Author: Trent Meikle

MultiChoice has done the impossible. this week, it launched a new channel with – get this – no ads. Yes, we couldn’t believe it either. The channel, known as the Moonbugs Kids Channel is aimed at kids still in preschool. Moonbug Entertainment, the company behind the channel, is known for its various YouTube channels that offer children’s entertainment content in a multitude of languages. Unfortunately, the channel on DStv is locked to English. You’ve probably heard of Moonbug Entertainment before. Perhaps not by name, but certainly by one of the company’s most popular shows – CoComelon. The channel became an…

Well well well, just as we expected, yesterday’s load-shedding announcement was all for nought. Eskom has announced stage 3 power cuts “until further notice.” Great, just what we needed. Power to the people Overnight saw breakdowns at the Kusile and Komati power stations, leading to an extension of stage 3 power cuts. Those breakdowns led to a delay in returning generating units at Duvha, Grootvlei, Kendal and two units at Tutuka power stations to the country’s power grid. #PowerAlert2 Stage 3 loadshedding will continue to be implemented until further notice. pic.twitter.com/xmeokAm7cL — Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) October 20, 2022…

The Department of Transport has announced plans for a ‘railway renaissance’ in South Africa. The Department showed its plans during a virtual standing committee on transport on Wednesday. The plan proposed a complete shift in the railway industry for both passenger and freight functionality. Plans were outlined in the Department’s National Rail Policy Draft White Paper, which was briefed directly to parliament. The brief, which falls under the National Rail Act, is looking to bring a “cheaper, more competitive and effective” railway system in by 2050. We have to move faster An essential part of the plan is to not…

South Africa is set to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place in Egypt next month. Once there, South Africa will present its plans for cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions. This comes from South Africa’s Environment Minister Barbara Creecy. South Africa is 13th on the list of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters. This puts the country in an awkward position. One of the proposed plans involves the closure of at least ten Eskom Power Stations. Another is the spending of plenty of donated money to focus on expanding South Africa’s EV market. Goodbye power stations, you…

Talks of a buyout deal between MTN and Telkom have soured beyond the point of return. The deal was set to make MTN South Africa’s largest network operator, above Vodacom and Cell C. Talks apparently stopped due to MTN’s concerns about the deal not being exclusive between the two parties. A potential Rain buyout is back on the table In the aftermath of the deal’s termination, both parties have released statements regarding the matter. “Discussions were at an early stage and had not progressed to due diligence, nor had a binding offer been received by the Telkom board of directors,”…

UPDATE: In response to media reports yesterday claiming South Africa’s only driving license card printer had suffered another breakdown, the Road Traffic Management Corporation has issued a statement contradicting those reports. Transport minister Fikile Mbalula stated the machine is “operating at full steam.” This comes after Xolisa Jakula, Eastern Cape’s acting chief director for transport regulations stated the opposite while speaking to MyBroadband. According to Mbalula, the machine is still managing to print 300,000 licenses per month, with no backlog in sight. “As will be expected, glitches might be experienced at some point, but the team is keeping a close…

Yet another challenger attempting to dethrone Nintendo’s Switch and the Steam Deck has arrived. This time around, it’s Razer trying to cash in on the action, with the announcement of the Razer Edge; an Android gaming handheld system. Thankfully, it looks far better than the leaked version we saw in 2021. The Edge is the first of these consoles to introduce 5G in the portable gaming space. This means South Africans (probably) won’t be able to lay their hands on it. The device makes use of Verizon’s network capacity to supply 5G, which we don’t have. Never fear, however. A…

If we’re being honest, most of us here don’t actually pay for Netflix. We leave that burden to someone else; a parent, partner, or the random person’s account you managed to get into. It’s a beautiful site. That is, until the owner you’ve been mooching off of decides that they want you out. And the worst part? Paying for your own account. And of course, losing your personal profile isn’t much fun. A change made at Netflix this week means this won’t be the case any longer. The streamer has made it possible for users to hang onto their individual…

TikTok is going R-rated, adding the ability for creators to lock out users under the age of 18. Creators on the platform will soon be able to start 18+ livestreams, restricting underage users from entering. This isn’t a ploy for the platform to cash in on the Internet’s largest source of traffic though. “We do not allow nudity, pornography, or sexually explicit content,” notes the company’s community guidelines, Monday’s media release from TikTok offered up a few examples of why creators might want to limit its watchers; “Perhaps a comedy routine is better suited for people over age 18. Or,…

Universal+ has arrived, a month after Multichoice announced it would be integrating the service into DStv customers’ packages. Universal+ has movies from Universal TV, Studio Universal, E!, DreamWorks and Telemundo. The service is free for customers on a DStv Access package or higher which leaves EasyView customers out in the cold. The service works on a tiered system, meaning Access customers won’t have access (hahaha) to all the movies and series available. Customers paying R230p/m for Compact and above will have access to the entire catalogue. Universal not-so-plus To use Universal+, you’ll need to have an Explora decoder or watch via…