Author: Brett Venter

If, like some Facebook users, you’ve opted not to turn on two-factor authentication for your Facebook account because you’re concerned about what the social network will do with your phone number, we’ve got some good news for you. Securing the thing you use to keep up with your family (or potential romantic partners) no longer requires that you give up your digits to do so. Facebook has allowed for two-factor authentication without needing to turn over your phone number. Perhaps you just don’t like the idea of anyone having your number, perhaps you just don’t trust Facebook as much as…

Acer, at an event in New York yesterday, revealed the devices that we can expect to see from the company for the next few months. Leading the pack, in performance as well as (probable) pricing is Acer’s new high-end Intel-toting gaming notebook flagship, the Predator Helios 500. An evolution of the Predator Helios 300 which launched last year — yes, even here in South Africa — the Predator Helios 500 represents Acer’s shot across the bow of the gaming notebook market. It also puts us in mind, design-wise, of the Predator 21X — minus the gimmicky curve and (hopefully) minus…

A small minority of gamers took exception to Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII’s decision to do away with the traditional single-player campaign in order to try something a little different. Those players can instead look to Battlefield V if they’re feeling a gaping void that only a single-player section in a largely multiplayer game can fill — EA and DICE are keeping their campaign in for 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb1MR85XFOc Tell Me A Story Little is actually known about Battlefield V’s single-player, but it will be set in World War II — the era that DICE have opted for this year.…

Another day, another bundle of information leaked out onto the internet. The latest is the personal information of some 934,000 South African drivers, who could potentially have had their data compromised after it was found on a publicly-accessible web server. According to website iAfrikan, which has been working with haveibeenpwned founder and security expert Troy Hunt, some 934,000 South African drivers have had personal data, including but not limited to names, surnames, phone numbers and email addresses, ID numbers, and plaintext passwords exposed on an unprotected web server. Outstanding fine information was also left open for viewing. iAfrikan explained that…

Nintendo’s Switch console was a huge hit last year, turning out to be impressive enough to take away Stuff’s coveted Gadget of the Year 2017 award at this year’s awards ceremony. The console is good. It’s very good. But, and it almost hurts to say this, it could be better. But that’s only because there’s an impressive lot of extras out one year on, a collection of essential peripherals are on the market, and other sometimes-overlooked bits are available which will enhance your enjoyment. The trick is finding all of these add-ons but don’t fret — we’ve done all of…

Oh man, this was one of the roughest competitions Stuff has run in a long, long time. We’ve never wanted to give everybody the prize more than we wanted to today. Just like a deca-Highlander, though, there can be only ten. In the shape of five sets of double tickets to Solo: A Star Wars Story, that is. No swords (or light sabers) are involved. And those five sets of tickets have now got homes. Five winners and five partners will be joining the Stuff team (and friends) for a pre-release screening of Solo: A Star Wars Story ahead of…

Remember how your parents told you you’d never get rich playing video games? Feel free to send them this link and a GIF of Nelson from The Simpsons. Epic Games, the studio behind Fortnite Battle Royale, is going to be putting up a lot of cash for the upcoming esports season of the battle royale title. How much cash? A cool $100 million, a number so high that we’re not even going to bother to translate it into rands. The cash is going to be for funding Fortnite prize pools for the upcoming 2018-2019 competitive season but the developer hasn’t…

The Sonic the Hedgehog fandom is one of the most maligned on the internet (look up some Sonic OC, if you’re feeling edgy) but even they deserve something nice now and again. Puma has a little gift for them, and regular sneaker fans who just happen to have some Sega nostalgia, in the shape of two pairs of Sonic-themed sneakers: the  RS-0 Sonic and the RS-0 Dr. Eggman. The Sonic the Hedgehog influence is blindingly obvious, particularly in the RS-0 Sonic. The blue is inspired by the video game character, while the trim is based around the iconic Green Hill Zone…

And now, a drone made from… pizza? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TuGYxr2UQk We’ve seen a lot of drones in the last few years but this one takes the cake. Actually, it takes the pizza, since that’s what the aerial vehicle has been constructed from. And before you ask, yes, it can actually fly. If you’ve got about 11 minutes on hand you can watch the whole process that went into making the drone (right down to shopping for the ingredients) but if you’re just after the important bits, jump straight to the 5:00 mark. If you’re really impatient, head on over to the 8:00…

You’re familiar with 4K video, but there are already moves towards 12K — as this stunning footage of New York City, shot by a helicopter, shows. The video is the creation of cinematographer Phil Holland, who used a helicopter and a very impressive camera rig to get his shoot on. The New York flyover was done with a rig called the Shotover K1 Hammerhead, a chopper-mounted setup that incorporates three RED Weapon Monstro 8K VistaVision cameras. Each camera comes to about $80,000 (a little over R1 million), making this a very pricy camera arrangement indeed. But first, the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN3uF3990Q0 The money spent…