Author: Stuff writer

It’s the first brick of Apple’s walled garden! A beige brick! With a tiny screen! It was also revolutionary: the first successful all-in-one computer with a built-in display, controlled with a mouse, and with a graphical user interface rather than a command line. As Apple saw it, the company was defying conformity. Nowhere was this more evident than in its launch commercial, directed by Ridley Scott, which featured an athlete sprinting past drone-like workers before hurling a sledgehammer into a TV screen depicting Orwell’s Big Brother. Ironic, given Apple’s famous penchant for control and locking things down… Indeed. And the…

Wow, IBM. Has Stuff been taken over by suits? What next: “Why spreadsheets are fantastic”? Sure, ‘IBM PC’ might evoke people doing dull things in dull offices, rather than the cool things people do with computers today. But this was 1981. IBM’s debut PC, the 5150, revolutionised the market … despite the fact that it failed to outperform its rivals and was light on features unless you became light of wallet buying a load of upgrades prior to plugging the thing in. But to borrow a later Apple phrase, IBM quickly won out because it could ‘think different’. Hang on,…

Some do it for the recognition. Others out of a sense of social responsibility. Still more were going to do it anyway. It doesn’t matter why you design and develop apps; Stuff wants to hear from you. You could be a South African app developer who has made and launched – or is about to launch – an app on the South African or international market, either way, the important thing is that Stuff and its panel of judges get a chance to use, test and review your app. You will then qualify and be in the running for Stuff’s…

THE BASICS Keep discovering Don’t be that person who insists music died after an arbitrary year that’s in your head. Your phone provides access to countless songs. Use digital radio and streaming service recommendations to seek out music that’s new to you, and ensure your listening habits don’t become as stale as an Osmonds tribute act. Test your ears Are you an audiophile? Are you sure? Do yourself a favour and blind-test whether your ears can actually tell the difference between good-quality streaming and hi-res audio downloads. If you can’t, that might make you glum, but it’ll make things a…

There’s something about the number three that just feels right, you know? Trilogies are a frequent occurrence in literature and Hollywood cinema, especially for this very reason. But what about fours? Quadrilogies are a much less common occurrence, presumably because the addition of a fourth instalment initially breaks the perception, we have that a trilogy is somehow satisfying. Whether this is true or not (probably not), most Hollywood studios’ solution to this problem is to use the fourth instalment as a hard reboot à la Mad Max: Fury Road. Others choose to go for a soft reboot, by pairing the…

When you need to keep track of a to-do list, important moments in your life, or fleeting ideas before they vanish, most folks reckon writing it down is a good way to do it. You could grab the closest piece of paper and pencil but who uses those anymore? Your smartphone is probably closer anyway — if you aren’t holding it already. Most phones come with a notes app baked in but those are generally pretty bland and don’t offer much in the way of features. These apps, on the other hand, are purpose-built for chronicling your life or jotting…

Android 14 – The Basics Hit and hope – You’re at the mercy of your device’s maker regarding when/if you’ll actually get Android 14, and which goodies will end up on your smartphone. The tips here are for vanilla Android – your options might differ. If you have a Pixel 4a or newer, head to ‘System update’ in the settings to check if the revamped OS is waiting for you. Lock it down – Security is a major part of Android 14. It’ll block ancient apps built for Android 5.1 or older – although anything already on your phone will still run.…

Oh, look – a proper smartphone OS. Not like the rubbish system iPhone users have. Well, arguments still rage about what impact the iPhone had on Android. We know it began as a camera OS, before pivoting to phones and being swallowed up by Google. There’s evidence to suggest early iterations were BlackBerry-flavoured… but Android fans claim it was always designed for multiple input types, and Google long had versions running on keyboard phones as well as touchscreen devices. Which might be why the first Android phone tried to give us both. The HTC Dream! What a masterpiece. It even…

So, it looks like you’ve acquired a new Windows laptop, whether it’s brand new or second-hand (and wiped correctly). You’ll want to set up this useful little gadget properly from the start. This will allow you to go into this new endeavour on… the right foot. As we guide you through this setup, just a few things. Firstly, Windows is an operating system developed by Microsoft for laptops and PCs. Not all laptops will come out of the box with Windows – If it’s labelled ‘Apple’, you’ll find something called MacOS and this guide will be of little help. But…

Looks like you’re in the process of unboxing a brand-new (or secondhand) Android smartphone. You may have got your hands on the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S24 or imported a Google Pixel device. Whichever Android phone you’re setting up – you may have some questions. Firstly, make sure the phone you’re setting up is either brand new or a properly formatted hand-me-down or secondhand phone. Either way, there are a few steps to follow that’ll streamline the setup process. Step 1: Preparing for setup Before diving into the setup process, it’s vital you go out and gather everything you need. Back…