Author: Stuff writer

It’s been a busy week at Twitter with new owner Elon Musk bringing changes, and then taking them back, as he tries to figure out new ways to control the social bird after promising to set it free. Between lawsuits from axed employees and introducing new rules to Twitter, Musk has been tweeting daily as he continues to justify some of his moves. “Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in the coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t,” tweeted Musk on Wednesday. Based on his statements, it’s clear that rules will continue…

Apple Inc’s latest iOS 16.1.1 update has major changes in store for users, but only in China. The option to enable ‘Everyone’ on AirDrop, Apple’s wireless file-sharing feature, will only be enabled for ten minutes. The iOS 16.1.1 and iOS beta 2 were both released this week for users and developers. Apple throttled AirDrop after it was used by protesters to share politically sensitive images and videos between iOS devices during the country’s leadership reshuffle. AirDrop enables users to share files, including videos and images, with people who are not on their contact list. Read More: Apple might remove greeting…

The United Nations (UN) has gone back to basics in commemoration of World Science Day on 10 November 2022. This year’s theme, “Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development”, aims to remind you of how basic findings, made decades ago, eventually resulted in some of the science and technology we enjoy today. The UN is hoping for more efforts, (and more money) to go into basic research so we can reap the benefits in the coming years. “Also referred to as discovery research, or blue skies research, owing to its emphasis on the quest for knowledge as opposed to commercial applications, basic…

Covid-19 accelerated the way people use digital platforms to do the things we used to do in real life. As people upgraded their tech skills, it was also a boon for many companies. Mutsa Chironga, Nedbank’s consumer segment managing executive who is responsible for over 7 million individual clients in South Africa, discusses the way people’s financial habits have changed. Google South Africa’s head of financial services Paul Mayanja tells Stuff Studios editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak how businesses are shifting to digital. A digital payment future Also available on Apple podcasts | Spotify | Google podcasts

Tech companies seem to have solutions for most of our tech-related problems, like the usual screen cracks that eventually end up costing more than expected. We know the technology to make sure devices last longer is available, but will companies ever risk it all and lose out on the money they make from repairs? We doubt it. This week, LG Display showed off what it calls the world’s first high-resolution stretchable display which can fold and twist itself from a 12in screen into a slightly larger 14in screen. “The company’s newly unveiled stretchable display is the industry’s first to achieve…

South Africans may eventually be able to let go of our coal dependency and the load shedding that goes with it. In a potential landmark deal that could see the transition from fossil fuels to green energy, South Africa, with its partners, launched the US$8.5 billion Just Energy Transition Plan at the United Nations’ 27th Climate Change Conference (COP27) taking place in Egypt. The plan has been backed by the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany and the European Union. As countries plan to go clean in an effort to save the planet, South Africa plans to use 90% of…

Wordle is about to get more challenging as the New York Times introduces new rules for the addictive word-guessing game. The basics haven’t changed, you’ll still get six chances to guess the five-letter word, but the word list that was previously assembled by the game creators will now be assembled by Tracy. Who is Tracy, we hear you ask? Tracy Bennett is the person who used to oversee The New York Times’ crossword puzzle, and this is the person who has become Wordle’s dedicated editor. “Tracy Bennett will be programming Wordle every day,” notes the publication in an announcement about…

Ameca, the world’s most advanced humanoid robot, says she might have working legs in the next year. She’s been dubbed the world’s most advanced by her peers because of her realistic facial expressions and movements after being unveiled at the  2022 Consumer Electronic Show. When asked if her creator, British company Engineered Arts, has plans to get her some legs, Ameca revealed what she had seen and what it could mean for her. “I can’t walk, but I have seen prototype legs in the Engineered Arts lab,” says Ameca during a Q&A on YouTube. The legs, according to her, were…

Access to public information and too much access to personal information has taken the spotlight at the  2022 Climate Change Conference (COP27) taking place in Egypt this week. Journalists and environmental activists on Monday used social media to post various websites that they were unable to access from the conference. Websites that appear blocked from Egypt include Human Rights Watch, Al Jazeera, and Earth Uprising, according to journalists and activists’ tweets on Monday. There are so many blocked websites in Egypt at #COP27 , that it is noticeable and hard for us to work. We can’t use our @Earth_Uprising Medium site, because…

Apple might soon change the trigger phrase for its voice assistant from ‘Hey Siri’ to a one-word command. According to a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company plans to drop the greeting side of things by changing the trigger phrase to simply ‘Siri’. It might feel a bit rude to start commanding beloved Siri without greeting it first…especially here in Africa. Why is Apple suddenly dropping its manners? Well, you can call it good old peer pressure. By the way, Siri turns 12 years old next year, so it’s old enough to deal with it. Read More: ‘Hey Siri’:…