Author: Brett Venter

Picture this: You’ve had a terrible week and just want to go home. But before you can, you have to hit a staff meeting where smiling is mandatory. Sounds awful? That’s what we thought. But that’s more or less what the staff at Canon Information Technology in China have to deal with. The camera company’s Chinese subsidiary has installed biometric access cameras, powered, by AI, that require that workers smile before they proceed. The company makes the devices themselves, likely an offshoot of its commercial camera products, and they probably think making their staff smile to get into the building…

We’re supposed to be keeping away from others (seriously folks, it’s a good idea). Jacaranda FM, together with Tracker, are launching Mzansi Quest, an online experience that’s supposed to be about getting together while staying apart. Part social network, part VR experience, part R50,000 giveaway, Mzansi Quest is a cute little world where participants can get together, chat, and explorer several South African provinces. We went on an Mzansi Quest The experience, which will be available on tablets, smartphones and web browsers — plus any VR hardware you might have available, launches officially on 21 June this year but we…

Self-driving cars, while a cool idea, are still a long way off. Flying cars are another thing the future promised us and the Airspeeder M3, a craft created by an Australian company called Alauda Racing, might bring us a little closer to that goal. On the airborne track, that is. You see, the the aircraft (and it is an aircraft) takes a little something from drones and from Formula One cars in order to create the M3, a rather dangerous-looking piece of equipment that will apparently form the basis for a new race series called EXA. Earth to Airspeeder M3…

It’s no secret that nothing is going even remotely back to normal until South Africa manages to get its population vaccinated. Health specialist Discovery has been trying to help with that, throwing loads of effort at finishing up South Africa’s second batch of vaccines — for those over the age of 60. In a message to its members, the medical aid provider (among other things) outlined how the vaccination process was going and how they intend to scale up the pace of stabbing people with tiny needles. Obviously, it’s fine when they do it. Quite the Discovery If you’ve got…

Camera brand Leica seems to have developed a taste for smartphones, thanks to its various camera partnerships, leading it to launch the Leitz Phone 1 — the company’s very first branded smartphone. But the handset itself might look a little familiar. That’d be because you’ve probably seen it before, it’s also known as Sharp’s Aquos 6. You also can’t have the Leitz Phone 1 And, like the Sharp Aquos 6, you’re probably never going to own one. The rebadged handset (Leica isn’t trying to hide that, at all) will be sold exclusively through Softbank in Japan. Unless you’re planning a…

We keep on saying this but the point keeps being driven home: China has its eye on space in a big way. The latest — the country’s Tianhe space station core is set to receive its first three astronauts, thanks to the successful launch of one of China’s Long March 2F rockets on 16 July. The rocket took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center yesterday, its Shenzhou-12 capsule carrying astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo into space. They will spend three months onboard Tianhe, which forms the basis for the country’s ambitious Tiangong space station. Tianhe steps…

Back when Microsoft first announced Windows 10, it called the operating system “the last version of Windows.” That may have come back to bite them a little bit, as the company is widely expected to announce a completely new version of the operating system later this month. While still a rumour, the expiration date that was put on Windows 10 Pro and Home is awfully suggestive. Windows to another time You don’t have to panic just yet, however. There’s still some time — a few years, in fact. The current operating system’s retirement date has been set for 14 October…

Facebook seems like a scary company sometimes but then they go and do something like this and totally confirm it. TextStyleBrush is a new AI function the social network has been working on, in between attempting to build a mind-reading interface and hollowing out Mark’s volcano lair teaching robots to teach themselves to navigate. TextStyleBrush is rather clever This invention is a little less world-ending, though, unless it manages to convincingly forge a letter from Kim Jong Un to an American president — but that would never happen, would it? No, Facebook’s TextStyleBrush is just an AI that uses just…

The world’s semiconductor chip shortage isn’t going away any time soon but, while it may be kicking several industries (beyond just chip manufacturers) in the nards, there’s another consequence of the shortage now rearing its ugly little head: counterfeit hardware. Which, if you consider the cigarette black market in South Africa during our hard lockdown in 2020, probably shouldn’t be that surprising. If there’s a product in demand, someone’s going to rebadge something inferior and try and pass it off as the real deal. Because money. No shortage of chip shortage chancers The biggest issue for industries is getting hold…

Like the iPhone, a new Apple Watch turns up every year. But the Apple Watch Series 7 (they’re not about to change the naming convention) will be something a little different, according to reports. Even so, the really exciting stuff from Apple’s wearable tech is only supposed to show up later than 2021. Watch Series 7 this space This year’s Apple Watch iteration will have all of the standard upgrades, according to Bloomberg. Expect an updated display, which might include even thinner bezels. A new lamination technique may be used, “…that brings the display closer to the front cover”, but…