Author: Brett Venter

If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember the DeLorean as the vehicle that transports Doc Emmet Brown and Marty McFly back to the future. Or past. Or a different past. It’s complicated, but the original Robert Zemeckis trilogy is still glorious fun. And surprisingly traumatising, but you’ll find that out on a rewatch. If you’re a little older than that, you might remember the DeLorean as an interesting car design with a dark history. Netflix has a documentary series about it if you feel the need to catch up. Basically, though, it was a cool but wholly impractical…

Welcome to the age of the optionally piloted vehicle, or OPV. A UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter was, earlier this month, successfully flown at the US Army’s Fort Campbell in Kentucky. This normally isn’t a big deal, but this time there was no pilot inside. In fact, there was nobody inside the military transport at all. The series of flights over the US military base on 5 February was remotely monitored but nothing was undertaken with any human intervention. Building a better Black Hawk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbtyBIO8dXA This isn’t the first we’ve heard of an autonomous helicopter. Ingenuity, NASA’s Martian explorer, is just…

If you’ve been paying attention to game reviews lately, you’ll have seen that Horizon: Forbidden West is doing very, very well. The sequel to one of the PlayStation 4’s best hits is performing well, as far as critics go. That’s a good thing for everyone, but brick-maker Lego is perhaps the most pleased. See, they’ve got a new set based on the PlayStation 5 exclusive landing in May this year. Bring me the Horizon (Lego set) Lego fans can expect a splendid-looking new set to launch in a few months. The iconic Tallneck, that roaming giraffe-looking thing that reveals the…

Samsung’s doing that thing again when it holds too many events in a short space of time. We may have just had the company’s first Unpacked for the year, but it’s not over. A bare few weeks later, we’re staring down the barrel of Galaxy MWC 2022. Which, at least, isn’t being tagged Unpacked. But, as usual, Samsung’s attempting to be a little mysterious about what’s up-and-coming. Apparently, the company will use Galaxy MWC 2022 to redefine “…the future of how we work and how we learn.” Ambitious, no? Exploring a new Galaxy MWC  Just how this’ll be achieved…

It happens every year. Actually, most things happen every year. But this specific thing belongs to Stuff, and it’s therefore special. You know, kinda like how you’re super-fond of your kids but everyone else just sorta tolerates them. We’re talking, of course, about Stuff’s Gadget Awards. Which, unlike the aforementioned kids, are welcome everywhere they turn up. Because the Gadget Awards have actual, tangible value. Before this takes an even darker turn than it already has, how about we introduce you to the 2021 crop of tech high-achievers? You know, the tech that made everything else in the class look…

Another year around the sun, another set of the best gadgets on planet Earth. That’s right, it’s time for the Feb-March 2022 issue of Stuff Magazine. Which, typically, is also our Gadget Awards issue. As ever, this issue was marked by difficult choices when it came to selecting category winners. This might be why there are a few legitimate surprises to be had. But then, there are also some categories that aren’t surprising at all. Hey, when you’re good, you’re good.  Naturally, that’s not all we have to show you. If you’re still doing the whole New Year, New You…

Quantum computers are examples of technological innovation that could change the whole world. And, unlike JPGs of monkeys, quantum computing is likely to appreciate in value over time. D-Wave Systems, one of the pioneers of the technology, is looking to do some of that appreciating now. The quantum computing specialist plans to do this by going public. Not about anyone’s dirty laundry, either. D-Wave is joining up with DPCM Capital to debut on the stock market. DPCM is a special purpose acquisition company or SPAC. There’s a lot of this going around. Riding the D-Wave to Moneytown The company is…

If we ever want to send human beings to Mars, we have to be sure we’ll get them back. Unless we’re trying to get rid of them, but that’s the darkest timeline. Since we still live in the light, it’s time to learn about the Mars Ascent Vehicle or MAV. This is a small rocket that will, according to a recent NASA announcement, be built by Lockheed Martin. This rocket’s job is to go to Mars, and then come back with rocks. See, Jeff? SpaceX doesn’t get all the attention. You just have to be able to deliver a working…

Qualcomm is determined to be literally everywhere. In addition to offering chips for most of the best phones on the planet, the company’s also tying up with one of the world’s most iconic car brands. Ferrari and Qualcomm have just announced a new strategic partnership. The point? The acceleration of Ferrari’s “digital transformation”. In as few words as possible, the team-up will see the iconic red (or yellow, if you’re weird) livery packing more smarts under the skin. Smarter cars, in other words. Ferrari go brrrrrm We’re not only looking at smarter tech for the House of the Prancing Horse.…

Everyone’s favourite stealthy corporate overlord is at it again. Google has just announced a fair amount of economic investment in smaller South African companies and organisations. At a virtual Google for South Africa event, the company revealed just what it plans to do for companies hit by… well, all of this. The company’s plans to “…accelerate digital transformation and help South Africa’s economy recover”, which involves giving cash to various non-profits, startups, and SMMEs in SA. Google’s gold stars Non-profit organisations Gift of the Givers and Food for Life South Africa are set to lock down $500,000 in grant funding…