Author: Marcé

Now more than ever, humanity has the technological tools to keep itself sane in isolation. As the novel coronavirus spreads in SA and the world, people are being forced to change their habits. They are practising social distancing, the term that refers to keeping yourself and your family away from others to avoid contracting the virus and passing it on. For children, that means no school. But it also means no playground or cinema visits, no sports events to attend and no playdates with friends. For adults marooned at home, it means no in-person work meetings, no gym or park…

Okay, you’re stuck at home. Maybe you have to work from home, maybe you want to set up a virtual yoga group with your friends or maybe you just want to check in on the family. There’s one platform that has seen a literal boom in use over the past few weeks. Zoom video conferencing is the way to go if you’re keen on seeing people’s faces during meetings.  We’ve evolved from the humble phone call to having access to various channels of communication. Video is probably the ideal method if you need to see people’s reactions, present a slideshow…

No, a new armchair or a smartphone aren’t considered essentials. It does look like the biggest online retailer in South Africa has received the go-ahead to trade and do deliveries throughout the national lockdown. You just won’t be able to buy luxuries.  Takealot announced today that its request to continue trading has been approved, as long as people are only able to buy essentials. The government is placing increasing pressure on retailers to only sell essential goods. It has already prohibited the sale of alcohol and tobacco products effective from tomorrow (Friday, 27 March) for three weeks.  It’s safe to…

There is no better time to stay informed about world (and local) news. COVID-19 is running rampant, and it’s having a massive effect on South Africans right now. So we need to watch the news. Even if we don’t always want to… South Africa’s own streaming service Showmax has announced that it has added seven live news channels to its service. And it couldn’t have come at a better time.  The added channels include BBC World News, SABC News, Sky News, CNN, Newzroom Afrika, Al Jazeera and Euronews. “This is currently available in South Africa on web (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge),…

We live in the age of on-demand goods and services. And what better time to make use of these than during a complete lockdown of a nation? We can order everything from tech to food online. And e-hailing services like Uber and Bolt have made it easier for humans to get around. Especially if they don’t have their own cars. But with the imminent lockdown of the nation looming, many people are wondering whether they’ll be able to use these services to get the essentials, or go to the hospital. Takealot has applied to be categorised as an essential service…

Want even more reason to stay home and ‘flatten the curve’? Adult content site Pornhub has announced that it’ll make its premium subscription free to access for everyone across the globe.  The free content is already available to access, all you have to do is sign up on the site’s ‘stay at home’ landing page. We’re not going to link to it here, we’re sure you’ll find your way to it. Premium access will be available for mahala for one month.  https://twitter.com/Pornhub/status/1242264770071465984 “With nearly one billion people in lockdown across the world because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important that…

After the President’s national address on the threat of COVID-19 this week, businesses are preparing for the imminent lockdown of the country. From the address, it is clear that only essential services will continue throughout this volatile time in SA. Does Takealot fall into this category? You would think so, right? At a glance, Takealot offers a vital service, especially considering we want to minimise human interaction. Online shopping is the safest way to go about buying essentials.  According to a recent post on the online retailer’s social media channels, it hopes to keep operating through the three-week Covid-19 lockdown.…

Streaming services have been capping video playback resolution left and right since the virus struck the globe. South Africans happily scraped by the new regulations that mostly effected Europe (on both Netflix and YouTube). Well, it seems we aren’t as lucky anymore.  YouTube announced it will lower the default streaming resolution in Europe a few days ago to reduce strain on the continent’s internet infrastructure. Now the streaming giant is rolling out the limitation across the globe. We’ll only be able to stream at a maximum of 480p, which isn’t… very good.  The new default will be implemented regardless of…

You know that feeling when a game becomes real life? No? It probably doesn’t happen that often. But if you’re familiar with Plague Inc., you’ll know that the current COVID-19 outbreak is basically the premise of the game. Now the developers want to help curb the spread, instead of instigating it as it does in-game.  Ndemic Creations, the developers behind the contagion-spreading game, will donate a significant amount of money to aid authorities in the spread of the coronavirus. “On behalf of all players of Plague Inc. we’ve made a $250,000 donation split between the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations…

Following a heart-wrenching nation address by Pres Ramaphosa on 23 March, the country will go into lockdown for three weeks. This comes at a time where the South African government needs to mitigate any risk of COVID-19 reaching high-risk populations, but a complete economic standstill will have adverse effects on small businesses.  Which is why the President announced that a Debt Relief Fund has been established to help alleviate the harsh economic impact we’ll see after everyone has been sent to their rooms. Following Thursday 26 March, only essential services and businesses will remain open, and not everyone has the…