Author: Brett Venter

Chinese company Tencent, the company behind PUBG Mobile and various other games and services, has pulled back on plans to enter the VR market. The report comes via Reuters, which cites three different sources “familiar with the matter”. The company is looking to trim costs at its metaverse unit including the halting projects unlikely to make money. Smart move. Your Tencents worth The company announced its intention last year to develop both virtual reality hardware and software. It went so far as to hire 300 people to execute its plans for an “extended reality” future. The development unit had made…

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the most important event in the mobile device calendar. The clue is in the name. But while the event showcases the very best (and occasionally some of the strangest) tech that’ll slip into your pocket, there’s also the potential for launches to underwhelm. Statistics dictate that they’re going to turn up eventually. And they do. Here are some of the biggest disappointments to come out of MWC. Nokia X and XL (2014) A little while before Microsoft and Nokia officially merged and started the Windows Phone era in earnest, Nokia decided to release a couple…

Is it a coincidence that the United States Air Force has allowed an AI to take control of one of its training jets right about the same time that ChatGPT has hit the mainstream? Is it concerning that the chatbot has started acting a little… spotty right about now? In order, the answers are: yes and (probably) no. Still, we’re pretty sure James Cameron made a documentary about this scenario. A training aircraft, the Lockheed Martin VISTA X-62A, has hosted an AI for the first time. Its flight time? Seventeen hours, which is seventeen more hours than most of us…

Netflix Games is on a serious roll. The latest title to be added to the streamer’s mobile games list is Tomb Raider Reloaded. Lara Croft’s latest outing is a little… unexpected if you’re used to the more traditional genre but it’s still worth checking out. Reloaded bears more resemblance to the isometric games in the series, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light and Temple of Osiris. Only, you know, on a phone. And the game seems to be keen on a younger demographic, based on the stylistic changes. Tomb Raider for kids https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7AVpz6r-to Tomb Raider Reloaded is a more…

Medical aid is a big deal in South Africa. But, not everyone can afford it. Discovery, in a partnership with Clicks and Auto & General Insurance, has launched a (kinda) new health insurance product. Flexicare is the name and keeping you healthy is its game. Flexicare isn’t actually all that new. It’s been around since 2018 but it was previously confined to companies. As long as your workplace supported it, you could access it. Now, you don’t need to wait for your capitalist overlords to give a damn about your health to get you some Discovery coverage. It’s not quite medical…

If you’ve always wanted a BMW smartphone of your very own, you’ve (probably) been out of luck (unless you could find that one Vivo special edition). That’s a good thing. When companies with no experience make smartphones, the results tend to be terrible. But when Samsung is making the device? Then it might not be such a terrible idea. And the South Korean company isn’t the only one setting up strange partnerships. Chinese brand Realme (which is related to both Vivo and Oppo) has announced a Coca-Cola partnership that really is quite special. Not quite as special as its recent Naruto-themed…

Do you think you have what it takes to create the next great African (or South African) film production? Showmax wants to hear from you. And not in the whole ‘do it for exposure’ way you might expect, either. The streaming platform has funding to hand out for ten films set in Africa. The company, in partnership with the Joburg Film Festival, is inviting pitches from… well, from everyone. But there are a few terms and conditions attached to these proposals. Otherwise, like advertising a job on Facebook, folks will apply despite being massively underqualified. Showmax what you’ve got The…

Earlier this week Roscomsos, the Russian space agency, performed the latest of many (so many) International Space Station (ISS) resupply missions. The launch vehicle behind that trip to the ISS was the Soyuz 2.1a. It’ll also take centre stage later this month when it sends the replacement Soyuz MS-23 capsule to the space station. Soyuz rockets (Soyuz means ‘union’) have been the backbone of Russia’s space program since 1966. The Soyuz 2.1a has been in service since 2004, alongside the 2.1b (2006) and 2.1v (2013). The difference between these? The ‘b’ variant is capable of heavier lift and the ‘v’…

Samsung’s new Galaxy S23 Ultra is almost here, which means that you’ve got a choice to make sometime soon. Do you upgrade from the Galaxy S22 Ultra (or the S20 or S21 counterparts)? Do you hang on for the S24 Ultra? When the phone starts at R31,000 in South Africa, that’s not just a whimsical decision. You should probably consult a financial adviser too. We’re here to assist with the choice part. Assuming your bank account can handle it, or you’re okay with chowing six months’ worth of Indomie noodles instead of real food, you have to ask yourself whether…

Last week, Netflix sprung a little leak. An FAQ turned up online that the company later said was published in error. That FAQ explained in more detail how its password-sharing crackdown would work. Published in error or not, this week the streaming company has expanded the regions where password sharing has become more limited. Of course, this isn’t actually a surprise. The company said last month that it would make its new password policies “more broadly” available over the course of this year. In February, the new standard is being applied to New Zealand, Canada, Portugal, and Spain. Netflix needs…