Author: Brett Venter

Now that all those lovely public holidays have finished, it’s the perfect time for load shedding to come back. Because the average person tends to be more upset when it’s cutting into their time than the boss’ time. Hence, you’re far less likely to cause physical harm to one of the politicians who allowed things to get this far. Caution: Load shedding ahead South Africa can expect the lights to go out starting from 17h00 this evening. Eskom said that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented as a result of “…a shortage of generation capacity”. This is being blamed…

They make laptops for everything these days. If you’re editing video, there’s a specific machine. If you’re playing games, there are a host of options. And if you’re just after something within your price range, chances are you’re covered. Badly, but covered. And then there’s the office machine. Asus’ entry into this category is the ExpertBook B9, a visually understated notebook with a considerable amount tucked under the hood. The Asus ExpertBook B9400 might be a slightly older notebook, but it still has it where it counts. From its slim, light chassis to the good-enough 14in display to the 11th-gen…

Early next month Meta, the company that used to be called Facebook, is opening a new store. Unusually for the online-focused company, its very first Meta Store will be a physical place. One where shoppers can go inside and test out all manner of the tech designed to keep them as online as possible. The Meta Store will officially open on 9 May, at the company’s campus in Burlingame, California. Sarcasm aside, it’s not that different from the experience stores operated by everyone from Samsung to LG to Apple. That’s very… Meta Expect three main product lineups on showup. The…

There are many, many, many reasons you might want to stay inside, to borrow a term from Commandant Eric Lassard. It’s cold, or wet, or raining, or part of your usual route has fallen into a sinkhole. All of these are possibilities for South African cyclists. For the days when you just don’t wanna, cycling trainers make it possible for you to get the cardio in without needing to don your sunglasses. Maybe it’s just a way to trick your brain into thinking you’re playing a video game. Cycling trainers are, essentially, stationary bikes that operate in front of the…

Showmax, South Africa’s first home-grown streaming service, catches a little flack because it caps out at 720p. We’re still expecting a 4K announcement (any day now, guys), but in the meantime… the service has gone in the other direction. By which we mean there’s a new Max Data Saving mode available for its iOS app. The feature, which amounts to about 50MB of usage in an average hour, will launch on Android soon as well. The Showmax must go on There are already two different data-saving modes for Showmax’s app. There’s Low (300MB/hr) and Data Saving (100MB/hr), which use far…

A lot can change in three weeks. At the beginning of this month, Elon Musk was Twitter’s largest shareholder. A few days later, he was looking to take over the entire thing. This led to all sorts of worries and speculation, almost none of which has proved to be correct. So far. Today? Today, Elon Musk has succeeded in his bid to take over Twitter. The final sum for the platform is $44 billion, or a little short of R700 billion. That’s less than twice the amount of money Eskom owes to… everyone. Elon Musk wins? So what’s going to…

Whether you agree with hustle culture or not, it’s becoming more essential. Working for just one place… just doesn’t cut it, unless you’re a CEO or a tech billionaire. This means, in part, becoming your own boss. Part of that includes collecting what you’re owed. It’s fairly simple when you’re working with South African companies (sometimes). But when you’re working overseas, PayPal might just be your best friend. And that’s because it’s easy to sign up. It’s even easy to get paid — just give out the relevant email address and your employer can dump cash into your account. The…

Unless you’re taking an internet sabbatical, you’re aware that Disney+ is launching in South Africa from 18 May this year. There are already some pretty tempting specials on the way. The Mouse Company doubtless has a few other methods to try and grab your attention. One of those ways involves DStv. DStv parent Multichoice has announced that Disney’s new service will be available via DStv’s Explora decoder come 18 May. It seems that there’s some additional benefit to purchasing your Disney+ subscription this way. Disney+ a DStv subscription If you’re not opting to subscribe via Disney directly and are planning…

Vodacom is chucking aside its British roots to team up with a South African football team. The goal? To provide funeral cover to South African families. And maybe to drum up a little local support for the Orlando Pirates. The two South African entities are launching a product called Orlando Pirates Funeral Cover. The service is backed by Vodacom Life Assurance Company and is open to anyone (who downloads the Orlando Pirates Official App). Vodacom acts as a defender Cover starts from R60/m, but this scales based on how extensive you want your funeral cover. The group offers cover for…

South Africa’s petrol price is a little like democracy. All of the choices are awful, but you must pick something or it all comes to a grinding halt. Just recently the country saw a minor price increase that was kept from being horrendous by a temporary tax holiday. Now, according to the latest data from the Central Energy Fund, we can expect a little relief at the petrol pump in May. But only at the petrol pump. If you’re the sort who needs to stop at the diesel pump, you can expect a further increase instead. Because, just like in…