Author: Brett Venter

Every car maker has that one vehicle that is spoken of in awe. Ford has the Mustang. Audi has the R8. Toyota has the Supra. Datsun has the 240Z. Nissan has the GT-R, a ride that has featured in more than a few movies and games that involve massive speakers and neon lights. The last on this list is heading back to markets with a little something extra — hybrid capabilities. That’s according to Nissan North America’s planning head, Ponz Pandikuthira, speaking to The Drive. The R36 GT-R wasn’t completely unknown, but Pandikuthira shared details about the expected timeline and…

Star Wars is responsible for the most visually recognisable villain in movie fiction, so it’s understandable why the original Sith Lord is still everywhere. Soon, Darth Vader could take up space on your desk, doing what he was always meant to: guarding your AirPods. You’ll have to be quick, though. The folks from Casetify, looking to capitalise on upcoming May the Fourth social media posts, have announced a new set of limited edition branded gear surrounding Star Wars, with the standout being… well, Anakin Skywalker’s head. The AirPods stand you’re looking for Big deal, right? It’s a bit of plastic,…

The upcoming Sigma BF (R47,000, body only) looks to be a ripping camera in terms of pure performance, but there’s more going on than just that lovely machined unibody and 24.6MP full-frame BSI CMOS sensor. For starters, the camera’s controls are sporting a unique (for now) bit of tech. Called Haptivity and developed by Japanese company Kyocera, the innovation provides the BF with “proprietary tactile technology that replicates realistic touch sensations”. Apple fans will be familiar with the Taptic Engine. This is a similar take, appearing first in Sigma’s upcoming shooter. Sigma BF grindset Haptivity has been used for the…

Skyworth might be another name on retail shelves wherever TVs are sold in South Africa, but in China the global brand is a superstar. It makes sense that the company’s largest announcements are reserved for its home turf. The latest from the screen maker comes via the China Import and Export Fair, otherwise known as the Canton Fair. A new display technology, the OmniView Matte Screen, claims to verge on (or possibly equal, but that’s Skyworth’s marketing team’s boast) OLED performance despite being based around a microLED panel. Skyworth looking into? The company says that its new matte screen tech…

You know that dystopian vision of deserted streets with drones blaring out messages warning you to stay in your home? DJI’s new Zenmuse V1 speaker accessory for drones has made it a purchasable-at-retail possibility. Not that you’re likely to buy one of these, unless you’ve got a DJI Matrice 350 RTK and Matrice 300 RTK drone lying around. The speaker is aimed at enterprise customers — the sorts of people who use investor or taxpayer money to fly buzzing aircraft around for various purposes. No tranquillity from Zenmuse V1 Combine the Zenmuse V1 with DJI’s new vehicle-launching system, and you’ve…

Chinese researchers have published a paper on Nature Machine Intelligence outlining a project that lets blind users navigate the world more effectively. The wearable device, or collection of them, processes multiple inputs via an AI algorithm and generates prompts that tell the wearer what’s coming up. Researchers from Fudan University, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, East China Normal University, and a few others, led by Gu Leilei of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, created the device specifically for the blind but, in testing, found that its effects improved navigation for both humanoid robots and the seeing impaired. Wearable…

Are you a South African app developer working… well, anywhere in the world? We want to hear from you. Stuff’s annual App Awards is currently accepting entries from local companies and independent developers across a range of business and entertainment categories. Do you have what it takes to push out the competition? The entry process is simple — fill out the form below and consider yourself entered. We’ll handle the rest of it. At the end of the process is… well, an award. We’re not about to tell you what to do with it once you’ve got it but we’re…

Artificial intelligence that remembers interactions is an idea whose time has come. OpenAI is doing it, and soon WhatsApp will too. Not the Meta-owned messaging platform specifically, but the embedded Meta AI that we’re certain every one of the billions of users is availing themselves of. Right? The feature turned up in a recent Android beta of the popular messaging app (version 2.25.11.13, specifically), after it was sighted in an earlier version of WhatsApp. It was sighted, in both instances, by WABetaInfo. Remember WhatsApp? Unlike ChatGPT’s overarching memory, Meta’s implementation will be more targeted. Rather than keeping a database of…

Some folks reckon dolphins are as smart as humans. We reckon they’re smarter. They get to spend all day at the ocean. DolphinGemma, a new AI project from the friendlier depths of the rotting husk of Google, hopes to settle the question once and for all. How? By asking the dolphins, obviously. Researchers haven’t considered what to do if it turns out these aquatic mammals are colossal liars, but DolphinGemma could let us find out what they’re saying — even if it isn’t true. Decoding DolphinGemma  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8GdEVVvXyE If it were earlier in April, we’d suspect that this AI project was…

Some of Samsung’s coolest devices are things we just don’t get here. Case in point: The company’s new Galaxy XCover 7 Pro and Tab Active 5 Pro rugged devices. The toughened pair contain features we haven’t seen since relatively early in the smartphone days. The features? The ability to remove the backplate and swap out the battery. The ‘backward’ step makes sense in the context of Samsung’s target market. These are field devices intended to be used where power may not be reliably available. Eliminating the need for a recharge delay also means more efficiency for whoever uses them. Construction…