Author: Trent Meikle

NASA wants to bring humanity back to the Moon (or arrive for the first time, if you’re one of those nutcases). To do that, it needs the Artemis missions to continue succeeding. Artemis 1 – NASA’s most recent unmanned venture to the Moon – successfully concluded in 2022, with a follow-up pencilled in for a November 2024 launch. In a bid to get the next generation of younglings (and… oldlings?) interested in space and more specifically, the Artemis missions, NASA and Minecraft Education are teaming up. The partnership between the two lets players (ages 8 and up) “build and launch…

Masks could be coming back in a big way. No, not those ones that have sat in your drawer for the past year. We’re talking about the heavy-duty kind you see in The Last of Us – but not to protect ourselves from some zombie-inducing particles in the air. Our reality could be more concerning. South Africa’s environment minister Barbara Creecy has greenlit Eskom’s plan to expel more sulphur dioxide (SO2) and load shed less. See, Eskom doesn’t want to pollute the air with more noxious fumes. It feels that if it’s able to circumvent the country’s environmental laws, it…

Remember BlackBerry? If you’re under the age of fourteen, why would you? Despite being one of the most popular names in the mobile tech industry, BlackBerry fell victim to the cold hands of Death (and Apple) years ago. Now, Hollywood bigwigs have decided a movie depicting the company’s meteoric rise to the top (and subsequent demise), is in order. We’ve known about a BlackBerry movie for some time now. Today, however, we got a trailer for BlackBerry, which reminds the world that Jay Bucharel is still alive. He’s playing the role of Mike Lazaridis – joined by an almost unrecognizable…

Remember those dark days before Microsoft used to sell their products in South Africa? No? Unfortunately, we do. We’d rather forget the expensive importers and lack of official tech support. But those times are (mostly) behind us. At least as far as Microsoft’s products go. Now, the Surface Pro 9 joins the devices already sold in SA. Want our advice? Hide your wallet from these. Microsoft’s going Pro (again) Newbies to Microsoft’s Surface Pro line-up might’ve been expecting a laptop. Only this isn’t a laptop but a tablet doing its best laptop impression – with a Type Cover to help…

Few things in life are assured. Death, taxes, and South Africa’s rising petrol costs, however, are. April 2023 is no different, according to the Central Energy Fund’s (CEF) latest data — captured on 13 March. Compared to last week’s predictions, prices aren’t looking as bleak but don’t get too excited. Petrol drivers are still absorbing the brunt of the Department of Energy’s might. Should the CEF’s predictions hold true until the first Wednesday of the new month (5 April), diesel and paraffin buyers face a decrease in costs. All signs point to a petrol increase Your bank account hasn’t suffered…

Say hello to Thomas Williams – South Africa’s first-ever eSports scholarship winner. Cool, right? So, what does being the best Minecrafter get you? Well, infinite bragging rights, access to arguably the best eSports arena in the country, and the love of your parents. Oh, and the R300,000 scholarship and accompanying prizes from Cooler Master and Asus are cool too, we guess. For the uninitiated, Centennial Schools recently held a ‘tournament’ to find the three best eSports candidates between the ages of 12-15. That tournament took place on Saturday, 11 March, with Thomas Williams, Jordan Harris, and Oluseeni Olusa claiming the top…

Xiaomi has officially announced the launch of the Redmi Note 12 Series, months after the devices already hit the shelves in China and India. The announcement came via Xiaomi’s official Twitter account, slating a launch date of 23 March. Brace yourselves for the #RedmiNote12Series! This launch is going to be so out-of-this-world amazing, you’ll need a space shuttle just to catch up! Join our live updates on March 23rd at 23:00 (GMT+8) and see what we’re talking about! #LiveVivid pic.twitter.com/SgsjJUbMJo — Xiaomi (@Xiaomi) March 13, 2023 Judging by Xiaomi’s use of the brand’s main Twitter account, we’d hazard a guess…

MTN South Africa, along with every other business, has suffered major blows in the fight against load shedding. The company estimates the total value lost to load shedding is R695 million, according to the group’s annual results for 2022. Taking on Eskom (and debts) “Power supply in South Africa was an ever-increasing risk through 2022 with 208 days of load shedding – 146 of these in H2. This impacted not only network availability but also some business functions, which hampered our customers’ ability to recharge and upgrade their packages,” said MTN. Despite the losses, MTN said it would continue with…

Xbox is a no-show for E3 2023 After Nintendo’s departure from the biggest gaming show in the world, Xbox confirmed to IGN last week that it would be following in the Japanese giant’s footsteps. Kinda. While Nintendo has pulled itself from the show entirely, Xbox will still be attending in a somewhat muted manner for E3 Digital. The confirmation came soon after Microsoft announced its own annual Xbox showcase would take place on 11 June, with a separate Starfield show still in the works. The timing of which is surely no coincidence, what with E3 taking place from 13 to…

For the fools willing to contribute to Elon Musk’s power trip, now you can! Twitter Blue is officially available in South Africa. And judging by the cost, Musk is looking to recoup his entire $44 billion Twitter spend in South Africa alone. For only R2,400 per year, you too can have a blue checkmark next to your name. A steal, right? Ok, it’s not all bad. That R2,400/year price we mentioned is only for people subscribing through Twitter’s smartphone app. The web version is currently priced at R145/m or R1,520 for a yearly subscription (save 12%!). Smartphone users aren’t devoid…