Opinion – Musk should not be charging for Twitter’s blue tick status
New Twitter boss Elon Musk is planning to charge $240-per-year for blue tick status. Could shifting away from simple verification and toward an open premium service lead to fundamental flaws in the platform? We reckon so. Elon Musk’s hard-fought campaign to get his hands on Twitter was always superseded by...
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Why Kim won’t be the one suffering for her crypto touting
Despite paying the SEC $1.26 million for an undisclosed Instagram ad, Kim Kardashian’s hefty fine is nothing compared to the impacts on those she scammed. Kim Kardashian has been forced to pay $1.2 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an undisclosed promotion of EMAX tokens, a crypto asset...
Google launches ‘FloodHub’ to track potential flooding disasters
In the days leading up to COP27, Google launched a new GPS service called FloodHub. As the risk of extreme weather increases, this platform aims to assist in tracking where and when floods may occur. COP27 is finally underway in Sharm El Sheikh, and delegates from across the planet have...
South African teenagers build solar-powered train
Amid South Africa’s power cuts, a group of students built the country’s first fully solar-powered train. The power outages have caused disruptions affecting poor and working-class commuters relying on trains. A group of 20 South African students from Soshanguve Technical School recently showcased a fully solar-powered train at a...
Opinion – social media’s obsession with ‘aesthetic’ needs to stop
While there’s arguably nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from trends as a means of self-exploration, the sheer volume that’s being presented to us by social media on a daily basis is becoming increasingly problematic for both our wellbeing and the planet. Ever found yourself identity flip-flopping? Trends, aesthetics, and niche groups...
Google finally shuts down game streaming service Stadia
The cloud-based gaming dream is finally dead for Google, as it announces a shutdown of all Stadia services and features. The platform will officially retire in January 2023. Remember when Stadia was touted as the next step for video games? Google’s experimental tread into gaming showed promise. Using cloud-based streaming,...
YouTube reports Gen Z want curated content over viral videos
It seems the days of dancing foxes, Gangnam Style, and other viral content are over. New studies suggest that Gen Z prefer to see specific, tailored content for them, rather than popular videos intended for all audiences. If you’re an older Gen Zer like myself, you may remember a time when viral content was everywhere. Whether it was dancing foxes, novelty songs, talking unicorns, or anything in between, widespread, short-form...
Perseverance Mars rover discovers abundance of organic molecules
NASA says its Perseverance rover is finding organic molecules on ‘every target’ that it observes, providing further evidence to suggest that Mars was once teeming with life. New data from NASA’s rover, Perseverance, has reinforced suggestions that life may have existed on Mars billions of years ago. A press conference was held last Thursday to showcase the findings. Perseverance has discovered a variety of organic modules in Jezero Crater, an ancient lake...
Google’s failed balloon-based tech utilised to develop laser internet
Google’s plan to bring internet connections to remote regions was a noble one, but its balloon-based project failed to get off the ground. Fortunately, however, that same tech has helped to inspire a more promising avenue involving laser communications and the cloud. Providing remote regions with solid internet connections has been a major ambition within Silicon Valley for years. Attempts thus far, however, have been largely unsuccessful. Up until the project...
Crypto addiction is becoming a serious problem
For most young people, crypto trading is mostly a fun and recreational way of making some extra money. For some though, its lack of regulation and changeable nature can spark a slippery slope to addiction. With cryptocurrency’s rapid and seemingly ceaseless surge onto the mainstream, addictions associated with digital trading are starting to enter the public consciousness. Notorious for their volatility, coins like Ethereum and Bitcoin can lure traders into a...
