Author: Toby Shapshak

24The first time I shaved with my new Philips OneBlade, I should have cut myself three times. As I tilted the electric blade too steeply against my skin, I braced for the sting of the cut. But I escaped unharmed. This hardly seems like fitting material for a column, but the OneBlade is a remarkable lifetime shaver for those with a frustratingly thick growth. I have tried every kind of shaving technique, new razors, new shaving creams, and wet and dry shaves. Getting the occasional nick is part of the process – unfortunately. I’ve long since settled on the combination…

https://youtu.be/22rurn0leoc Risk isn’t a word that consumers often use, but banks are obsessed with it – as they should be, Emma Mer, Chief Risk Officer at FNB, tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Also available on Spotify | Apple Podcasts Now Hear: Why contactless payments are more secure, with FNB Card’s head of fraud Chris Boxall

Digital wallets have rapidly become the default means for anyone with a smartphone to use for contactless payments. But as these payment methods have become more sophisticated, so have the criminals, FNB Card’s head of fraud Chris Boxall tells Stuff editor-in-chief, Toby Shapshak. Also available on Spotify | Apple Podcasts Now Hear: The future of AI, with FNB’s chief data officer Christoph Nieuwoudt

Alexey Pajitnov is the most famous game inventor you’ve never heard of. The Soviet software engineer created Tetris in 1985 fuelling a decades-long love-affair for millions of people who play the puzzle-solving game. Not only is it one of the greatest games ever sold, but it is a cultural icon. Years ago I saw the first Tetris shelves, which were designed to hold CDs. That’s how long ago the concept has been kicking around and I’ve always loved the idea. My late father was very dexterous and taught me a range of woodworking and other handyman-esque skills. During Covid, with…

Is what you’re hearing really real? Deepfake videos have gotten a lot of attention (especially after it happened to Taylor Swift) but more troubling are deepfake audio recordings, Sergey Shykevich, threat intelligence group manager at Check Point Software Technologies, tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. The dangers of deepfake audio Also available on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify

You forget just how desperate the state of Springbok rugby was a mere 18 months before the 2019 World Cup in Japan. It would end so dramatically and with such triumph, sure, but it began at rock bottom. Losing 57-nil to the All Blacks in 2017 was the nadir of Alistair Coetsee’s ill-fated reign as Springbok coach. In came Rassie Erasmus and his partner-in-genius, Jacques Nienabr. They would go on to revolutionise South African rugby, turn around the fortunes of a top-tier but depressed team, scandalise world rugby with the innovative bomb squad of replacement forwards, and win a World…

The best thing Amazon’s South Africa launch has done is make Takealot better. It may sound reductionistic, but it really is the case. Takealot is good, even if it has had a few unforgivable brainfarts with returns. Takealot still has some tricks up its sleeve Suddenly, next-day deliveries are standard and all-round efficiency and speed have been improved. And that isn’t even with the new subscription service, called TakealotMore. The R40/m subscription offers unlimited next-day deliveries (for over R500) and two same-day deliveries a month. The R100 premium package gives unlimited same-day delivery. I am more than happy with a reliable next-day service,…

Any conversation with Dr Christoph Nieuwoudt – FNB’s chief data and analytics officer – is always a meandering journey across a range of fields. He delves into how artificial intelligence (AI) is a game changer, and specifically about the immediate gains of generative AI, he tells Stuff editor-in-chief, Toby Shapshak. Also available on Spotify | Apple Podcasts Now Hear: How to nav-igate your life, with FNB’s nav chief Jolandé Duvenage

Why don’t we buy tech gifts for mothers? My long-suffering business partner, Sally Hudson, asked me earlier this week. Indeed, ahead of Mother’s Day, anxious husbands and kids are looking for something wonderful ahead of the big day. It’s on Sunday, 12 May, if you’re yet to pick up a gift. Sonos Move 2 – R12,900 The upgraded Bluetooth-enabled Move 2 is a gift in and of itself – doubly so if you are already using Sonos’ streaming speakers. It works as part of the system but is also a standalone Bluetooth speaker. Sonos’ automatic Trueplay analyses the speaker’s environment and adjusts…

When Gmail first launched in 2004, one of its standout features was an abundance of storage. Instead of the small quantities offered by Hotmail and Yahoo Mail, Gmail gave each user a whopping 1GB of space. Instead of painstakingly trying to (constantly) delete emails and stay on top of your inbox, the theory went, you could just search for whatever email you needed. Web-based email was still a newish service then. Hotmail had launched in 1996 with 2MB of storage and was bought by Microsoft the following year for $400m. The idea of hosting your email in what would become…