Author: Trent Meikle

The world is changing. Fast. AI is advancing at a pace we previously thought impossible. The James Webb telescope is unfurling the great beyond before our very eyes. Kanye West has completely lost his mind. (Okay, that last one happened a while ago.) And eSports as a main source of income isn’t frowned upon as much. South Africa is still behind in that department, though Centennial Schools is looking to change that. See Mom, we told you video games weren’t a waste of time The school is the first in South Africa (and Africa) to start offering scholarships specifically in…

ChatGPT, OpenAI’s chatbot currently blowing the world’s mind, has begun offering some users a paid-for subscription that apparently costs $42/m (R720/m). OpenAI has yet to speak publicly about the new offering, though it did mention earlier this month that it was exploring avenues that would allow it to earn some money off the back of its chatbot. Professionals have standards! (and high prices) The prices and features users have confirmed may not stick around until the service’s official launch – whenever that may be. As the AI company said earlier this month: “Please keep in mind that this is an…

If you love watching the same five episodes of Friends over and over again, or want to see The Dark Knight for the umpteenth time then you’ll love both DStv’s and Openview’s new ‘anti-load shedding’ channels. The purpose of these is to offer content that people may have missed during whatever stage of load shedding we’ve currently got on loop. In other words, they’re channels with one purpose: show reruns (almost) all day long. As the saying goes: “Stick to what you know.” Rerun. Rinse. Rerun. DStv’s new channel, dubbed ‘SWITCH’D ON’ is available on the platform from today, 24…

South Africa’s largest and most influential producer of fuel, Sasol, has signed three new power purchase agreements for renewable energy – all of which will help the producer reach its lofty goal of cutting the company’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30% before 2030. Pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions aside, Sasol’s purchasing of power will help it become less reliant on Eskom’s failing grid and the constant threat of load shedding. And if it helps the producer to avoid yet another force majeure as it saw in August, we’re all for it. Meet the players The first of the three…

Well, it was fun while it lasted. For most of January, it looked like South Africa would recieve yet another petrol and diesel price decrease. Unfortunately the predictions for February’s fuel prices have taken a turn in the wrong direction. The country is facing an increase in its fuel prices and with just over a week to go until the changes become official, there’s not much time to turn it back around. Still, the (potential) increases aren’t as bad as months gone by. In fact, they’re rather reasonable. Relatively speaking, of course. Get your petrol while it’s still “cheap” Before…

Friday marks the start of this year’s annual Winter X Games – right after what felt like the hottest week South Africa has experienced in a very long time. Go figure, right? There’s only one problem. Neither DStv nor Showmax Pro is broadcasting any of the weekend action. Sorry, did we say problem? What we meant to say was that the fact that DStv or Showmax Pro aren’t broadcasting the games is the best thing to happen since the toaster. Why? Well, we’re getting there. American readers currently in America won’t have any trouble finding the events. They’re being broadcast…

Struck again! #Loadshedding #Stage3 is in progress until 4pm. Thereafter, it will move up to stage 4 until 5am tomorrow Loadshedding schedules can be downloaded from https://t.co/SQhZfdzlHR Municipal customers can obtain schedules from their local municipalities pic.twitter.com/8CRRCIooZj — Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) January 23, 2023 The country was sold a lie last week, with Eskom confirming that Sunday would see the return of Stage 2 load shedding. As you’ve probably already guessed, that didn’t happen. Instead, we were greeted with Stage 3, which, unfortunately, is still an upgrade on what we faced last week. Earlier this morning, Eskom confirmed…

Tuesday evening saw the announcement of new 14- and 16in MacBook Pro and Mac Mini M2 models. Not much has changed for the newer Pro models design-wise unless you consider the addition of an extra Thunderbolt 4 port a ‘design change’. Everything else is internal. Apple is hoping that the new M2 Pro and Max chips and prolonged battery life are enough to convince you that it’s worth the obscene prices they’ve decided upon. Pre-orders are now open for any South Africans looking to set a Guinness World Record for spending money. The products ship next week on Friday, 27…

MultiChoice faces tons of competition in the world of streaming, with Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+, and Apple TV+ controlling the South African market. Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting to CNBC Africa’s Fifi Peters, MultiChoice CEO Calvo Mawela said MultiChoice intends to become the “home of local and sport” to stand a chance against international streaming platforms. The sudden outburst of cheap(er) streaming services in recent years has persuaded many MultiChoice customers to cancel their DStv accounts. “Once you are disrupted by technology, you must follow suit. If you stay and don’t move with technological changes, you…

It seems that both Nersa and Eskom ruffled some feathers following that 19% electricity tariff hike announced last week. The feathers in question belong to the Democratic Alliance, which has asked South Africa’s High Court to stop Nersa from allowing the proposed increase. It’s pursuing a case on the grounds that it will make power too expensive for most South Africans. “The DA rejects this astronomical increase,” the party said. Astronomical is right – the increase that’s coming into effect this April is the largest the country has seen in over a decade. Demanding a change When the opposition party…