Weekly Round Up Podcast #105: WhatsApp’s blackout, Windows 10 S & more

Welcome to Weekly Round Up, our podcast discussing the latest tech trends, innovation and news from the last few days.

This week sees Hadlee Simons hosting Andy Walker and Stephen Timm.

Kicking off the show, we detail one of SA’s biggest business deals this decade: the US$100-million sales of GetSmarter, a South African ed-tech startup, to a US company.

Hadlee and Andy discuss Windows 10 S as well as the Microsoft Surface Laptop, which were both unveiled this week. With both Microsoft products having their ups and downs, the duo explores what makes them great and what makes them somewhat disappointing.

WhatsApp was inaccessible for many across the world Wednesday night

YouTube’s new features also get a mention, including its new Dark Mode available at present, and its new Material Design features incoming.

Finally, the team addresses the large WhatsApp outage that took place across the world this week.

What are we watching, reading, playing: Andy is playing Paladins — a free Overwatch competitor now available on PS4 and Xbox One. He’s still eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S8.

Stephen is reading Brazillionaires by Alex Cuadros which documents the rise and fall of Brazillian mogul, Eika Batista.

Hadlee has been reviewing FlatOut4 which he isn’t too impressed with. He’s also been playing around with the Huawei P10, thoroughly enjoying its camera. Hadlee has also been catching up on his reading with a book called Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat.

For all this and more, have a listen to the podcast below. Also, be sure to catch the thorough Recommended Reading list at the foot of this article.

Recommended Reading:

• 5 reasons to give Windows 10 S a skip
• Microsoft reveals Surface Laptop, running Windows 10 S
• [Update: it’s back] Is WhatsApp down worldwide? Here’s what we know
• Chance meeting helped SA startup GetSmarter secure over $100m sale

Additional Reading:

• YouTube’s website is a-changing: here’s what you need to know
• DaddyOFive owners lose custody of two kids following child abuse claims
• Samsung Galaxy S8 launches in SA tomorrow, what do critics say?
• Windows 10 S is a good idea, but where’s the cheap Surface? [Column]
• PiggyBank, Olivine Technology awarded $50,000 in funding from Village Capital
• Innotribe announces 10 startups chosen for Swift’s African Regional Conference