Author: Brett Venter

Spotify has finally caught up with the rest of the world. The company announced a device called the Car Thing in April last year. It was released into the world in February 2022. And now, it’s cancelled. As far as hardware launches go, that’s extremely short-lived. The news was announced during the company’s most recent round of earnings data. The device isn’t going away, so if you happened to have bought one, it’ll continue working. But Spotify isn’t making any more — though they’ll remain on sale until existing stock is gone. What is this Car Thing? A Spotify spokesperson,…

You probably know, based on the country’s recent Eskom announcement at least, that countries often buy power from each other. You’ve perhaps also heard that Botswana has offered to sell South Africa some of its surplus. But other African neighbours might come off a little worse, according to Bloomberg. Zimbabwe currently has deals with Mozambique and Zambia, purchasing power from those countries in order to bolster its power needs. But those contracts are coming up for renewal, and South Africa is jockeying for a slice of the power on offer. Eskom goes hard That’s according to Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority…

It appears that the latest essential accessory for motoring fans is a wristwatch. BMW’s done it. So have any number of other brands. Next up is Land Rover. Land Rover Classic, a sub-brand that pays tribute to older designs from the marque, is launching a wristwatch. The new gear comes from watchmaker Elliot Brown and is known as the Elliot Brown Trophy Expedition. It’s not just turning up for the fun of it, though. It’s being launched to coincide with the new Defender Works V8 Trophy II launch. Land Rover to watch Which, if we’re being totally honest, is completely…

Cliches are trite. That said, all good things must come to an end. Facebook has reported its first-ever drop in yearly revenue in its most recent financial results. The dip isn’t much, at all, but it’s a sign of things to come for parent company Meta. The rest of the tech world probably won’t escape unscathed either. Facebook’s revenue for the second quarter of 2022 was R480 billion ($28.8 billion). That’s a drop of 1% for the company. 1% isn’t much (unless you’re part of the 99%) but it’s still the first time the social network has experienced a fall…

Soft robots are, perhaps obviously, robots built from a softer material than metal. But, as researchers from Rice University have shown, these robots can still be pretty metal. Called ‘necrotic grippers’ by the team who figured this out, researchers have turned dead spiders into robot hands. Which is, amazingly, easier than you would expect. Everyone’s seen a dead spider at some point. Provided you didn’t flambe the critter with an improvised flame-thrower, you’ll have noticed that its legs curl up against its body. It’s this property that turns it into a surprisingly capable robot hand. Necrobotic airs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JOS6hMHIUM It turns…

For South Africans, the word Huntsman brings to mind the spiders that tend to show up just before it rains. If you’re Australian, it also refers to a spider — but it’s large enough that you can count its eyes. The word also has a little something to do with space exploration. From the ground, obviously. Canon and Macquarie University have created an optical instrument called the Huntsman Telescope. It uses a collection of ten Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II super-telephoto lenses, working in unison. At the moment, you can buy these Canon EF lenses, but they’ll cost you…

Stuff has been on the Jaguar I-Pace’s trail since at least 2018. Our most recent encounter, with the Jaguar I-Pace Black, has done nothing to diminish the awe we have for this vehicle series. Everything about it is impressive. Its lines, its interior, its acceleration, and even its range is impressive now. But, unfortunately, that’s not the only thing that’s awesome. It also features an awesome (in the literal sense of the word) price. Specifically, R2.25 million in the case of the 90 kW I-Pace Black that was sent to us. That’s a little over R200,000 above the base price…

Earlier this month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that a plan to sort Eskom out was on the way. An accelerated plan, specifically, that would chart the country’s path out of load shedding. Last night, in an address to the nation, Ramaphosa detailed the steps that will be taken to keep the country’s lights on. The steps mentioned were identical to points leaked prior to the president’s speech yesterday. SA politicians were briefed by a presentation, ahead of Ramaphosa’s speech. If you were hoping for something groundbreaking and new, though, you’re in for some disappointment. Making light of Eskom…

If you’ve been paying attention to the skies, you’ll know that China recently launched its Tianhe space station module into orbit. The living section has already played host to astronauts, who moved in to get the place running. The country’s presence in space is about to get more complicated, however. Over the weekend, a China-made Long March 5b rocket took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center. It was carrying the country’s Wentian lab module, bound on a mission to Tianhe. When the two connect… well… Not so Tianhe anymore The two bits, Tianhe (heavenly river) and Wentian (quest for…

Almost every kid goes through a dinosaur-crazy phase. Well, six-year-old you would be doing backflips if they knew about this. Sotheby’s, the staid auction house, is selling a triceratops skull this week. That’s right, the entire thing. It’s not fragments that have been combined to make up a whole skull. It’s a single unit of stone and bone, excavated from the Hell Creek Formation in South Dakota. Triceratops of the charts You’re not just buying a dinosaur’s dome, though. It’s a substantial chunk of rock, weighing in at 200kg. So you’ll also get a stand along with it. It’s not…