Author: Trent Meikle

X.com, formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk’s grandiose attempt to make the world like him again, is making a big change to the app’s core feature set. The social media platform confirmed that it will make ‘likes’ private in a ploy to motivate users to let their true selves shine through online — without any fear of personal persecution in their private lives. Likes go bye-bye Yeah, we are making likes private. Public likes are incentivizing the wrong behavior. For example, many people feel discouraged from liking content that might be “edgy” in fear of retaliation from trolls, or to…

The Internet in South Africa can be confusing. Whether it’s choosing from the million-or-so ISPs around the country when it comes to picking a home internet package, or something as simple (in theory) as deciding on your smartphone’s data package. MTN South Africa is combatting an issue it helped create with the launch of MTN Yellow, a ‘simplified’ approach to mobile connectivity within the country. Rather than bombard customers with the usual influx of confusing terminology, high prices and limitations, Yellow is designed to be an affordable package that bundles mobile data and talk time into a single, simple-to-follow and…

Occasionally, Meta-owned WhatsApp introduces some genuinely useful changes. At other times, it feels as though it’s simply looking for something to do to pass the time until it has another brainwave. Unfortunately, according to a new report from WhatsApp wizards WABetaInfo, the latest additions unearthed in the new Android 2.24.11.17 update, fall under the latter. AI this, AI that, AI profile pictures Because AI is everywhere, and Meta has money to throw at the world’s favourite buzzword, WhatsApp has recently introduced a host of AI-centric features. The most controversial of which is the new Meta AI search bar plaguing some users’…

Last night, 21 May, Tecno introduced South Africa to the Spark 20 Series to much fanfare, with the line-up ranging from the bottom-of-the-barrel entry-level Spark 20C and Spark GO 2024 up to the far more capable (and more expensive) Spark 20 Pro 5G — set to debut in a couple of months for an RRP of R11,000. Also joining in on the festivities was the middle child of the Spark series, also known as the Spark 20, a phone after your budget bucks at R7,000. It doesn’t quite have the pizazz of its more powerful Pro sibling, but it boasts…

It’s been a busy few weeks for audio specialists Sonos. After ‘courageously’ stripping its app to accommodate the brand-new Ace headphones that dropped yesterday, Sonos immediately followed it up with a return to its speciality: portable speakers. Stepping into the ring is the Roam 2, a refresh of the company’s 2021 effort, the Roam. When in Roam If you’re still holding onto the original Roam, put that wallet away. The Roam 2 features the “same rich, detailed sound and bass with the clarity, depth, and fullness you’d expect from a larger speaker.” In other words, it’s left the innards alone…

Readers older than a certain age will remember those little scrunched-up pieces of paper that were essential to your after-school routine. Those bits of paper held the keys to your kingdom — in other words, it’s where we scribbled down cheats for GTA III, San Andreas or Vice City. Microsoft is rendering the modern equivalent of paper cheats or guides (the internet) almost irrelevant by shoving Copilot into some of its games, Minecraft first. What is my purpose? The AI integration into games was announced during the search giant’s Surface event yesterday, where the headline of the show was the shiny new Copilot+ PCs and,…

Less than a week after BYD’s Dolphin EV rolled into the country claiming the crown of ‘most affordable EV’, with a starting price of R540,000, Enviro Automotive, an “importer and distributor of several Chinese brands,” has arrived to rain on their parade. The company has confirmed it is bringing the Dayun S5 Mini SUV to South Africa later this year, with a price below R400,000. Known as the Dayun Yeuhu in China, the Mini SUV EV is set to debut in SA in the last quarter of 2024 and will be joined by a “range of budget-friendly electric cars” also…

We’ve got some good news. Finally. Those South African drivers who are desperate for some sort of reprieve when it comes to the ever-increasing petrol price might finally get their wish when June hits. That’s what the Central Energy Fund (CEF) is promising, thanks to a fresh batch of fuel price predictions captured on 17 May 2024. Don’t worry, diesel drivers. Despite reaping numerous fuel price reductions in succession, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy is poised to lower prices for both grades of diesel yet again, potentially knocking the current price to below R22/l at the beginning of June.…

Call of Duty: Black Ops (insert number here) might be a Game Pass day-one title Microsoft is obviously still reeling from that $75 billion acquisition of Activision. Microsoft hasn’t said as much publically, but how else do you account for Xbox shutting down the Bethesda studios responsible for Hi-Fi Rush or the more recent news that it’s considering throwing the next Call of Duty title on GamePass? Yup. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal (via Engadget), Xbox is eyeing up a day-one release on GamePass for the next Call of Duty game in a desperate bid to… boost GamePass’ subscriber numbers?…

When Stuff’s editor-in-chief, Toby Shapshak said that Amazon’s recent launch in South Africa would make “all the other e-commerce players who don’t want to see their lunch being eaten lift their game,” he wasn’t kidding. Shoprite Group’s Checker’s Sixty60 app is getting a major rework, “enabling customers to shop for over 10,000 larger Checkers Hyper products, with same-day delivery scheduled within a 60-minute time slot,” it announced today. What are those? The revamped Checkers Sixty60 app will allow customers to expand their online shopping abilities to more than just groceries. Specifically, it will include larger items, “…ranging from camping and outdoor gear…