Author: Brett Venter

There’s a very specific sort of person that you’ve sometimes got to buy presents for. Permanently moving, filled with boundless energy, annoyingly attractive… there’s got to be some way to weigh those people down. Here’s a set of gift suggestions to make them even more insufferably energetic. Or you can snag some for yourself and get a jump-start on 2022. MaxFit Adjustable Dumbbells R5,750 / maxfitsa.co.za The reason you go to a gym is because there’s no space for all the kit at home. But what there was? MaxFit’s got a pair of adjustable dumbbells that switch from 2.5kg to…

For once, being a Millennial/Gen Z and therefore never being able to own a house might have its upside. Standard Bank and property company Lightstone have confirmed that LookSee, an online purchasing guide, has suffered a data breach. At risk is a considerable amount of homeowner information. Homeowner ID numbers and physical addresses were compromised, but the two businesses say that banking info is safe. Let’s have a LookSee here Standard and Lightstone said in a joint statement, “Regrettably, the initial investigations have shown that personal information of some property owners, including individual names, identity numbers, entity registration numbers, marital…

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces possible extradition to the United States, to face charges of spying, following a new ruling by a British court. The London High Court has overturned a lower court’s ruling that Assange not face extradition. The earlier court decision found that Assange’s mental health was too fragile to withstand the American court system. The Associated Press reports that this decision was discarded following assurances from the American government. WikiLeaks Watchlist Assange faces seventeen charges of espionage and one of computer misuse in the States. The US has had him in its sights for about a decade…

Announced just before Facebook became Meta, Horizon Worlds is a VR application that sticks Oculus… Facebook… Meta users into a virtual environment. We’ve already seen what it might look like with Horizon Workrooms, the boardroom equivalent, but now that Worlds is out in the er… world, we’ll probably have a better idea of what’s coming from the social media company. No more Horizon Worlds to conquer  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02kCEurWkqU Faceb– … Meta has made the Horizon Worlds app free-to-download, following an invitation-only beta earlier this year. The only catch is that you need to be an American or Canadian resident in order…

New technology takes time. At least, if it’s being created in German, where they like to get things right. Mercedes-Benz has been working on a semi-autonomous driving system for more than five years now. Now, it’s basically ready. And it’s not just German automotive engineers who say so. The automaker’s Drive Pilot semi-autonomous system has cracked the nod from the country’s Kraftfahrt Bundesamt (KBA) authority. The KBA swings a lot of weight in terms of cars on the road in Germany. Mercedes-Benz, take the wheel The KBA signed off on Merc’s Drive Pilot system based on guidelines laid out by…

Razer started out as a relatively small peripherals maker, now they’re literally everywhere. If they’re not making a Bane mask (with RGB), it’s internal components (with RGB). Or how about a handheld console? No? Then what about the Razer Phone Cooler Chroma? “What’s that?”, we hear a hypothetical but narratively-convenient voice cry? Well, suspiciously well-timed anonymous voice, it’s an attachment for your smartphone that keeps it cooler than its creators ever could. And yes, it has RGB. And MagSafe support, for the iPhone version of this overdesigned PopSocket. How do we make this Phone Cooler? See, rather than Candy Crush…

Okay, that whole Apple/super-villain thing? Has anybody checked on the tech-maker’s massive UFO-shaped building lately? Apple seems interested in having all the money — the company is in line to hit a market cap of $3 trillion. Which isn’t a small amount of money. It works out to a little over R47 trillion, which may be enough to let Tim Cook a) buy and b) completely fix South Africa, and still have change left over to buy everyone a new car. A modest car, but a new one.¹ Apple about to win capitalism The company’s share price, following a recent…

Someone better check that Tim Cook isn’t busy hollowing out a secret volcano lair. Apple is continuing its quest to be the only company you need by letting Apple Wallet users use the wallet to open their hotel doors. In a limited fashion, for now, but still. Announced earlier this year, the feature allows for hotel keys to be digitally coded to certain Apple devices. Which, obviously, will allow users to open their doors without needing an easily-lost sliver of plastic. No more getting locked naked in a hotel corridor. Whee! That happens to everyone, right? The Apple Wallet opens…

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the open-world game, along comes Ubisoft with playable NFTs. Yeah, that’s seriously about to become a thing. The French gaming giant has announced a new platform — Ubisoft Quartz — dedicated to “playable and energy-efficient NFTs in AAA games”. Which is exactly what it sounds like. The company is about to make some in-game items wholly unique. Or, rather, it’ll do this to batches of them. You can equip ’em, use ’em, sell ’em, and buy ’em. We’re getting some serious Counterstrike: Global Offensive vibes here. Want Ubisoft’s Digits?…

Before you get too excited — yes, BMW and gaming brand LVL are teaming up to create a real-life Rocket League. But no, they won’t be using actual, life-sized cars to do it. Even though that would be awesome. Instead, the motoring brand and the gaming gear creator are making something called Das Race Goal. This is a Rocket League-like esports event that uses RC cars and an arena to recreate the whole football-using-cars mechanic. BMW banging around The event will see six three-player teams navigating remote-controlled cards roaming around the BMW Welt stadium in Munich. The cars will traverse…