Author: Marcé

Funded by the Sage Foundation, rAInbow is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot that helps victims of domestic abuse find help. The bot was officially launched in South Africa today — and is the first chatbot of its kind locally. It runs through Facebook Messenger, and the developers have plans to port it to other messaging apps, like WhatsApp. One of the main issues with regards to domestic violence is that many victims feel they cannot speak to another human in a private, objective space. rAInbow believes that an AI-based chatbot gives users the privacy they need to freely talk about…

WhatsApp is testing a new feature that will allow users to add contacts using QR codes. Users will be able to scan the code in the app and the other person’s contact information will be imported immediately. Each QR code will be completely unique and shareable. This feature is ideal for businesses that connect with their customers on WhatsApp. This would allow them to distribute printed QR codes on marketing material. Although it does seem like a ‘user-friendly’ update, we’re not sure if it’s very necessary. On the other hand, almost all other platforms have QR code functionality (Facebook, Instagram…

Nuketown is back! And this time it’s based in… Russia? Activision released a new trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 earlier this week, revealing that fan-favourite map Nuketown would be heading back to the series, this time in a setting more suited to warfare. Have a look at the trailer below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z14Rt8i13Z4 The map is already available for download (on PlayStation 4), and features a lot of snow, a welcome addition to the previous clean-cut futuristic scenes from Black Ops 3. The change in weather this time around is because players are being dropped into the icy Russian…

Core Group has announced that they are now a certified service centre for DJI products. That means they don’t only sell sweet flying machines, but they can also fix them without invalidating any warrantees now. “As Core Group, we are excited not only to distribute DJI products to the South African market but now we will repair these products. Our technicians are trained directly by DJI and have the capability to repair DJI products,” says Linda van der Nest, Core Group Marketing Executive. Many of the most popular commercial and industrial drones are made by DJI. Having a certified DJI…

Ever felt like you know exactly what you want to say, but just can’t find the perfect GIF for it? Well, Google, with the help of some AI speculation tech, wants to help you with that issue. Google’s keyboard app, Gboard (which is available on Android and iOS) will now suggest relevant GIFs, emoji, and stickers for certain conversations. While typing a message, a suggested GIF icon will appear in the left-hand corner of the Gboard keyboard. Tap on it and it’ll pull up suggested media. Google thinks it knows what you want to say, or show, before you know…

Let’s be honest, the PlayStation DualShock 4 controllers are damn near perfect. But a recent patent filing in the US suggest the upcoming models might feature a touchscreen. The patent was granted to Sony last month, and detailed a design that includes a touch-display where the touchpad is located on current models. Rumours have suggested that the upcoming PS controllers might look something like the PS Vita’s — taking the Nintendo Switch route. But it looks like Sony is comfortable with the current controller design. It is the perfect companion for their powerful system at this stage. A touchscreen will…

Music streaming service Deezer is adding South African radio stations to their ‘Live Radio’ lineup, with plans to add even more in the future. If you’re not into Spotify or Apple Music, you’re likely subscribed to Deezer. It could be described as the ‘underdog’ in the music streaming space but, weirdly, a range of wearables have Deezer capability. The service is available on Android Wear, Apple Watch OS, Tizen, Xiaomi’s Mi wearables and Garmin’s fitness devices. Now Deezer subscribers can listen to Jacaranda FM and East Coast Radio via the service. These stations are available on the ‘live radio’ channel,…

Creating personalised stickers is by no means a native WhatsApp feature, and like with many things, Facebook has decided to sneakily nab the idea from other messenger apps (like Telegram and WeChat), and add it to its own messaging app. It’s still an awesome feature though. And will likely replace standard stickers altogether one day. WhatsApp stickers have just started to roll out for Android and iOS. And although the excitement is real, they’ve only launched the feature with 12 sticker packs. Which doesn’t bother us — because everyone can make their own. Here’s how to get started. What you…

All PlayStation 4 players know that slight panic when their console sounds like a light aircraft taking off. Should you hard reset? Unplug it? Maybe position the room fan to blow directly on it? The panic is real, but it doesn’t have to be. Sony has discreetly started releasing quieter PlayStation 4 Pro consoles into the world. Hardware updates like these rarely make the news, often flying under the radar. It’s like rolling out an update to fix a few bugs, but with physical hardware. This one made the news, though, because the new models might be the quietest Playstation…

YouTube is launching on the Nintendo Switch today, which means you can finally use the small, colourful gaming console for more than its impressive lineup of games. The first major video-streaming app launched on the Nintendo Switch, was the Hulu app in November last year. But as y’all know — we ain’t got no Hulu in this country (if you read that like a Western Sheriff, plus ten points for you). Now, you can have YouTube grace those tiny (but surprisingly capable) little screens… or, you know, dock it for a 1080p bigger screen experience. The Switch recently outsold the…