Author: Brett Venter

The internet used to be a wild and lawless place, where the only people running around on it were those who knew how it worked. Advertisers hadn’t caught on to this thing (except for that horrible bugger who taught the world how pop-ups worked) and most regular people were slightly… mystified by the whole thing. Well, what do you expect from a world that needed Rachel and Chandler from Friends to explain to them how Windows 95 worked? When last did you need an introduction to the internet? The internet is ubiquitous. Unless you’re part of an uncontacted tribe with…

It was just a few months back that DStv announced its Explora Ultra, which combines DStv’s traditional services with the ability to integrate various streaming services in a single box. Another service has just hit the box — Amazon Prime Video is now available on the Explora Ultra. Exploring the Amazon Prime Video Multichoice CEO Nyiko Shiburi said “We are excited to add Amazon Prime Video to the DStv Explora Ultra’s pot of exceptional content. This opportunity unlocks access to more quality global content for our customers and is another way to access Amazon Prime Video content, whilst complementing DStv’s…

In a future we’ve only glimpsed in video games about improbably-excellent pilots, Boeing has completed a successful test of its in-flight refuelling drone, the MQ-25. The tanker drone is intended to replace human pilots when it comes to topping up military aircraft in the air. Making the MQ-25 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTPYhxpKDJ0&feature=emb_logo Boeing doesn’t quite have a fully-functional in-flight refuelling assistant yet, though. The T1 test drone has completed its first flight with the aerial fuelling pod, hose and basket (known as the ARS or aerial refuelling store) that will — eventually — qualify it to refuel planes in mid-air. Which, if you’ve…

Left your Festive shopping late again? In this issue, Stuff takes the stress out of choosing gifts In case it’s not obvious from a mere glance at our cover, this year’s most sought-after tech gift is either Sony’s PlayStation 5 or Microsoft’s Xbox Series X. The problem with that is that everybody knows this, leading to hardware shortages both at home and abroad. But that doesn’t mean the new crop of consoles will stop being desirable long into the new year. Even if you can’t lay your hands on a PS5 or Xbox Series X before the December present-deadline, you’re…

It’s always nice to give something away, especially at the end of the year. It makes us feel a little like Santa Claus, except it’s summer in South Africa and there’s no way we’re doing the red suit and facial hair. Anyway, back to the point — we had two Huawei P40 smartphones to give away to two lucky winners this month, thanks to Huawei and Petal Search, and the time has come to reveal who they are. Or has it? Yes, yes, if you want to find out who won, then just skip on down to the bottom of…

Last month there were reports that Boston Dynamics, they of the interesting robotics tech, was due to be sold off to auto-maker Hyundai for an undisclosed sum. It’s not undisclosed anymore. According to the Korea Economic Daily, the company has reached a deal with Boston Robotics owner SoftBank that will see the tech company change hands for $921 million (1 trillion won). The report, from earlier this week, claimed that the deal would be finalised as of 10 December 2020. Hyundai’s new robot cars? What the vehicle manufacturer might do with its shiny new robotics company isn’t known but the…

Some people really, really love their classic cars and, honestly, it’s not hard to see why. But it’s getting harder and harder to repair and maintain them and, also, it’s more difficult to remain environmentally responsible while doing so. But Zero Labs, a EV outfit in Los Angles, California, might have the answer you’ve been looking for. If, that is, you’re okay with getting rid of the whole ‘runs on gas’ part of your classic car. And by ‘classic’, Zero Labs means vehicles that were built before 1975. And by ‘getting rid of’, we mean ‘converting to a completely electric…

Samsung makes great TV sets, even if they’re a little stand-offish about OLED because they’d probably have to get those panels from LG. One of Samsung’s sets is the monster known as The Wall, a 146in 4K television that’ll occupy… well, a wall. But, at almost four metres across, it’s a little hard to install into your home. Well, it’s about to get a little easier. Getting over The Wall The Wall’s big deal wasn’t just its humongous size — it also used MicroLED, a technology similar to OLED in that its inorganic pixels can turn on and off independently,…

Lenovo has been working on the X1 Fold, its first folding PC (yes, we know that a regular laptop also folds) for some time now. The device first pitched up in 2019 (when it was called the X1 Family) before launching earlier this year. And, now, it’s coming to South Africa. In 2021. Counting the cost of the X1 Fold We’ve gone over Lenovo’s first folding PC quite extensively since its announcement but if you need a refresher course, the device looks an awful lot like the folding smartphones that have been so popular of late. Except when it is…

MTN has launched new Combo Bundles for South Africa’s pre-paid users, combining data and airtime in a single payment. What’s more, Combo Bundles can be purchased in monthly, weekly, or daily packages. MTN your wallet If you want to go big, you can snag yourself 90GB of data and 800 minutes of talk time from the network for R999 — that’ll be valid for a month. That’s split up into 30GB Anytime, 30GB Night, 30GB Video and 800 all-network minutes. If you’ve got anything left over and you happen to buy another, smaller package, the leftover data will roll over…