Author: Trent Meikle

Alphabet Inc’s Google has announced the addition of 24 new languages to Google Translate. Two of these are spoken widely in South Africa, namely; Sepedi and Tsonga. Google has added the languages because, according to Google, Sepedi is spoken by 14 million people around South Africa. Tsonga is not as common, but still has a whopping 7 million speakers scattered through Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Mozambique, and South Africa. The addition of these 24 languages brings Google Translate’s total up to 133. Google Translate now has seven of South Africa’s official languages on offer, with Sepedi and Tsonga joining English, Afrikaans, Sesotho,…

Disney is riding high in the streaming industry lately, with the Mouse’s new Disney+ service adding 7.9 million new subscribers in 2022. The news was announced on Wednesday during the company’s Q2 earnings report. In total, the service now has close to 87.6 million subscribers. This excludes the 50.1 million users on Hotstar, a package aimed at Indian viewers. Hang on, why do they get cricket? The trend of Disney+ gaining subscribers doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. A small portion of their newest subscribers will be from South Africa since the service is making its way…

Back in 2019, Vodacom set out to a Mpumalanga town called Wakkerstroom in order to connect its residents using 3G and 4G. Wakkerstroom is a small town known for its farming, with its citizens placing a heavy reliance on the industry. Vodacom’s plan was to give the entire population – just over 1,400 people – a bunch of 3G- and 4G-enabled devices. Plus the connectivity to make use of them. The project was initiated with BPG Langfontein, a farm company in the town. Most of Wakkerstroom relies on BPG Langfontein as a source of food and of work. But with…

One of the biggest names in the video game industry, EA Sports FIFA has officially ended its partnership with the football conglomerate of the same name. That isn’t to say EA isn’t making football games anymore, future titles will just be needing a new name. The new official title as stated by EA will be known as EA Sports FC. The sad thing is, that’s probably the best name they could come up with. Let’s not go too hard on them. The news isn’t exactly surprising since EA was already discussing the possibility of ending their partnership back in October…

The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle-Earth is publisher Electronic Arts’ next foray into the world of mobile gaming. Announced this week, Heroes of Middle-Earth will be a ‘collectible role-playing game’ and will first be released in beta form. The beta kicks off in the next few months. Hopefully, the thrill of opening loot boxes will keep the blood pumping and keep us warm. Oh, and it’ll also be free-to-play. Whether it’s free-to-win is still to be decided. The game is being developed by EA Capital, makers of Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes. You may remember Galaxy of Heroes…

Imagine, for a moment, that you could play Halo Infinite without the need for a computer or Xbox? Well, Microsoft may be thinking along those same lines. Reports claim that Microsoft will release a streaming device that will allow players to access the Game Pass Ultimate library, along with movies and TV services. The device will apparently be similar to either Amazon’s Fire Stick or will arrive in a small box shape. So a Chromecast for video games, basically. This means all you’d need is a TV with a working HDMI port, a more-than-decent internet connection, a subscription to Xbox…

According to the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA), South Africans may get new driver’s licences next year. The DLCA is responsible for the production of South Africa’s drivers’ licences. The new versions are planned for release in October 2023. The tricky bit about them? They may include blockchain features. Or maybe they won’t. The announcement was made during the DLCA’s latest annual performance plan. At the same presentation, it was shown that the new cards will feature a new design, along with extra security features. The DLCA want to use its new licences as an opportunity to ‘re-engineer the process’.…

It feels like every other day robots are given more and more high-profile jobs around the world. South Africa is no different. Netcare Pretoria East Hospital is using robotic technology to assist its doctors with knee and hip replacements. Robotic surgeons are a thing in South Africa now. More or less. The Mako robotic system, made by a company called Stryker, began its work in the Netcare Pretoria East Hospital. Dr. Wian van der Merwe performed the first robotically assisted hip and knee surgeries in November last year. Since then, the procedure has become more widely available to residents of South…

Vodacom South Africa is looking to reduce its ecological footprint over the next three years. It announced a pledge that, when carried out, would see its environmental impact halved by the year 2025. Vodacom made the announcement last week during the Just-Transition Multi-Stakeholder Conference, of which it is a sponsor. Vodacom has been planning this for a few years now. Other than being beneficial to the planet as a whole, it will also help South Africa achieve its Paris Agreement goals. The Paris Agreement consists of countries aiming to keep global temperature increases below 1.5°C – 2°C. Saving the planet…

Today, South Africa welcomes the world’s largest hydrogen-powered truck as it begins work in a platinum mine. The project – named nuGen – aims to relieve the mine’s current fleet of 40 diesel-powered trucks. Each diesel-powered truck uses around 1 million litres of diesel each year. Can you hear the planet shouting its thanks? The mine in question is the Anglo American-owned Mogalakwena mine. The new hydrogen-powered truck will get its power from an on-site solar-powered hydrogen electrolyser. This machine splits water molecules, sending the resulting hydrogen to the truck. Unlike its diesel counterparts, this truck won’t create any harmful…