Category: Hardware & Software
Xiaomi’s soundbar is amazing, affordable but not perfect
This week my beloved Mi Box S passed away thanks to a buggy OTA update from Xiaomi. I needed a replacement so I visited the local Mi Store at Eastgate to get one and see what other stuff Xiaomi has selling locally. Naturally, they have quite the haul and that’s not surprising given how Xiaomi […]
Update Chrome now to patch serious bugs found
There is no such thing as a bug-free piece of software. The mighty Google Chrome is no exception. That’s why there are constant updates being released for the browser. The latest Chrome update patches 11 vulnerabilities that were discovered. All eleven were rated high-severity and two of those eleven were zero-day vulnerabilities. So, you need […]
Xiaomi is remotely blocking its phones in “unsupported regions”
Xiaomi has been in the news and on everyone’s lips in recent years, weeks and months and it’s mostly because of how it continues to grow and corner the smartphone and indeed the entire gadget market. They are now the second-largest phone and biggest smartwatch maker. However, their latest stance is bound to generate some […]
US Courts tell Apple they cannot stop developers from using alternative payment systems
Apple has just been dealt a death blow in their court case where Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite, are suing them over some of their App Store policies and terms and conditions. A court in California, where Apple is located, has ruled that Apple cannot force developers to exclusively use their Apple Pay platform. […]
Windows 11 is launching in October without Android App support
Windows insiders have been testing Windows 11 for months and we have heard nothing but good things. It finally looks like Microsoft is on course to break the good-release-followed-by-bad-release jinx. One feature that has everyone excited including myself is the ability to run Android apps natively on Windows. Unfortunately, it seems the feature is not […]
Megapixels don’t matter
In 2012 Nokia released the 808 PureView and the headlines were that it came with a massive 41MP camera. Everyone else at the time was still hovering between 8MP and 16MP cameras so 41 was A LOT of megapixels. And for a whole 3 years after it was released, it was simply the best camera […]
More Windows 11 controversy as Microsoft kicks some PCs from the Insider Program
Windows 11 was just nothing more than speculation for the good half part of this year. Now it’s all everyone seems to be talking about and the bulk of that talk has focused on how you can get Windows 11 on your current PC, if you can even do that, acronyms like TPM and how […]
Linux is not invulnerable, here are some top Linux malware in 2021
So yesterday I wrote about the latest iteration of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS coming out in my usual glowing terms. I feel like there was nothing amiss in that article after all Ubuntu, especially the version in question, is a stellar operating system that is rock solid and has served me well. A few people however […]
Ubuntu 20.04.3 is finally out
As you probably know I am a shameless Ubuntu proponent. I sincerely believe that operating systems should be free seeing as it is they are now mostly irrelevant in the cloud age we live in. We mostly just use them as portals to the internet where we access the real tools we need. It is […]
Say hello to Elementary OS Odin
Elementary Inc recently released the 6th version of their popular Linux Distro, Elementary OS. In typical Elementary OS fashion, the latest version is named after a god. In this case, Odin Borson, the king of Asgard father to Thor and Hela protector of the realm Nine realms and adoptive father to the naughty god and […]
Here’s how you can improve your audio quality on Zoom
Zoom is now the byword for video conferencing because you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn’t used or at the very least heard of it. However, even though we are a year and some change into intermittent lockdowns there are still a few issues that some users have with clarity of audio when they […]
WordPress 5.8 is out and it comes with WebP and more
Recently the folks behind WordPress released this year’s second major release of WordPress for this year – WordPress 5.8. And it comes with an awesome surprise that I gushed about a few weeks ago. This release now natively supports WebP. As I said in the earlier article this is huge. Just to recap WebP is […]
Microsoft launches Windows 365: Windows in the cloud
It’s now official, Windows 365 is now a thing. Starting next month you will be able to buy a subscription to a virtualized Windows desktop that includes apps, data and settings as part of Windows 365. Initially, the service will allow you to run a remote Windows 10 desktop but eventually, you should be able […]
Google is ditching the APK format for apps on the Play Store
Google has announced that it is moving away from the popular APK format on the Play Store starting August this year. The new format will be App Bundles (.aab) which the company rolled out a couple of years ago. “Since we launched the Android App Bundle in May 2018, we’ve seen our developer community embrace this new […]
The new Linux Kernel supports Apple’s M1
The Linux community prides itself on the fact that Linux runs on anything from a mundane smart thermometer, Android smartphones, the smart system in your car, the server powering your favourite website or streaming platform and now we can add Apple’s M1 onto that extensive list. The latest kernel release version 5.13 comes with preliminary […]
The upcoming version of WordPress will support WebP
I don’t often write about WordPress, the popular CMS (content management system) that powers both Techzim and all the sites I work with but today I decided to make an exception as I couldn’t contain my excitement. The next coming version of WordPress, version 5.8 which is coming out on 20 July, will have native […]
Does Huawei’s Harmony OS stand a chance against iOS & Android?
Huawei’s Harmony OS has been in the works for some time. Murmurs of the iOS and Android competitor date back to the mid-2010s and its imminent arrival will be a welcome addition to the smartphone and appliance market. However with Huawei’s app gallery light on apps and it being outside the well known Android and […]
Upgrading to Android 11 will break your favourite apps
Google engineers are sometimes like your mother cleaning your room unsolicited. You swear you left your magazines (let’s just call them National Geographic mags but we both know they aren’t) under your pillow. The spot was perfect, quick access for when you need to use them. Now comes the tricky part. You cannot ask your […]
Video: Econet Atom 3G Review, Is it better than a 12 year old goat?
This is a review of the KaiOS powered Econet Atom 3G and in this review we take a look at the KaiOS platform and what it has to offer. We also compare it to an iconic feature phone from 2008. Quick NetOne, Econet, And Telecel Airtime Recharge Number to recharge: Airtime amount ($): EcoCash or […]
Local Startup Hosting Cellphone Repair Lessons
At a time when jobs are extremely hard to come by, Zimbos are doing whatever they can to upskill themselves and become a part of the economy regardless of whether or not that participation is formal or informal. We recently, went to Batanai gardens to attend a mobile phone repair class hosted by Ixar Cellphone […]
Zim Development Studio Edges Towards Half A Million Downloads On The PlayStore; Here’s How They Did It
Age-X Development – a local software company recently announced that they had reached 400 000 installs since inception back in 2016. The special milestone is amazing because once again it shows how the internet can be a powerful tool to reach thousands of people on the globe from your office. We reached out to Van […]
Apple’s iOS 13.3 Allows Parents To Limit Who Their Kids Can Text & Call
Apple’s newly released iOS 13.3 has built-in parental controls giving parents the ability to limit who their children can call, text and facetime (video call). Parents can also manage their children’s contact list. Parents can also apply a different set of limitations on calls and messaging during the child’s permitted screen time and their downtime […]
Chrome Browser Now Has Dark Mode… Sort Of
Back in May, we shared a hack that Google Chrome users on Android could use to access a version of dark mode, but that hack made for a pretty compromised experience as it was forcefully changing the way websites appear. Google Chrome’s latest update now supports a darker theme which comes with less issues than […]
Google’s New Experimental Apps Will Make You Less Addicted To Your Phone
Google recently released a number of new apps under the “wellness experiments” banner and the 3 apps are supposed to improve our relationship with our phones. They’re supposed to make our phones less addictive. I installed 2 of the apps and they’re pretty interesting. Post box helps you minimize distractions, by holding your notifications until […]
Users Of Older iPhone Models Need To Update Their Phones To Avoid This GPS Bug
Apple recently sent out an official warning to users running iPhone 5, iPad 4 and devices released earlier. People running these devices need to update to the latest version or risk some buggy GPS, time and date keeping functionality. Because of the bugs ability to affect date keeping, it becomes more severe in that it […]
Firefox Is The Most Secure Browser- Germany Cyber Security Agency
Germany’s security agency, Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has discovered that Mozilla’s Firefox browser is the most secure browser. However, the survey only compared Firefox with Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge whilst ignoring other popular browsers like Safari,Opera Mini and UC browser. BSI came up with that conclusion after assessing each […]