Category: Hardware & Software
RAM plus an SSD could saving you from buying a brand new laptop
We all like new nice things, to a point that people are saying “a soft life is my birthright“. However, unless your pockets can barely contain your income you are pretty much stuck with whatever you have. Especially here in Zim where even those who are formally employed have side hustles so they can meet […]
The crazy drama behind the High Court ruling ZIMDEF’s SAP software tender is illegal
In early 2021 the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) called for companies to bid to provide it with Systems Applications and Products (SAP) software. Companies made their bids and ZIMDEF picked one, Tano Digital Solutions, and thought that would be the end of that. Nope, it’s never that simple. One company challenged the awarding of […]
Is Davinci Resolve better than Premiere Pro?
I have gone through a fair share of editing softwares in the 5 or so years I have been doing video. I’m talking Lightworks, Toonly, Biteable and everyone’s favorite. Premiere Pro. Then Valentine signed me up for a Davinci Resolve bootcamp. And here is what happened. A bit of background Before I start. I produce […]
Local ICT firm now offering SAP software via partner-managed cloud
Tano Digital Solutions (TDS) is a South Africa and Zimbabwe-based technology company that offers a range of services and products which include business consulting, domain expertise and technology consulting. TDS has announced that it has become an SAP reseller to deliver a partner-managed cloud for SAP Business One & Business ByDesign. SAP is a German multinational […]
Zim inventor develops TV that doesn’t need a power cable, Is that even possible?
Zimbabwean inventor Maxwell Chikumbutso has reportedly created a radio-frequency powered television. This means that there is no power cable and the TV is powered purely by radio waves similar to WiFi and Bluetooth. “With an RF-powered generator embedded on a TV set, it is now possible for many people to enjoy watching TV whilst they […]
KaiOS still the best option to get all Zimbabweans on the internet
If you are old enough to remember the 2000s, you’ll remember how phone manufacturers were in a battle to make the smallest phone possible. That fight meant they had to figure out; how to shrink various computer components, how to optimize software to work with the resultant smaller batteries etc. All that made the behemoths […]
Apple will now let you repair your own device? What alternate timeline is this?
And here I thought 2020 was a weird year what with the pandemic and reports of something new and unheard of every week. Well, to be fair 2021 hasn’t been all that bad generally or maybe I am desensitized to the stuff that rumbles through the news cycle. However, this took me completely by surprise […]
Sony WH-1000XM4 review. Tech & audio excellence!
Welcome to the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones. The best wireless headphones Sony makes right now and probably the very best headphones money can buy.
Office 2021 which is compatible with LibreOffice is coming out tomorrow
Everyone has been raving about Windows 11 and how it’s a game-changer but tomorrow is a special day at Redmont, not only is Microsoft releasing its latest version of Windows. They are also releasing the latest version of their popular Office suite. Office 2021 is coming out tomorrow and if you are a free software […]
Amazon to take on Tesla-bot with their tablet on wheels
Do you remember Elon Musk’s creepy robot that I said was not useless? Well, Amazon recently unveiled their own called Astro. It looks even creepier than the Tesla bot with a look ripped right out of some Sci-Fi movie and based on what Amazon have to say for themselves it will be of some use […]
Google is now 23, here is how the company has changed how we use the internet
Google turns 23 this week. I was a wee lad when Google was founded back in 1998 and the only knowledge I had of computers was from the “Demolition Man” and Angelina Jolie’s classic “Hackers”. It was only later that I touched one when I was in my last year of high school. It took […]
If you install Windows 11 on an unsupported PC, you will not get updates
Windows 11 is coming out on the 5th of October, just over a week from now and Microsoft is making final preparations for its official release. One such preparation involves making those who try to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware agree to special terms which makes it clear that if they do go ahead […]
Passwords are here to stay, Microsoft cannot change that
Usernames and passwords are an integral part of the computing world. They are the easiest and most common way to confirm a user’s identity and determine whether access to a given resource can be granted. Passwords have been used for centuries. There are here for good and not even Microsoft’s noble move to get rid […]
Brave is a browser of many contradictions
Nobody needs to tell me about how ads are bad and how they break the browsing experience. If you hate ads, especially popup ads, you should know that things are better now. Before extensions like Adblock Plus became popular the internet was like a Wild-West with spammy advertisements launching a dozen popup windows as soon […]
Of course you can install Zoom on Ubuntu 20.04, here is how
Sometimes people who have never used Ubuntu or Linux say the strangest things. This weekend for example during a casual discussion about computers one “expert” who clearly hates Linux had some pretty bizarre points to justify his stance. Things like it don’t have a GUI desktop and therefore it’s difficult to use. He also claimed […]
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 […]