Author: Stuff writer

More researchers are finally studying the benefits of video games for children, instead of the disadvantages. And,  the results look good for the kids. A study published by medical journal JAMA Network Open notes how gaming may help children with cognitive and impulse control. Prior studies have linked video games to intelligence, and depression. A study by Psychological Medicine in 2021 found that kids who play video games tend to suffer from fewer mental disorders, including anxiety and depression. “Although most research has linked video gaming to subsequent increases in aggressive behaviour in children after accounting for prior aggression, findings…

You might soon only have to take a day off from life to renew your South African driving license every eight years, instead of the five years that we’re currently subjected to. That’s if the technology and government processes have still not caught up to a better method of renewing driving licenses. The current system requires you to physically go to gloomy government offices in the hopes of actually securing what you went there for. Transport minister Fikile Mbalula told eNCA this week that his department has proposed extending the driving license renewal process to Cabinet. This was after civil…

5.3 million mobile phones will be thrown away this year, according to the International Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), as e-waste continues to worsen across the world. The WEEE estimates that of 16 billion mobile phones, including smartphones, owned globally, 5.3 billion will become waste in 2022.  “Stacked flat atop one another at an average depth of 9 mm that many disused phones would rise roughly 50,000 km – 120 times higher than the International Space Station; one-eighth of the way to the moon,” says the WEEE. The world observed International E-waste Day this month, on October 14th. What…

Video game Trackmania has become accessible to the blind and visually impaired, thanks to company Artha France’s new technology. The tech includes a belt, your skin, and a camera and it allows the visually impaired to nail some laps on Trackmania. Using a haptic feedback belt strapped to their bodies, gamers are able to perceive their gaming environment. This is possible because sensations from the screen are transmitted, via a camera, to their skin. These players are able to see parts of the game because the skin sensors transmit data to their visual cortex. Just because a user’s eyes aren’t…

Crisis averted: WhatsApp is back, following a stress-filled morning of panic after the messenger service went down. Messages, calls and statuses’ were all down, forcing users to find alternatives. Now, we can rest. The world is at peace again. The messaging app went down on Tuesday morning across different parts of the world, including South Africa, the United Kingdom, and India. Read More: Mayday Mayday: WhatsApp is down As expected, social media, mostly Twitter, was one of the places where people went to inform each other of the latest developments and how they can all go back to chatting on…

Yes, you read that correctly. WhatsApp is down. The messenger stopped sending and receiving messages on Android and iOS on Tuesday morning, resulting in what usually happens when the messaging platforms occasionally goes offline – panic.  Many have flocked onto other social media platforms to ask each other if they were all on the same page. Read More: WhatsApp is making ‘view once’ images a little safer to send WhatsApp users reported having difficulty in sending and receiving messages, making calls as well as viewing status. Some users reported their issues on Downdetector, a website that enables users to report…

Instagram is enhancing its features to make it harder for trolls to slide onto your timeline and into your DMs. We didn’t say to stop trolls entirely, we said to “make it harder.” History has proven that it’s only a matter of time before they find a loophole to slide into before spamming your timeline again. Instagram will give you the option to block all existing accounts of a ‘person’ who may be spamming you when you block one of their accounts. That’s if it’s an actual person you’re blocking and not a bot. Well, you’ll be able to block…

Tesla, the electric vehicle (EV) company, plans to build cheaper EVs at a faster rate. Did we hear mass production of electric cars?  Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, says the company’s engineering team is now focused on building the next-generation electric car platform. Tesla has been considering making electric cars more accessible for a while now. In 2020, Musk expressed his desire to make a Tesla model for US$25.000 (R458,000), noting how this had been his dream since founding Tesla. If only we had more electricity in the world. With South Africa’s load-shedding problems, and some first-world countries also getting a…

Facebook is adding ‘new’ features to groups, including Reels  –  short videos similar to TikTok’s verticals videos. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced the new features for Facebook Groups at its sixth Communities Summit this week. “Most people on Facebook are members of at least 15 active groups, and there are more than 100 million group joins every day,” says meta. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. It seems to be the trend with tech companies. If it works, copy it, then compete.  You’ll be able to add filters, custom audio, and text to Facebook’s Reels. Facebook and Instagram…

Uber says it’s introducing ads in its rides but we’re sure we’ve seen tablets displaying ads in Uber rides in South Africa before. If Uber is only now starting an in-car ad initiative, whose ads have we been watching? Uber’s finally got us where it wants us. Trapped in the backseat as it serves ads to our eyeballs during rides. Will we ever get a chance to travel in silence? At this point, we’d pick the small talk with the driver if it means not having to watch ads. @uber seems to be building an ad platform for rides. Enjoyed…