Author: Stuff writer

Some Instagram users across the world could not log into their accounts on Monday, some even received a message letting them know their accounts had been suspended. Additionally, others also noticed their follower count dropping… oh the horror.  “We suspended your account on October 31, 2022,” notes a message to Instagram users who had been affected. The good news is, it was mostly because of a bug. Yes, some of you may have really lost followers and some of you may have been suspended for valid reasons. But for those that behave themselves on social media, it might have come…

Sadly, fuel isn’t getting cheaper in South Africa this month. Diesel, petrol and paraffin prices are set to increase on Wednesday, 2 November. Today would be a good day to fill up your tank. Diesel prices will see a massive spike with an increase of R1.43 a litre and petrol, both 93 and 95, will increase by R0.51. Paraffin will also increase by R0.77. Gas is the only fuel that will drop this month with a decrease of R0.98. Read More: South African jet fuel shortages could lead to cancelled flights and missed schedules Inland, you can expect to pay…

Eskom says South Africa requires 53GW of clean energy capacity in the next ten years to keep the lights on and avoid load shedding, as old coal power stations close down. Eskom noted its plans in October this year at its Transmission Development Plan (TDP) 2022 to 2031. If clean energy is what the country is going for, to reach the amount of clean energy required from the sun and the wind, SA would need to build 166 million photovoltaic (PV) panels at the speed of light within the next decade. That’s if we can keep those machines switched on.…

We knew change was coming at Twitter, we just didn’t know it would involve money and that it would be this soon after Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social media platform. According to The Verge, Elon Musk has reportedly given a directive to Twitter staff members to introduce a subscription fee for verification on Twitter Blue. The price of freedom “Twitter Blue is a monthly subscription that gives the most engaged people on Twitter exclusive access to premium features,” notes the platform on its website. On the Blue version, users get early access to features that are being tested, before…

If YouTube is one of your go-to places for self-diagnosis or advice on health matters, there’s a chance you might get real health info. Mostly, though, you just hope their advice works and doesn’t leave you worse off. In an effort to limit misinformation on the platform, YouTube announced on Thursday that it’ll let certified healthcare professionals apply for verification.  “For the first time, certain categories of healthcare professionals and health information providers can apply to make their channels eligible for our health product features,” said YouTube’s global head of health Dr. Garth Graham. Read More: YouTube: how a team…

Plans to send astronauts to Mars seem to be working out for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A magnitude 4 marsquake (as opposed to an earthquake here on Earth) on Mars in December last year This week, scientists finally figured out what actually happened and what it could mean for plans to send astronauts to Mars. “Working together, two NASA spacecraft —one on the ground and one in orbit—detected a large meteorite that slammed into the Red Planet,” says NASA. Side note: Mars is called the Red Planet because (you guessed it)… it looks red due to its…

Now and then, it’s good to go back in time and see how much technology has evolved over the years. Thursday, 27 October, marks World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. Let’s go back in time to 2005, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) picked a day to remind us about the importance of preserving recorded sound and audiovisual documents. Stuff Shop: Go back in time and check out previous editions of Stuff. This year, UNESCO chose the theme “Enlisting documentary heritage to promote inclusive, just and peaceful societies.” Hopefully, you’ll use the tech for some good. Here’s how…

You know that moment when you receive a video, image, or GIF on WhatsApp and you forward it only to realise the text caption didn’t send? You then have to copy the text and send it separately. Well, that may soon come to an end. The Meta-owned messaging platform is testing a new version of WhatsApp Beta which could enable you to forward the media with the text attached…as you received it. The new feature was spotted by WABetaInfo. WhatsApp beta 2.22.23.15 is available from the Google Play Store to a few users testing it on Android. It could soon…

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…