Author: Trent Meikle

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has announced plans to make South African citizens sort out their own Smart IDs and Passports. This is via self-service kiosks, which the DHA plans to roll out before the end of next year. The announcement comes not long after the DHA announced they were opening more branches, including branches in a select few shopping centres. Home Affairs minister Njabulo Nzuza announced the self-service kiosks during his budget vote speech, saying that users will be able to reprint birth, marriage, and death certificates. This is in addition to the ability to apply for a…

This Saturday, 28 May, is the UEFA Champions League final, which pits Real Madrid and Liverpool against one another in order to determine the true Champions of Europe. The loser will head back to Liverpool empty-handed (or to Madrid, but this isn’t happening). This time around, the match won’t only be shown through SuperSport – which has been the case for ages. But now, SuperSport has negotiated a deal that allows the final to be broadcast on Showmax Pro too. This is the first time Showmax will play host to a Champions League match. Hopefully, it won’t be the last.…

Remind your friends to renew their PS Plus subscription and book a week off from work because Modern Warfare 2 is coming this year. This isn’t just some Modern Warfare 2 remaster; this is a sequel to the rebooted Modern Warfare which released back in 2019. Fans have been eagerly awaiting the sequel and can finally rest knowing the release date – 28 October 2022. The game was confirmed by both Activision and Infinity Ward through tweets that give us a look at the logo and title of the game. https://twitter.com/Activision/status/1529145468298534913 A new era of Call of Duty is coming…

Most South Africans have all heard at least once in their lives,  “the system is offline”. Well, according to Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi we might be hearing less of that over the coming months. A huge revamp is coming, which will see new branches being built in a select few shopping malls. The shopping centre branches aren’t the only way Home Affairs is planning to reduce their queues. More regular branches will be on their way this year, though there is going to be a slight waiting time. The shopping centre branches are more for an “immediate relief” option…

Just weeks after Google’s most recent upgrade to Street View, Google announced even more for the platform. The first update is the ability to access historical imagery from past versions of Maps. This isn’t anything particularly new for Google Maps. This has been possible since 2014. What is new is the fact that the feature will soon be available on its Android and iOS apps. The second update is a hardware upgrade for Google. It will use newer 360-degree cameras for Street View cars. These updates were announced in lieu of the tech conglomerate’s Street View anniversary, which was released…

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…