Weekly Round Up Podcast #109: Cape storm, Knysna fire & WWDC

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

This week, Hadlee Simons hosts Andy Walker, Stephen Timm and Matthew Alexander in studio.

The team opens the floor with a discussion on the Cape Storm that rocked the Mother City this week. Along with the storm came the spreading of fake photos (either photoshopped or pulled from other natural disasters) and Andy Walker talks us through how to differentiate between the truth and the lies.

Hadlee then talks about Haven Night Shelter’s Buy A Bed campaign that allows people to donate R60 to house someone in need for five nights.

To close off Memeburn, Andy then explains how those affected in the massive Knysna fire are using social media to spread information and keep in touch with loved ones who are otherwise uncontactable because telephone lines are down.

Stephen Timm then talks about Section 12J of the Income Tax Act which now provides tax breaks to individuals who invest in a venture capital company which then invests in qualifying SMEs. Section 12J is meant to spur investment in small enterprises, but Stephen thinks it often misses the mark.

He then talks about his Digital All-Stars piece, which looked at the ten all-time biggest exit deals for South African start ups.

Over on Gearburn, Hadlee talks through the WWDC, focussing on the HomePod, which he dubs the “Siri box.” He and Andy deliberate on whether it will be worth the money it’s asking.

What are we watching, reading, playing: Andy has had a hard time getting his games to download thanks to the storm, but he is eagerly awaiting Tekken 7, Injustic 2, and Wipeout Collection.

Matthew is playing Sniper Elite, and is enjoying it bar a few irritating features. He has also devoured American Gods in just over two weeks.

Stephen has had a pretty quiet week, but he did point out an interesting Instagram post by Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo that featured the Cape Storm.

Finally, Hadlee is still playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch. He’s also been playing Bouncy Hoops on mobile, and watching many D-Day documentaries.

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:

• Tornadoes and Katrina: the totally fake news from Cape Town’s storm
• #KnysnaFire: locals turn to Facebook, WhatsApp for help
• Can 12J VC tax incentive create the jobs South Africa badly needs?
• Are these the 10 all-time biggest exit deals for SA startups? [Digital All Stars]
• WWDC 2017: 7 things to know about HomePod