Author: Brett Venter

The worst thing about leaving home, with the network that every piece of tech (and our pants) has the password to, is getting to your destination and having to find parking. Say what you like about SA but we really didn’t think this whole parking-spaces thing through properly. BMW might be taking care of that little issue though, via a new software tool set to find its way into future models of the German car lineup. The system, called On-Street Park, is the creation of a company called INRIX and you can think of it as a sort of probability…

First National Bank has been rumoured to be getting into the MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) space for some time and now there is confirmation of a sort. MyBroadband has snagged some details about the upcoming launch, including pricing for packages including Prepaid, TopUp, Contract and Flexi options. FNB will be entering the mobile airtime world through their FNB Connect arm, according to the report. SIM cards have reportedly arrived in the hands of some users, who have said that the service will kick off from 1 July this year. It seems that FNB plans to piggy-back on Cell C’s…

We’ve seen something very like the Protag Duet before. And I’m being quite literal about that. The Protag Duet could be cousins with the Chipolo Bluetooth finder-thingy, for a variety of reasons. They both come in a selection of interesting colours. They’re both Bluetooth finder-thingies and they both connect to your phone using an app. Finally, they were both crowdfunded – the Chipolo got its start via Kickstarter in 2013, the Protag’s origin tale happened on IndieGoGo circa 2014. See? Cousins. One is prettier The Duet is a rounded square section of thin plastic that comes with a small tether…

Computex is home to some extremely interesting tech reveals but there are some stranger revelations in store than just a new smartphone, wristband or tablet. Those are still cool though but not many things are cooler than this… even if it’s a tad pointless. Don’t get us wrong. The H-Tower, the result of a collaboration between ASUS’ Republic of Gamers label and a company called In Win, is impressive. Push a button and the sides of your desktop PC tower split apart, eventually raising the internal components into a position where they can be easily worked on, swapped out and…

It’s almost time for one of those annual events that we all look forward to, even if we’re not going to admit it to ourselves. 8 June is Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), an outing that has more than just developers looking in to see what is coming next from the America-based fruit company. As is conventional there’s been speculation about what Apple is going to be revealing, brought on by leaks, prescient analysts, and sometimes just plain old wishful thinking. Here’s what we reckon you’re going to see from Apple’s event next week. iOS 9 – Because it’s not…

PC gamer? Strategy fan? Then 2K have got something for you. 2K have announced the official sequel to 2012’s XCOM: Enemy Unknown, which is a very different proposition to the Enemy Within expansion pack that followed. XCOM 2, currently in development with Firaxis Games, takes place some twenty years after the events of Enemy Unknown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E_-2wIJIzQ All has not gone as well as you might have thought. The aliens have won and have taken over Earth as part of the Advent government. Players will resume the role of XCOM Commander but instead of having the backing of the planet against…

The Core Group, local purveyors of all things Apple, have announced what it will cost you to get your hands on one of Apple’s new 15-inch MacBook Pro units (with Force Touch included) or that massive-screened 5K iMac. There are two versions of the Retina MacBook with Force Touch, divided by their storage options. You can pick up a 256GB edition for just shy of R30,000, which the 512GB SSD option will set you back around R37,000. As for the new iMac, there’s only one variant on the way. It features that 27-inch 5K display, 3.3GHz Core i5 Intel silicon…

It’s official, Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 will be making its way into your life before the end of July this year. The updated operating system will be landing on 29 July, as an upgrade for existing Windows 7 and 8.1 users on PC and tablet. The launch is set to be global, which means that South African users can get in on it as well, and you’ll be able to reserve your upgrade copy a little ahead of time. Just how far ahead isn’t known but it will entail going to Microsoft’s website (or registering through your existing…

Unveiled at this year’s Computex event amid a collection of other devices was ASUS’ smartwatch sequel, the ZenWatch 2. The Android Wear device is taking a couple of cues from Apple by appearing in a variety of sizes and with a selection of straps, giving you a bunch of custom options to choose from. The ZenWatch 2 will be available with 49mm (with a 22mm strap) and 45mm casings (with an 18mm strap) – similar to Apple’s available size variations. Straps will come in rubber, leather or stainless steel, while colour options for the casings are a choice between Silver,…

As far back as November last year we were hearing that GoPro was considering releasing a drone of their very own. It made sense, since the company’s cameras are frequently used mounted on DJI Phantoms and Parrot drones for photography purposes. Speaking at Re/Code’s Code Conference, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman has confirmed that a quadcopter is on the way from the company. Specifics are thin on the ground, with no specs or pricing for the flying accessory being made available but GoPro is planning on releasing their very own drone in the first half of 2016. Launching alongside it will be…