Stuff podcast

Are you paying to own something or to have access to it, Teljoy CEO Jonathan Hurvitz tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. The South African company pioneered the subscription model decades before Netflix and Spotify made this business model mainstream. Read more on Stuff.

“We have to push back on the idea that AI is smarter than us,” Scott Hanselman, Microsoft’s vice-president of developercommunity, tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. “It’s artificial but it’s not real intelligence,” he adds. “We are real intelligence.” Along with Pelonomi Moiloa, CEO and co-founder of Lelapa AI, they talk about how AI is being practically used. Read more onStuff.

Given how the startup space in South Africa has blossomed, Old Mutual has launched its own tech venture fund to support this dynamic sector, says Vuyo Mpako, who is MD of Next 176 at Old Mutual. Two successful startups in his stable are Ken Health and JOBJACK, he tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Any conversation with Dr Christoph Nieuwoudt – FNB’s chief data and analytics officer – is always a meandering journey across a range of fields. He delves into how artificial intelligence is a game changer, and specifically about the immediate gains of generative AI, he tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Jolandé Duvenage is the chief imaginer for FNB’s nav» offering. The bank wants to make it easier to buy or sell a car or a house, value them and insure them, whiel hopefully increasing your financial literacy, Duvenage tells Stuff editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Stuff editor Brett Venter sat down with Samsung Consumer Electronics’ Director Michael van Lier (more than once, as it happens). On the menu was everything Samsung’s Electronics division is bringing to South Africa in the near future. Plus, a batch of interesting items that are already here, like a wardrobe that cleans your clothing, customizable fridges, and a TV that they weren’t supposed to touch, but did. The chat ranged from TVs and the tech behind them to one of the most expensive things Samsung has installed in South Africa, with a few stops in between. 

The Sonos Ray has just been released. Listen to Toby Shapshak chat with Jeff and Joe from Sonos in New York City. They talk shop about everything Sonos.

Stuff's publisher and editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak sat down with the director of Planetworld, Maurice Van Heerden, to chat about how he came to bring Sonos products (among others) to SA. Planetworld is an importer and distributor of audio products from a number of high-end manufacturers for a range of applications including car audio, home theatre setups and smart home audio. Van Heerden takes Shapshak through the story of bringing Sonos products to SA and how Sonos were among the first to effectively implement smart functions in high-end audio solutions, first seen in the Sonos One. #sponsored

Stuff's publisher and editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak sat down with the head of Samsung South & Southern Africa mobile business Justin Hume ahead of the launch of the new Galaxy S22 range. They discuss the integration of the Note into the Galaxy S range with the S22 Ultra and the upgrades and features of the new mobile flagship. In addition to creating a device with dashing good looks, Samsung's increased its focus on security at the hardware level. Justin explains how Samsung builds devices that solve real human problems.

Stuff's publisher and editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak is joined by Mweb's managing director Manelisa Mavuso and Head of Connectivity Derrick Kaylor following Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The $68 billion deal is one of the largest the gaming industry has ever seen and, when it is final, will make Microsoft Gaming the third largest gaming company in terms of revenue. Shapshak, Mavuso and Kaylor discuss what this means for SA gamers, the role Mweb plays in the local gaming industry and what the shift to cloud gaming will look like. 

Fintech app Shyft won a prestigious innovation award from global banking organisation Efma in Barcelona in 2016 before it even launched. The innovative forex app – which was the first to offer virtual credit cards in South Africa, about five years before they became mainstream – has grown significantly, adding investment.  Having won a stream of awards – including a Stuff App Award – its head Arno von Helden tells Stuff Studio's editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak how it is planning to Shyft digital banking. Read more on Stuff Studios.

Aldo Laubscher, Visa South Africa country manager, tells Stuff Studios editor-in-chief Toby Shapshak that despite Covid and its effects, the last two years have accelerated digitisation and digital ways of paying. Visa found that 51% of over-50s in the country used ecommerce for the first time. Visa, which has 3,3bn card credentials and processes 65,000 to 70,0000 transactions per second, is looking at “credentials” instead of cards. Or, as Laubscher calls it, it is “plastic with a digital feel”. Read more on Stuff Studios.