Author: Trent Meikle

Another Dolby contender enters the ring Anybody even vaguely interested in audio has heard of Dolby Atmos before. Or, at the very least, you’ve seen the Atmos tag pop up before hitting play on Netflix. More specifically, Atmos is Dolby’s proprietary surround sound tech that’s been left unfettered to become the undisputed champ of the scene. Back in November, however, Samsung, in partnership with Google, announced its intent to dethrone Atmos with something it calls Immersive Audio Model and Formats (IAMF). Details surrounding the Atmos competitor were scarce until recently when Samsung spoke up about its plans for IAMF at…

WhatsApp’s update department might have had a slower end to 2023 than we’d have liked, but it’s entered the new year overflowing with resolutions to pick up the slack. That’s what WABetaInfo has to say on the subject, at least, which reckons Meta’s messenger is working on a new file-sharing system similar to AirDrop or Nearby Share (better known as Quick Share). Never gonna let you down The nearby file-sharing feature was only recently spotted in the dark recesses of WhatsApp’s update department, specifically in the Android 2.24.2.20 update, and it brought some bad news with it. WhatsApp is still…

Step aside SSD, DNA wants to eat your lunch (slowly) When you hear the words ‘DNA data storage’, there’s a good chance you imagine something sci-fi, from George Lucas’ or James Cameron’s head perhaps. Well, a company named Biomemory has taken the ‘fiction’ bit out of the equation. The result? DNA memory cards that anyone can purchase. Well, anyone who’s got the necessary $1,100 (R21,000) per kilobyte of storage. Yup, you read ‘per kilobyte’ correctly. But you aren’t spending R20,000 or so for a 1KB DNA memory card just for bragging rights. No, it’s got some actual benefits, even if…

Alexa’s big AI upgrade Another day, another product that’s retroactively throwing AI into the mix. This time it’s Amazon’s Alexa getting the artificial intelligence makeover, not out of a desire to further advance the field as a whole — but out of a desire to add some cash into its back pocket. According to a new report from Business Insider (via Digital Trends), Bezos hasn’t had much success in actually monetizing its smart assistant, and a switch to an AI-focused model might be the only way to offset the costs. Emphasis on ‘might’. We have no trouble believing Amazon is struggling in…

One of the world’s most controversial games of the last, well, ever, has been remastered for the PS5. The Last of Us Part II Remastered is Naughty Dog’s way of letting us know that, actually, yes, it has been keeping itself busy. Just… not on The Last of Us 3. That’s fine. Plenty of the original game’s fanbase ran for cover when Part II was released for the PS4, causing a rift among reviewers and audiences. Well, what better place to shelve your pride and finally give the game ago than a PlayStation 5 remaster? It isn’t just rehashing the…

Well, it was fun while it lasted, eh? After going three months without any sort of petrol and diesel price hike, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy is looking like it’ll end that streak come the first week of February. That’s if the Central Energy Fund’s (CEF) latest data dump, captured on 17 January, has anything to say on the subject — it usually does. The only reprieve we can offer is that the CEF’s predictions — which are more than likely to be the closest thing to ‘correct’ as possible — aren’t filling our brains with scary ideas…

Circle to Search is Google Lens but with extra steps Last night’s Samsung Unpacked event in San Jose, California wasn’t only to shill the S24 family or the accompanying Galaxy AI. Not all of it, anyway. It actually brought with it a couple of features that we could definitely see ourselves trying at least a couple of times — the coolest of which is probably Google’s Circle to Search. It’s about as self-explanatory as it gets. Anybody donning one of the three newly announced S24s will be able to simply perform the necessary gesture (long-pressing the home button or navigation…

How to watch Samsung Galaxy Unpacked https://youtu.be/J7x0E0hLaJ8 This evening will see Samsung’s first Unpacked event of the year, just a week after the end of CES. We’ve already got a pretty good idea of what to expect when the South Korean conglomerate takes to the stage later in San Jose, California. If the onslaught of rumours and Samsung’s own rigid schedule are anything to go by, we’ll likely get a look at the line-up for the S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra, and possibly a few other products that might not interest South Africans much. Take that all with a pinch…

https://youtu.be/D6TBgNkrYBU TVs – especially those big mothers – are expensive. But who wants to see Kevin De Bruyne’s assist against Newcastle on some 40-inch rinky-dink display that’s not even OLED? Whether you’re looking for something to pick up the slack in the sports department, or simply going through a mid-life crisis, a projector is usually the next logical buy. Preferably, you’re looking for something 4K that won’t be shackled to your garden’s braai pit. We’d recommend Hisense’s C1 Mini Laser Projector to fill that role. That 4K spec the C1 is revered for might sound like the most important thing,…

Copilot (for Pros) Copilot, Microsoft’s immense push into artificial intelligence (AI), may have only just gotten AI features for Office apps back in November, but Microsoft has already begun paywalling those same features but for consumers. It’s a ‘new’ program called Copilot Pro because of course it is and will cost $20/m (R370) because of course it does. Subscribing will give users access to a host of AI-powered features in Microsoft’s Office suite in apps like Powerpoint, Word, and Excel — with general access to OpenAI’s most recent models. Oh, and you’ll be able to build custom Copilot GPTs if…