It’s not just time for another africast, and it’s not just Friday, but it’s also the end of January 2020 which seems to have been going on forever.
In our news segment this week we talk about the return of loadshedding which will mean a very dark weekend for us all, Huawei might be never returning to Google services, and a new breed of dice which come with RGB LEDs and wireless charging.
Our features segment starts with Avast and its subsidiary Jumpshot. Avast antivirus was gathering data from its users and then packaging that up to be sold by Jumpshot, unbeknown to most until a report by Vice’s Motherboard and PC Mag. Now Jumpshot has been closed but it has left a cloud of mistrust over Avast.
Next up is WeWork, the technology company / shared working space that we actually use as our offices in Rosebank. The company has had its doors open in South Africa for six months now and we speak to WeWork about that milestone.
Finally it’s time for everyone’s favourite topic: the streaming wars. We’ve been watching Mr. Robot on local service Showmax with mixed results. It’s pricing, availability, local content and free nature (for DStv Premium subscribers) makes it a unique choice for South Africans, but it is missing a lot of content and functionality compared to other international services.
Mentioned in this africast:
- Brace for a weekend of loadshedding from 09:00 today to 06:00 on Monday
- Huawei reportedly will not go back to Google services even if US lifts its ban
- Pixels are LED dice that know which way you roll them
- Avast to shut down Jumpshot after report it sold troves of user data
- How WeWork has performed in South Africa during its first six months
- Showmax disambiguation
- Hey, Hollywood millionaires, shut up & let us control Netflix playback speed
