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6 tech trends announced at CES 2012

by Chris M on January 16, 2012 in Events, Industry News with No comments

Consumer Electronics Association (CES) took part this weekend. CES is a trade association that promotes growth in the consumer technology industry, so much growth that the number said was 186 billion dollars! CES 2012 took place this weekend and from what I’ve seen and read, it was a cracker.

Some new technology trends were announced that the event, they covered:

  1. Smart Applications – From kitchen appliances to televisions, everything’s getting more intelligent with the help of touch screens, applications, WiFi and other factors. This for me is a big one, I’m a serious geek and have built little devices before to control appliances, so bring it on!
  2. WiFi Cameras – A big announcement was the Sony Bloggie Live, which live streams your video, and a new Polaroid camera with an Android operating system, which means there’s finally going to be potential for a camera with 3G.. let that mind go ;)
  3. Large-Screen Smartphones – This one isn’t really a big one for me, I quite like the size of the iPhone screen and when I need bigger I use the iPad, so I’m not too sure about this, but it doesn’t take an expert to realize that bigger screens will more than likely get more popular.
  4. Celebrity-Endorsed Products – CES featured a number of celebs, including Justin Timberlake, LL Cool J, Justin Bieber, 50 Cent and more. It would appear that celebrities are catching onto the huge potential that technology has – you’ve seen all the headphones created by the celebs haven’t you? Guess the perfume fad is over ;)
  5. OLED Televisions – OLED is the latest thing in television technology. I’d recommend reading up on OLED is you aren’t sure, but a big feature is that OLED displays work without backlight, which means it can display deep black levels and can be thinner and lighter than normal LCD televisions.
  6. Silm Ultrabooks – 2011 was all about tablets, 2012′s all about ultrabooks.

Some cool trends in the mix, I can’t wait for the technologies to hit South Africa, especially the smart applications – I want my kettle to turn on via my iPhone in the morning ;)

Watch the Australian Grand Prix Live!

by Chris M on December 9, 2011 in Cars, Events with 10 Comments

When it comes to cars I find myself being able to spend hours looking, touching, test driving and discussing the cool things you can do with cars. It’s been like this for as long as I can remember, guess it’s a boy thing? One thing I haven’t been too involved with is F1 racing, from time to time I tune in and watch a Grand Prix on the tele, mostly when someone I follow on Twitter starts jumping up and down. I enjoy watching, and would probably enjoy it more so if I could attend a live Grand Prix one day – imagine going to one of those tracks and physically seeing the speed at which those drives burst around the track? Sjoe!

So, the good news is that Red Bull Mobile South Africa is actually running a competition where you could win one of six double tickets to the Australian F1 Grand Prix – just imagine! Bonus! You get entered into the draw if you sign up for a RedBull Mobile contract or use their pay as you go services – no a shabby opportunity.

I’ve been tasked with finding out from you, my dear readers, what you would do to attend the Grand Prix – think of the most amazing thing you would do and let me know in the comments below please. Your comments will then get voted on, let’s see who can come up with the best scenario! I need your support here, so please pop me a comment with what you’d do.

And, go!

BaretoCare – Green Point to Camps Bay

by Chris M on December 5, 2011 in Cape Town, Events with No comments

BaretoCare is a Cape Town based charity fun run from Green Point to Camps Bay …… in Speedo’s.

From the organizers: “We decided to do it in memory of Chris Henderson who passed away from Diabetes related complications earlier in the year and who was a loving father to one of our runners. None of us knew what a positive response the run would receive, with people hooting and running out of restaurants to have photos with the brave guys in their crazy hats. This year we have decided to add more purpose to the run by doing it to raise funds for the Saint Angela Trust and harness all the attention and hype surrounding our 1 year anniversary run.”

Take a watch:

Pretty classic initiative, must have been a huge amount of fun being involved!

Obs Arts Festival 2011

by Chris M on November 28, 2011 in Cape Town, Events with No comments

If you’re interested in local arts and culture, then the Obs Arts Festival is an event you should probably put in your diary.

The event is run on December 9, December 10 and December 11 – Entry on the days is R50, R70 and R20 respectively and you’re able to buy a weekend pass for R90 entitling you to enter on all or any of the days as you wish. The event takes place at the Observatory Recreation Center and an expected audience of 15,000 people is expected!

There will be street performers, visual arts, spoken word and plenty of great music. Music includes live acts by the likes of aKING, Hot Water, Tidel Waves, Gazelle and others.

For more information please head over to the website, ask a question on Twitter or buy your tickets now on Webtickets.

Durbanville Beer Festival

by Chris M on November 28, 2011 in Cape Town, Cuisine and Beverages, Events with No comments

2010 saw the first Durbanville Beer Fest, which saw 1,500 beer-thirsty people and this year promises to be even more popular after the success of the first event spread high and wide.

The event takes place on December 10th from 10h00 until 20h30 at the Hillcrest Wine Farm (M13 Durbanville Wine Route) and has a cost of just R50.00 per person!

The event will feature beers from South Africa’s Craft breweries as well as larger commercial brew masters and whilst you’re enjoying some great beer you’ll be able to enjoy some live rock and blues bands.

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You can book your tickets online on Computicket.

Harfield Village Carnival

by Chris M on November 28, 2011 in Cape Town, Events with No comments

Saturday was the annual Harfield Village Carnival, which presents the people of Harfield Village, and anyone interested, with a day of great food, crafts and lots of drinks. I went through just after lunch and had a walk around, was a little sad to see that a lot of the stalls didn’t have proper crafts the the likes, but in general there was a good vibe and people seemed to be having a good time.

Later in the evening I went back again to enjoy more of an atmosphere and Home Bar was going full steam ahead. Apparently everyone was sitting outside in the road at tables enjoying music and good times, but the police arrived and asked everyone to go inside, so by the time I go there Home Bar was absolutely packed, I’ve never seen it like this before! The restaurant area was opened up, there was a live DJ and even an additional bar. Had a really good time having drinks with some good friends and being able to walk home afterwards.

I wish the wind hasn’t blown as much as it did as I think the carnival would have been far more successful – fortunately it didn’t rain, which looked like a big possibility!

Here are two pics I snapped inside Home Bar:

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Looking forward to next year!

Congratulations to the 2011 Bookmarks winners

by Chris M on November 14, 2011 in Cape Town, Events with No comments

The Bookmarks is a awards ceremony that recognizes the best in the Digital space. The aim is to enlighten industry as to who some of the pioneers are. Of course, this doesn’t mean these are the very best, but it certainly is a hugely credible event and winning an award is a big honour!

So, this year’s Bookmarks have just passed and after a highly successful event in Cape Town, the winners have been announced and I wanted to share the list with all of you.

Here are the winners:

  • Jason-Xenopoulos-(Best-Individual-Contribution)
  • Geoff Cohen – GM of 24.com (Best Publishing House)
  • Quirk – Best Agency
  • Quirk celebrates prestigious Best in Show award

Other awards went to Avusa Media, Media24, HelloComputer, Prezence Digital, Ogilvy Interactive, DStv Online, Social Code, Acceleration, Gloo Digital Design, Cerebra, World Wide Creative, M&C Saatchi Abel and a long list of others.

If you want to see all the winners, click here.

Usher tour to South Africa

by Chris M on November 2, 2011 in Cape Town, Events, Music with No comments

Yeeeah man, haha, Usher Raymond will be heading to South Africa next year to perform at the Hansa Festival of Legends tour!

Usher will perform at the Grand Arena in Cape Town on 3 March, the ICC Durban Arena on 7 March and at Soweto’s Orlando Stadium on 10 March.
This is pretty massive if you ask me, South Africa’s seen some great artists over the past year, but Usher is a powerhouse, one of the biggest legends in the pop scene and someone who can perform incredibly well on a stage, I can only imagine how quickly the tickets will sell.

I went to Craig David a few years ago and that wasn’t very good, but I think Usher’s on a completely different level, so if you had a bad experience like me, I don’t think you need to worry about it this time!

Tickets go on sale on 4 November at Computicket.

2011 FNB Whiskey Festival

by Chris M on October 31, 2011 in Cape Town, Cuisine and Beverages, Events with No comments

It’s that time of the year again, FNB are throwing their Whiskey festival at the Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC) from November 2nd to November 4th and as always, it promises to be a lot of fun.

Whiskey workshops will allow visitors to taste a wide range of whiskeys and purchase if you so wish. The event will showcase over 180 types of whiskeys!

This year presents a brand new Compass Box Blending Zone, but if you’re into the regulars, you’ll be pleased to know that the Volvo Connoisseur’s Tour will still be taking place. Food will be offered by Pick ‘n Pay and hospitality packages will be available in the Volvo Whiskey Lifestyle Lounge.

Tickets go for R190, and this is short notice, so I’m not even sure if there are tickets left! If you want to look, best you head on over to Webtickets to check.

Contact Person: Karen Chaloner (karen@ncconnect.co.za) on +27 21 880 0180.

Enjoy!

Red Hot Chili Peppers in South Africa?

by Chris M on October 31, 2011 in Events, Music with 6 Comments

This is quite exciting, there’s a new website out which has a poll where you suggest the city Red Hot Chili Peppers should visit. In other words, if you want them to come to Cape Town, then you head on over to the website and say exactly that!

Obviously, each vote counts and the important thing here is to spread the word, so make use of the Tweet and Like buttons on this post to share the information with all your friends.

We have a massive online community in South Africa, let’s make use of it and bring the Peppers to South Africa!

CLICK HERE to vote.

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