Author: Brett Venter

Generators seem like an awful lot of effort, what with set-up, maintenance and finding someplace to store the thing. If only there were some way around all of that? Owning a generator used to be all but unthinkable, unless you had a remote cabin tucked away on the Transkei coast that you visited semi-annually. Now, everyone wants one. But actually picking something from the vast array of red or blue motors-on-wheels can be an imposing task. How much is too much? How much is not enough? Do you need to buy extra bits or is everything you need in the…

Facebook, through Oculus consulting chief technology officer John Carmack, announced last month that it would unlock the Oculus Go headset’s software. The VR hardware wasn’t with us for very long, going on sale for about two years before being sent to that great big junk-heap in the sky. Only, the software update is supposed to prevent that. Will it work? Only you will be able to decide that, by loading the newly-released update to your Oculus Go and seeing what it can do when liberated from the tyranny of Facebook’s grip. Oculus Go and do something new with it Carmack’s…

Sony’s got a new member of its Alpha 7 range after announcing its new A7 IV full-frame mirrorless camera. If you’re looking to buy one, it’ll set you back at least R37,000 ($2,500) — local pricing hasn’t been revealed yet but Sony’s hardware will probably justify the cash. A7 IV in our veins In terms of design, it’s fairly similar to the Sony A7 III released at around this time last year, though it shares more of its layout with the A7S III. Internally, though, there’s a whole lot more going on. Sony has sprung for an all-new 33MP backside-illuminated…

We might be heading towards the tail end of COVID but that wasn’t about to stop Razer from releasing its Zephyr N95 mask. Originally shown off at this year’s CES, the company said that it would bring Project Hazel, as it was then known, to market sometime this year. That’s now happened. The Zephyr N95 mask went on sale last night, because on-sale times only matter if you’re an American, and then… all available stock immediately sold out. The Zephyr N95: COVID’s Bane Razer went all-out on its design, making it look like something the well-dressed class of cyber-goth might…

We should probably know by now that if Elon Musk announces a strange product, it’s probably coming to life. The latest is Giga Beer, a beer based on the Tesla brand — because associating drinking with driving makes perfect sense. Actually, it might in this case. Musk first introduced the idea of a Tesla beer while on the site of the coming German Gigafactory. Germany is known for several things but we mainly talk about its beer and its automobiles. Nobody really connects the two. It’s Germany. You’re supposed to have beer. It’s the law. Giga Beer to become reality…

Come on, how often are we going to get the chance to use ‘Florida man’ correctly in a headline? Donald Trump, former US president and declarer of multiple bankruptcies, has announced a new social media platform, TRUTH Social. Because that other thing he did was totally not the social media platform he promised, guys. Really. Florida man tries again What form TRUTH Social will eventually take isn’t known, because at the moment it’s just a landing page where potential users can register their interest and pre-order the app on Apple’s App Store. The platform will function as “…America’s “Big Tent”…

Oppo might be relatively new in South Africa, and we still don’t have access to the company’s high-end smartphones, but it’s just possible that the devices may become even more affordable than they are right now. A new report claims that the Chinese tech-maker is investigating making its own smartphone chips, joining the likes of Apple, Huawei, and Samsung in making more of its own hardware. Taking the Oppo-tunity A report out to Nikkei claims that the company is developing its own high-end smartphone processors, “…in a bid to gain control over core components and reduce its reliance on foreign…

Lego does whatever it can to appeal to as many people as possible and this new Lego Fender Stratocaster, part of the company’s user-created Idea range, certainly has the ‘appealing’ part right. Newly revealed for South Africa, this 1,074-piece set will have fans building a scaled-down version of the iconic axe, with options for either a classic red or black body, depending on whether you’re rock or metal. It launched in SA from 25 October and it’ll set you back R1,900. Yes, you need a Lego Fender Stratocaster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0YEWjpHtzQ Which is almost reasonable for what you’re getting. Rocksmiths who build…

Facebook may not be Facebook for too much longer, according to a report from The Verge. The social network has a name change incoming, according to the website, citing a source familiar with the company’s plans. Facebook will, according to “…a source with direct knowledge of the matter,” be changing its name as soon as next week. The name change will supposedly turn up on 28 October at the company’s annual Connect conference and will have a focus on the company’s so-called metaverse aims. What’s in a name, Facebook? This doesn’t mean that the social network’s initial platform will rebrand,…

Facebook is either doing awfully or it’s performing really well in the eyes of the world. But it’s what the social network gets up to behind closed doors that are worth keeping an eye on — because the company is cooking up some seriously scary tech in there. Perhaps the scariest bit about it is just how unaware Facebook appears to be of the potential of its technologies. The company recently announced its new Ego4D project, which hopes to one day teach artificial intelligence systems to see. This isn’t unusual for the company — they’re already using machine learning to…