Author: Brett Venter

LG is the latest tech company to jump on the shoe-care bandwagon. We suspect it isn’t the largest wagon, but the company’s new Styler ShoeCare and ShoeCase, introduced at this year’s IFA conference in Berlin, might increase its floor space a little. Sneakers are such a lucrative purchase that shopping giant eBay invested in a way to 3D scan them for sale on the platform. But few tech companies offer ways to keep sneakerheads happy in their own homes. No, those Back to the Future kicks don’t count. Developing some Styler LG’s new Styler ShoeCare is something a little different.…

Last night, at an event held in Steyn City in Johannesburg, BMW took the wraps off its new 7 Series and i7 sedans. Also in attendance were the company’s new X7 SUV and a rather stylish-looking 8 Series convertible. Stuff only had eyes for the pair of sevens on display, however. Both vehicle lineups share a spot of design language. The distinctive front grille in particular has undergone an evolution, with some inspiration coming from… gaming keyboards? That’s not far off, as it happens. Most of the company’s luxury lineup features LED lighting around the iconic kidney grille. But it’s…

Another day, another streaming service launched in South Africa. Actually, that doesn’t happen all that often. Universal+, a new streaming service comprising content from Universal’s TV and movie arms, Dreamworks, Telemundo, and E!, is launching in South Africa on 14 October. Kinda. Universal+ isn’t very There’s a catch. There’s always a catch. See, you can access Universal+ in South Africa, and everywhere else in Africa, provided you’re a DStv subscriber. There doesn’t seem to be any way to sign up for it any other way. Viewing takes place via the DStv app or an Explora decoder. “DStv subscribers will be…

Humanity’s return to the moon starts with a single rocket journey. Artemis 1 was supposed to blast off earlier this week, on 29 August. That launch was scrubbed partway into the launch window. It has since been rescheduled. According to NASA, the new launch window for the first Artemis mission opens on 3 September, at 14:17 EDT. Here in South Africa, that’s 20:17 on Saturday morning. If you’re just getting up, or getting home, it’s the perfect time to tune into the live stream. Artemis rising The launch window for the mission is still two hours. Liftoff will hopefully take…

The company formerly known as Facebook, Meta, has plans afoot to create paid-for features for its most popular platforms. Those platforms, in case you’re not aware, are Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This information comes via Meta’s vice president of monetisation (they have one of those), John Hegeman. Speaking in an interview with The Verge, Hegeman confirmed that the company is exploring new ways to charge its user base for access to some features. Changing the Meta Hegeman’s interview followed The Verge receiving an internal memo discussing the establishment of a group within Meta to investigate “possible paid features”. “I think…

Folding smartphones are the up-and-coming thing. Flexible notebooks, like the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold, are something else entirely. Based on our brief time with Asus’ computational oddity so far, we can see the attraction. But, on the other hand, it also feels a little gimmicky. This might be unfair, and it’s something we’re keeping in mind. Samsung’s original Fold smartphone felt much the same when it launched. In more ways than one, but we’ll get to that shortly. We’ve spent a couple of hours in the company of the Zenbook 17 Fold so far. Initial impressions are that it’s a…

Earlier this month, Meta rolled out support for NFTs to Instagram users around the world. And there was much rejoicing. Now, the same thing goes for users who want to show off those NFTs on Facebook. According to the company, NFT owners who have connected their wallets on either Facebook or Instagram can now proudly display them on both platforms. As usual, it’s mostly avoiding using the term NFT. Instead, users are receiving “…the ability to post digital collectables that they own across both Facebook and Instagram”. See? Totally different thing. Does anyone like my NFTs? You can now post…

Streaming service Netflix doesn’t see a future in just remaining a streaming platform. That’s why the company has bought up a studio and released a game or two. It doesn’t appear to be gaining the traction Netflix would like, but that isn’t slowing anything down. The company is testing out so-called “game handles”, otherwise known as gamertags. If you’ve ever owned an Xbox, PlayStation, or PC, a gamertag is the (usually) pseudonymous title you’re known by when playing a game online. Generally, these have some deeper meaning, refer to a cannabis habit, or are auto-generated. Either way, Netflix is trialling…

Vodacom isn’t just a mobile service provider anymore. The rise of the super-app has spawned services like VodaLend, a financial service that offers South Africans unsecured loans (among other functions). Now there’s something more: VodaLend Cash Advance. It’s a little like Vodacom’s Airtime Advance feature, which lets you take a little extra airtime with the promise to pay it back later. Only, the stakes are a little higher here. But just a little. Cash advances are for between R50 and R500 a pop, so it won’t fund a wild weekend that unfortunately doesn’t kill you before you have to pay…

Streaming app Netflix has, years after promising it would never include ads, almost completed the job of including ads. The company’s new ad-supported tier, as it stands, offers several drawbacks beyond just including ads. Turns out, there’s a fresh one of those. Netflix isn’t looking to lose even the slightest amount of money with its ‘Netflix with ads’ version. In addition to taking money from advertisers, the platform intends to take money from subscribers. It’ll take less… but it’s still asking for some cash to use its service. Maybe chill a bit, Netflix According to the folks over at Bloomberg,…