Thank you to ASUS South Africa for sponsoring this edition of the htxt.africast.
As we pass the middle of September and hurtle ever faster towards the end of 2021, there’s another edition of the africast now available with a focus on Apple and its latest boring releases.
Before that, however, let’s talk about some smaller news this week starting with Inspiration4 and a group of civilians now up in space. Unlike some billionaire flights from Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos which were flights of fancy, this endeavour has a more noble goal by raising money for charity.
We’re in the middle of a Deathloop playthrough right now with a review coming soon(ish). While we’ve enjoyed the hours we’ve played so far technical issues have gotten in the way. On top of the heavy system requirements stressing out our ageing mid-range desktop, the AMD drivers recommended for the game caused havoc and required a rollback. Not exactly inspiring from AMD and developer Arkane Studios.
Finally for our shorter stories this week it’s Spotify. We got some unique insights into how the almighty Spotify algorithm works thanks to an interview with Ziad Sultan, senior director of Product for Personalisation at Spotify. Many elements of the software are secret, but we did learn enough to get a better look at how Spotify handles music.
Out big topic this week is the latest Apple Event which showed us with news and details about all the hardware and software coming out of the company. Unfortunately, at the end of the livestream, we were left wanting and that feeling has persisted days after. Come learn about the new stuff without having to sit through more than an hour of Apple spin.
Mentioned in this africast:
- Four civilians are now orbiting the Earth aboard Inspiration4
- Video problems? Black Screen? Browser freezing? AMD drivers may be the culprit
- A look into the Spotify algorithm and how it keeps you listening
- Apple shows off new iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max
- Apple Watch Series 7 increments, Fitness+ still not coming to SA
- Apple unveils new iPad and iPad Mini coming “next week”
- New iPad mini starts at R8 999 in South Africa, pre-orders now open
- The New iPhone Whatever (parody)