Author: Trent Meikle

The SABC (South African Broadcasting Commission) is moving forward with its plan to introduce a new tax, which is set to replace the current TV licence fees. And, as you might imagine, it means more money in the SABC’s pocket. The new tax proposal can be found in the SABC’s latest annual performance plan and describes a new “technology-neutral” public media levy that may replace the current system for TV licence fees. This levy will be “device-independent” meaning that even if you’ve never even seen a TV before, you’ll be helping fund the SABC’s staff holiday. Left no choice Also…

On Friday, Nissan announced the Sakura, a small but cute little electric vehicle (EV) that is set to be Nissan’s most affordable EV to date. The car was designed for the Japanese market, where Kei-cars are extremely popular. The car will cost 2,333,100 yen, or roughly R290,000. The Sakura was a topic of discussion over the Internet this weekend due to how Nissan opted to unveil its new car. There was the physical unveiling, which went off without a hitch. But then there was a second unveiling for the same car, but in the metaverse. Yes, the metaverse. Here is…

Cape Town is getting new traffic lights, designed to help avoid accidents in major areas. These new traffic lights could find their way to the rest of South Africa before too long. The City of Cape Town has announced that residents will be seeing new sets of traffic lights very soon. Over the course of the next six months, the government will decide if the project is a success or not. If the project is deemed successful, the rest of South Africa should be able to replicate its success. The new traffic lights will only be for public transport; specifically,…

Back in March, MTN announced an increase for its contract subscribers. The mobile service provider claimed that increases would be capped at 5%. The increase was set to go up in May, and go up it has. Except, for many MTN customers, the increase ended up being more than 5%. Way more. “The tariffs will be an average increase of 5%, which is in line with inflation and comparable to the market,” said MTN CCO Mapula Bodibe when the initial price increases were announced. There was even a table that showed the old and new prices that customers would be…

Outa, the civil action group, is calling on the South African government to extend the temporary relief for fuel prices past the original 31 May deadline. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana first announced the tax relief in April this year, which saw the fuel levy reduced by R1.50 until 31 May this year. The problem is, it’s almost 31 May, and we really don’t want to pay even more for fuel. If the tax relief ends when it’s meant to, we could be facing a R25/litre price for petrol and diesel. The relief started as a way to lower the extravagant…

While the MCU is riding high, Marvel Entertainment is looking to keep the audience invested with the release of Marvel Snap. The title is a collectible card game that apparently has the fastest CCG (collectible card game) gameplay in the west too. As long as we get to see Baby Groot, this is a win. The game is the work of Second Dinner, a studio making its debut with Marvel Snap. The founders of Second Dinner are developers who worked on Hearthstone back in the day. Second Dinner partnered with Marvel Entertainment and Nuverse for the creation of Marvel Snap.…

One of the biggest apps in the world right now, TikTok, is looking to lean into gaming, with tests reportedly already taking place in Vietnam. TikTok’s number base is huge, with over a billion monthly active users on the platform. TikTok wants to keep its audience on the platform for even longer durations than now. This would be a great move for TikTok since more than 70% of the user base is under the age of 35, the ideal demographic. The news came from four people close to the company, so take this information with a grain of salt. TikTok…

YouTube is launching a new feature today, designed to help viewers find the most-watched sections of any specific video. Long-time YouTube Premium members may remember this feature. YouTube has decided to move it out of testing, and release it to the world on both the web player and mobile apps. The way it works is by showing viewers what the most replayed section of any video is. When scrolling through a video, a graph will appear to identify the most popular section of the video. This will be particularly useful for those in desperate need to find the most-watched bits…

If you’re a DStv customer who wants to save a little money on your Disney+ subscription, and we mean a little, then listen up. DStv has just announced its ‘bundle and save’ options for its DStv Premium, Compact and Compact Plus customers. If you decide to incorporate Disney+ into your DStv sub, you’ll be saving a whopping R49/m. That’s it. If you were expecting a bigger discount for being a Premium member, you’re out of luck. Those who are on DStv Family, Access and EasyView packages will be able to add Disney+ to their billing subscription to make life simpler…

Just last week, we saw the announcement for Sonos’ newest and cheapest soundbar – the Sonos Ray. You may have also noticed the lack of a similarly priced subwoofer to pair it with. At the moment, the only Sonos subwoofer on the market costs $750 (~R12,000). This costs more than the Ray by a long shot – it just wouldn’t make sense to pair it with a subwoofer costing nearly double the price. That’s why the company is gearing up for the release of a newer, cheaper subwoofer, designed to be paired with the Ray, Beam and Arc models. The…