The late winter months see thousands of tourists flock to the Western Cape coastal town of Hermanus to catch a glimpse of its returning celebrities: the southern right whales. The mammals head back to the town's Walker Bay to mate and calve, and put on a bit of a show for the locals. Sometimes, this show is captured by a drone whirling away overhead. And in this case, photographer Luke Maximo Bell was at the controls. "I used a drone to capture these majestic creatures as best as I possibly could! It was an incredible experience to see them play and...
As much as Macs have a reputation for their long lifespans and high performance, as time goes by most will tend to slow down. Initially the difference in performance may not be all that noticeable, but eventually you may find that your apps take longer to open, your Mac boots up slower, or it seems to 'lag' a lot periodically. While you may take those as signs that your Mac is getting too old, it is important to note that just because a Mac is slowing down does not mean that it needs to be replaced. In most cases if...
If you thought the EFF being thrown out of Parliament was spectacular, this video of Uganda's Parliament this week will likely change those perceptions. The politicians gathered in Kampala to discuss an important amendment to the Constitution: adjusting the presidential age limit beyond 75-years of age. This would give current leader, 73-year-old Yoweri Museveni, another possible term in office. Museveni has been the Ugandan leader for over three-decades. To add to the mood, Speaker of the House Rebecca Kadaga requested that the opposition be removed from the chambers deeming their attire unacceptable. "I know sometimes people enjoy colours, but let me call on...
Cosatu will today take to the streets of 13 South African cities to protest against state capture and corruption. "This strike is about sending a message to both government and private sector that as workers and citizens, we are tired of corruption. We are standing up tomorrow against the cancer of corruption that is eroding our gains and also undermining our democracy," the union wrote in a statement. Prior to the march, Cosatu published leaflets on Twitter of its proposed routes for each city, including the likes of Queenstown, Mafikeng and Nelspruit. Notice: #COSATUStrike tomorrow 27 September 2017 @_cosatu pic.twitter.com/QKy44pwKfZ— Netstar Traffic...
You probably have your own opinions regarding Apple's iPhone X, or what it claims to be the most advanced iPhone ever made. And make no qualms about it. On paper, the device is a powerhouse. But that doesn't mean the internet can't scrutinise the company's advancements. Leave Funny Or Die and the cast of HBO's Silicon Valley to do that for you. Savaging Apple's hard work in just over two-minutes, the video lays into Apple's new FaceID authentication gaffe and the awkward animoji demo complete with unicorn and flappy dog physics. The clip, which is spliced alongside footage of Apple's launch, has...
Welcome to The Weekly Roundup, our podcast discussing the latest tech trends, innovation and news from the last few days. This week, Andy Walker hosts Julia Breakey and Stephen Timm in studio. We kick off the episode by laying out what we know about the cryptocurrency mining issue that saw our site temporarily disabled this week. We then move on to a Ventureburn story about ICOs and the emerging popularity of the cryptocurrency scene in South Africa. Over on Memeburn, Julia talks how Facebook enabled the Russian tampering of the 2016 US election. Receiving over US$100 000 in ad sales from the propaganda, the...
The 2017 PriceCheck Tech and eCommerce Awards took place last night at gala dinner hosted at Cape Town's Westin Hotel. The PriceCheck Awards, now in its second year, has also expanded to include technology companies not specifically plying their trade in the ecommerce space. This has had an effect on the nominees and awards too, with startups and NGOs now also recognised. Although Takealot dominated the nominations with four, followed by Superbalist, Travelstart and Bidorbuy with two, no single company walked away with more than one award. That's in stark contrast to last year's domination by the former, which walked away...
Welcome to The Weekly Roundup, our podcast discussing the latest tech trends, innovation and news from the last few days. This week, Andy Walker hosts Stephen Timm and Julia Breakey in studio. We kick off the episode with a Ventureburn story about a Durban man's endeavour to solve Cape Town's water crisis with machines that turn air into water. The snag? They run on electricity that is created by using tons more water than what will be produced. Over on Memeburn, Andy talks us through how one US Senator got caught liking porn on Twitter. Immediately inciting a trend for the "Zodiac killer"...
Hurricane Irma is now no more, but the data gained from the storm is only just being collated and studied. This week, NASA's Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center (or SPoRT) compiled 10 days of imagery taken by the GOES-16 weather satellite into a 96 second GIF. And yes, it's as incredible as it sounds. Although the video is a bit slower than its first attempt, NASA SPoRT's GIF nonetheless tells the story of Irma -- from her birth from a tropical wave, to her final hours as a tropical depression over the southeastern United States. As Category 5 Irma churns away...
Hurricane Irma is a storm that the world probably won't forget. The storm is among the most intense for a number of reasons, and has slashed a number of long-standing records for cyclones and hurricanes alike. But it has also carved a furrow of destruction through some of the Caribbean's poorest, most vulnerable countries, and the Florida peninsula. The like of Facebook, YouTube and Twitter users have witnessed this destruction first hand, with many broadcasting the storm's arrival live, or tweeting about the destruction after it passes. Read more: catch Memeburn's additional Hurricane Harvey, Irma, Jose and Katia coverage More than 13...
At its first product launch event at the new Steve Jobs Theatre, Apple debuted a slew of new devices. One of them was the Apple Watch Series 3. But while you can catch all the technical specs of the Watch over on Gearburn, on Memeburn we're more concerned by one particular detail: Apple Music will be available on the device. Apple punted its music service's 40-million tracks, which will all be streamable from the wrist, thanks to the Watch's new electronic SIM system, that can connect to cellular networks. While the electronic SIM was only demoed using an AT&T network, this is...
The second edition of the PriceCheck Tech and eCommerce Awards is set to take place next week in Cape Town, but this week, the shortlist for the nominees have been announced. Sourced from a "record 44 500 votes" the nominees stem from technology and ecommerce space in South Africa. "The response from the voting public was phenomenal – we've never seen so many votes for an industry event. The contenders this year have really upped their game and there are bound to be a few surprises," noted PriceCheck's founder Kevin Tucker. As for the shortlist, please find it in full below: Best...
Beyonce Knowles today celebrates her 36th birthday and the internet just can't help but celebrate one of its most famous members. The singer-songwriter is one of the more remarkable Twitter users. She's only ever tweeted 10 times, but has over 15.1-million users. Today, across the world, her name was among the most mentioned terms on the social network. #HappyBirthdayBeyonce began trending across the world on Monday, with fans and admirers of Beyonce finding their voices. "Happy birthday to my biggest inspiration in the world. Thank you for everything, love you so much," one user wrote. Happy bday angel thank u for making such...
Welcome to Weekly Roundup, our podcast discussing the latest tech trends, innovation and news from the last few days. This week, Hadlee Simons hosts Stephen Timm and Julia Breakey in studio. Hadlee opens the floor talking iPhone 8 rumours. Some sources have said it will do away with physical home buttons entirely, there's been talk of an OLED screen and others claim it will cost nearly US$1000. Over on Memeburn, we talk Burger King Russia's new cryptocurrency Whoppercoin. The currency "will be used to reward customers for their purchases", and can be used to buy burgers in return when enough have been accrued --...
Welcome to MiniMeme, the podcast in which Burn Media's junior staff talk whatever is tickling their fancy this week. This week, the team welcomes its first ever guest in the form of young entrepreneur Shivad Singh. Singh is a social entrepreneur who co-founded education startup Presto Academy in 2014. Singh chats about the challenges he has faced in his entrepreneurial journey, his new show Head Start and the philosophies and influencers that drive him. Singh's startup, Presto Academy sells study guides written by South Africa's top matric students. Since launch, the startup has sold over 2 000 books, generated over R100 000 in revenue and has...
Lifetime Oscar Pistorius movie ‘horrifies’ Steenkamp family and South Africa
Cape Town dams: Theewaterskloof deals a blow as water usage remains high
Watch: Uganda’s politicians clash in Parliament in violent viral video
‘Ready for a Dove shower?’ Cosmetics brand angers the internet with ‘racist’ ad
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