My gamertag is more useful than a business card. I write about the tech industry, hardware, software, games, and motoring.
In one of the greatest battles of 2020, Fortnite publisher Epic Games took on tech giants Apple and Google because of the 30% cut they take from all app purchases. Since August 2020, Epic and Apple have faced off in hearings and trials, after which both made their final statements on 24 May. While they await the judge’s decision in the US, something’s brewing down under, in Australian courts. This week, Australia’s Federal Court ruled in favour of Epic Games after the game developer issued a counter-appeal because Apple wanted to keep the fight in the US. The former detailed…
While South Africans wait patiently for access to more digital payment solutions, Android users in the US will gain another way to pay using Google Pay — a virtual debit card. In the past few months, Apple Pay started rolling out to selected banks in South Africa. So while iPhone users go around paying for things with their Apple Watches, Android users are still limited in terms of digital payment offerings in SA. Google Pay, meet card terminal According to ArsTechnica, Google rebuilt its whole Google Pay codebase earlier this year, which stripped it down to the bare minimum. Now…
It’s never good to have a monopoly unless you’ve dug up the fantastic board game from the authoritarian communist era. Google is under fire again (in the States, at least) for its control in the app store industry. 36 states in the US have filed a case against the tech company questioning its dominant position as an app store on the Android platform. The case specifically mentions Google’s fees for developers to host their apps on the platform. Come September 2021, it will more strictly enforce its 30% commission structure through the store, forcing apps that take any form of…
While the world outside of China waits for Oppo to get their hands on the latest mid-ranger that is the Reno 6, new leaks show off a device we haven’t seen before. What makes this leak interesting, however, is the fact that its design looks very similar to the current-gen Reno 5, but with a gaming-focused skin (and internals, we’re guessing). Here’s the Oppo-rtunity According to a report on 91mobiles, the smartphone manufacturer filed a EUIPO certification listing for a never-seen-before device that resembles other gaming-orientated devices like the Asus ROG Phone 5. Thing is, it just looks like a…
Instagram has always been the photo-sharing app. Since its creation, budding photographers and bored teens equipped with first-gen smartphones signed up to show the world their snaps. These generally came in a square format and donned weird and wonderful filters that made selfies look overly edited. But it wasn’t Facebook, it was visual and promoted creative work in various ways. Since then, a lot’s happened to the app, most notably — Facebook bought it. And now it’s a different monster altogether. Rise of the ‘gram It’s accumulated over 1 billion active users, gave rise to what we now call influencers…
It’s no secret that the Nintendo Switch is one of Stuff’s favourite gaming consoles – it’s portable, comfortable to use on public transport (and at the office), and has a stellar lineup of games. It just… hasn’t seen a proper upgrade since it turned up. Now Nintendo has announced the Nintendo Switch OLED version, ready to launch on 8 October 2021. “The new system features a vibrant 7-inch OLED screen, a wide adjustable stand, a dock with a wired LAN port, 64 GB of internal storage, and enhanced audio,” the reveal web page reads. That means you get all the…
Moya Messenger, the #datafree messaging app that launched in South Africa in 2018 has announced its own payment portal that functions in the existing app called MoyaPayD. The new feature will allow users the ability to send and receive money in an app that doesn’t charge data or airtime, making it essentially ‘free’ to use. Moya’s model is an interesting one though. The company has a deal with local mobile networks that allows them to zero-rate their app for certain functions (like sending text messages, accessing certain news sites and now payments). In return, they serve users short video ads…
Big Tech names like Facebook and Twitter can’t keep themselves out of headlines for more than 24 hours. This time they’re threatening to leave the entire region of Hong Kong, perhaps with good reason. That region of China has drafted new privacy laws aimed at minimising doxxing — the act of publicly revealing personal information on the internet. The Asia Internet Coalition, a tech alliance that includes Facebook, Google, LinkedIn and Twitter, has warned Hong Kong legislators that the companies will stop operating in the territory if the area follows through on its new privacy laws. Hong Kong’s doxxing problem…
As South Africa battles its third wave of COVID-19 infections, the country’s retail spaces have been forced to rethink their e-commerce models. At the helm of retail digitisation is Checkers’ brilliant app Sixty60, which aims to deliver groceries to customers within an hour. But there’s one thing South Africans need more than just groceries right now — and that’s medication. Which is likely why Dis-Chem Pharmacies just announced its own 60-minute delivery service, DeliverD. Dis-Chem’s same-day on-demand delivery service offers customers delivery of health and beauty products within an hour. As any good South African knows, Dis-Chem is good for…