Author: Toby Shapshak

Amazon is getting into generative AI with a sizable $4 billion investment in Anthropic, a startup founded by several former executives from OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT. Microsoft has ploughed $10 billion into OpenAI, while Google has been working on its own artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. This left Amazon, which made early inroads into the world of voice assistants with Alexa, without meaningful competition in the tech industry’s latest holy grail; AI. Ready Player… Three? Now, Amazon is playing catchup with the help of Antrhopic’s own chatbot (and $4 billion), which launched earlier this year – going by the name…

Talk about not reading the room. An enthusiastic press release from a crypto exchange this week claimed that “Rugby World Cup and Crypto: Two Worlds, Same Principles”. I kid you not. With all the words capitalised, so you know it’s been cut-n-pasted from a US press release. “What does rugby have to do with cryptocurrency?” the email correctly asked, and then argued five seemingly similar points to prove it. These included comparisons to defence, strategy and the utterly improbable: “Stay legal, rules are important”.  Who do they think they are fooling? Rugby is unlike any other sport – even American…

Artificial intelligence is coming to Microsoft in a big way, starting with Windows 11. Calling the AI software Copilot not only means Microsoft can use this analogy endlessly, but headline writers will overuse the Copilot joke ad nauseam. “We are entering a new era of AI, one that is fundamentally changing how we relate to and benefit from technology, says consumer chief marketing officer Yusuf Mehdi. “With the convergence of chat interfaces and large language models, you can now ask for what you want in natural language and the technology is smart enough to answer, create it or take action.”…

It wasn’t a happy 25th birthday for Google, the search giant and now Android maker, which went on trial last week for monopolising the online search industry. Initially filed in 2020, the US Justice Department sued Google in the most consequential attempt by competition authorities to unravel the immense power of Big Tech. The last time this sort of antitrust case was in play was 20 years ago against Microsoft, the then-mightiest power in the computing industry. Now, Windows is a division of its Azure cloud computing division, which is second to Amazon Web Services in size. Microsoft’s own search…

It’s go-time for Apple’s latest iPhone and iPad software upgrade. This year’s iOS 17 refresh might actually offer a few useful updates. What iOS 17 has up its sleeve The biggest update – no pun intended – is the new StandBy mode – the latest in a long line of Apple features named by capitalising letters in words we use all the time. Sometimes this means turning into so-called CamelCase words, like FaceTime, AirDrop and the little-used AirPlay. Actually, the never-used AirPlay. Now there’s NameDrop – yes, this is now actually a feature in a bonafide technology product. Expect memes…

Before Covid, Toby Shapshak was a regular traveller. But when the pandemic struck, he unpacked all his travel gear. But now we’re in 2023, planes are flying and it’s time to pack those bags up again. Here’s a list of gear you should always keep handy whether you’re flying off to some foreign country, a camping trip or even just heading to the local Spar down the road. You never know when they might be useful. Thule Tact Backpack 21L R5,000 | Thule Swedish luggage maestros Thule may have gotten as close to perfect as a travel bag can be.…

How much do Google, Facebook, and advertising technology (adtech) affect media organisations and publishers? Ask anyone in the media, and the answer is a lot. You can see it in the falling revenues and advertising agencies always preferring programmatic advertising under the delusion such accuracy of targeting is real. You see it in the decline in the number of publications and media houses. You certainly see it in the loss of jobs in the media industry. Now, the Competition Commission will investigate the impact of adtech having gazetted the final terms of reference for its Media and Digital Platforms Market…

If there was an award for guerrilla marketing, this year it would be won hands down by Checkers Sixty60. As South Africans tried to come to terms with seeing the green and gold Springboks running out in “hyper jade” kit, the internet has been awash with conspiracy theories about whose fault it is. This admittedly short-lived whodunnit took over the internet with some hilarious results – and lots of memes. It’s the second time this year that Sixty60 has been gifted such exposure. The first time was when Twitter owner Elon Musk rebranded the company as X – which looked…

Not many consumers will get as excited about a large-format camera as most photographers will. As the name implies, the Fujifilm GFX100 II has a larger sensor and can therefore capture more information in every frame of a video or photograph. Fujifilm’s GFX line-up of large-format cameras has a new top dog. The GFX100 II not only has a whopping 102MP sensor but also promises better shooting speed, auto-focus (AF) performance, and video quality. The new flagship camera uses its newly developed GFX 102MP CMOS II HS high-speed image sensor consisting of 102 million pixels. The sensor is 43.8mm x…

How much have we learned from Elon Musk’s latest biography, written by star biographer Walter Isaacson? The Guardian says eight, Barron’s says three – while just as many headlines seem to focus on how many kids he has (I think it’s 11.) The best – and shortest – book review comes from tech journo legend Kara Swisher, who tweeted, natch: “Sad & smart son slowly morphs into mentally abusive father he abhors except with rockets, cars & more money. Often right, sometimes wrong, petty jerk always. Might be crazy in good way, but also a bad way. Pile o’ babies.…