Stuffed Podcast Rss

Microsoft will invest R5.4bn over the next two years in South Africa on AI and cloud infrastructure. Vice chair and president Brad Smith , tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak it will help the country’s “ambition to become a globally competitive AI economy”. Read more on Stuff.

“We have to push back on the idea that AI is smarter than us,” Scott Hanselman, Microsoft’s vice-president of developercommunity, tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. “It’s artificial but it’s not real intelligence,” he adds. “We are real intelligence.” Along with Pelonomi Moiloa, CEO and co-founder of Lelapa AI, they talk about how AI is being practically used. Read more onStuff.

As scammers lean into the psychology of human nature to scare or shame people into giving up security information, Standard Bank is using another form of psychology to upskill people to avoid phishing and vishing: good, old-fashioned fairy tales. Dr Belinda Rathogwa, executive head of digital and ecommerce for personal and private banking at Standard Bank South Africa, tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak about this novel approach to educating people. Read more on Stuff.

Given how the startup space in South Africa has blossomed, Old Mutual has launched its own tech venture fund to support this dynamic sector, says Vuyo Mpako, who is MD of Next 176 at Old Mutual. Two successful startups in his stable are Ken Health and JOBJACK, he tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Risk isn’t a word that consumers often use, but banks are obsessed with it – as they should be, Emma Mer, Chief Risk Officer at FNB, tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Digital wallets have rapidly become the default means for anyone with a smartphone to use for contactless payments. But are these payment methods have become more sophisticated, so have the criminals, FNB Card’s head of fraud Chris Boxall tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Any conversation with Dr Christoph Nieuwoudt – FNB’s chief data and analytics officer – is always a meandering journey across a range of fields. He delves into how artificial intelligence is a game changer, and specifically about the immediate gains of generative AI, he tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Where credit cards replaced cheques, virtual cards have replaced plastic ones. But the evolution of payments isn’t over yet, as its contactless future shows, as Ashley Saffy, head of spend and customer value management at FNB Card, tells tuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Jolandé Duvenage is the chief imaginer for FNB’s nav» offering. The bank wants to make it easier to buy or sell a car or a house, value them and insure them, whiel hopefully increasing your financial literacy, Duvenage tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Samsung’s new Galaxy Fold 5 and Flip 5 have folding glass screens, an engineering innovation that still delights Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Mobile executives Justin Hume and Zahir Cajee join in the geek out. Read more on Stuff.

Stuff editor Brett Venter sat down with Samsung Consumer Electronics’ Director Michael van Lier (more than once, as it happens). On the menu was everything Samsung’s Electronics division is bringing to South Africa in the near future. Plus, a batch of interesting items that are already here, like a wardrobe that cleans your clothing, customizable fridges, and a TV that they weren’t supposed to touch, but did. The chat ranged from TVs and the tech behind them to one of the most expensive things Samsung has installed in South Africa, with a few stops in between. 

Using free public WiFi has its risks, not least other users snooping on your data. It may seem like a convenience, especially while travelling overseas, but you should never use it without a VPN. These virtual private networks create a secure tunnel, as it were, that other users on the same network can’t peer into or access your data. It’s one of the things I use whenever I use any free public WiFi – anywhere. It’s part of the utterly essential cybersecurity checklist we should all follow. We must “prepare our laziness in advance” NordVPN’s Karolis Pabijanskas told Stuff – referring to the way we just accept cookies and other T&Cs without being conscious of how it affects our security. We need to reset our habits, and using a VPN is essential for using public WiFi.

The Sonos Ray has just been released. Listen to Toby Shapshak chat with Jeff and Joe from Sonos in New York City. They talk shop about everything Sonos.

Stuff's Toby Shapshak chats to Africa's Netflix Ben Amadasun.

Stuff's publisher and editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak sat down with the director of Planetworld, Maurice Van Heerden, to chat about how he came to bring Sonos products (among others) to SA. Planetworld is an importer and distributor of audio products from a number of high-end manufacturers for a range of applications including car audio, home theatre setups and smart home audio. Van Heerden takes Shapshak through the story of bringing Sonos products to SA and how Sonos were among the first to effectively implement smart functions in high-end audio solutions, first seen in the Sonos One. #sponsored

Stuff's publisher and editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak spoke to HMD Global CEO Florian Seiche while he was in the country. They touch on some of the ways HMD Global and its Nokia devices impact the lives of South Africans and some of the trends currently active in the market. They also discuss the current state of the mobile network in SA and where it's heading. They reminisce on the history of Nokia and some of the iconic phones from the past.

Stuff's publisher and editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak sat down with the head of Samsung South & Southern Africa mobile business Justin Hume ahead of the launch of the new Galaxy S22 range. They discuss the integration of the Note into the Galaxy S range with the S22 Ultra and the upgrades and features of the new mobile flagship. In addition to creating a device with dashing good looks, Samsung's increased its focus on security at the hardware level. Justin explains how Samsung builds devices that solve real human problems.

Brett and Duncan are joined by Michael Chang, marketing manager of MSI South Africa, to discuss the state of the gaming industry. They talk about the growth of the industry and where it's headed. This is how MSI will make it easier for gamers and non-gamers alike to explore the metaverse. #sponsored 

Stuff's publisher and editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak is joined by Mweb's managing director Manelisa Mavuso and Head of Connectivity Derrick Kaylor following Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The $68 billion deal is one of the largest the gaming industry has ever seen and, when it is final, will make Microsoft Gaming the third largest gaming company in terms of revenue. Shapshak, Mavuso and Kaylor discuss what this means for SA gamers, the role Mweb plays in the local gaming industry and what the shift to cloud gaming will look like. 

Join Brett and Marce in audio as they discuss the week's tech headlines -- South African and global. This week we speak to Prateek Kewalramani, Head of Marketing of Fitbit/Google Middle East and Africa about the brand's new Fitbit Charge 5 fitness tracker. We unpack how fitness trackers are helping humans navigate health in a pandemic. #sponsored