old-school Verified checkmark will see those going away as of 1 April 2023. It doesn’t have to happen, of course. You can always give the service…

You could be forgiven for not being aware that Huawei had a product reveal yesterday. The event was primarily for the international market, though devices like the new Watch Ultimate are bound to make it this side of the world eventually. When it arrives, it’ll be a desirable wearable — if only because of its build quality. The Chinese brand has gone upmarket with the Ultimate’s design, meaning it’ll have more in common with luxury wristwear than the smartwatch it actually is. Is this Watch Ultimate? For starters, Huawei’s new tech is built using a zirconium alloy (which is marketed…

If you’re working in tech and don’t have some sort of mobility solution, like Acer’s new e-bike, then you’re probably still playing catch-up with the competition. Some companies, like Jeep, Xiaomi, Audi, and now Acer, reckon the future of mobility is small and on the ground. The rest? They’ve got their head in the clouds. Sure, the new Acer ebii might look like a hipster bike that’s collided with a security camera but that’s a headlight and not a lens. Look a little closer and you’ll notice that there are a few unusual design choices for this urban transportation alternative.…

Microsoft’s been on a roll when it comes to rolling out new features. There’s a brand-new one out there, called Loop, and it’s available for you to try out. Well, you and a bunch of the people you work with. Sorry, collaborate with. Collaboration software isn’t anything new for Microsoft. The company’s been building those features into its Office stable for ages, with OneDrive holding the whole thing together. But Loop is supposed to unify everything so you don’t have to hop between programs. It’s like any number of other collaborative software suites, except that Microsoft made it. Also, there’s…

Netflix has added a few impressive mobile titles to its stable of free games available to its subscribers just in the first couple of months of this year. The Ninja Turtles, Lara Croft, and a couple of complete newcomers have all made the grade. That’s just the start of the platform’s ambitions for this year (and the next). Highwater, announced for the platform in February this year, launches on Netflix this month, but there’s far more to come. The streaming service has another 40 game launches planned for the rest of 2023, though it hasn’t yet revealed what all of…

They say you should dress for the job you want but NASA makes it really hard to get your hands on an authentic space suit. Hopefully, the newly-unveiled look for the astronauts about to embark on the Artemis III mission — scheduled for December 2025 — means that there will be some older gear for collectors. Why? No… no reason. The space agency this week unveiled the new space suit, which is being made by Axiom Space. The colour you’re looking at here won’t actually be used by astronauts. That shade was developed by Esther Marquis, the costume designer for…

Generative AI — products like ChatGPT and Meta’s own LLaMA — is the newest technology race. Google, the world’s most popular internet search provider (and also Undisputed Mobile OS Champion), is, for once, a little behind the pack. But it’s got ideas on how to catch up. The internet giant’s plans are, at heart, exactly the same as everyone else’s: jam artificial intelligence in there somewhere. Unlike GM’s plan to stick ChatGPT in cars, Google’s implementation should prove actually useful. Provided you’re a Workspace customer and when the company gets around to releasing it. Just Google AI it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DaJVZBXETE Google’s…

Firefly Aerospace has been in the works for a couple of years now. It launched an unsuccessful rocket in 2021 followed by a more effective launch last year. Now, the company is branching out, thanks to a new NASA contract. Rather than just orbital insertions, the company has been contracted to drop a lunar lander or two on the far side of the Moon’s surface. The newly awarded NASA contract is worth a little over R2 billion (roughly $112 million) and called for the delivery of “…two agency payloads, as well as communication and data relay satellite for lunar orbit”.…

Last year Facebook and Instagram gave their users the ability to share the surely-still-valuable NFTs they own with the rest of the world via Meta’s platforms. This year… it’s being deemphasised in favour of 2023’s sexiest tech gold rush. The company hasn’t put it that way, of course. Meta’s commerce and fintech head Stephane Kasriel explains that the company is “…looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus.” NFTs are forever temporary In more practical terms, this means that Meta is “…winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and…

If you bought one of Gizzu’s 300Wh or 500Wh power stations after 1 November 2022, there’s a chance that your device is subject to a voluntary recall. South African distributor Syntech made the announcement, explaining that it has received reports that some devices — specifically the GPS300 and GPS500 Power Stations — are at risk for overheating while charging. Get back to Gizzu Following reports over the last few days, the company said, Syntech immediately contacted its global manufacturing partner, who initiated an investigation, which confirmed a temporary battery manufacturing flaw may have affected a small number of units in…