Author: Brett Venter

Unless you’ve been hiding in a monastery without WiFi the last six months, you know that the world is a very different place than it was in 2019. And 2020 was supposed to be everyone’s good year. No matter, part of this new situation is having to cope with new things — something South Africa’s busy getting a handle on. SA’s Department of Health has launched a new SMS and WhatsApp service aimed at making info around COVID-19 a little easier to manage. What’s it do? COVIDConnect is a fairly simple contact tracing system for South African users. It’ll be…

This seems to be a theme for the impending launch of Microsoft hardware in this country but Apple… may have to keep an eye on its market share. Case in point, the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, which is a direct competitor to the Apple MacBook Pro. At present we know they’re similarly priced at the bottom end of the scale but it’s at the top end that Apple tends to get carried away. Microsoft, depending on how much power (at a cheaper price) it can offer users, might steal some of Apple’s lunch. We’re fine with that. Apple’s dominance in…

We’ve already taken a look at the Crosscall Core-T4 rugged 8in tablet, which is aimed at industry here in South Africa, but there’s also a pair of smartphones incoming from the French company. These are the Crosscall Core-X4 and its smaller companion, the Core-M4. No, the M4 doesn’t go faster. Both handsets are constructed with toughness in mind, with IP68 support being common across the range. Basically, it’ll take a while (30 minutes at two metres) for the ocean to destroy your device. But the ocean destroys everything, eventually. Both are MIL-STD-810 tested, and both can handle temperatures between -25° to…

You know what we don’t see enough of? Tablets. Everyone knows that Samsung and Apple have offerings, there are a bunch of discount options from all over the place but if it’s not a big name, people don’t really pay attention. Perhaps Crosscall, with its new Core-T4 rugged tablet, will be able to make you change your mind about that. Going hard First off, the Crosscall Core-T4 is an 8in tablet, with a 1,280 x 800 resolution. It packs a 7,000mAh battery, made up of two 3,500Mah batteries working in tandem. Load shedding probably won’t surprise you too hard with…

It used to be that the most exciting (and expensive) tablet you could buy in South Africa was Apple’s iPad Pro series. That’s mostly changed, as of yesterday, as Microsoft has announced that it’ll have Surface hardware in stores before month’s end. We’ve been waiting for a long time to lay hands on Microsoft’s Surface kit so now’s a great time to take a first look at the Surface Pro 7, one of the two devices landing on our shores this July. The other, of course, being the Surface Laptop 3, which we’ll get to soon enough. Design: What exactly…

We’ve all been super-keen on officially having Microsoft Surface products in South Africa… well, since they were first announced. At long last, we’ve gotten our wish. Microsoft’s made good on its May 2020 announcement and has announced the launch of the Surface range in South Africa — starting with the Surface Pro 7 and the Surface Laptop 3, which’ll be available in both 13.5in and 15in sizes. Yes, this means you can now buy Surface products in South Africa and you don’t have fuss around with importers and ship your kit overseas if something goes wrong with it. Instead you’ll…

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that everyone from Google to Apple are tracking you, with mobile apps in particular being a large contributor to tracking activity currently taking place. Some people don’t like that, as Google parent company Alphabet has found after being hit with its second lawsuit concerning smartphone tracking. “Allegedly” The lawsuit, filed in the States on behalf of a small collection of individuals by law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, claims that Google’s apps continue tracking users, even when said users have taken the steps Google says will prevent tracking. Specifically, the complaint says, “Even when consumers…

It seems that a few months cannot pass without some company or another reporting that login data has been stolen from their care. Those details, which comprise email addresses, usernames and passwords, among other personally-identifying info, have to end up somewhere. And that somewhere is the dark web, where they’re being sold. And the number of login details up for sale is not insubstantial. Cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows says that, according to the company’s research, there are more than 15 billion logins for sale, the product of more than 100,000 data breaches. Of these, some five billion are unique. But…

The night is dark and full of terrors when Eskom turns the lights out, but you can still keep yourself busy with a little planning. Stuff watched the wall so you don’t have to. Ready Player One No matter what you’re planning to do when the power’s gone, it doesn’t make sense to sort it out after the fact. Snag Eskom Se Push (Free, Android, iOS) or another load-shedding tracker so you know when the blackout’s coming. Then, when you’re on schedule, make sure all your devices are fully charged, your downloads are done, and all updates are installed before…

What are you going to do about it,” Eskom cried. “Make your own damn power?!” “Yes,” the country replied. “We’ll install generators!” Here’s how you can join the revolution while keeping the home fires er… burning Deja vu Remember, in 2008 when load shedding first turned up and we thought it was done and dusted? Remember, in 2015, when it came back and we were all surprised? Remember how, in 2019, load shedding rocked up again? If it does go away (again), suspiciously close to a national election (or a pandemic, as it happens), you can be assured that load…