If you could reduce your worry about home security, would you? It seems like a silly question but that’s exactly what Xiaomi is offering with its broad range of Smart Cameras, whether you need to keep an eye on what’s going down inside or outside your home. Unlike traditional closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras that often need a dedicated recording device, Xiaomi’s Smart Cameras connect to your home’s wireless network and use the Mi Home app on your smartphone as their central point of control. Checking your home’s security can be done without much effort or fuss and in some cases you won ..read more

NASA recently announced that it is seeking new ways to complete the return to Earth of rock cores drilled by the Perseverance Rover in the Jezero Crater on Mars. This has led to some anxiety among space scientists, who view the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission as a cornerstone of plans to explore the Solar System. But when you consider what’s at stake, scientifically and politically, it seems highly likely that NASA will push ahead with the mission to make it a success. One key conclusion of the NASA review is that MSR was established with unrealistic budget and schedules. Now it expects ..read more

When Kia unleashed the first Picanto onto South Africa’s streets, it was love at first sight. Now, twenty years and 100,000 sales later, the Picanto is re-entering the fray for the third time with a fresh coat of paint, an updated exterior and is, according to Kia, “an even better value proposition.” Below, we’ve browsed through the third-generation Picanto’s specs and, most importantly, their costs. “The Picanto is undoubtedly a mainstay in the Kia product line-up and has for many years been recognised by industry experts and members of the press alike as one of the best cars you can buy in ..read more

What, you thought the metaverse had gone away? Not if Meta and company head Mark Zuckerberg have anything to say about it. The social media giant has just licensed its Horizon OS software to several hardware manufacturers, possibly ensuring that every brand has a semi-affordable virtual reality headset in their lineups. The idea is a rather smart one on Meta’s part. Sure, the Quest series of headsets are fun to play with but the company doesn’t quite have the hardware reputation other brands can boast. Having new headsets compatible with Meta’s infrastructure (and global domination aims) could ..read more

South Africa’s Karoo region is a vast semi-arid area that stretches across four of the country’s provinces. It is sparsely populated and renowned for its wide open spaces. In the heart of this landscape, near the small Northern Cape town of Carnarvon, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory operates a technological marvel that has transformed our understanding of the cosmos. The MeerKAT radio telescope has unlocked cosmic mysteries. It’s fostered scientific collaboration. It is also nurturing local talent. MeerKAT, which is among South Africa’s largest scientific infr ..read more

In the bustling landscape of e-commerce, crafting a seamless online shopping experience is essential for success. Shop Scanner, with its innovative approach and customer-centric focus, is poised to revolutionise the online shopping landscape for customers in South Africa. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, intuitive design, and a commitment to excellence, Shop Scanner aims to redefine convenience, accessibility, and satisfaction in the world of online retail. At the heart of Shop Scanner vision is the commitment to providing a seamless and user-friendly online shopping experience that cate ..read more

No surprises here: Netflix is still on top Bad news, everyone. Netflix is king, and we are but subjects condemned to a life of misery under its thumb. If it wasn’t already obvious, we’re still feeling the salty residuals of the streamer’s decision to abolish (free) password sharing, ultimately catapulting Netflix into the stratosphere. See, the streamer recently released its Q1 figures (via Variety), adding 9.33 million more feathers to an already-laden cap. If you haven’t been keeping track, those nine million new subscribers put Netflix right under the 270-million-user mark, leaving Prime V ..read more

German surfer (we know, right?), Sebastian Steudtner, backed by the folks from Porsche Engineering, is the current world record holder for the largest wave ever surfed. Most folks, if asked who the world record holder for the largest wave ever surfed is, would guess a Hawaiian native holds the title. Laird Hamilton would be a great guess¹. Not so. At least, not officially. That record, set in Nazaré, Portugal in 2020, stands at 86.4 feet (26.21 metres). A new record has been set, though it still needs to be officially confirmed. The February 2024 record, according to Porsche Engineering’s dron ..read more

A chatbot turns hostile. A test version of a Roomba vacuum collects images of users in private situations. A Black woman is falsely identified as a suspect on the basis of facial recognition software, which tends to be less accurate at identifying women and people of colour. These incidents are not just glitches, but examples of more fundamental problems. As artificial intelligence and machine learning tools become more integrated into daily life, ethical considerations are growing, from privacy issues and race and gender biases in coding to th ..read more

Web and mobile services try to understand the desires and goals of users by analysing how they interact with their platforms. Smartphones, for instance, capture online data from users at a large scale and low cost. Policymakers have reacted by enforcing mechanisms to mitigate the risks inherent in tech companies storing and processing their citizens’ private information, such as health data. Wearable devices are now becoming a more significant element in this discussion due to their ability to collect continuous data, without the wearer necessarily being aware of it. Wearab ..read more