Author: Brett Venter

The idea of Starlink, SpaceX’s internet access beamed down from space, is quite an interesting one. We know for sure that the service will be launching in South Africa at some point, but there’s first the matter of coverage to sort out. Well, that problem might just about to over. Starlink company president Gwynne Shotwel said earlier this week that global coverage could be in place by September this year. That’s… faster than we were expecting. Starlink out of reach? Nah Shotwel said, reports Reuters, “We’ve successfully deployed 1,800 or so satellites and once all those satellites reach their operational…

Tide, if you’re a South African internet user, was last seen in 2018 during something called the Tide Pod Challenge. The company is back now, though, with something far more awesome and something considerably less stupid — a partnership with NASA to create the first laundry detergents designed for space. The Tide is turning (to space) Seriously. It’s not all 3D-printed human organs and travelling to other celestial bodies, NASA’s also putting money behind doing chores on the International Space Station. And, admittedly, on longer space missions. Currently, International Space Station (ISS) astronauts wear their clothing over and over again…

Welcome to the new capitalist hell-scape. Facebook, arbiter of reality and holder of information (which it then hands over to those with the money for it), has decided that WhatsApp could use a few new features. Not features that will make communication better, though. That would make far too much sense. No, Facebook is expanding the rollout of Shops to the messaging app, because capitalism demands that you’re always thinking of buying something at every point in time. Facebook finds new ways to Zuck Shops, in case you’ve forgotten, are online stores hosted on the social media platform. In a…

SMS spam is almost (almost!) as annoying as spam phone calls that are immediately followed by some robotic voice attempting to sell you something or tell you they need you help to locate John Connor or something. WASPA, the South African Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association, has a new tool that might help with that. Ant-Man and the WASPA It doesn’t have a fancy name, it’s just called the Numbering Lookup Tool and it’s available online. If you want to work out which company is constantly sending you spam messages, all you need to do is head over to the…

Despite how we feel about Mobile World Congress taking place in person this year, it’s happening. And Samsung, as always, has a bunch of stuff to show off at the event. We’re expecting smartphones, obviously, but that’s what we always get at MWC. Also on the cards? The company’s new smartwatch ecosystem, the marriage between its Tizen OS and Google’s Android Wear. What ever will Samsung Wear?  The South Korean tech maker revealed its new Wear OS at this year’s Google IO event, but it’s at Samsung’s virtual MWC briefing that we’re going to get a deeper dive into what…

Last week we saw that Facebook was starting to test adverts inside various VR apps. One of those (and the only one mentioned by name) was Blaston, a paid-for VR game made by Resolution Games. Only… they’re not going to be participating any more. It turns out, people don’t really take kindly to advertising being added to a product they have paid for. Customers seem a little resistant to being milked for more with absolutely zero additional value being offered. Who could have possibly seen this coming? Perhaps… anyone who has tried this before, like, say, Electronic Arts? Facing off…

Facebook said they were looking at about a mid-year launch and that’s just what we’ve gotten. Or, rather, they’ve gotten. Live Audio Rooms, the social network’s Clubhouse-like clone that will see users hosting live audio chats with up to 50 speakers, is now rolling out. But there’s a caveat here — the feature’s only rolling out in the States for the moment and then only on the iOS version of Facebook’s app. Live Audio Rooms — not for everyone (yet) There are a few more restrictions in place for the Clubhouse clone, to boot. It’s only available to public figures…

Space exploration continues to get a boost in 2021. NASA’s Artemis mission, the agency’s return to the lunar surface, is perhaps the most exciting — despite how intriguing the various Mars missions are — because it’ll be sending actual astronauts to another chunk of rock. But while we’re used to seeing rockets blasting off, we don’t spend a whole lot of time checking out what happens beforehand. That changes now. Artemis rising https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sjn5jDpDjg NASA has shared a 360° video of the construction of one of its Space Launch System (SLS) rockets, which are intended to take human beings to the…

NASA’s Hubble telescope is getting a little old, but it’s still running. Or, rather, it was. The ageing space hardware, the Associated Press reports, is currently not doing any work thanks to computer issues. Which, you know, aren’t nearly as simple as correcting the problem here on the ground. The system broke down on 13 June and NASA have been attempting to resurrect it ever since. Hubble trouble The problem is with a computer memory module. And not what you’re picturing in your head — Hubble’s computer hardware was constructed in the 1980s, which is a long time for a…

Vigilante is the new malware on the block, targets those who pirate software It's usually the case that malware, no matter where you encounter it, has no redeeming qualities at all. Not so with a recently-discovered variant, dubbed Vigilante by the folks over at Sophos. As the name suggests, it's got its eye on more