Author: Marcé

The SA Revenue Service (Sars) has rolled out a dedicated browser that supports Adobe Flash Player, which should allow users to access its Flash-supported eFiling forms. Four years ago Flash Player, which runs applications, websites and multimedia, was deemed too much of a security risk to continue being supported on web browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Firefox. The advance notice from the browsers should have given Sars enough time to rebuild its electronic filing platform and convert its forms to newer technologies such as HTML5 or JavaScript. In 2019, the Sars IT department was hammered for its…

The longstanding fight over news ownership in Australia has lead to Facebook blocking Australian users from sharing any local news on its platform. This comes just after Google signed a multi-million dollar deal with Aussie publishers that will permit the company to make use of their editorial content on its platform.  Thanks to the Australian government’s News Media Code, social media platforms like Google and Facebook would essentially need to pay to link to any news content produced in the country. It’s important to consider that, up until the birth of the online social media network, republishing editorial content came…

It’s no secret that password managers drastically improve your online security, by remembering all of your 12-character passwords for you. One of Stuff’s all-time favourite password managers, LastPass, has made some changes to the free tier (arguably its best tier) of its password manager application which may see users pay for previously free-to-access features.  Come 16 March 2021, the company will limit its free tier to only one device type — like mobile or laptop — according to what you’re after. At this stage, users can access Lastpass across a range of devices without running into a paywall. In a…

These days, your business is losing out on some form of customer accessibility if it doesn’t have an app. There’s an app for just about any occasion, including travel. Many South African airlines have invested in app that streamline the booking and check-in process, and now FlySafair has followed suit with its brand new mobile app.  FlySafair’s mobile app is currently available to download on Google Play Store and Apple Store — no word on its Huawei AppGallery availability yet, though. According to a press release, the app makes travel during a global pandemic easier to manage, considering no physical…

Come March 2021, Openserve fibre clients should see a significant increase in their internet speeds. Not by some fluke, mind you. Telkom’s fibre division has announced that it is doubling customer fibre connection speeds at no additional cost.  Openserve’s Fibre Connect network will issue a speed upgrade through the various internet service providers (ISPs) in less than a month’s time. It functions as a telecommunications infrastructure provider, whereas ISPs offer the actual data or internet connection at a price determined by them.   Openserve is speed Its fibre packages are relatively inexpensive in comparison to other infrastructure providers, which, in return,…

MTN’s Mobile Money service just got a whole lot more powerful. Initially introduced as a method to transfer funds from one user to another, the service has evolved to include loans, investment opportunities, and now thanks to Mastercard, international transactions.  Today, MTN and Mastercard announced its new partnership, which will introduce the ability to make international payments without the need for a bank account. This new payment solution will be available to MoMo’s millions of current users across 16 African countries (including South Africa).  How MoMo/Mastercard works MTN MoMo functions like an e-wallet that isn’t linked to a specific bank…

Huawei has become a household name in South Africa (and beyond) for its smartphones, tablets and notebooks. Interestingly, those don’t even make up the majority of the company’s business, with server and networking tech being its major contributor. We just… don’t see it everywhere. Now it looks like Huawei may be betting on a different industry altogether, with the introduction of a gaming notebook and a gaming console.  MateBook, but for gaming According to a recent report by HuaweiCentral, Huawei is potentially looking into launching gaming-related hardware, including a laptop (which we can see working) and a gaming console (not…

The Democratic Alliance (DA), an opposition party in South Africa, is calling Facebook (yes, the Facebook) to Parliament to answer for its sins.  A global social media witch hunt is underway, with legislators in the US and the EU pressuring social media platforms to take responsibility for the content shared on their various platforms. In the midst of this, Facebook’s been aggressively targeted as the head witch, for allowing misinformation and, more importantly, harvesting user information on a massive scale. DAmn, it’s getting political “The reason for summoning Facebook – which has an office in Johannesburg – is with the…

In recent years we’ve seen the South African banking industry experience major shifts toward more digital accessibility channels. New entries into the market like TymeBank, Bank Zero and Discovery Bank have pressured traditional banks to rethink financial services. Now, South Africa’s newest entry, Spot Money, functions as an open banking platform — something we haven’t seen in the country yet.  Spot Money evolved from Virgin Money Spot, into just Spot after it was acquired by a local private equity firm in partnership with Executive team. It’s not a bank in itself, and calls itself ‘bank neutral’, meaning it’s not aligned…

Back before the PlayStation 5 wasn’t official, Sony hosted one of the most exciting virtual events in 2020, during which it announced the console, supplemented with a variety of launch game trailers. Of them, one, in particular, caught viewers’ attention: Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. It didn’t turn out to be a launch title, but today Sony announced that fans will finally get a dose of Ratchet, Clank and some more characters on 11 June 2021.  Ratchet & Clank… we meet again The reboot by Insomniac Games showcased one of the PS5’s standout features: the lightning-fast SSD-powered load times in…