Author: Brad Lang

While rumours are already flowing that TikTok may take on LinkedIn in the near future, it seems the social media site has ecommerce on the brain too. A report from Bloomberg states that TikTok is currently testing some kind of in-app shopping feature on the platform. It’s reportedly already working with several European brands to set up online shopping portals, which will no doubt highlight items used by popular creators and show folks where they may purchase such fine goods. It makes sense that TikTok would go down the ecommerce road. Instagram expanded into online shopping a few years back…

TikTok, in a bid to try and help those users who literally spend all day scrolling through the app, is reportedly launching a new feature that should hopefully help folks find a job. The short-form video app is seemingly in the process of testing the feature, which will undoubtedly put plenty more job listings in front of many people looking for work. TikTok is huge, there are plenty of folks on it looking for their next gig. Of course, because it’s TikTok, it’s not quite as straightforward as simply hunting for jobs. It’s not like listings will simply drop into your feed…

Pick n Pay, organiser of perhaps one of the best known loyalty programs in South Africa, claims that customers are sitting on a treasure trove of value. The Smart Shopper program, which allows Pick n Pay customers to acquire “points” whenever they purchase groceries, has accrued R200 million in value and from the sounds of things no-one is spending their share. People are developing their points and squirreling them away for a rainy day, it seems. Pick n Pay is now actively asking people to spend their smart shopper points because… well, why not? It looks great for them as…

The Nintendo Switch, the bastion of handheld gaming and indie darlings from around the globe, now has a brand new killer app. It’s dynamic, robust and it allows users to multiply a large number with another large number. That’s right, you can now install a calculator app onto your Nintendo Switch. You know, for when you desperately need to figure out the square root of 567 and you don’t have you phone in your pocket but your Switch is right there. We can sit here and lament that the fact that a calculator app on the Switch is a dumb…

WhatsApp’s parent company, Facebook, is hungry for your data. To an almost creepy extent; if an ex-romantic partner started looking for all the info Zuckerberg has on you, they’d likely be arrested. It’s with this in mind that Hamburg’s privacy authority has thrown down the gauntlet and ordered the social media platform to cease collecting German users’ WhatsApp data. This comes after Facebook attempted to make users agree to its updated terms and services that would see plenty of information harvested off of WhatsApp, something the Germans have decided is illegal. Headed up by Johannes Caspar, Germany has issued a…

While it seems like large parts of the world are currently undergoing vaccinations, that’s certainly not the case in South Africa. While older generations can now officially register for the vaccine, the rollout is taking longer than we’re sure most people would like. One has to hope that The National Department of Health’s latest plan to speed things up does just that: You’ll now be able to register for your vaccination via WhatsApp, SMS or even USSD. It’s a smart move given that large swathes of the country may not be able to access the online portal through a computer.…

There are few games more relaxing than New Pokémon Snap. It’s the result of taking a universe known for its bright optimism, colourful creatures and generally relaxed attitude to gameplay and almost entirely removing the player from the equation. Well, that’s not entirely true. You’re still playing the game but this is a Pokémon for folks who don’t want to deal with stats and battles. In New Pokémon Snap you’ll be seated in a fancy on-rails vehicle and glide through various habitats with the only goal being to take the best possible photograph you can. It’s chill, adorable and more complex than you might expect. While the…

Have you uploaded an image to Twitter, excited to see how good it looks on your feed, only to realise that it’s removed the wrong part of a photo? It’s happened to us all but it should (finally) never happen again. Twitter has announced that it’s doing away with its irritating automatic crop and will now display vertical images in all their glory. Finally, all those tall people who’ve experienced the discrimination of “The Crop” will know what it’s like to fit on a Twitter feed. Crop dusting https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/1390026628957417473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1390026628957417473%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnet.com%2Fnews%2Ftwitter-improves-image-crops-happy-users-flood-site-with-vertical-photos%2F If you’re using the iOS or Android of Twitter, you’ll now…

If you’re old enough to need to visit the traffic department then you know how arduous that process can be. While it’ll likely continue being a pain, it could become a simpler pain. Revealed during the Driving Licence Card Account’s (DLCA) annual performance plan for 2021/2022, it seems South Africa is due for some serious infrastructure overhauls, specifically when it comes to our licenses. System upgrades are coming across the board to reduce to improve service delivery time and to ensure that the introduction of electronic driver’s licenses is a smooth process for everyone. Yet before we get to that…

This was news that was bound to break at some point but we didn’t think it would be this soon. Sony has confirmed that it has pulled the plug on it’s range of DSLR cameras which isn’t so much sad as it is a marker of the times. Sony has been a key player in advanced camera tech throughout the last few years and with the company placing more and more emphasis on its growing line of mirrorless cameras, that means a final goodnight to those DSLRs that so many people have used and loved. Sony drops the guillotine The…