Author: Brett Venter

And now for something completely dystopian. Discovery has launched a new service in Johannesburg that is nothing more or less than a private firefighting service. Called Fire Force, the service runs in conjunction with Advanced Emergency Management Services (Advanced EMS). Because where is Discovery going to store a fire truck? It’s not something that you just sign up for. The medical insurer offers the service to Discovery Insure customers who live within a specific radius of Johannesburg. It doesn’t seem like qualifying Insure customers need to do anything except phone the relevant phone number if a fire happens. Quite the…

If the only thing stopping you from jumping on the Apple bandwagon was having to buy it from the iStore, then things have changed. Nedbank’s Avo app now has Apple products on its platforms. It’s easier to buy, since, being backed by a bank, Avo knows just what you can afford. The month of June sees the launch of the popular American brands’ products on the platform, so of course there are discounts. There are three main deals — One for iPad, one for MacBook, and one for the iPhone 13 Pro Max. All three are bundles and all three…

M-Pesa is an African payment solution that has done awfully well on an international stage. The service is spreading its wings a little further, partnering with credit giant Visa for something a little more… global. Visa and M-Pesa have come together to create a new virtual bank card. That’s not really a novelty — loads of banks offer one now. This one, called the M-Pesa Global Pay Visa Virtual card, will facilitate payments to retailers all around the world. Making M-Pesa matter more The idea behind the virtual card is…. well, capitalism. It’ll give users access to more than 100…

Of all the places you thought might supply you with Apple products, Nedbank’s Avo app perhaps wasn’t at the front of the line. And yet, here we are. Avo, the South African bank’s so-called super app, has been appointed an official Apple Authorised Reseller. This means that it’s possible to purchase everything from Macs and iPads to iPhones, as well as all the ancillary bits that go along with them, via Nedbank’s app. A toast to Avo Apple’s products will appear on the Avo app from today and are available over 24-month contracts. Nedbank also says that June will see…

Just how cheap does a tablet have to be before it qualifies as a budget tablet? You could opt for something around the R1,200 to R2,500 mark, but then you’re facing spotty software support and it might run videos on its sub-standard screen. Maybe. If you install VLC on it and run your files locally. No, for our money, a budget tablet is any that comes in under R10,000. Of course, the more you get for the least amount of money is the factor that we tend to pay attention to. We’ve collected a decent little batch of locally-available hardware,…

Are you one of those technological Luddites still using the TweetDeck app for Mac? Well, we hope you’re comfortable with change. You’re about to be dragged into the future that Twitter wants when the app is shut down on 1 July 2022. Which is fair enough. Twitter acquired the platform in 2011 before systematically shutting it down, piece by piece. The mobile versions went away in 2013. The Windows version was dispersed in 2016. The Mac was the final stronghold for the Tweetdeck app, and now that too is falling. Bon voyage, TweetDeck We’re saying goodbye to TweetDeck for the…

Once upon a time, the tablet occupied a very strange niche. It was cool, but you weren’t really sure what to do with one. Then streaming came along, and tablets had a serious use, basically built in. But that wasn’t enough for manufacturers. The advent of the high-end tablet meant that these devices could actually threaten laptops for versatility. We’re not quite there, despite what Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung really want you to think. But we’re awfully bloody close to a situation where you can use a single device to go from work to play to load shedding. And the…

If you’re anything like most of South Africa, you’re looking around at ways to save money. Fuel prices aren’t making that easy, but they’re not quite as bad as they could have been. That’s because the South African government has chosen to extend the country’s tax break until August. Sort of. Because of government intervention, the inland petrol price increase, as of today, is ‘only’ R2.43/litre for both 93 and 95 octane fuel. Diesel climbs by about R1.10/litre. This isn’t the bloodbath we were expecting, but it still means that a litre of fuel costs motorists around R24 per litre.…

There are TV screens, and there are TV screens. If you feel like the one thing your home is missing is its own cinema, then perhaps TCL’s new C735 TV will appeal. The brand has just dropped the new, gigantic 4K TV in South Africa. If you want one, which is entirely possible (assuming you have space), it’ll set you back R100,000. And yes, before you ask, the C735 supports HDMI 2.1 and 120Hz. You know, just in case you’re mad enough to hook a console up to this thing and attempt to play games online. You don’t have to.…

Once again, we are asking you to check out a new issue of Stuff Magazine. In the June-July 2022 issue, we’re doing something no sensible person should be thinking about right now. We’re heading outside. Which is fair enough. What with gas prices being what they are and electricity being kinda optional in South Africa, it’s about as cold inside our homes as it is outside. So why not make the most of it and go hiking, camping, or cycling? That’s the idea, anyway. Maybe, though… maybe just avoid the mountains while you’re doing these things. It is getting awfully…