Author: Brett Venter

Vodacom is really taking its whole ‘super app’ concept seriously. VodaLend Compare is the newest feature to launch on the VodaPay app. An online version of the new service coming later. In the meantime, though, Vodacom users can venture deeper into the company’s ecosystem and look for unsecured personal loans. On their phones. Even though the product is made by Vodacom Financial Services, VodaLend Compare doesn’t actually mean you’re borrowing money from the company. The clue is in the name. The feature makes it easy to compare loan options, involving just three steps to more debt. Nothing VodaLend Compares to…

It’s been said again and again. Eventually, Apple is expected to stop being a dick about it and move from Lightning (which only the company uses) to USB-C (which everyone is using). Well, strap in for another prediction of the future. Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reckons the change is coming. But not this year. Instead, you can look out for Apple devices to start featuring USB-C ports from 2023. Which isn’t all that far away, if you think about it. Still, that does mean at least one more set of iPhones with Lightning ports. Sailing the USB-C (1/2) My…

Following weeks of rumours and leaks, the Sonos Ray is finally official. The audio brand’s newest soundbar, as it turns out, was more or less entirely pre-empted by eager people on the internet. Still, here’s the official word on the brand’s most compact soundbar to date. For starters, a global launch is just weeks away. And since ‘global’ includes South Africa, 7 June is when we (and everyone else) get access to the Sonos Ray. The price? R6,500 here at home. We’re not too concerned with the price in Azerbaijan or America or those far-flung places. Sonos Ray of sunshine…

Just when you thought it was safe to go back onto the internet, along comes another data breach. This time it’s South African pharmacy group Dis-Chem. The group has posted a notice detailing what it currently knows about a recent hack. To start with, more than 3.6 million customers have been affected. 3,687,881, to be precise. And any time there’s a number this accurate, things are either really confirmed, or really made up. In this case, it’s the former. Pity, that. Dis-Chem database dumped The good news is that the information scooped up by whoever was wandering around in Dis-Chem’s…

Checkers Sixty60 may have started us all off during lockdown but everyone else is gradually catching up — with varying degrees of success. Massmart retailer Game is the latest traditional real-world store to ramp up its online offerings, in a bid to stay competitive. That means heading to the Game website, the URL of which hasn’t changed at all, to see what’s new. It’s more than just a redesign, too. There are actual tangible changes on hand, but some are a little limited right now. Make a Game of it Some of these changes are things that… really should have…

We got lucky over the past few months, but there’s no guarantee that luck will hold. South Africa’s fuel price had fallen, a little, kinda, over April and May. April’s dip was thanks to a little tax holiday handed out by SA’s government. Even then, the price of petrol increased a little. In May, the (small) dip was a result of that same holiday. Well, folks, that holiday is just about over. The upshot is that South African motorists must brace for a possible walloping. The R1.50 reduction in the general fuel levy (GFL) was only supposed to remain in…

The idea behind Asus’ Duo notebooks isn’t novel anymore. Models featuring a large secondary screen have been around for quite some time. The secondary display is actually a display, rather than a multi-use strip like Apple’s ill-fated Touchbar. The newest device from the brand is the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo, a name intended to inform you that a) there’s a second display and b) it has all the specs. More or less. Of course, we knew this was coming. Officially unveiled last night, we’ve had the chance to spend some time with Asus’ newest hardware. There are some really excellent…

Late last year, rumours turned up concerning DStv Flex. First reported by Thinus Ferreira, a South African entertainment reporter, the service was supposed to allow DStv subscribers to pick and choose a little more than it does now. Since then, there’s been little movement. Queries to DStv owner Multichoice over the existence of Flex were met with the same response as last year. “MultiChoice is constantly striving to provide its customers with the best possible content offering. As such, we continually assess our offering and conduct regular research to test different products and services for our customers.” Weird Flex, but okay…

NFTs have their faults, but some residents of Shanghai have managed to turn those failings into something positive. Shanghai, one of China’s largest coastal cities, is in the middle of a COVID-19 lockdown. The city has been locked down for more than a month. Residents there have taken an unusual step when it comes to recording memories and conditions during this current lockdown. They’ve turned to the blockchain, in a rare, positive usage, and minted NFTs that explain how the city’s residents are doing. Shanghai, how you doin’? It turns out, when you try to keep 25 million people inside…

It’s not news by now that Disney+ is coming. It’ll turn up in South Africa in a little under two weeks. But is it worth signing up for, extremely attractive launch discount or not? That’s the big question. And, if the 54-page document Disney+ has dropped on the country is any indication, it’s probably a good idea. The service makes liberal use of the term ‘exclusive’, meaning Disney’s streaming service is the only place you’ll find said content. And there’s a ton of it. Disney+ all this A Marvel fan? Disney’s throwing more than 60 movies in your direction. Plus,…