Author: Brett Venter

Who needs a gift guide when you’re shopping for kids? Right? If your kid is a fan of technology (or the parents are), you might be hard-pressed to come up with something that doesn’t entirely suck. Stores that stock ‘tech toys’ tend to be overpriced and a little samey. That’s why we scoured the internet for a set of great gifts that are also gadgets (and won’t suck, either). But if nothing here catches your eye, it’s worth picking up a copy of the latest issue of Stuff. Our gift guide has a matching section for kids with a whole…

There are two kinds of folks who are into sneakers. Some are keen on the look and feel and (often) the limited-edition nature of their shoes. Then some are all about the utility. Puma’s Fast-R 2 Nitro Elite, an update on the original Fast-R lineup, offers its adherents both. How? The Fast-R 2 Nitro Elite will drop a limited edition of its new high-tech running shoe before releasing a more general (and psychedelic) version in February 2024. If you’re one of those limited-edition folks, the Fast-R 2 Nitro Elite Ekiden Rush edition launches in very limited numbers tomorrow, 8 December.…

Asus occasionally exhibits scattered energy, releasing products that are aimed at an uncertain or highly specific audience. Other times, like now, its targeting system is spot-on. The Asus Vivobook Pro 15 (M6500 — the designation is for 2023) is for creative types who need power but don’t want to rely on Apple to provide it. That’s not just Asus’ assessment, though it is rather prominent in the Vivobook Pro 15’s marketing literature. The notebook itself has the stats and skills to back up its stated aim, providing a Mac-bothering machine for a fairly reasonable sum, ‘reasonable’ being a relative term…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is 2023’s buzzword but unlike last year’s technological gold rush, some actual good is coming out of this year’s crop. Microsoft’s SeeingAI app, an app designed to help those with vision issues up to and including full blindness, has just turned up on Android. The app allows a smartphone to be used as a guide of sorts. It’s not quite as smart as one of those highly-trained canines but it will speak one of eighteen different languages. Unfortunately for South Africa, only English is on the list as far as native tongues go but maybe one of…

Every year Stuff puts together a gift guide of sorts (see, told you). These are aimed at finding the perfect gift for you and your friends, family, and close associates. But people are sometimes hard to buy for. Handily, they also tend to clump together in specific groups. Folks who spend all their free time working out, getting ripped, pounding pavement? They’re the subject of this collection of products. But if the items listed in this gift guide aren’t what you need for your fitness friendlies, head on out to your nearest store — or just click elsewhere on this…

It’s just about time for us to close out another year in technology with you all. Before that milestone creeps by, in just a few brief rotations of our planet’s circumference, we’ve got one more magazine for you all. The Dec 23/Jan 24 issue of Stuff is on shelves everywhere. As is traditional at this very traditional time of year, the main event is Stuff’s annual gift guide.  There’s plenty of things harder than choosing an excellent gift for someone you’re very familiar with. Maybe it’s analysis paralysis, maybe you’re on such good terms that you’ve already given them all…

We’ve already seen what the headliner in Oppo’s Reno 10 series can do, now it’s time to check out the performance at the base level. You might ask yourself why we’re doing this in this particular order. That’s because the Oppo Reno 10 turned up in South Africa later than the 10 Pro + did. We’re not entirely sure why. As it turns out, it was a plan to wait for the stock version of Oppo’s 10 lineup and not just because it’s a much more affordable proposition. The 10 Pro + features speedy enough hardware but it was priced…

EVs have plenty to love, especially if you’re a fan of acceleration, but you only need to take a look inside the typical EV boot to see some of the design limitations. EV batteries and motors tend to take up way more space than an internal combustion engine. Hyundai and Kia have come up with the Uni Wheel concept, which they calls a universal wheel drive system, that might just help with that. Most folks are at least basically familiar with motor vehicle suspension design. Wheels are mounted away from the central body of the vehicle, with a system of…

Samsung’s Galaxy S24 is coming. It’s just a question of whether we’re getting the announcement in the last week of January or the first week of February next year. While we wait for that to be confirmed, there’s some new info about the handset lineup kicking around the internet. Mostly it’s new information about the king of the series, the Galaxy S24 Ultra. In addition to the (probable) processor news, you can expect a slight change in how the S24 Ultra looks compared to this year’s model. More specifics on how AI will be implemented are also known. There are…

Earlier this year, WhatsApp rolled out a feature called Chat Lock. That one allows you to lock your chats away behind a passcode or biometric barrier. Well, that wasn’t enough for some of you so now the service has come up with something it calls Secret Code. “Everyone has secrets” – WhatsApp, 2023 Secret Code is similar to Chat Lock in that it prevents folks from accessing certain chats. The difference is that this code (which should be kept secret, naturally) can also disappear the chats you want to keep secret entirely. This tricksy bit of the feature only reveals…