Author: Brett Venter

How large does a TV set have to be before a company gives away a free 98-inch (that’s not a typo) TV alongside it. About as large as the TCL X955, an absolutely gigantic 115-inch QD-Mini LED set from the Chinese tech maker. For once, you don’t have to look at this one from afar (though you can, the screen is massive). It’s here. It’ll also cost R400,000 to install one of these sets in your home but there are at least two problems with this quite aside from funding the thing. First of all, you need to figure out…

It’s been a brief minute since we last heard about Huawei’s motoring aims. In that time, the Chinese company launched Qiankun, a new software brand aimed at the motoring industry. The software covers interactions between a vehicle’s chassis, the driver’s seat, and the audio system. It’ll integrate with, presumably, any vehicles willing to license the tech. There may be a fair number of these cars. Huawei has serious plans to distribute it everywhere it can. Qiankun in their boots The company’s Jin Yuzhi, head of Huawei’s Intelligent Automotive Solution unit, said at an event ahead of the Beijing Motor Show,…

Apple’s next event is almost here, according to a recent invitation. The company intends to “Let Loose”, whatever that means. There are some suspicions about what the company has in store, and these involve the iPad. Or, rather, a bunch of them. Typically Apple’s event announcements are packed with hints and this one is no exception. The ‘Let Loose’ tagline suggests users will unleash whatever creativity they might possess, while the colourful icon (above) features a hand wielding a stylus over stylised pages. Unless the company plans to release a Wacom drawing tablet competitor, we’re probably looking at iPads and…

What, you thought the metaverse had gone away? Not if Meta and company head Mark Zuckerberg have anything to say about it. The social media giant has just licensed its Horizon OS software to several hardware manufacturers, possibly ensuring that every brand has a semi-affordable virtual reality headset in their lineups. The idea is a rather smart one on Meta’s part. Sure, the Quest series of headsets are fun to play with but the company doesn’t quite have the hardware reputation other brands can boast. Having new headsets compatible with Meta’s infrastructure (and global domination aims) could mean good things…

German surfer (we know, right?), Sebastian Steudtner, backed by the folks from Porsche Engineering, is the current world record holder for the largest wave ever surfed. Most folks, if asked who the world record holder for the largest wave ever surfed is, would guess a Hawaiian native holds the title. Laird Hamilton would be a great guess¹. Not so. At least, not officially. That record, set in Nazaré, Portugal in 2020, stands at 86.4 feet (26.21 metres). A new record has been set, though it still needs to be officially confirmed. The February 2024 record, according to Porsche Engineering’s drone…

Lockdown… sucked. But there was a brief period, right at the beginning, when everyone was making bread and feeling generally optimistic (before the mental health damage started kicking in) when it was kinda awesome. Netflix and online gaming were the main staples. The Lenovo LOQ 16APH8, a sleek gaming notebook from the Chinese brand, offers you the opportunity to recapture some of those feelings, even if you have to do it in between trips to the office on the daily. Now that we’re done contorting the Lenovo LOQ 16APH8’s name for the sake of a slightly catchy headline, this really…

When a technology is relatively new, new versions of something really have an impact. Yesterday we saw that Boston Dynamics’ Atlas was being retired. At the time, we noted that the company was being specific about the “hydraulic” version of the robot being put out to pasture. Well, guess what? There’s a new Atlas in town and while we’ve seen less than a minute of what it can do, it’s still mildly terrifying. It’s not just because the humanoid robot has an articulated head now, either (but that’s not helping). No, it’s the mobility improvements that really sell the whole…

If you were one of those folks who purchased a Starlink unit from one of the few African countries where the service is allowed, you’re likely to have an unpleasant time in the next few weeks. The company has sent an email to users based in Africa informing them that their service is about to be limited. “If you are operating your Starlink Kit in an area other than areas designated as ‘Available’ on the Starlink Availability Map, we would like to remind you that this is in violation of the Starlink Terms,” reads part of the email sent to affected…

Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot has gone, in the space of just eleven short years, from a tethered, lab-bound bipedal robot to a leaping, jumping robotic wonder. But now, the humanoid construct’s work is done. The announcement was made via the company’s YouTube page in a final video giving the HD Atlas robotic platform a fitting sendoff. The short video (below) includes footage from the early days of the robot’s development, as well as some of the abuse it was put through over the years. Atlas rising https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9EM5_VFlt8 According to the video’s description, “For almost a decade, Atlas has sparked our…

Budget technology is an often daunting ocean to wade in. There are loads of poisonous fish in that school and experience is a bitter teacher. Choosing something from a known brand, like the Packard Bell Barrichello-C, would seem to be the smarter choice. Wouldn’t it? Based on our experience with the company’s other Celeron-based machine, the McLaren C1, the answer seems to be an obvious ‘yes’. But life isn’t that simple. There are some obvious upgrades here over the 11.6in notebook from the same family but there are also additional drawbacks. Let’s see what both of those are. Shade of…