Author: Marcé

Honestly, we don’t know what the world would have done if we didn’t have the internet during this pandemic. Virtual workplaces and remote conference calls made it possible to continue important parts of the economy worldwide. This drove many to the Zoom platform, which has come under fire for its problematic security protocols.  In the free version of the app, there are clear limitations — which makes sense. Especially because we’re not… ahem… paying for it. So calls are shorter and features are limited. Recently news came out that Zoom won’t encrypt calls on the free version of its app.…

Sometimes 140 characters just aren’t enough to convey your intentions on Twitter. While we welcome the short-format, sometimes more info is needed without going for a thread. That’s probably why Twitter is testing the posting of audio files.  The feature to send voice tweets will soon roll out to all Twitter users. Users will have the option to share audio recordings of up to 140 seconds directly to their feed to accompany the text, photos, videos, and GIFs they already can share with their followers. So, 140 seconds may have the capacity to have more info than the traditional 140…

Even the busy devs behind Fortnite has taken a short sabbatical during the coronavirus pandemic, but it seems we’ve finally got a glimpse at the next season of the sensational battle royale game.  The story continues from the “Doomsday” event earlier this week, and features more… water than we expected to see. Chapter 2 Season 3 drops you into a partially flooded island area and features some marauders, sharks that can be used as vehicles (for reals) and a shirtless Aquaman. Because… of course, it does.  Don’t worry though, because the map will mostly stay the same for die-hard fans…

Stuff magazine, South Africa’s premier consumer technology magazine, has launched a new branch of the existing brand called StuffPlays. This will be a wholly digital endeavour to establish a platform for local and international gamers, and will be used to develop esports leagues and digital gaming communities in South Africa.  The sudden closure of many beloved South African print publications has shocked the local industry to its core. Following this, Stuff made the decision to adapt and use the current pandemic as an opportunity to develop an online space for gamers, geeks and techies alike to find relevant, curated content…

This creepy AI tool can create HD faces out of pixelated images Let’s say you took the absolute perfect selfie, printed it out and accidentally threw it in the washing machine with your clothes. It came out all kinds of messed up. Luckily, developers have created an AI tool that can build an HD portrait

Oh, how COVID threw the world a curveball this year. This is particularly true for big events organisers who capitalise on bringing large groups of people together. Same goes for South Africa’s own rAge Expo, which has been cancelled this year for the first time in 18 years.  Our very own (and the first in SA) video game and geek culture convention has announced that it will need to cancel the physical even this year, following the global pandemic (that we all know about by now, hopefully). “But sadly, for the first time in 18 years, the legendary home of…

No-one was quite ready for the exemplary lineup of games Sony hit us with late last night. The highly anticipated PlayStation 5 reveal keynote had our curiosity, but after the very first PS5 reveal title, it had our undivided attention. What was most striking about the PS5 reveal lineup, was that Sony had gone out of its way to present us with remasters, remakes and sequel to some of the world’s favourite original PlayStation games. Our favourite of which is definitely Oddworld: Soulstorm based on Abe’s Odyssey and the long-running Oddworld series, as well as a brilliant new Ratched and…

Although it feels like Android 10 just made it to Android phones a week ago, Googles’s new OS version is already in public beta. We’ll go ahead and blame the whole global lockdown to the loss in time — the past few months didn’t count in the tech sector.  Android 11 is now available as a public beta, but that doesn’t mean anyone can just download and use it. Firstly, it’s only available on specific devices — more specifically Google-branded ones. For obvious reasons. Secondly, the beta is really just used for developers who want to test applications on the…

After a few months of not driving anywhere, we know everyone’s keen to get out and hit the road. Today, Ford just exacerbated that need by hosting a virtual launch event for its new Figo Freestyle compact utility vehicle. Or CUV, but it’s basically what you get if an SUV and a hatch has a baby.  The small albeit bulky (in a good way) Freestyle will come in two flavours, the 1.5 Trend coming in at R226 700 and the 1.5 Titanium priced at R247 500. Both of these line up with current Figo prices, which makes it a great…

Stuff’s Toby Shapshak talks to Vivo South Africa’s Marketing Director, Hawa Hyath, about the fast-paced network growth of 5G in the country. Vivo only recently entered South Africa, but it’s already planning to bring more 5G-capable devices to consumers throughout 2020. Vivo started out in the global smartphone business in 2014 and has already become the number one smartphone brand in Indonesia and India. It now has over 25,000 consumers locally, using the Y11 and Y91C — both entry-level devices launched six months ago. https://soundcloud.com/user-492019255/vivos-hawa-hyath-on-5g-in-south-africa Locally, we’re expecting two new models from Vivo in upcoming months — the Y12 and…