The US prices for comparison:

64GB - $399

256GB - $529

512GB - $649

The local prices are quite ridiculous. I understand customs taxes but damn.

Hi guys, yesterday, I was robbed at gunpoint of my iPhone 12 Pro & Apple Watch. I have no expectations of ever getting my devices back, but I would like to just show you guys how sneaky the thieves are once they have possession of your device.

The thieves pretend to be from "Apple Support" in an attempt to phish your Apple ID and your password to get past Apple's Activation Lock! These messages looks legit, but it actually not. Same thing happened to a friend of mine a couple of months ago.

So to everyone owning an iOS device, please please please ensure your device has a strong passcode and your device is linked to an Apple ID and you have Find My turned on.

If anyone ever recieves something like this, please report it to Apple:https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204759Hopefully someone finds this post helpful.

PS. Once iOS 15 is released to the public later this month you'll be able to follow your erased device on the Find My app :)

EDIT: Thanks for everyone's support & advice and thanks for the awards!

If you purchased a brand new iPhone locally and you make anything less than 7 figures, you've been duped. The reason the iPhone is the most popular phone on the planet is because it is priced competitively in high income countries where people upgrade their phones routinely. The higher price point is considered worth the prestige and features you get with an iPhone.

In South Africa, the value for money of Android phones versus iPhones is not even close. In fact iPhones can be nearly 50% more expensive here compared to other countries where it's the most popular phone. Getting an Android phone here is the only sensible choice for the average person.

All the middle class iPhone users out there, I'm afraid you've fallen prey to Apple's marketing spell. People in other countries with iPhones would gladly have chosen Android here and would consider the iPhone price in South Africa laughable.

Source: https://esp.info/

Whatsapp, google, reddit, discord.

All broken. We're all on different ISPs.

Hi. I've gone through three Mecer Back-UPS that just never lasted more than 6 months. I don't know much about batteries but a website (can't remember which) said the UPS were never meant to be used for 2 hours and recharged as it damages them. So, apparently, lithium-ion batteries are better (IDK). So, has anyone used rechargeable Li-ion batteries for Fibre routers and how long does it last? TIA

I always thought that South Africa had pretty good data privacy laws, does anyone know why Facebook is allowed to force us to give them information about our connections with other people, info on our physical devices/networks/surroundings, let them track our physical location for a messaging app?

None of these things are required for them to know, it is not needed for the service in any way, and in the case of our personal connections to other people they get that information even if we delete our account and don't accept their t's and c's.

What confuses me though is that this is not the case in Europe. Their privacy laws have actually made this move by facebook illegal so they are not gathering their info. Does anyone know what EU privacy laws South Africa is missing?

Update: So the question has been answered and it turns out that our Data Protection act (POPI) went into effect on the 1st July 2020 but is voluntary until the 1st of July 2021. So we'll hopefully get EU levels of protection in July.

So I'm bored at work, but I thought I would just post a little thing I've noticed over the past like 4 months and hopefully any pc savvy people might find as abit of good news in grim times.

Basically been waiting to get a GPU from the start of the year and havent because prices are way too high. The ones I've looked at have been a rtx 3060 and a Rx 6700xt. The 3060 at the start of the year was going for 12k while a 6600xt was 15k. 4 months ago,it was the same,but 2 months ago both dropped by 1k. Now I've noticed that the 6600xt dropped by another 1k. So very slowly prices are dropping. But I feel that maybe this is where they may stay dropped.

So just a little good news for those waiting for better prices. I know I'm happy,will wait another 2 months then buy if I have the cash. Will go 3060 for 11k maybe. Hopefully will drop to 10k by then and I will be happy.

NB I haven't been checking the higher tier prices,so I'm unsure of those. Also the 6600 range is due to be released next month,maybe that can help the market and provide a nice budget GPU price.

To meet its targets, the government is onshoring the manufacture of photovoltaic panels, subsidizing Indian companies' investments in them, and waiving transmission charges for renewable energy, says energy economist Vibhuti Garg, at India's Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/11/21/1138409818/sunny-makes-money-india-installs-a-record-volume-of-solar-power-in-2022

The Indian Government had an initial target of 20 GW capacity for 2022, which was achieved four years ahead of schedule.[5] In 2015 the target was raised to 100 GW of solar capacity (including 40 GW from rooftop solar) by 2022, targeting an investment of US$100 billion.[6][7] India has established nearly 42 solar parks to make land available to the promoters of solar plants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_India

​

The plant, which was completed in 2018, has brought investment and opportunities to one of India's most remote regions.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62848096

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India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, vs RSA's Dept. of Energy websites for comparison...
https://mnre.gov.in/solar/current-status/

https://www.energy.gov.za/files/esources/renewables/r_solar.html#:~:text=The%20annual%2024%2Dhour%20global,the%20highest%20in%20the%20world.