Author: Stuff writer

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…

UPDATE: Earlier today, Eskom confirmed stage 3 load shedding would stick around “until further notice”. Hours later, Eskom has confirmed stage 3 is sticking around until at least Friday. “Stage 3 and 2 load shedding will again be implemented continuously from 16:00 on Friday until 05:00 Monday morning.” #PowerAlert1 Stage 3 loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Friday morning. Stage 3 and 2 loadshedding will again be implemented continuously from 16:00 on Friday until 05:00 Monday morning. pic.twitter.com/gSnnoPSbfq — Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) October 20, 2022 By looking at the image Eskom has supplied, it seems that the only…

It’s time to say goodbye to online services for some classic games as Electronic Arts (EA) begins shutting down online servers for older games including Mirror’s Edge, 2010’s NBA Jam: On Fire Edition, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, and Shank 2. EA plans to bring the servers down in the coming months and some games are already on their way out. 19 January 2023 will see the end of online functions for some of the all-time favourite classics. Why? Feasibility, that’s why. EA says there aren’t enough of you playing these older games, because you moved on to new…

Eskom has announced the latest load shedding schedule, and they’ve given us a glimpse of how much electricity we won’t be getting this week. Remember, this could change at any point. Generators trip and coal gets wet sometimes. We’re moving down the stages, though we’re not sure if it’s worth celebrating or if we should be grateful to plan our week in the dark. Tuesday  Eskom says Stage 4 load shedding will continue until midnight on Tuesday, and then they’ll move us to Stage 2 from Wednesday at midnight until 5 am. Wednesday Just when we were getting excited about…

We knew it was only a matter of time, so we were prepared. After some slightly reduced stage 1 load shedding on Friday followed by an upgrade to stage 2 over the weekend, we’re back up to Stage 4 load shedding “until further notice”. The non-power utility announced the latest stage early on Tuesday morning. “Stage 4 load shedding was implemented at 05:30 due to breakdowns of five generators at five power stations overnight. The load shedding will be implemented until further notice,” notes Eskom. You’ll need Stuff to get you through the dark times.  You’ll also need sunshine, petrol,…

Having your phone stolen is bad, but having what’s on it stolen is worse. Stuff digs into the best ways to lock down data and devices to protect yourself from nefarious types.  The basics Use better passwords Make device passcode locks alphanumeric. Use a password manager and, when setting any new passwords, avoid easily identifiable strings of characters or letters. Never· use the same passwords ( or parts of passwords) across multiple apps and services. Use random strings for account recovery challenges. not real answers that a third party could figure out.  Thwart phishing You might laugh at terrible phishing…