Author: Brett Venter

A certain short-form video app (*cough*TikTok*cough*) has caused considerable issues for authors. You know, those people who write books? Amazon’s about to correct those issues or, at the very least, make it harder for authors to lose money just because people want free books. Amazon is about to change how ebook refunds on the platform work. It used to be that ebooks could be returned for a refund within seven days of purchase, no questions asked. Well, the online shopping giant’s about to start asking questions. An Amazon expedition For starters, the seven-day, no-questions-asked policy is about to go away…

Multichoice is looking to change how its business works. Satellite TV and streaming are still part of the company but there’s also plenty more coming. It’s diversified and it includes sports betting, exploration of insurance, fintech, and the security sector, and there’s a spot of education. Streama and Sky Oh, yes, and there’s hardware. Multichoice is launching a TV. Technically it’s the Sky Glass TV, which had already launched in the UK. It seems it’s coming to South Africa. It’s basically a streaming box built into a 4K TV panel that looks like a picture frame. Pricing and availability aren’t…

DStv is getting cheaper if you decide to go streaming only. DStv, according to the Multichoice product showcase today, is about to get cheaper. There is a catch, of course. You have to stream instead of getting your DStv from a satellite dish. That’s about it. A DStv discount? The price change is effective as of today. If you’re streaming and are on Premium, your price will drop from R840/m to R700/m. DStv Access customers see the streaming price for the tier drop from R120/m to R100/m. All the tiers in between also have a similar drop. Here they are.…

South Africa used to produce some very high-end military gear, like the Rooivalk attack helicopter and the MGL-40 grenade launcher. It’s been a while since something new turned up in the country and now it has. A South African company called the Paramount Group has unveiled the Mwari, a locally-made precision strike aircraft. Named for the Shona creator deity (though we’re not sure why — it seems like a fairly nice god, as gods go), the two-seater attack aircraft is designed to fill multiple military roles. It’s reportedly the first aircraft of its type to be produced in SA since…

In case you weren’t aware, last week an Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, died after being assaulted by that country’s morality police. The assault was carried out shortly after Amini was arrested for allegedly contravening Iran’s hijab law. The 22-year-old woman’s death has sparked a wave of protest in Iran. Now, Iran’s government is restricting access to the internet, including WhatsApp and Instagram. Stop them talking, that always works ⚠️ #Iran is now subject to the most severe internet restrictions since the November 2019 massacre. ▶️ Mobile networks largely shut down (MCI, Rightel, Irancell – partial) ▶️ Regional disruptions observed during…

Most women and (we’re sure) some men on the internet have horror stories about the vast quantities of dong that parades through their private messages. Instagram, and its parent company Meta, are working on a tool that’ll prevent quite so many er… tools from turning up on the platform. We’re not sure what it is about the male member (pun intended) of the species. Put some of them in the vicinity of a camera and they think that sharing grainy pictures of their schlong with everyone is okay. It isn’t. But that doesn’t seem to have stopped the sausage parade.…

This year’s Comic Con Africa is at yet another new venue, having already tackled Kyalami and Gallagher Estate in previous outings. The event, this time around, takes place at Nasrec in Johannesburg. Earlier today, Stuff got a very brief tour of the still-under-construction venue and it’s looking huge. Comic Con Africa is (mostly) go That’s mostly in terms of dimensions. When Stuff was present this morning, the venue was quite bare-bones. Most of the larger stands were in various phases of undress, but everything should be up and running by tomorrow morning. All of the smaller stands were present, though…

We’re not sure what you want an armoured Toyota Land Cruiser for, but you can have one. If you can afford it. There is a catch, though. It’s got six wheels instead of the standard four. There are also a few aftermarket customisations included that probably won’t prove very useful on the 4×4 trail. The vehicle is known as the MAX 3 Six-Wheeler and is built around the Land Cruiser 76 chassis. It even hangs on to Toyota’s 4.5l V8 turbodiesel engine. It’s almost reassuring that the vehicle’s creators SVI Engineering decided the stock components were worthy of sticking around.…

Spotify intends to be the only place you go to listen to anything. Except maybe your parents. You’ll only listen to them when you’re older and know better. In the meantime, you’ll keep telling your parents stories. Speaking of stories… Spotify has officially added an all-new feature — audiobooks. Audiobooks aren’t completely new on the platform. You’ll find them there now if you search for them, but they may not be officially sanctioned. Spotify is booking it This time around, it’s purchasable. As in, the audiobooks are purchasable. Spotify is adding some 300,000 books to the platform but listeners won’t…

One of the biggest problems with any modern games console is just how reliant they are on the internet. The Xbox lineup does it. Sony’s… historically been a little better, but it’s also prone to a few issues. Well, Microsoft’s made one little change that should have a large difference. If you’re used to running into issues with sketchy internet and Xbox One discs, they will now largely be a thing of the past. The September 2022 software for Microsoft’s consoles now largely disregards the online compatibility check when users stick a disc in. Xbox-ing match Yes, this is true…