Author: Brett Venter

Distressing signs for South Africa’s petrol price in June this year has loomed for some time now. The situation appears even more dire than it seemed to be two weeks ago. Then, it looked as though South African motorists could be paying at least R3.00 more per litre of petrol in June. Unfortunately, it seems this prediction was a little too optimistic. Currently, the petrol price increase appears to be sitting at R2.25 a litre. But that’s not the end of it. Petrol price pain pending The current petrol under-recovery sum of R2.25/litre doesn’t account for the government-mandated tax break.…

The headline should have told you everything you need to know — Eskom load shedding is sticking around for the rest of the week. The State-owned power utility is having trouble keeping the lights on during the current cold snap. Eskom is continuing its trend of not load shedding during the day if it can help it. Can’t have you sitting around doing nothing on company time, after all. That just won’t do — there’s capitalism in thar hills, and you’ve been nominated to dig it out. Then, you can go home and sit in the darkness. Everybody… wins? What…

Apple’s iPhones last so long that losing support for one is always noteworthy. WhatsApp, the world’s most popular messaging app, is about to do just that. A few iPhone models are outright losing support for the app, while others will require a software update. The folks from WABetaInfo have found a warning message from the app, saying that WhatsApp won’t be supported on iOS 10 and iOS 11 devices after 24 October this year. That’s plenty of notice, if you’re using an older phone and have yet to update to iOS 12 or better. WhatsApp with upgrades Now, generally, this…

Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule hasn’t had the greatest time of it. Its initial orbital test didn’t end particularly well, and its second was called off at the last second. Boeing’s third try at sending its capsule on an unmanned run to the International Space Station (ISS), though… That’s turned out okay. Starliner launched last night on top of an Atlas V, one of the United Launch Alliance’s rockets. The launch was supposed to demonstrate the viability of yet another crew capsule, to compete with SpaceX’s Crew Dragon. Starliner’s starring role The first time Boeing’s craft launched into space, a series…

If you’re old enough to remember a certain film starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Spacey, you’ll know the words ‘What’s in the box?’. Netflix has decided that kids need that experience, only with far less trauma. Instead of Gywneth Paltrow (which is a scary thing to find inside any container), kids using the streaming service on their accounts will find a new show inside a so-called mystery box. Netflix is rolling out the feature as a stand-in for the ‘Play Something’ function for those who have trouble deciding what to watch. The Netflix mystery In a bid to…

South Africans know the pain of booking a driver’s license test in this country. First, you line up for ages in the cold. Then you line up for ages to get an eye test, even if you already paid for one. Then you link up for ages in order to complete the bloody booking. It’s the middle step that might get a tad simpler, if transport minister Fikile Mbalula is to be believed. Mbalula says that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) is tidying up an agreement with the Health Professions Council of South Africa that will let South Africans…

We last heard talk of South Africa’s venture into the world of digital currency in March this year. Then, the idea of a digital Rand was being explored, as a way to improve international banking for SA. Now, a new interview with South African Reserve Bank (SARB) deputy governor Kuben Naidoo gives a possible timeline. Naidoo, speaking in an interview with Reuters, suggests that a digital Rand will turn up, but that it is still a few years out. Government regulation of cryptocurrency assets, on the other hand, might turn up in the next nine to fifteen months. That’s not…

If you’ve ever looked for work, you’ll know that the roughest bit tends to be the interview. Google’s new AI system might be able to help there. Called Interview Warmup, this AI is designed to assist Google Career Certificate candidates to get a job. But, with a little imagination, it could be useful to everyone else too. The concept behind it is simple. Interview Warmup responds to spoken and written answers, using some of Google’s tech for the latter. If you’ve ever come across an AI chatbot in the wild, you’ll know how it works. Only this one won’t turn…

Disney+ has only just launched in South Africa, but there’s already something waiting in the not-too-far-off future. In addition to the current pricing (R120/m or R1,200/year), there’s an ad-supported tier inbound for the service. This means, yes, there’s a version of Disney+ coming which will show ads. Turns out, it’s not going to be quite the awful experience you might think. Ads will be limited to just minutes each hour, according to several reports. Disney+ advertising Advertising on Disney’s platform will, according to various sources, be limited to just four minutes of ads an hour. That’s a pretty low number,…

It seems that subscriptions are finally coming to WhatsApp. WhatsApp Premium is the name, perhaps obviously, but you can leave your pearls alone. For the moment. The subscription version of the world’s most popular messaging isn’t for you. Probably. WhatsApp Premium is intended for WhatsApp Business users, according to the folks over at WABetaInfo. Since they typically know what’s going on in the app before Meta does, we’re inclined to believe them. The point of WhatsApp Premium The ‘feature’ is a way for owner Meta to monetise the app a little. It’s still in development but will see Business users…