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Sharing thoughts and ideas on business, security and photographyWhat are the differences between the iPad 2 and new iPad (for a South African)?
Posted on June 23, 2012A previous post of mine comparing the iPad and iPad 2 proved to be one of the most visited on the site with over 3500 people reading it. Since the new iPad (aka iPad 3) has been out for a little while now it made sense to do a follow-up.
When it was announced a big deal was made about the screen, and what an amazing screen it is. However that is not the only difference between the devices. As a very happy iPad 2 wi-fi+3G user I wasn’t going to upgrade, and kept telling myself I didn’t need to as there weren’t really any real differences. The chance came along to get a new iPad at a great price and I took it. Looking back, I didn’t realise all the difference between the two.
Below I explore many of those differences – component by component. Take a look at the bottom of the post for a line by line factual comparison to support the opinions presented. The information (in the table) is sourced from a number of websites. Source list with links below the table.
Summary of Drifta compatibility : Which Drifta to get
Posted on June 23, 2012Now that there are 4 Drifta devices on the market it can be a little confusing as to which one to buy. The assumption often can be that each new one is better than the last, and this is definitely no the case. In truth, though each is slightly different in size and shape, they all provide the same functionality (mostly), same picture quality, and where they have a battery, similar battery life. The choice really comes down to which devices you want to use the Drifta with. The table below summarises this. Click on the device name for link to a full review.
| Walka | Drifta (WiFi) | USB Drifta | iDrifta | |
| Standalone | Yes | No | No | No |
| iPad/Phone/Touch*3 | No | Yes | No | Yes*3 |
| Windows PC | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mac | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Blackberry | No | Partial*1 | No | No |
| Android | No | Yes*2 | No | No |
*1 There are limited devices which are supported by Blackberry and this support is Beta only. Be careful, newer Blackberry devices are not supported. (Link here to supported devices)
*2 Android support is also not universal, it is device specific. Many devices are supported but check before you buy. (Link here to supported devices)
*3 If your iDevice is jailbroken you will play Cat and Mouse with DSTV as by default the application won’t work. With a little help from a friend it will work on current versions (and some past versions) but going forward there are no guarantees it will work. (Link to jailbreak information here)
iDrifta quick start guide (images)
Posted on June 17, 2012Images of the two pages of the iDrifta quick start guide included with the device. The full unboxing of the device can be found here. Review to follow.
Click through for the two pages of the guide.
iDrifta unboxing and some initial comments – with lots of pictures
Posted on June 17, 2012Review of iDrifta here. Unboxing continues below.
I was confused last week when my mom called me to say that a parcel had just been delivered to her house for me. I asked her to open it for me since I wasn’t expecting anything and didn’t have a clue what is was. I was quite delighted when she told me it was an iDrifta. Neither DSTV mobile nor their marketing company had told me there were sending me one for review so it was really an unexpected surprise. This is the second time they have sent me one of their new products to review (the USB Drifta was also provided for review) so thank you once again to DSTV mobile for being so kinda as to send this through, and for the nice red ribbon and accompanying letter. Just in time for Fathers day 
This post is the “unboxing”, the review will come later. I called their call centre earlier to activate the device, but now 3 hours later it’s still not activated. I don’t much feel like spending more time on the line to the call centre (that last call was 15m+) so decided to write this up instead and try again with the call centre later. Enjoy this for now, will link to the review later.
Nespresso compatible coffee pods at Hirsch’s (updated with first thoughts)
Posted on June 07, 2012
Posted from WordPress for BlackBerry.
Excuse the poor quality of the picture, the Blackberry camera isn’t really suited to taking closeups of small newspaper adverts.
This afternoon I saw in our local community newspaper (Highway Mail – 8 June 2012) that Hirsch’s were advertising “Fits into a Nespresso” coffee pods. Branded as “Cafe Luxe coffee pack” they come in sleeves of 10 capsules. Priced at R39.99 its about a rand per cup cheaper than the original nespresso. Not sure if it’s worth the difference but I haven’t tried them so shouldn’t comment on the quality.
This coffee comes in 5 flavours :
- Decaffe
- Lungo
- Mild roast
- Medium roast
- Dark roast
I am intrigued. If anyone has bought or tried this coffee please let us know.
Update :
I see that the online Espresso Shop also stocks these capsules. They have pictures of the capsules, also priced at R40/pack of 10, along with an FAQ stating that these are fully compatible and won’t damage your Nespresso machine. More details at their website here.
Update 2 :
I bought some of these capsules to try out. I used the first one this morning. Will provide more feedback as I go along:
- The capsules are in rather colourful, but plain and function box.
- You can slide the box open to remove a capsule without having to damage the box in any way
- The capsules feel plastic rather than a thin metal
- After putting the capsule into the machine it was a fair bit more difficult to close the Nespresso machine (and pierce the capsule)
- Once in and pressing the “make coffee” button some clear water come out before coffee starting pouring out. I haven’t seem this before with the normal Nespresso capsules
- The foam on the coffee wasn’t as “rich looking” as with the normal coffee
- I tried the medum roast blend (the orange box), and it was ok-ish. Perhaps slightly bitter, but nothing special. Neither good nor bad.
- When I took the capsule out after using it and examined it, the cap which normally has the lattice piercings in it was pierced but somehow not as cleanly as is normally the case
After just one cup my initial thought is that I probably won’t buy these again. For saving R1/cup it isn’t worth it, especially with the niggles above. Still, have 49 more cups to go, so more feedback to come.
Update : If you come across this post through a random internet search, you may want to read this later post, it is a whole lot more useful. (Not so compatible Nespresso pods)
Lonehill Estate – Lonehill Estate : Great album and a bargain at the Nokia store
Posted on June 03, 2012I’m rather enjoying Lonehill Estate’s new self titled album. Having heard a few tracks on the radio (Technoband, Daans and now Look Good) and been pleasantly surprised to find out it was our local boys I decided to pick up the album. This morning at the local mall I had a look around and neither CNA nor Checkers had a copy (though I did get the Parlotones Journey Through Shadows from Checkers).
On Twitter @lonehillestate themselves suggested I get it from @Look&ListenSA. This evening I checked out the online store and found the Album for R100, which wasn’t too bad. I always fill a little reticent paying close to physical prices for downloads so was going to give it a skip when I thought to check out the Nokia Ovi store. Delight. The full album (here) for R60. Bargain. Sold! I am now happily listening to the album.
Always worth shopping around, even online. Worth noting that their previous EP, Phone Home, is R100 on Nokia and only half the price at Look and Listen online. So Nokia isn’t always the cheapest, though generally I find them to be so.
Click through for the album track listing
More Android love from DSTVmobile. 19 more devices. Well done DSTVmobile!
Posted on June 02, 2012Another update has been made of the Beta android application for the Drifta. You can get it here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dstvmobile.app.decoder
This application now works on a wide range of Android devices running on Android 2.2, 2.3, 3.x and 4.x (with hardware buttons). So Gingerbread, Honeycomb and IcecreamSandwich are all supported now.
The full list is below. With the extent of changes I have been a bit lazy to pull out only the new devices. On the tweet announcing this @neilinspace indicated that 19 more have been added from the last version of the Beta, I will take his word for it. The list is now quite impressive, most device owners should be happy, including those lucky enough to have picked up the new Galaxy SIII or one of the new HTC One devices.
Well done DSTVmobile!
Now please can we get some Blackberry love? I know the platform is dying but I really would like some support on the Bold 9900.
Click through for the Full list:
DSTVmobile launch a cute new iDrifta for the iPhone/iPad
Posted on June 01, 2012Update : DSTV mobile sent me one of these to review. Some of my comments below are inaccurate. Take a look at the “unboxing” post here : Unboxing of iDrifta with lots of pictures and comments. Review can be found here.
Today DSTVmobile announced a cute new iDrifta specifically for the Apple iPhone and iPad devices. The iDrifta is styled to match your iDevice and is diminutive in size compared to the previously available Driftas. The new device seems to be powered directly from the iDevice so no worries about keeping it charged and waiting for when you need it. It comes with an inbuilt Apple dock connector so no cables to fiddle with or lose.
Image “stolen” from the DSTV website
Being built specifically for iDevices has both pros and cons. Up to now iPhone/iPad users only had the option of the wi-fi Drifta which didn’t plug directly into the iDevice and required you to connect over wi-fi, losing your internet connection in the process. Since the Drifta client application doesn’t multi task or suspend this wasn’t a big deal. Switching out to check mail or an incoming notification would have killed the client app anyway and you would have to wait 20 to 30 seconds to reload the app and have it pick up signal again, not very practical.
It is doubtful the new iDrifta solves this problem, although you may be able to stay connected to the internet and get your notifications, so switching apps you would have seen a notification and know for sure there is something for your attention.
I often find myself watching sport on the iPad as it has the perfect size screen for DSTVmobile. Any bigger and the picture gets really blocky. Being a bit ADHD I like to do a couple of things at once so after a while I tend to hook the Drifta up to the laptop and surf the net on the iPad. With this new device that flexibility would be lost – you can use it only with the iDevice.
Still, for those who want a Drifta to use on the go with the iPhone or iPad, this looks like a really good option. It will be available in 10 days time from the normal outlets.
As always, officially the device doesn’t support jailbroken iPhone/iPads. It is unclear which version of the Drifta software on the iDevice supports the iDrifta, so the current hacked versions floating around probably won’t work. Buyer beware.
I have sent some questions to Maiyo at DTSVmobile, so hope to provide more information and perhaps do a full review later.
Justin
Press Release below after the jump
I updated my previous blogpost on Which Kindle to buy
Posted on May 25, 2012I updated my previous blogpost on which Kindle to buy as a South African.
- New pricing
- New devices (Touch)
Find it here : http://j-j.co.za/2011/06/which-kindle-to-buy-as-a-south-african/
The Nespresso experience
Posted on December 29, 2011A month and a half ago I had the privilege of visiting Valencia, Spain. During the time there we drank a lot of coffee, and everywhere we went, including the hotel breakfast area, the places served Nespresso. The coffee had a nice frothy head and was consistently enjoyable. Some places had self-service and the machine was quick and easy to use. I decided I would get one. Conveniently there was a Nespresso shop located just behind the hotel so I popped over and bought some of the required coffee capsules. At this point I discovered that the “home use” capsules were little cup-shaped ones and different from the flat industrial ones. The sales person assured me the taste would be the same as all Nespresso machines used the same high pressure 19-bar pressure pump to produce the required high quality coffee experience. I purchased my first 6 strips (of 10 capsules each) of Nespresso coffee – having now bought into the programme.
When I got back to SA I went to my local shopping centre (Pavilion) and checked out all the options. I found the same pricing across all the stores, and although I could have saved a few hundred rand having it shipped from Amazon (UK )I was too impatient to wait. After trawling the mall between the various stores trying to figure out which was the right one for me, I finally bought the CitiZ (with Milk) from a very helpful sales lady at Boardmans (the only shop with someone who knew their product).
With the machine came a R350 voucher to be used for the purchase of coffee pods. Marvelous, well, except that they had no vouchers, but confirmed a few days later per telephone that I just needed to take my till slip down to Springfield (no address provided) and they would give me the voucher and let me buy some coffee.
Since I had the coffee I bought in Spain and the machine came with a starter pack (one capsule each of the 16 flavours in the range) it wasn’t too much of a problem.
Early last week I was finally in Durban on a “working day” so I decided to try to find the Durban supplier. It wasn’t listed on the www.nespresso.co.za website at all, only addresses for Cape Town (at the Waterfront) and Johannesburg were supplied.
I tried calling them a few times (found the number on Google), only to get a recorded message suggesting I call Jhb. So I took a chance and headed down to what I thought was the address (Google again) :
7 Springfield Ind Pk, 7 Willowfield Cres, Springfield Park, Durban (wrong)
I got there, no luck and no sign of the place. The security guard at the gate didn’t have a clue who or what Nespresso was. I sat in the car in the visitors parking and googled again. A few more addresses came up but none turned out to be correct :
Unit 28 Springfield Ind Pk 7 Willowfield Cres Springfield Park Durban (wrong)
13 Springfield Industrial Park, 9 Mahoganyfield , Springfield Park, Durban (wrong)
Taking a chance I put Nespresso into the TomTom. Big thumbs up to TomTom, they got me to the place.
Real Address : Unit 28 Springfield Industrial Park, 9 Mahogany Way, Springfield Park, Durban
Update : They have moved again. Current address : 254 Lilian Ngoyi Road (Formerly Windermere Road). Phone : 031 303 3374 (link here)
When I eventually got there, the staff were friendly and helpful. I filled in two sets of forms, they then produced the magical voucher, took my order, which ended up being 10 strips at a total of R576 (Average of R5.76 per cup), less the R350 voucher for a pay in of R226. I was happy with my haul and we have been enjoying the coffee ever since.
By way of comparison, I bought my first 6 strips of capsules in Valencia, Spain, at 3.55 euros each. At an exchange rate of R11/Euro that works out at R39 a strip (R3.90 a cup), so we are paying a premium of 36% here in South Africa. Could be worse I guess, but makes me wish I had bought more over there.
The machine itself, I bought the CitiZ&Milk (the left one in the pictures above) which according to the detail on the European site seems to be made by DeLonghi (it has the pipe-like spout rather than the tear drop one). It works really well, the milk frother is great, though a bit of a pain to clean.
I am delighted with this coffee machine, the simplicity and consistency is just great, and each time I have a cup I am reminded of my time in Spain.
I know a lot of people have said that Nespresso is over priced, and that I could have bought a machine, which freshly grinds the coffee from the bean for each cup, for only a little more than the price of the Nespresso machine. Such a machine uses coffee beans which work out lass than half the price per cup. I looked (briefly) at that option. The machines had too many settings, buttons, nozzles etc (for me). The R5,70 odd per cup of Nespresso isn’t cheap but is a whole lot less than having coffee out at the local coffee shops, is just as nice, and I get to have it while waking up.
The Nespresso machine is great because it simply just works. You can’t really get it wrong and you consistently get that great cup of coffee. I am very happy with it and my guests have been too. It is really quick to make a cup of coffee, taking a minute or less to warm up from a cold start, and each cup you make thereafter takes only a few seconds. No mess, no fuss and easy to keep clean.
I am sold on the Nespresso experience and would recommend it to anyone.
Table of comparative pricing information (Europe to SA) below :
Skyrim install, Steam making you Steam?
Posted on December 28, 2011I bought a copy of Skyrim after reading about how great it was, man, what a mission to install it. It wants an internet connection, no problem. Insert the DVD, it wants the unique code, sure. Type it in, steam isn’t available, sorry you can’t install. WTF?
Try again, now, it tells me that this title is already installed against my steam account. WTF? Log into steam, and sure enough, there is Skyrim. Ok, try install again. Now, it won’t install from the DVD, and wants to download all 4+ Gig of the install. That really sucks.
Google it, there is a solution, and here it is
- Log in to Steam and click on Library.
- Right-click on the game, select Delete local content, and confirm.
- Insert the DVD into your computer.
- Close Steam (Steam > Exit).
- Go the command line (Press Windows Key + enter cmd.exe)
- In the command window type: “C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe” -install E:
With that last command, make sure you use the correct path to your steam install, and that you replace E: with whatever your DVD drive letter is. Works a charm and saves a massive download. Enjoy the game.
Updates to the “Unofficial DStv Drifta FAQ”
Posted on November 26, 2011There has been quite a bit of Drifta related news over the last while so I have added more questions and updated sections of the FAQ. The main changes have been :
- Blackberry availability
- Mac OS X availability
- Updates to Android compatibility list
- Walka handheld TV
DStv mobile streaming solution for MTN users (better than previous Vodacom one)
Posted on November 16, 2011Yesterday I received a press release from DStv Mobile about a new partnership with MTN to launch a 3G streaming Mobile TV Service. At first I wasn’t very excited about this, they have a similar product with Vodacom, which at first sounded interesting but was hamstrung by a ridiculous acceptable usage agreement which restricts you to 45 minutes per week (180 per month). That doesn’t even get you through a single T20 game, and hardly through two rugby matches. Crazy indeed.
On receiving the press release I immediately fired off a mail to Maiyo checking what the acceptable use of the new solution was. If it was the same (or similar) to the Vodacom one I wasn’t going to bother posting about it as it wouldn’t in my opinion be worth the subscription.
I am very happy to say that the response is a very positive one, no bandwidth / usage restrictions. You will use your own bandwidth to browse to the MTN Play website and get the video stream running, but you won’t pay for or be restricted in usage of the video stream itself. What a different that makes. For those who don’t want to buy a DStv Drifta, or have the hassle of carrying a second device (or don’t have client software available for their device) this is a really viable alternate. Well done to MTN and DStv mobile for improving significantly on the Vodacom offering.
I haven’t tested the service so can’t tell you how well it works, but based on the information provided it does look good. The FAQ on the DStv web site (link here) claims the service will work on most 2.5G or 3G cell phones (however it doesn’t work on the iPhone or a device only using the Opera Mini web browser). Still, that includes more devices than it excludes.
Press release below :
New Android manufacturers and devices supported on Drifta
Posted on October 05, 2011DStv Mobile have announced that some new devices are supported by their Android client, interestingly enough, this covers 2 previously unsupported manufacturers in LG and Motorola. Hopefully this is the start of something. Here is the list of new devices:
- LG Optimus Black (LG P970)
- Motorola Defy (MB 525)
- HTC ChaCha
- HTC Desire HD
- Samsung Galaxy Tab (7″ All models including GT-P1000, GT-P1010)
Running the standard Android Drifta app on non-standard phones
Posted on September 27, 2011Before the hacked version of the DStv mobile application surfaced people were looking for ways to get the standard application to work on devices other than those supported, as well as on rooted devices. That playing around stopped with the hacked version. Now that DStv has taken to asserting their copyrights to the application a lot of people have not been able to get hold of the hacked application. The same outcome can be achieved without needing to infringe DStv’s copyright. Below is the short and more detailed version of this :
- If your device is not supported, you can change your device’s identity so that it looks like a supported device.
- If your device is rooted, you can temporarily unroot it using OTA Rootkeeper.
That’s it. Simple, yes?
Below is Johan’s feedback and instructions (edited a little with links added to make your lives easier).
What people say
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