Author: Brett Venter

Usually this time of the year there’s a whole lot of nothing going on, news-wise. 2019 may be something a little different. Samsung’s reported to be planning a new product announcement for yet more members of the S10 family this December. Yup, if you haven’t already jumped on the Galaxy S10 or Galaxy Note 10 train in 2019, there’s a chance it’s coming around again. Only this time, there will be a pair of Lite variants pulling the coaches. Samsung is said to be announcing a Galaxy Note 10 Lite and a Galaxy S10 Lite before year’s end and, well……

South Africa’s data prices have been found to be excessively high by the country’s Competition Commission. The short version of the Commission’s announcement, made earlier today, is that mobile service providers MTN and Vodacom have two months to drop pricing to a more appropriate level.

What’s on the menu for our December 2019 (for January 2020) giveaway? A full-sized Brother Ink Tank DCP-T510W 3-in-1 multifunction printer as well as a P-touch PT-P710BT Cube label printer, together valued at R5000

Users have been able to biometrically secure Facebook’s WhatApp messaging service for some time now, though it’s only recently that the feature has been available across the mobile ecosystem. Just Apple doesn’t count. 

No, you’re only imaging the opening notes from the Mission Impossible theme song. But yes, Facebook is indeed testing messages that delete themselves. No, it won’t turn your phone into a smoking ruin. Not for everyone. Yet.  The new feature just allows users to specify how long messages last before they erase themselves from existence. By which we mean both your phone and the phones it’s been sent to. The ability to auto-delete messages is only available in Android beta versions at the moment, though, so you won’t see it working unless you’re into the whole beta testing thing. How…

It might have lines taken from a 2000-era video game (probably this one — which is still amazing, just by the way) but that’s just going to make a certain type of person want it even more. But look under the skin of Elon Musk’s new Cybertruck and you’ll find plenty (more) to like about it. 

The best thing about the Borderlands series is that, when you buy the base game, you know there are (at least) four new bits coming later. The first for Borderlands 3, titled Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot, has been revealed and dated. You can expect the additional adventure to land from 19 December. 

Are you keen on locally-produced video games and art? Based on the response to our Boet Fighter review at least a few of you are. If you’re in the Cape Town region in early December (and you really should be — we hear it’s lovely this time of year), it’d be a plan to check out Playtopia MGA. 

It’s not that often that we get to play a South African-made video game. There are a few notable ones out there — Semblance, Stasis, Broforce and, for the truly old-school, Toxic Bunny. Boet Fighter’s attempting to muscle its way onto this list and… honestly, it can have the slot

Looks as though Huawei and the American government are still working things out. Why don’t they think of the kids? You know, the folks who just want working Android on a smartphone with very high-end hardware? But no, this drawn-out divorce continues, with the American government giving Huawei another 90 days to sell things to American companies. And giving American companies the chance to buy things from Huawei. So much for two weeks Contrary to reports yesterday, Huawei’s getting more than two weeks reprieve. Rather, it’s a full 90-day delay… again. This is the third such extension for the Chinese…