Author: Brett Venter

SpaceX, following a series of delays, finally got to test its SN11 Starship prototype out after the last one crashed-and-burned on landing at the beginning of this month. SN10 experienced an issue on impact that ignited the rocket just after it touched down. SN11, however… we’re not really sure what happened to SN11. The test took place on a foggy day and while it made its 10km height, it experienced issues on descent that were visually concealed by the fog. It was fine as it entered the fog, then it was blown to bits in a manner we can’t explain.…

Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) will still be taking place this year but, in deference to the fact that it’s not a grand idea to gather in numbers, it’s all going to be online. Which means that the event will once again be free to all Apple developers (and anyone else viewing the stream on YouTube — like Stuff). What to do at WWDC There is some speculation that the company will be unveiling its AR or VR tech at the event, based mostly on the teaser image above. Which isn’t out of the question — Apple has used…

We’ve long known that South Africa is able to compete on an international stage. In everything from the arts to tech to scholastic achievement, SA has the potential to take on the best the world has to offer and this is no different. A team of Curro Academy students has taken second place in the Imagine Cup Junior Virtual Artificial Intelligence Hackathon, Girls Edition 2021. That’s a long title but it’s a large competition so we’ll give them the grandiosity. The Microsoft- and UNSECO-backed competition sees student teams from the ages of thirteen to eighteen competing against schools from other…

Niantic Labs, the minds behind Pokémon Go, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, and, prior to all that, Ingress, are specialists in augmented reality games. About the only thing that could make their efforts better would be the introduction of an easily-accessible pair of AR glasses. The concept is cool, but the execution could use a little work. Or could it…? A nod to Niantic Labs https://twitter.com/johnhanke/status/1376624749787242499? Company CEO John Hanke (who we’re trying mightily not to refer to as Mr. Hanke, and failing miserably) tweeted something appropriately cryptic last night. He mentions new devices that leverage the company’s platform, and shows…

We saw Xiaomi’s Mi 11 in early February this year, and the company’s Mi 11 Ultra leaked a little later that same month. The handset has officially broken cover now, and the leaks were completely accurate — the 11 Ultra sports a huge camera bump, with an OLED display contained inside. And also hugely improved camera specs over its older (but smaller) sibling. The Mi 11 already includes a not-to-be-sneezed-at 108MP main sensor, 13MP ultrawide and 5MP telephoto/macro lens with a range of nifty software features to maximise its potential, but the Mi 11 Ultra… yeah. Maxing the Mi 11…

We’re used to robotics outfit Boston Dynamics doing interesting things in the field of robotic movement but its newest creation, Stretch, is a little less inclined to sprint around the yard. Instead, the box-shaped robot arm is designed to navigate warehouses and load or offload pallets. You know, the work we used to use people for. Stretch goals It looks a little like the sort of robot arm you might find in a particularly advanced assembly line but Stretch is a little more technological even than that. The robot’s base is  exactly the same size as a pallet, and it…

If you’re a really rabid Apple fan, you might want to lay hands on this Leica prototype camera designed by Jony Ive and industrial designer Marc Newson. The camera is set to go on auction in June this year, where it’s expected to fetch between R3.5 million and R4.4 million (€200,000 to €250,000). How much do you Leica this one? The camera is described as a “…beautifully sculptured aluminium body with a matching Apo-Summicron 2/50 mm ASPH. lens”, though since it’s the prototype, its condition is listed as B+. We’d imagine that there was some wear and tear in this…

Amazon is the largest online retailer in the western world and is a legitimate powerhouse in the business and political worlds in the State. But the company is in for a rough time, not least of which is a pending lawsuit that alleges that the company has not been giving its workers mandated meal breaks during the workday. Even worse, the lawyers involved in the suit, first filed in February this year in California, are pushing to have it scaled up to class-action status. Endangered Amazon? One Lovenia Scott, who used to work at the company’s Vacaville, California warehouse, first…

If you want to show off what your shiny new EV can do, there are worse ways than to put on a little music, stick your car on some ice and slide it around while a drone films you. That’s the tack chosen by the Drake GTE, an EV built by two rich silicon valley types, Dean Drako and Shiv Sikand. You do you, Drako GTE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ezn0mqta5g The GTE, named after Dean Drako, was made because the company’s founders couldn’t find an electric vehicle that they actually wanted to buy. So, since they had the money to just make the…

Didi Chuxing is a service that you’ll more likely come to know as DiDi as it broadens its reach into South Africa. The Chinese ride-hailing service has just opened for business in Cape Town, following a pilot launch in the city of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) earlier this month. Get out of the lab, DiDi! Like current entrants Uber and Bolt, DiDi aims to get you into cars that you summon via a smartphone app. The Gqueberha pilot, which launched in 1 March this year, saw more than 2,000 drivers sign up and more than 20,000 passengers make use of the…