Author: Trent Meikle

Canal+: no white flags here Canal+, unlike its forebears, isn’t backing down. It’s desperately looking for an ‘in’ to Africa’s content scheme, and it’s hoping to do that through a total buyout of MultiChoice, owners of DStv and SuperSport. Despite turning down the French firm’s initial offer in February, Canal+ returned with a vastly improved offer that, by the look of it, MultiChoice is deeply considering. According to MyBroadband, MultiChoice has informed shareholders that an independent board has been established to seriously consider Groupe Canal+’s offer to purchase the remainder of shares it does not already own, valuing the broadcaster at roughly…

The streaming industry is actively changing (for the worse), but there isn’t much we can do about it. After Netflix printed out a blueprint detailing how to pull off a password-sharing crackdown, it was only a matter of time before the rest caught on. Disney, which has yet to turn a profit from its plus-named streamer, is — perhaps unsurprisingly — the next to jump on the bandwagon. Disney’s finally cashing in This shouldn’t come as a big surprise. The House of Mouse first began notifying customers in the US of their greedy hearts in February, and now it’s time…

Oh, Rain. You know we love you. But that becomes a little more difficult when you announce a price hike across your entire spectrum of products. We won’t stop loving you, of course, but was there no way we could have done this, say, next year? Or maybe never? According to the company, no. In an email sent to Rain customers yesterday, the company is placing the blame at the feet of inflation. Don’t get too down. Rather than add to the pile of increases hitting South African wallets this April — DStv, Eskom, Vodacom, and petrol, to name a…

Huawei is back, folks. Not that the Google-less conglomerate ever left, but you know what we mean. It’s back in the spotlight, vying for a chunk of your April salary. Meet the company’s Nova 12 series, a follow-up to last year’s 11 range, of which the 11 Pro passed through Stuff’s offices with… mixed results. We’re hopeful Huawei’s got its head back on straight for the Nova 12 line-up, consisting of the Nova 12i, Nova 12 SE, and the “soon-to-be-released” Nova 12s. No ‘Pro’ model has been mentioned just yet, but don’t expect that to be the case forever. Until then,…

Anyone who became a little too familiar with their television sets back in the early months of COVID-19 probably remembers DStv’s WildEarth show on channel 183. Its sole purpose is to live-stream ‘safaris’ to millions globally and offer an escape from a crowded house. Now, it’s being pulled from DStv entirely at the end of April. WildEarth is dead, long live WildEarth TV Instinct might be kicking in, compelling you to shout DStv down and force them to overturn the decision. But it’s not one DStv can make. At least, not entirely. It’s WildEarth’s, whose chair, André Crawford-Brunt, reckons it’s…

Normally we’d get the ball rolling on one of these things with a snide joke, mocking WhatsApp’s light-fingered contempt for Telegram’s features. Since Telegram is the one cribbing WhatsApp’s Business notes, that isn’t possible. Oh, right. Telegram is finally adding the option to turn your profile into a business one — unlocking access to business-centric features appropriate for business owners. There’s just one catch. It’ll cost you. Blink and you’ll miss it but stuck right in the bottom of Telegram’s announcement is the caveat that Business is reserved for its R60/m paying Premium users. There are ways to get one…

Ford’s presence throughout South Africa cannot be understated. Any oke that knows how to put together a good braai is likely rocking a Ford Ranger, while the richer lot are all picking up Ranger Raptors. And don’t forget how common it is to see an Everest cruising the streets nowadays. You get the idea. South Africa loves Ford. It suddenly makes the company’s furious desire to keep pumping the market with newer models much more understandable. Ford is popular everywhere, so keeping up with demand is key. According to the company, it’s figured out a way to massively speed up…

What’s worse than the end of a long weekend? How about a fuel price increase? Anyone with a functioning tone sensor can guess we aren’t in the best of moods, and it’s all thanks to the Department’s third fuel price increase for South African motorists in a row. Only petrol drivers and a small set of diesel drivers will be forced to bear the brunt of tomorrow’s nearly 70c/l increase. The rest of the country’s diesel drivers, those living along the coast, should have an easier time of it tomorrow with a minor 2c/l decrease. The Department’s changes will be…

Anyone who’s played The Witness has probably cheated their way through a section or two. We won’t judge — anything coming out of Jonathan Blow’s mind automatically gets a pass. But if you’re using a PlayStation 5, there’s a simpler way: Game Help. It’s a collection of tips and tricks baked right into the console. It’s being expanded (and renamed) to ‘Community Game Help’ where it will crowdsource gamers’ gameplay. Would your ancestors be proud? Don’t fret, PlayStation won’t get hold of your abysmal Rocket League gameplay without your OK first. Community Game Help is an opt-in experience that will automatically record…

Dread it. Run from it. Google’s AI will arrive all the same. And now it’s here. The search giant has, perhaps unsurprisingly, retrofitted Google Search with artificially intelligent results, generating a summary of your search and essentially bypassing the traditional trove of links you’d normally find up top. Ads on the other hand… This isn’t exactly new. Google first announced what it calls the Search Generative Experience (SGE) in 2023 offering exactly what we’re describing — AI-powered Search results. The only difference? SGE is no longer an opt-in-only sort of deal. It’s more of a ‘if you want to keep…