Author: Trent Meikle

While South Africa is still awaiting the hammer that is Netflix’s ad-supported tier, the streaming giant is reportedly ready to begin testing out a ‘new’ marketing strategy where its ads are concerned in a bid to make them actually watchable. The idea seems simple – make ads feel like less of a chore by finding innovative ways of engaging with the audience. Simple in theory but difficult to implement. Yet, Netflix feels it’s up for the challenge, according to a paywalled Financial Times report (via TechRadar). A serious undertaking Financial Times reports that Netflix held some rather important talks with…

Microsoft, amidst its ongoing battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has potentially spilled the tea on its biggest rival’s console plans for 2023. The tech giant’s recent court document filings reveal that it believes Sony is gearing up for the reveal of a PS5 Slim “later this year” at a $400 price point. Here’s the company’s exact stance, pulled from its filings: PlayStation likewise sells a less expensive Digital Edition for $399.99, and is expected to release a PlayStation 5 Slim later this year at the same reduced price point. Slimming down for summer Whether or not Microsoft’s information…

We’re not sure if it’s something in the air, or if the world is just healing, but game demos are becoming a regular thing again. Final Fantasy XVI, Street Fighter 6, and Lies of P (to name a few) have all had successful demos this year, meaning they went right onto our ‘to buy’ list after the credits rolled. We wanted to replicate that, with our most recent foray into the PlayStation Store turned up Viewfinder, a new reality-shifting puzzle title from Sad Owl Studios (SOS) published under the Thunderful Games flag. It left us eager to pick this one…

In a bid to finally make Twitter Blue ‘worth it’, Twitter is turning TweetDeck – a much-loved platform amongst Twitter’s plebians – into a paid-for feature exclusive to those foolish enough to give the world’s richest man even more money. Twitter announced the change on Monday, confirming the feature will be locked behind a paywall in 30 days. Well, 29 now, but who’s counting? Go Blue yourself We have just launched a new, improved version of TweetDeck. All users can continue to access their saved searches & workflows via https://t.co/2WwL3hNVR2 by selecting “Try the new TweetDeck” in the bottom left…

Spotify’s Greasy Tunes is officially heading to Johannesburg. What’s that, you ask? Well, we’d forgive you for thinking it was a band. ‘The Greasy Tunes’ certainly has the ring of a cool-enough band name that your ‘alternative’ friend swore changed their life. Thankfully, that’s not what Spotify’s Greasy Tunes is all about. It’s actually a pop-up event that’s been set up as a monument to the streaming giant’s “leading playlists, culture, community, conversation, creators, fans, and most importantly, greasy South African meals.” Alexa, play a Greasy Tune Let’s get one thing straight. Greasy Tunes isn’t a permanent fixture. It’s a…

Yup, it’s already July. As of yesterday, Earth reached 50% on the 2023 Progress Bar – an indicator that showed us our age like nothing else had. More specifically though, we’re two days away from the country’s next official petrol and diesel price change, taking effect at midnight this Wednesday, 5 July 2023. Fortunately, The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has published its changes a little earlier than usual, giving those who need it, time to prepare. Let’s just say… it won’t be the country’s petrol drivers that need to prepare. If you’re curious as to how The Department of Mineral…

Finally! After years of messing about with iCloud and Google Drive, Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has announced a change to WhatsApp that’ll make transferring chats and large files across devices that much easier. No longer will we have to fiddle around with the cloud, according to Meta’s Overlord. Scan this QR code, Scotty The new method, which Zuckerberg showed off in a Facebook post, involves bypassing your device’s cloud backups, and instead pulls all the data it needs from a QR code shown on your old phone. The idea, obviously, is to save time, though it’s also a handy tool…

Twitter’s ‘rate limit’ is somebody’s worst nightmare For the first time ever, Twitter has introduced a change designed to keep people off the platform. Yup, you read that right. This is odd since Musk’s Twitter caper (usually) primarily focuses on sucking users into hours-long doom-scrolling sessions. The change – which is only a temporary one according to Musk – involves the addition of a tweet ‘Rate limit’ that defines how many posts users can see on Twitter per day before being told to go outside and touch some grass. Obviously, Musk isn’t doing this out of some noble quest to…

FNB’s eBucks Rewards programme is undergoing major changes this August; including a simplification of its own rules and better yet, a greater yield of those rewards. Specifically, it’s focusing on the fields of fuel, grocery and travel, making it easier for customers to claim those rewards. The bank said the new adjustments will launch on 1 August 2023, and run until 31 July 2024. Johan Moolman, eBucks Rewards CEO, mentions that the incoming changes “includes moving our eBucks double-up earn on fuel from quarterly to monthly, increasing grocery benefits to cushion customers against the high cost of living, introducing more…

Netflix, the maker of many, many TV shows and movies, just shared its first trailer for Supa Team 4, the company’s first African animation series. It’s hitting the small screen on 20 July 2023 as an eight-part series that aims to better celebrate “the continent’s dynamic storytelling” and “showcases the strength, intelligence, and bravery within all young people.” Supa Team 4?  It’s created and written by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema and South Africa’s own Triggerfish animation studio, though Netflix credits France-based studio Superprod for the show’s animation. Mulendema made a name for herself back in 2015 as one of the…