Author: Brett Venter

Google might be the eventual downfall of all humanity but when the smoke clears and the mist lifts, at least they did something for the kids. Specifically, they promoted literacy, in several different languages. There’s always room for one more, though. Google’s Read Along app has made the jump from the Android ecosystem to a regular web browser. The point, apparently, is to make it even more accessible to potential readers. The site remains in beta for the moment, meaning that it may change, but you can access it now if you want to. Read Along with Google The concept…

Back when LG was still making smartphones, one aspect was always on point — the audio. LG’s Tone Free series of earbuds have continued that trend. The announcement of the company’s newest addition, the Tone Free T90, shows that won’t change any time soon. The company has announced three sets of buds — there’s the T90, which will take up most of the space here, and then two fitness-focused buds. Both of these — the TF7 and TF8 buds —  fall under a new Tone Free Fit umbrella. Both use LG’s UV charging case, feature an IP67 rating (because we…

Samsung’s best smartphones are also its most expensive smartphones. It doesn’t make sense to make them the cheapest of the lot, after all. That’s poor capitalism. But devices like the Galaxy A53 5G are narrowing the gap between Samsung’s flagship devices and its mid-range lineup. The A53 stocks up on some of the S22’s best features, at less than half of the price. We’re not saying this phone has it all, because it doesn’t, but it’s packing enough to make it an attractive option for users on a budget. So much so that we can almost forgive Samsung for choosing…

South Korea has launched its first satellite to the Moon, thanks to SpaceX This whole Artemis thing seems to be catching on. Even countries without rocket programs are travelling to the moon. South Korea is the latest country to send an object to our planet’s largest satellite. Last week, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter was sent into space on a SpaceX rocket that launched from Florida. Assuming everything goes to plan, the orbiter, called Danuri, will make it to the moon in about four and a half months. Then it will circle the moon for about eleven months. It’ll collect geological…

Amazon has been on a buying spree of late. It’s not certain whether the company is looking to become the first truly dystopian megacorp. Some might argue that has already taken place. But acquiring iRobot, the company that makes the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, has to push it a rung or two further up that ladder. What Amazon plans to do with its new bauble is also doubtful. It’ll definitely fold iRobot’s tech into its range of smart products, possibly giving the world a Ring Roomba. We’re picturing an automatic vacuum cleaner that can also go and see who’s at…

Earlier this year, Meta head Mark Zuckerberg announced that NFT support was coming to Instagram. Following a test in May this year, the function is making like an Autobot and rolling out. It’s not just turning up in one or two places, either. Zuckerberg revealed, via an Instagram post, that NFTs on the platforms were heading to another 100 countries. The exact set of locations isn’t certain, but it includes “…Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and the Americas”. South Africa’s in there somewhere. Instagram’s instant NFTs Don’t expect broad-based support on Insta just yet, though. Yes, you can show off…

Apple products don’t do anything as crass as getting old. They become vintage. And, in a bid to make everyone feel old, Apple’s very first MacBook Pro featuring a Touch Bar has just hit that milestone. It’s not alone, though. A collection of other MacBook products, a pair of iMac models, and two iPad Pro versions are all now classified as vintage. This isn’t the worst thing in the world to have happen. It typically takes at least five years for an Apple product to get to this point. MacBook Pro retires, story at 11 The products newly reclassified are…

First National Bank (FNB) is all about giving its customers additional benefits. eBucks, discounts on software, rebates on massive petrol prices — it’s all designed to make you like them. The bank has a new batch of please-like-me stuff heading in customers’ direction. These new benefits are along the lines of previous offerings. The tagline for its announcement today is ‘Beyond Banking’, and signals how FNB is looking to be useful for more than just financial services. As if that wasn’t obvious before. Listening to FNB FNB has teamed up with a whole range of new services, in a bid…

Asus has been on a roll lately. The company’s spitting out laptops like a cartoon cat launching watermelon seeds. Unlike some mass producers, basically all of the company’s hardware has been excellent. The Asus Zenbook Pro 16X OLED, the latest slab of metal-encased computing performance to cross Stuff’s desk, is no exception. The Pro 16X OLED seems closely related to the company’s StudioBook ProArt 16 OLED. They’re both slanted towards the design-minded, rather than the everyday user. They can both play games, but that’s not their intended purpose. And they both feature a dial of sorts. For creative reasons, we…

While Stuff was at TymeBank’s new SME-focused update in Johannesburg today, we encountered one of its kiosks. These are designed to let potential customers open a new bank account as fast as possible. Since we’d just trooped out of a panel discussion, and the machine was free, we decided to give it a shot. Part of the company’s advertising is that it takes less than five minutes to open a new bank account. We didn’t time it, unfortunately. But we can confirm that it took longer to pay for parking in Sandton than to open the new account. Which, yes,…