This ridiculous load shedding stage meme is the brightest thing about Eskom’s crisis

Instagram has added a new feature that will let you buy things directly through the platform. Called Checkout, it will allow users to shop within Instagram as if their feed is a product catalogue. "When you tap to view a product from a brand’s shopping post, you’ll see a Checkout on Instagram' button on the product page," the company explained on its blog. When you send an item to Checkout, you will be able to select your preferred size and colour too. In order to make purchases through Instagram, users will then have to enter their personal information for delivery and billing. "Once your...

Web browser Opera's latest version now comes with a virtual private network (VPN) built in to its Android app. Version 51, which debuted in South Africa on Wednesday, features a free VPN which requires no sign-in, is unlimited, and can be activated within the browser on any network. When enabled, the VPN will create a "private and encrypted connection between mobile devices and a remote VPN server, using strong 256-bit encryption algorithms," the company explains in a release. It's similar to Opera's desktop browser VPN system. Opera's SVP for Android Peter Wallman suggests that South Africans are particularly interested in remaining anonymous...

Well, it's not a good time to be using anything other than Arial in your press releases, Eskom. The ailing power utility on Tuesday night issued a brief clarification on Twitter to suggestions that Stage 5 and Stage 6 load shedding schedules will soon be implemented. #Loadshedding stage 5 and 6 explained:@eNCA@ewnupdates @IOL @SABCNewsOnline @SowetanLIVE @News24 @mailandguardian @Moneyweb @TheCitizen_News @CityPowerJhb @City_Ekurhuleni @CityTshwane @CityofCT @eThekwiniM @centlecutility @MangaungCity pic.twitter.com/RQQ2NGjYnr— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) March 19, 2019 But while the release was certainly informative, suggesting that "contingency planning is in place" should South Africa dig an even larger hole for itself, Twitter just couldn't...

Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan and Eskom's head staffers on Tuesday held a joint press conference in Johannesburg detailing the reasons for the current load shedding crisis. South Africans have endured Stage 4 load shedding since Saturday, but the worst of our problems are seemingly far from over. While Gordhan did suggest that solutions to the current crisis will be made more concrete before he end of the month, the current situation in South Africa will remain bleak for quite some time. Only 56% of Eskom's installed capacity is available Gordhan noted that only 27 000 megawatts is available for use at...

Project management may be an entirely dead job description by 2030, new data by Gartner suggests. The data and analytics firm suggests that artificial intelligence (AI) is set to automate a slew of processes performed by project managers. "The market will focus first on providing incremental user experience benefits to individual professionals, and later will help them to become better planners and managers," it penned in a release. But by 2023, this is set to change as "technology providers focused on AI, virtual reality (VR) and digital platforms will disrupt the PPM market and cause a clear response by traditional...

Disney has finally dropped the first full trailer for Toy Story 4, giving fans a lot of insight into the movie's plot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmiIUN-7qhE If you thought that earlier teaser trailers suggested the movie was about a toy with an identity crisis, this trailer confirms it. In fact, one could say the trailer gives away most of the plot. We see Woody befriend Forky, a toy spork who doesn't want to be toy. When Forky runs away, Woody chases after him and gets caught up in the glamorous life of not being owned by a child. If that's not enough detail, we even get...

Cell C, in partnership with Facebook, has announced its first public access WiFi hotspot at the University of Western Cape (UWC). In a press release, the company revealed that the initiative is being supported by Facebook Express Wi-Fi, a division of Facebook that provides countries access to connectivity. "The Facebook Express Wi-Fi platform will help Cell C bring fast, affordable and reliable internet access to the South African public and the partnership with UWC marks Cell C’s first steps to rolling out WiFi hotspots across the country," the company stated. The hotspot is free for students on UWC's campus, and Cell C...

Netflix has announced its next interactive show, You vs Wild. According to Variety, the company revealed details of the family-friendly series at a press event in Los Angeles. As a nature and survival based show, You vs Wild will star Bear Grylls, who presented the survival guide adventure series Man vs Wild.  "I’m so proud to deliver this first-of-its-kind live-action interactive series, really giving viewers an all access pass to explore the world and its landscapes in my boots," Grylls told the publication. You vs Wild will be Netflix's second interactive show for an older audience. Last year,...

South Africa's public rail system is in crisis. Commuters know this, and endure its plethora of problems daily. But one important citizen who experienced this first hand was the President. President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday embarked on a train-powered election campaign across Pretoria. Sounds simple enough, but it was far from smooth. The train took off at 6.40am, but arrived nearly four hours later. https://twitter.com/MYANC/status/1107564086135533569 And once he boarded, the train halted at a number of stations, effectively stranding South Africa's leader. https://twitter.com/MYANC/status/1107556135530348544 On Twitter, the hashtag #PresidentStuckOnATrain began trending on Monday, largely thanks to the below tweet, as citizens discussed the President's journey. https://twitter.com/AldrinSampear/status/1107560956274663424 Snark was...

You're probably sick to death of hearing about Eskom's woes and load shedding, the government's floundering attempts to fix the ailing enterprise, and what is fast becoming our phrase of the year, "stage 4." But beyond the impact felt by every South African over the past few days, Google Trends has documented the growing crisis that is our national electricity provider. In fact, it's been documenting the crisis since 2008. Using the search terms "Eskom", "Stage 4", "load shedding" and "loadshedding" -- because there's no clear way of how else to spell "rolling blackouts" -- we can see just how heavily...

JK Rowling has reportedly confirmed that her fictional characters Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald had a sexual relationship. A report by Radio Times revealed that the Harry Potter author mentioned the information in a Blu-ray special feature for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. While the news excited the minds of some, Twitter found the information tired. After all, many feel that the author's exposition is often made up in an attempt to stay relevant. https://twitter.com/tribranchvo/status/1107435725593735168 In fact, her own fans find her revelations needlessly dramatic. https://twitter.com/ira/status/1107421568664104960 https://twitter.com/marquitasade/status/1107379826657099776 https://twitter.com/JimbobTV/status/1107370567282421765 Seemingly, the general consensus is that Rowling throws outlandish "facts" at her fans faces when none of...

The world is still reeling after the terrorist attack that took place in Christchurch, New Zealand last Friday. The mass shooting was live streamed via Facebook by the shooter himself, and showed him entering a mosque and opening fire on everyone in sight. On Friday, Facebook took down the video. "We're also removing any praise or support for the crime and the shooter or shooters as soon as we're aware." the company noted further. https://twitter.com/fbnewsroom/status/1106417244412624896 Before the company could take action, users had already shared and copied the video, leaving Facebook and other social platforms with the task of removing them all. In a tweet...

Facebook will be implementing new detection technology to help curb the spread of revenge porn, it announced on Friday. "To protect victims, it’s long been our policy to remove non-consensual intimate images (sometimes referred to as revenge porn) when they’re reported to us," the company said on its blog. The new detection methods will use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to reach this new level of security. "This means we can find this content before anyone reports it, which is important for two reasons: often victims are afraid of retribution so they are reluctant to report the content...

YouTube's most followed creator PewDiePie is being accused of inspiring Friday's mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. This comes after one of the perpetrators reportedly yelled "subscribe to PewDiePie" before opening fire in a mosque. The video of the incident, which was also livestreamed by the perpetrators, was available on YouTube and other social media before it was taken down. Many on the internet now believe that PewDiePie inspired the attack... https://twitter.com/mistertodd/status/1106386072299339776 https://twitter.com/Harry1795s/status/1106451629304213504 ...but a slew of others expressed their "disgust" that people could suggest the idea. https://twitter.com/BikiniBodhi/status/1106455321868988416 https://twitter.com/DrShafbonculous/status/1106460744881786882 https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/1106484821117812737 https://twitter.com/suicidesquidi/status/1106473760440221696 https://twitter.com/BrotherMaku/status/1106478698524364800 PewDiePie himself addressed the outcry, saying that he was "sickened" that the attacker used his name. https://twitter.com/pewdiepie/status/1106419935390171136 If these terrorists really...

Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that two Facebook executives have decided to leave the company. In a blog post, Zukerberg referred to the news in an update to Facebook's new goal for a more "privacy focused" platform. The two executives in question are Chris Cox and Chris Daniels, the company's chief product officer and head of WhatsApp respectively. "While it is sad to lose such great people, this also creates opportunities for more great leaders who are energized about the path ahead to take on new and bigger roles," Zukerberg said. In the wake of these resignations, the Facebook founder also announced...