Author: Brett Venter

Electrical power, as most South Africans know, is not something you should take for granted. It can be turned off with the flick of a switch, leaving you with melted ice cream and warm beer at a time when you really need both of those things. So you might be a little concerned that we’re increasingly starting to use electricity to power cars. So’s Scania, the Swedish truck-maker. So much so that they’re testing whether putting solar cells on its trailers will help make plug-in hybrid trucks more efficient. (Spoiler: it will.) Powered by light They’re not looking for massive…

Though this month is normally dedicated (on the internet, at least) to the annual skeleton war, every few years we redo that whole Battle of Koom Valley Sony versus Microsoft/PlayStation versus Xbox thing. There’s not quite the level of animosity and fanboyish in evidence in previous generations, because gaming’s come a long way since then, but there’s still… conflict. Rivalry. A little friendly banter, as each side, insists that it has the superior product. But there’s always a winner in every argument and it may not be who you’re expecting it to be. Welcome to reality Microsoft’s Xbox Series X…

We’ve seen VR in all its many forms. We’ve seen the shenanigans Facebook’s getting up to since it bought up the most high-profile VR company in existence. We’ve even tried out a couple versions of it. But nothing has us more excited about the future of VR than Virtuix and its upcoming Omni One onmidirectional treadmill, which has been made with home use in mind. A walk in the park? Virtuix is no stranger to Stuff. We’ve been aware of the company’s tech since the very first crowdfunding program in 2013 to its use at NASA’s JPL. From there, the…

YouTube has long had various funds in place, to fund its creators and produce better content for the service, while also uplifting its users. One of those funds is the Black Voices Fund, an initiative that launched this year with $100 million in backing from YouTube. And YouTube has just announced that it’s now available to South African artists as well. Granted, it’s pretty cool Black creators in the States, Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria and now South Africa are all eligible for funding. No other countries will be added to the multi-year initiative before years-end, it seems, but we’d expect a…

Have you ever looked at a tech company and thought, ‘Damn, I wish I’d invested in that’? Well stop, because unless you’ve invented time-travel, it’s never going to happen that way. Besides, your first stop is to warn everyone about 2020, and possibly travel to 2016 to help defeat Biff Tannen in the US elections. But it’s still possible to own bits of high-end tech companies now, and FNB’s giving South Africans their crack at it. What’s more, it may not cost all that much. Trust me, I know what I’m doing FNB is offering its customers (and people it…

South Africans love many things — sports, biltong, cooking meat over fire, beer, South Africa… and those are just the dudes. But perhaps none of these is as venerated at the bakkie, a useful vehicle whether you’re transporting garden refuse, large amounts of groceries, actual farm animals, construction materials or… anything you can fit in the back, really. The point is, South Africa loves its bakkies and, of those, there is none more iconic than the Toyota Hilux. Which is a handy way to introduce the fact that Toyota’s just dropped pricing for its new range. What does a workhorse…

Sony announced its new Alpha-series camera with the A7S III in September this year. It is a video-focused mirrorless thats to take over the vlogging world (there’s a lot of that about). But, in the finest tradition of the late Billy Mays, “But WAIT, there’s more!” The Sony A7C, a full-frame mirrorless from the Japanese company, hopes to redefine what you think of when you hear the word ‘compact’. Making light of it Sony claims that the A7C is the smallest and lightest camera of its type (full-frame mirrorless, in case you forgot) in the world and at 124 x…

It’s that time of year again… again. Apple split its event this year, unveiling the new Apple Watch Series 6 and revamped tablets last month. We’ve been waiting on news on the smartphone front and it’s finally here. 13 October is the day we’ll finally get to see the new iPhone 12. Speed 2 There’s an official invitation and everything, giving the time and date for the event. It’s also got a tagline which should tell us a little about what Apple’s got in store. The tagline this year is ‘Hi, Speed’ which likely refers to a few things. The…

Need for Speed, as a series, has been around since 1994. Out of the many games the series has fielded, a few stand out. Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, Need for Speed Underground (1 & 2 — remasters please, EA. Thank you), Need for Speed: Most Wanted and then Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Both of them — the PS1-era original and the 2010 version were fantastic titles. But there can be only one and it’s the Criterion-made Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit that’s back. Well, it will be back, in just a few short weeks.  A good year for…

It may upset you to learn that some people make money destroying phones on camera. One of the best of these, a chap who goes by JerryRigEverything, took on Samsung’s Galaxy Fold back when the upgraded version of the phone was launched. The results… weren’t pretty. Well, friend Jerry is back to try and do the same to Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 2. By jamming some sand into the thing. Well, trying to. Expect the unexpected https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYQ7A6wjH5Q&feature=emb_logo JerryRigEverything (the chap’s name is Zack Nelson, in case you were wondering) took the Fold 2 and subjected it to quite the torture test…