Ever doubted that Google Glass would take off properly? One of those people who dismiss it as futuristic brouhaha? Be prepared to eat your words. Google Glasses are already out there, being worn and tested by an elite group of ‘chosen ones’ or ‘Glass Explorers’. Google has already had feedback from developers, and released a hardware upgrade for the product – and now they’re upping the stakes with an online accessory store.
In a response to Apple’s launch of iOS 7, Google has come out with their very own revolutionary new mobile software update – the 4.4 KitKat. Android users will be happy to know that Google hasn’t made as stark of a change as Apple did with the new iOS, but they have made enough of a change to make the software look, feel and perform better.
Sure, we’re allowed to use our tablets and smartphones when we’ve reached altitude – but it’s the grinding boredom of takeoff and landing that needs to be addressed here. Surely watching a series on your tablet during takeoff won’t send the plane into the Atlantic? Happily, airline officials have begun to address this – with the US on the verge of relaxing these laws considerably.
Meet SnapScan. Developed in Stellenbosch, SnapScan is a mobile payment system that uses a combination of QR code recognition and PIN entry for payment of goods and services, without a credit card or cash note ever seeing the light of day. It’s a payment system that could mean the end of grubby banknotes and troublesome change, and we have the lowdown.
Remember the story about a bitcoin ATM opening in Canada? Well, they’ve already installed it and its working as we speak. The machine now lives at Waves Coffee House in Vancouver’s downtown area. It uses palm-recognition for users to log in to their accounts, which is pretty nifty – but could get pretty gross pretty quickly.
It seems like the more we worry about being monitored – the more we’re being monitored, especially on social media. If you want to use it – expect them to know everything. Facebook in particular is going the extra mile to monitor our precise activities on their platform. Sources say that they may be considering gathering data from even our most minute mouse-movements.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro has been a mainstay of laptop computing for years now. What’s phenomenal is the sheer consistency of the product – delivering top end aesthetics and performance year, after year, after year. This time Apple have, similarly to the new iPad, slimmed everything down without compromising on performance or display.
A while ago we posted a story about the state of pollution in China. In particular, we focused on Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang province where 11 million people attempted to evacuate, as pollution levels stretched beyond 30 times the healthy limit. Just last week, the government shut down schools, major roads and businesses, as the city ground to a halt. The streets were empty as the thick smog dominated the horizon. But now, an innovation from dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde might be able to help out.
Trust the Japanese to invent something like this. It’s been a long time coming, ever since the world was introduced to the idea of synthetic smells with the brief,but interesting spell of ‘scratch-n-sniff’stickers. Now,instead of making smells come out of stickers, they’re making smells come out of your phone. That’s right, they’ve made a smartphone accessory that can make your room smell like coffee. Or Bacon. Or Curry. Whatever revs your motor.
Those of you who’ve recently updated their Twitter app will have found a lot more visual imagery than you bargained for. Twitter decided it might be a better idea if images appeared directly on your news feed, without being hidden by links. Some like this feature – some despise it. If you fall into the second category, keep reading.
Judging from initial reviews, it looks as if the iPad Air is just as much a massive leap from the iPad as the MacBook Air was to the Macbook. Apple has challenged itself to produce something fresh, after recent iPads have more or less stayed the same,with the 4th-generation actually being bigger and thicker than its predecessor. Apple wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice – and the iPad Air certainly delivers.
The Destroyer. You don’t have to look very far beyond the name of this beast to know that it’s the US navy’s most intimidating weapon. It’s basically an entire army floating in the sea, capable of causing enough damage to completely ruin a small city. And now, the US Navy has just plopped it’s newest destroyer into the sea – the USS Zumwalt.
A very interesting thing happened yesterday and it deteriorated rapidly, as we predicted. It had to do with Land Rover, FNB, a media company called Mindshare and a sex tape.
Could we ever truly live on Mars? The mind boggles at the thought of it – partially because so many questions remain unanswered. Will we be able to come back? Will we be able to breathe up there? It just seemed too implausible to truly happen. But doubt no longer, because we have confirmation from this here infographic that a Mars settlement mission is very much on the cards.
Some of you might have noticed the hashtag #phonebloks flying around the social media world yesterday, and wondered where the hell it all came from so suddenly. The answer? It was a social media ‘thunderclap’ initiated by Phonebloks. Phonebloks started out as a simple idea just over a month ago. Dave Hakkens, the man behind the idea, basically wanted to create a phone that produced less waste – a phone we could keep.
“This website uses cookies – please press continue if you would like to proceed”. With any luck, this banner will soon be forgotten by the human race. Some of the biggest sites in the game are finding ways around using cookies – the little bitty pieces of code that marketers deploy to people’s browsers to track their online movements.
This just became your most cherished bar and/or braai tool. Meet the Vortex. It’s a “reverse microwave” that chills drinks in 45 seconds. How does it work? I’m so glad you asked. Please enjoy the video
It’s been a year since one of Apple’s chief techies – Scott Forstall – left Apple, and was replaced by Jony Ive and Craig Federighi, who were supposed to manage both iOS and OS X. This was meant to give Apple a chance to create a single, unified design across all operating systems. Apple followers will have expected OS X Mavericks to be quite similar to the new iOS – for the software to merge seamlessly between mobile and desktop device.
Platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook that were developed alongside the smartphone have birthed a new creative class – the phone-tographers. Some phone photography enthusiasts are good, composing neat shots of their family, their pets and their holidays. Some of them, however, should never have been handed anything capable of taking photos. If you fall into the latter group of individuals, you’ll be happy to know that we have a little how-to guide in the form of an infographic called ‘Phone-Tography 101’
It was there to save the drunk. It was there to save the clumsy and the butter-fingered, and it did. The iPhone protective case market has shot to massive proportions, largely because we think the cases will save our precious phones from ourselves. But there are those who are questioning the whole idea of an iPhone case – asking why we place peace of mind over beauty.
“Google has blessed me with a R4000 p/m job from home” – this is how easy it is to make money off the internet, if we are to believe popular banner ads. In reality, making money from the internet is no easier than making money in real life – you need a certain set of skills executed in just the right way in order to ensure results.
You haven’t started driving on the open road for real unless you’ve overtaken a few trucks, right? If you’re going to drive far, you’re going to get stuck behind trucks – that’s a fact. Problem is you never pass them, because it’s just too hard to see around them..
On the world wide web, these people are not your friends, mkay? Akamai released its Second Quarter 2013 State of the Internet Report recently, highlighting the internet’s most vulnerable ports, and a list of countries that evidently play host to a lot of naughty boys and girls with internet connections. So who is the top country in the world for internet attacks?
FNB’s Ideas Can Help campaign has drawn hundreds of fantastic entries from accross South African entrepreneurs, proposing solutions spanning from infant care and hospital ward trauma councilling to job creation. One such idea is Ledula, which seeks to create jobs and meaningful work leads for trade and services professionals in South Africa. Now available via an iPhone […]
This piece of hosiery is equipped with BlueTooth, so every time there’s an unclasping of the clips, the bra communicates wirelessly to your Twitter account, triggering a tweet that reminds women to go for a medical examination. By extension, everyone will know that you have your bra off.
Well, we say ‘anybody’ – but by that we mean anybody who has R750,000 to spare on a trip to space. Yup, a small Arizona-based business, The Paragon Space Development Corporation, has used some existing technology to create a helium balloon that will take passengers to the edge of space.
In lieu of the Edward Snowden inspired paranoia about online privacy, Adam Penenberg, a journalist for Pando Daily, challenged a hacker to try to get as much information about him as possible, simply by using a PC. The man he challenged, Nick Percoco, considers himself a “white hat hacker” and has been breaking into companies (at their request) for some years now. The journalist in question had no idea what he was in for.
Freelancing sounds pretty good – flexible hours, flexible locations and at the end of the day – flexible jobs. But it’s quite tricky to get it right. For one, you don’t have the security of a regular salary. It’s a rough world out there, and for anyone who wants to freelance their way to the top – you’ll need to read this.
Groupies stay in touch and connect with the world around them with an Apple 16GB iPhone 5C. Sleek and stylish, the Apple iPhone 5 reinvented the way we think about phones, join the revolution and enjoy an 8MP camera, four inch Retina display, ultrafast 4G LTE wireless connectivity and a fingerprint-resistant coating on the front. […]
We warned you, didn’t we? You can thank the fine city of Manchester in England for producing what is believed to be the first 3D gun-printing factory.