Author: Brett Venter

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…

Nvidia, makers of the most desirable bitcoin mining gear on the planet (and sometimes GPUs), has a big sad. Its proposed purchase of Arm, the British company responsible for most of the chips in your phone, is officially toast. First announced in September 2020, the merger ran into trouble right off the bat. Sure, Arm parent company SoftBank could have used $40 billion (which ballooned to $66 billion in the interim). But Arm is too important a company to too many other tech-makers, according to regulators. Nvidia won’t be a shot in the Arm Regulators in Arm’s native UK, as…

The year is 2022, and nobody will look at your products unless there’s an NFT or the metaverse involved. At least, that’s the thinking over at Samsung HQ. The South Korean company has got an Unpacked looming large this weekend and, wouldn’t you know it, they’ve also got a virtual experience coming. And it’s not just virtual reality — which we’ve apparently now collectively redefined as the ‘metaverse’. The rest of the best buzzwords from 2021 are present — crypto and blockchain and NFTs, oh my! Samsung’s reality? Check.  Samsung’s offering viewers the chance to check out Unpacked 2022 in…

Everybody is trying to be the next Spotify. Not everybody does it all that well. An outfit that seems to have its act together is Anghami, a streaming service from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Odds are, however, that you haven’t even heard of them. Or perhaps you have. The streaming service claims some 70 million users around the world, even if its focus is quite neatly localised. See, Anghami was founded in 2012 with users in the Middle East and North Africa in mind. It was also created as an alternative to music piracy in those regions. That seems…