Author: Trent Meikle

As we inch closer to July, it’s time for another look at the latest round of fuel price predictions, courtesy of the Central Energy Fund (CEF). If we’re lucky, South Africans could be in for a sizeable petrol and diesel price cut come the new month, even after the National Treasury reintroduces the deducted fuel levies back into the mix. Everything’s coming up fuel The government initially established the fuel tax levy relief scheme to provide some solace in the face of the astronomical fuel price hikes the country experienced in recent months. The scheme has proved effective, with the…

It’ll be a while before Lego can top the 12,000+ piece behemoth that is Gaudí’s Sagrada Família set, but its next creation is arguably just as impressive, though in a different way. That would be Lego’s new Arcade Pinball Machine that doesn’t take your nostalgia for granted by actually letting you play with the bloody thing. Playing with Lego? The Danish brick company announced the set this week, confirming a release date of 4 July in the US. South Africa’s Lego distributor has yet to confirm an official release date or price, but it shouldn’t be too long now. We…

WhatsApp’s disappearing messages trick is old news at this point. The feature, while handy, does have its issues. That’s especially true if the person on the other end tends only to check their phone at random intervals. Now, WABetaInfo reports that the app is addressing the flaws — with the help of view-once messages. What is this, Snapchat? View-once messages initially turned up on the messenger back in 2021, though oddly only supported images, videos, and voice notes. Messages were still forced to rely on ‘disappearing messages’, which automatically started a self-destruct countdown from the moment the message was sent,…

SABC Plus is already treating the country to 34 free FIFA World Cup matches, and now it’s partnered up with Vodacom to make it a little bit better. Viewers without a stable Wi-Fi connection can get their kicks using mobile data. Not the overpriced stuff you’re used to. This time, Vodacom is selling dedicated World Cup data bundles. In addition to all of SA’s matches, SABC Plus viewers will get access to a couple of other matches at no cost. Those include key knockout matches, including the final, taking place on Sunday, 19 July. Vodacom customers can “stream live the coverage…

If you’ve ever paid for WinRAR, then you’ll love WhatsApp’s new ‘Plus’ subscription, now officially live in South Africa. Before you get yourself in a tizz — no, the Meta-owned messenger isn’t charging you for messages. Yet, anyway. This is a completely optional subscription that’ll slightly (emphasis on slightly) enhance the app. For a monthly fee, of course. Meta’s new subscription may not sound like that bad of a deal at R29/m, but considering what you’re getting… well, let’s just say it could be more substantial. We expect that to change eventually, once WhatsApp makes good on its promise to…

You’ve gotta go outside sometime. And when you do, what better way to greet that old friend, vitamin D, with some tunes blasting out behind you? The effect is a little better with a couple of friends (and walls) surrounding you, beverage of choice clutched in their hands. Whipping out Sony’s ULT Field 5 at Parkrun is an easy way to catch some hands (they will catch you), even if you technically could get it there without first breaking your back. That’s not a knock against the ULT Field 5 we had in for review, either. It slots nicely into the ULT…

It took a while, but Standard Bank Connect is finally getting into the eSIM game. Embedded SIMs are old hat for many of South Africa’s more popular MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators), but now that the bank has reported strong growth via Connect since its relaunch in 2024, it certainly seems keen to propel it to new heights. “[eSIM] allows customers to activate mobile services digitally and store multiple profiles on a single device, making it easier to switch between numbers or plans,” the bank said. Connecting eSIMs According to the company, Connect has seen “solid” year-on-year growth, having recently…

Bolt was never really going to compete with Uber for the #1 spot in the e-hailing scene in South Africa, but the company’s latest changes have now set its operations to hard mode. Passengers hoping to secure a ride via Bolt must now hand over their ID number and a selfie before they can do so — all in the name of safety. ID or goodbye Users unwilling to part with their ID number and good looks (for free, anyway) — and we’re guessing there’ll be a fair few who don’t — can jump ship to one of the other…

TenX SpaceX Love him or hate him, Elon Musk — the guy behind Tesla, SpaceX, and, ugh, X — is now the world’s first trillionaire. It’s not like he’s sleeping on a lumpy mattress disguising his amassed wealth, though. His fortune is all theoretical after Musk moved to raise a record $75 billion in SpaceX’s initial public offering (IPO) last week. It didn’t take Forbes long to declare Musk the world’s first trillionaire on Friday, after share prices were pegged at $135 per. As the CEO, chairman, and chief technical officer of the space company, Musk currently owns about 4.8 billion shares,…

These days, it seems companies are all competing to make the most impressive gaming monitors, with faster refresh rates and glorious OLED panels. But what about the creatives without gaming ambitions? That’s where something like Xiaomi’s A27Ui comes in, a 27in 4K IPS display designed to get the creative juices a-flowin’. Sure, you could plug your PS5 or gaming PC into this display for those 4K visuals, but a 60Hz refresh rate and 6ms response time mean it’ll be useful for nought but single-player games. Any hopes for playing competitively fly right out the window once you drop the pretty-pricey R7,000 that…